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Piper let her head fall back against the sofa. “It’s just the usual problem. My greenhouse isn’t big enough for the work I want to do. I need more space. And I just don’t have it. There are other projects, bigger research studies I could be doing, but I can’t bid for them, when I don’t have the facilities or the space. It feels like I’m caught in a loop.”
Alanna looked surprised. She put her hand on her sister’s. “Piper, you’re doing great work. The research you’ve done on making plants more robust and the organic fertilizers has been ground-breaking. That’s why these people hire you.”
Piper closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her red-blonde hair. It was usually immaculate, but today she just hadn’t had the energy and she knew it was a tangled mess. She sighed. “But I just feel like I could do more, I should do more. This world is changing all around us, and sometimes I think my research is just too slow. I feel as if I have so much more to give.” Her voice cracked a little. “But it seems like it’s never going to happen unless I go and work for some kind of big institution, and maybe I should, but I want to be in control of my own science and my own results. It’s like I’m missing out on jobs because I won’t compromise, and maybe it’s time to rethink things.”
“Stop it. This is why these companies hire you. Because you care so passionately about this work. You love growing plants; you love finding out about their flaws.” Alanna put her hand on her heart. “And you keep your integrity close to your heart. But you don’t have to give it up if you want to move on to bigger things. You might find a way. Wait and see what the universe has to offer.”
Piper gave her sister a grateful smile. It didn’t matter what happened, her sister always had her back. She nudged her elbow. “Love you, sis. You’re so lucky. You’ve got everything in life figured out. You’re happily married, got a great kid, and a job you love.” She held up her hands. “You’re even staying in our childhood home and have made it look a hundred times better than it did before.”
“You only look at the good stuff. Not the everyday real life. I stayed in a house that looked as though a tornado had swept around it for months while we renovated. All the time wondering if Mom and Dad would approve of the changes I was making to their home. And yes, Mitch is great, and so is Leila. But don’t you remember as a baby she screamed and screamed? I walked around with bags under my eyes for months and could barely string together a cohesive sentence. And work? Yes. I’ve got a job I love. But the hours for both Mitch and I are long. We don’t get to spend enough time together as a family. But life isn’t perfect, Piper. Maybe you need to stop looking for perfection?”
Piper swallowed and looked at her sister. She knew exactly where this conversation was going. “I just don’t think my Mr. Right is out there,” she conceded.
“Look at the guys you’ve dated.”
Piper groaned and stood up, reaching for her purse and jacket. “Let’s not do this again.”
“Brad was great.”
“He could only talk about football and baseball.”
“Fletcher was so intelligent.”
“I couldn’t even follow half the conversations he had with me. I know nothing about physics or dark matter.”
Alanna sighed and kept going, ignoring the fact that Piper had already slid one arm into her jacket.
“Rueben!” she said excitedly. “He was great.”
Piper pulled her jacket up over her shoulders. “Rueben has moved to Connecticut with his husband.”
Alanna held up her hand. “Okay, okay, what about—”
Piper put her hand on her sister’s arm. “Stop already.” She leaned over and kissed Alanna’s cheek. “I’ll see you both Friday night.”
Alanna started to follow her to the door. “Oh, wait, something came for you.” She reached for a bundle of mail sitting near the door and leafed through it, pulling out a thick official-looking envelope.
Piper frowned. “Something came for me here? I haven’t stayed here in ten years.”
Alanna shrugged. “I guess that doesn’t matter.”
Piper was still frowning as she took the envelope. It looked expensive—like the designer catalogs that dropped through her door on occasion. Curiosity made her fingers break the seal and pull out a single page letter. She glanced inside to make sure there was nothing else. Nope, just a cardboard backing to the envelope.
She scanned the letter and her stomach did an uncomfortable twist. “When did this come?”
“A few days ago. I knew you were coming tonight, so I didn’t bother to call. Why? Is it important?”
She turned the letter so her sister could read it. “I’ve got to go to an attorneys’ office tomorrow.”
Dear Ms. Davis,
McNally, Travers, and Sully, Attorneys would be obliged if you could visit our office on Thursday, the second of December, at two pm regarding the estate of Ms. Margaret Smith.
Alanna wrinkled her nose. “Okay, so who are McNally, Travers, and Sully, and who is Margaret Smith? Have we got secret relatives you haven’t told me about?”
They stared at each other in mystified silence. Piper shook her head. “Mom and Dad might not be here anymore, but they were upfront about everything.” She frowned. “The name though… Did Mom or Dad have any friends called Margaret Smith? Maybe she left them something in her will, and I’ve been contacted as one of their children?”
Alanna put her hand to her chest. “But I’m the oldest, surely anything like that would come to me? It must be something else. You’re right, that name though…”
