Page 10 of Only One I Ever Wanted

He gave me a side-eye glance.

I smiled encouragingly to show I was joking.

His lips twitched, but he just popped in another gummy.

“So, does that mean Nora and Booker are divorcing?”

“Divorced already.”

“Hmm. And how did you find this out?”

The fact that I knew some gossip before my mom was big. “Her dishwasher might be toast. I’m hoping I can fix it.”

“Yeah, she had water all over the floor. I got to sit in this cool chair. The lady was nice.” Danny lined up his Fruit Snacks in color order.

My mom locked eyes on me. “You took him on the job with you? He could have come here.”

“I know. You guys are always helping out. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Good enough for my food, though.” She went over to the boiling pot and dumped in spaghetti.

“Ma.” After pushing back my chair, I went over to her and wrapped my arms around her from behind, kissing the top of her head. We Murdocks were tall, but us boys definitely didn’t get any of those genes from her. “It was an easy job. He got to play his Switch.”

She sighed and patted my arm. “We love having him.”

“I know.”

“However, your dog is a menace.”

I laughed and let her go. “I heard. I’ll pick up a flat of flowers to replace your daffodils.”

“Fine. Pansies, please.”

“You got it.”

“Now you and Danny set the table.”

“That, I can handle.”

Much easier than thinking about Nora being back in town.

Chapter4

Nora

I putmy hands on my hips. “What the hell did I do wrong?”

The coffee table in front of my new couch was definitely crooked.

I should have just bought the big one that didn’t need to be put together, but I’d spent a small fortune at the furniture store outfitting my bedroom and the living room.

My doorbell rang and I set my drill on the floor.

The Indigo Valley grapevine was in full force. I’d stopped in to see my dad earlier that day and had seen a few people at the grocery store. Even on a Monday morning, there were a shocking number of people in the stores. I peeked through the peephole and swung the door open with a smile.

“Hey!”

“And why was I not the first to know you were in town?”

---