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“Mom, can you tell Ryan to stop babying me? I know that there are only three sisters left in the house, but—”
Ryan ignored his sister’s objections and said, “Are you driving?”
“Yes, I’m driving. And I’m not drinking.”
Ryan nodded. “Good. Text me the address. And call me when you get there.”
Tara waved a hand in the air. “Fine. See y’all tomorrow. Bye, Pops.”
“Bye, lass.”
Ryan took another gulp from his whiskey after the screen door slammed shut.
“I don’t envy ye, boyo. I know what it’s like to have a daughter, but five sisters…” Pops blew out a big breath.
“Oh, I think the girls are doin’ just fine. Teagan and Emmy are married now and even starting families of their own,” Shauni said with a pride smile.
“I’d like to think I had a helpin’ hand in those relationships. Maybe if you’d send Tara to old Pops, I’ll get another one of yer lasses married. Heck, I think I can even find a match for you, Ryan.”
Ryan laughed. “Good luck with that.”
Pops lifted his half-empty glass. “I’ll accept the challenge.”
CHAPTER THREE
Megan stuffed the last bit of casserole into her mouth and stood from her great-grandfather’s kitchen table. Unknown neighbor after neighbor had brought tins and dishes of food to the farmhouse in the past few days.
The funeral had been sober since Megan, Abby, and Ava were the only one attending. Apparently, Vic Carlisle wasn’t really big on socializing with his neighbors and he also didn’t have any friends. It made Megan hesitant about these people showing up out of the blue, acting like they gave a damn about her great-grandfather.
She still needed to check the books and had to wait and find out what Vic exactly stated in the will, but her gut told her that these people figured Vic had some dough stashed somewhere since it obviously hadn’t been used on this farmhouse.
The hard wooden floorboards creaked as Abby chased Ava around in the living room.
“Gotcha!” Abby yelled.
“Girls, please go upstairs to the first bathroom. I’ll be up in a second.”
“Yes, Mommy,” Ava said before she yelled, “I’ll race you upstairs!”
Megan smiled as she finished washing the dish with the ugly brown leaves. She had no idea which dish or tin belonged to which neighbor, but she reckoned they would all show up soon enough.
She dried her hands with a towel before heading up the stairs to her twins. She couldn’t believe they actually had an upstairs. Megan ignored the cracks in the wall and the missing curtains from the hallway windows. The house was really hers and would be Ava and Abby’s one day. Megan never had much left after rent was due, let alone something to actually leave her daughters.
“Mommy, Ava is smearing snot all over the tub!”
Megan rounded the corner, finding her two blonde girls in the cramped bathroom.
“Girls, stop telling on each other and stop smearing snot all over the place. It’s gross.”
“I didn’t—”
Megan interrupted Ava and said, “We’re not getting into who did what just before bedtime. Head in the shower, please.”
Ava lifted her arms in silence, giving Megan room to undress her. Megan threw Ava’s dirty shirt in the laundry basket with a watery smile. What a shame Vic wasn’t here today to find Ava hugging that baby pig in the pen.
“Are you going to dream about Peppa tonight?” Megan asked.
“Hm-mm,” Ava hummed.
