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Cass could’ve stopped there, but she didn’t want to.It was a losing battle, but she wanted Bea to know she’d be missed here in Sweet Water Falls.
I miss you, and I can’t wait to see you in personagain.
She sent the whole message, where she usually was a one-liner kind of texter.Yes, she’d sent fifteen lines in a row, but just one at a time.It drove her daughter nuts.Too many notifications, Mama, Sariah had complained.
A whole new wave of missing rolled over her, and Cass quickly sent a few texts to Sariah and Jane too, so her daughters would know how very much their mother loved them.
She’d barely lowered her phone when it rang, and Bea’s name sat there.Cass tossed her hair back as if going to battle and cleared her throat.“Bea,” she said a moment later.“I can’t even start on what to say about your pictures.Just…wow.”
Bea giggled, which spoke of so much.“Right?”
“So…” Cass didn’t know how to ask her what her plans were.Cass had her whole life planned.She’d achieved a lot of what she’d set out to do too.Married by twenty-four.Three children—where of course she’d get at least one of each gender.White picket fence.Interior design degree.
She planned her days, weeks, and months.She planned church activities and huge birthday parties for her children.She’d even been featured inThe Best of the Bendmagazine once for the fairy tale birthday party she’d done for the girls when they’d turned twelve.
She planned what a room would look like, and how textures, fabrics, and colors would flow from space to space to create harmony and peace.
Bea moving to South Carolina?It wasn’t in Cass’s plan, and she had no idea how to reconcile it right now.
“You want to know what my plans are,” Bea said.
“I would like a hint,” Cass said, still stroking Beryl’s head for comfort.
Bea didn’t respond, probably thrown off by the quiet voice Cass had used.She did sometimes use an outdoor voice when she was indoors, because she liked being in charge.She liked seeing her plans come to life before her eyes, and she always knew precisely what to do and when.
“To be honest,” Bea said.“I’m not sure.My heart is telling me to book this cottage again and see what happens.My head is telling me I’m a fourth-generation Texan, and that’s where I belong.”
Cass looked up from her golden retriever, her own emotions a tangled ball of yarn.“I can see what will happen.So can you.Look at that picture of you and Grant.You lookso happy, Bea.I’ve not seen you like that in years, even before Nort left.”
“Do you really think so?”Bea asked, her voice small and afraid.
“Yes,” Cass said.“I really think so.”
“Could you maybe send me the information on how to book this place?”
Cass swallowed hard.“Yes,” she said.“But Bea?Before you go—or even after.Could we plan a trip together?All of us, if the others want to come.”
“What kind of trip?”Bea asked.
Cass smiled then, a window opening that might allow her to do two of the things she loved most—plan something amazing and spend meaningful time with her friends.“A trip to visit as many National Parks as we can.”
Bea trilled out a laugh and said, “Of course, Cass.What a great idea.”
Cass nodded, the emotion in her throat now a ball that couldn’t be pushed down.“Great,” she said.“Now, I don’t need details, but I want more than you put in the group text.Dates?Dinners?Dancing?Where did you kiss him?”
Bea scoffed.“Who says I kissed him?I’ve been here for five days, Cass.”
Cass laughed then too, the sound of it lightening her mood and removing the heavy weights that had somehow gotten tied to her heart.“Please, Bea.One look at the two of you and I knew you’d kissed him.Again, I don’t need the gory details.But you better start talking.”
“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”Bea teased in a voice she hadn’t used in a while either.This Grant fellow had really reawakened her, and the joy Cass had expected to feel earlier finally arrived.
Cass stifled an untimely yawn.“I’m wide awake,” she said again, sinking further into the comfort of her pillows and blankets, the warmth of Beryl seeping into her system.“Now get going.”
