Page 131 of Lemon Crush

“Yvonne. I didn’t know you were coming.”

Wade’s seventy-year-old stepmother flung her hands in the air, the colorful bracelets on her wrists clicking together. “Flew in this afternoon. I guess it’s yesterday afternoon now. I had a feeling today was the day. Or Phoebe did when I called and she mentioned having twinges in her back. That’s always a telltale sign. I got here as fast as I could.”

“I’m so glad,” I told her. Yvonne was older now, but she’d hardly changed since she and my mother hung out together in the evenings, drinking wine and trying to read each other’s auras. She still wore her favorite turquoise earrings and her hair in a braid, though it was pure silver now. In her sleeveless sundress, she was a snapshot of my childhood come to life. “It’s really great to see you.”

She took both my hands, her smile turning somber. “I didn’t get the chance to talk to you at Sam’s send-off. You weresurrounded by well-wishers and dark clouds, and I knew there would be hard times ahead. You and your mother were connected on a higher level, through a dozen lifetimes, so it was to be expected. But look at you now. You’ve got some color in your cheeks like you just got laid, and I see good things on the horizon. Bernie’s been talking about you and this race of yours every time I call. I’ll be coming back to cheer you two on from the stands.”

She lived a nine-hour drive away in Marfa, an extremely small-town famous for mysterious lights in the sky, art and hot springs. And, apparently, witchy nudity?

I smiled, squeezing her hands before letting them go. “That would be great. And you look good too.”

She guffawed. “I look old, but you’re still as sweet as ever. Will you help Todd out with the drinks and snacks while I go and give my boy a great big hug?”

“Of course.”

Todd was standing at the counter and staring at the coffee pot like it might hold the answers to the universe.

“Hey, buddy,” I said when he didn’t snap out of it in a timely manner. “How are you doing over there?”

He blinked and looked at me. “August? When did you get here?”

Really? He hadn’t noticed I was right behind him, having an entire conversation with Yvonne? “I came in to get a few coffees. Is there anything I can help you with?”

When he turned to face me, his hands in his pants pockets, I was struck again with how button-cute he was for a college art professor. If you ignored his red rimmed eyes, mussed blond hair and the slightly insane glaze over his expression, you could mistake him for a lost member of the boy band One Direction.

They’re not boys anymore.

Let me have my illusions.

“Actually, yes, you can,” he said, his eyes lighting up with a sudden fervor that made me take a step back.

I waited for him to continue, and when he didn’t, I wondered if this was what I looked like when I got a story idea mid-conversation. “Howcan I help you, Todd?” I prompted.

“A few months ago, Phoebe told me you were thinking about selling your house.” He stepped toward me and took both my hands. His skin somehow felt feverish and clammy at the same time. “I want to buy it. It hit me tonight that I’ve been so busy trying to get her to marry me before the baby comes, I didn’t realize how unsuitable my off-campus apartment is for raising a child. There are hazards everywhere I look, August. We obviously can’t stay here forever. Phoebe needs a home of her own, and I’d live with her anywhere, as long as she was happy.”

His smile was shaky but hopeful as I stared at him. He must have thought I was listening closely instead of slipping into shock.

“Phoebe loves you and your family so much,” he went on. “And the pool. She’s giving birth in a pool, and she always said she wanted a pool like yours. I’d pay full price, and if we lived there, we’d leave the apartment open for you whenever you wanted to come visit us or your sister. It’s the perfect solution. I should have thought of it sooner.”

“I meant, did you need any help with the snacks,” I clarified weakly. Phoebe was shouting in the living room again, but I was too dumbfounded to react.

Todd was offering to buy my house. Right now. When I’d just started to consider staying and asked Wade to live with me.

If he’d approached me a few months ago I would have said yes. Giving my goddaughter a place to raise her child? That would have seemed like a sign from the universe that leaving was the right thing to do.

But everything had changed now. I wasn’t even tempted toconsider it, which was something I’d really need to think about later. What did I say to him?

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Todd, but this might not be the best time to have this discussion. Why don’t we focus on Phoebe tonight and you can iron out all those other details later?”

“Sure, of course. You’re right. I’m just…” He lifted his hands to mimic an exploding head and I nodded. I didn’t blame him.

“August.”

We both turned to see Wade standing in the kitchen doorway, a pale and sweaty Morgan at his side.

“Sorry, I was aiming for our coffee, but I got sidetracked several times.” I took a closer look at my sister, who was actually leaning heavily against him and starting to turn a little green. “Uh-oh. I think we need to trade off, Wade.”

“What?”

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