Page 47 of The Roads We Follow

“Let us in, Adele, or we’ll camp outside your door and sing Backstreet Boys obnoxiously loud.”

When Hattie starts in on the verse of “Quit Playing Games with My Heart,” the door swings open, and I actually gasp at the sight of my oldest sister. She looks ... she looks so young.

“I know, I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought this today. I have a kid in college for heaven’s sake. I look like an idiot.”

“No!” Both Hattie and I shout in unison. “You look great!”

Hattie continues to point out what works about her outfit while I nod in agreement and play a quick mental game of spot thedifferences. Adele’s dark denim skirt is a classic style that stops just above her knee with a short slit on each side. The perfect cut for her shapely legs. I suddenly wish my brother-in-law, Michael, was here to see her like this. She’s tucked a teal, sleeveless top into the belted waist of her skirt, which makes the teal accent color in her mid-calf cowgirl boots pop. I study her a second longer, realizing it’s not only what sheiswearing that has me in such befuddlement, but also what she’snotwearing.

A blazer.

Apart from very rare occasions, Adele is never in a public setting without a blazer. Heck, she’s rarely in personal settings without a blazer. If I didn’t know better, I’d bet she slept in one, too.

She faces the mirror and tugs at her top. “If my office could see me right now, they’d—”

“You’re not at the office, Adele. You’re in Tulsa with your sisters and your mama. You don’t have to be anyone’s CEO tonight. You just get to be a woman on a mom-and-sisters road trip,” I conclude.

Her eyes shift to look at me in the mirror, and slowly her shoulders begin to relax.

“Raegan’s right, we’re all just sisters tonight.” Hattie places her hand on Adele’s arm, and I’m so moved by the rare affection between the two of them my throat thickens. “However, Mama’s gonna have all our hides if we don’t get downstairs soon. Let’s go.”

After a resigned sigh, Adele nods at herself once in the mirror and then turns toward us. “Okay, I’ll go. Let me just grab my blazer—”

“No!” Hattie and I both blurt in unison.

To ensure she listens, we each grab an arm and pull Adele to the door. “Sorry, but tonight is a blazer-free zone,” I say. “Hattie, grab her purse on the side table.”

“On it.”

To my surprise, Adele actually chuckles a little when the door slams hard behind us.

“You’re bossy,” she says with a bit of pride.

I beam at her. “I learned from the best.”

This time, Hattie is the one to laugh. All the way down the elevator and into the main lobby where the concierge is waiting to take us to the town car we’re ten minutes late for. We hustle to the glass doors to see Mama sitting in the back seat of the black town car alone and Micah standing inside a small hallway with his hands stuffed into his pockets, waiting.

The three of us file into the tight area in birth order: Adele, Hattie, and then myself.

“Look at you, ladies.” Micah whistles and then slides into a hilarious attempt at a Southern drawl. “Y’all look way too good for your mama to unleash the scolding she’s been threatening ever since the clock struck six.” He salutes and then pulls open the exterior door to the parking lot. “Godspeed.”

Each of my sisters bids him goodnight as he holds the door for them to join Mama in the car. Only, when it’s my turn, it’s as if the world pauses ... with the exception of Micah’s gaze, which heats my bloodstream as it slowly drifts down my figure and back up to meet my eyes again.

“Wow, Raegan. You’re...” He swallows. “You’re stunning.”

I can’t fully register the low swoop in my belly his compliment provides because I’m too confused as to why he’s not dressed for an evening out. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

“Your mom gave me the night off tonight. I thought I’d catch up on some journal reading.”

“Oh, right,” I say, failing to mask my disappointment. “Of course. You deserve a break from us.”

His lips part but nothing comes out, so I take it as an invitation to continue.

“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for any details you might be interested in while I’m at the club tonight. Mama mentioned our mothers sang there together back in the day.”

“Raegan Lynn,” Mama scolds out her open window in the back seat. “We are going to miss our reservation, and I am not about to deal with three hangry daughters all evening.”

I shoot Micah a chagrined smile and dash out the door he’s still holding open. “Enjoy your night off.”

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