Page 20 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“How’s Molly?” Sienna asked, waiting for Grace to follow after she bid farewell to the familiar security guard.

Molly and Grace met during treatment after Grace’s second recurrence and grew to be fast friends. But while Grace’s prognosis finally grew more positive, Molly’s turned bleaker, more complicated.

“Ready to bust out of this place. And when she does, let me tell you. We’ve got plans.”

Sienna laughed. “Oh, yeah?”

Grace nodded emphatically. “Big time. All-night movie marathon. Disney World because I’veneverbeen,” she reminded her mother. “And neither has she.”

“I promised I’d take you, and I will.”When I can afford it.But a trip that included Molly, Sienna was unsure of. “Are you hungry? How about we grab a bite?

“I want a chicken quesadilla,” Grace announced, bumping her arm against Sienna. “Andextraguacamole.”

Sienna peeked over her shoulder at the hospital as they made their way to the parking lot. If there was a way to celebrate six months of no more hospital visits, of health, and the happiness radiating off her daughter, it had to involve guacamole.

“Your wish is my command.”

* * *

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”

Sienna dropped a crate of clean glasses on the counter behind the bar. “I’m sort of on a good news kick today, so let’s start with that.”

Her barback smiled. “We need a new fridge.”

“Frank,” Sienna groaned, “I saidgoodnews.”

Frank stared at her, unblinking.

“Well, what’s thebadnews then?”

“The fridge is broken.”

So much for having a positive outlook on things.Shaking her head, Sienna knitted her brows together.

Frank stepped behind the bar, helping unload the crate. “Well, now, at least we won’t have to kick it to get it going. Stubbed my damn toe last week.”

Sienna slid the last glass onto the shelf. “Well, do me a favor since you’re wearing boots today. Go kick it and see if you can get it going again.”

She made a mental note to ask Henry—her unofficial, unpaid accountant—if she could get something and put it on layaway.

Frank frowned.

“Frank, I just finished paying the plumber to fix the bathroom, and the heater is—”

“You know,” Frank interrupted. “If you shimmy it with that kick, we probably could get another few weeks out of it. Forget about all that, I’ll try to fix it. The only good news is Grace’s good news.” He winked before lifting a stack of empty crates.

Sienna smiled and sighed, looking around Maloney’s.More than the plumbing and heater needed fixing. But there was a plus side to owning the only bar in a small town. With no other place to go after work, no other spot to gather on Friday and Saturday nights, patrons didn’t mind that it was more of adivebar. They ignored the stripping floors, the barstools that should have been replaced the day Sienna had bought it with her half of her father’s life insurance payout. At that point, buying the place she worked at seemed like an investment. Really, it was a money pit.

“So?” Dylan appeared at the bar, yanking Sienna from her thoughts. He widened his blue eyes as if he were waiting for something. “How was it?”

Sienna popped open a beer and handed it to him. “Good. For now, it’s good. Six months—”

“I meant the game. Saw y’all on TV. Didn’t think Gracie liked football. She’s girlier than you.”

“Guess you don’t know her too well.”

Even though Dylan Lockhart had known Sienna since high school and Grace since she was born, Sienna never gave him much of the opportunity to learn of Grace’s big heart, silliness, or stubbornness. Just because Sienna gave him a chance or three in bed after too much whiskey didn’t mean he deserved more than that. He wasn’t a bad guy. Sienna just knew he wasn’t the guy for her. But sometimes loneliness was palpable and painful.

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