Page 14 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

“I’ll text Dani. Maybe she can come and free us.” She swiped at her phone then tapped out a message. A moment later he heard an answering ding. “She’ll be over in a minute.”

A heartbeat passed.

The silence was broken by a chuckle from Mia.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking about the story Troy would have told about this. He would have made it long and complicated and full of danger.” Mia swiped at her eye. Sad, or just from the laugh? A pang seized his heart. He was the cause either way.

“His storytelling was part of what made him such a great fisherman; he fit straight into the stereotype,” Cody agreed. “His tall tales made every sunfish into a five-foot sturgeon.”

“It sure was.” Mia’s mouth curved into a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for what? Locking you in here and making you late?”

She laughed. “No, thank you for keeping me calm when I freak out for no reason. For being a good friend to me all these years, especially the last few.”

Friend. The word held the same taste it always did when applied to Mia. Not quite right, a bit sour, but still sweet. Because if friendship was all he could ever have with her, he’d take it just to have her in his life.

“Always.”

She lifted her gaze to him, fully meeting his eyes. His mouth dried.

Two small bodies barreled into them at the same time as Dani opened the door from the outside.

“Auntie Dani!” Finn pushed past them and grabbed Dani around the knees. “We found a secret room!”

“Did you?” Dani looked from Cody to Mia and back again. “Why didn’t you guys just use the back door?”

“It’s swollen shut,” they spoke at the same time. Mia swallowed.

“It’s still on my list to fix,” Cody said. And he would be doing that in a minute, once everyone cleared out.

“You know how to do that?” Mia looked surprised. Her statement jabbed him like a fishing spear straight through the heart. He’d been doing odd jobs at her house for the past two years. Did she really not notice his skills? “My front door sometimes swells shut at home,” Mia said. “I have no idea what to do about it.”

How had he missed that? “I can come take a look at it, if you want.”

Mia moved past him and out to the sidewalk. She laid a hand on Maggie’s head. “Would you? That would be amazing. It seems to get stuck whenever I have my hands full of everything.” The tilt of her head toward her kids at the word “everything” and the wry smile made him chuckle.

He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms. “Sure, I’ll stop by later this week.”

The group headed away from him. He watched them walk away for a minute, trying to swallow back the longing. Overhead, a cloud passed over the sun and he shivered.

He turned back to finish his tasks in the empty gallery. The sooner he finished, the sooner he’d get paid. Time to focus on a dream he actually had a chance at achieving.

Chapter Three

Was there more air outside than normal?

Mia’s relief at being freed from the store with Cody seemed all out of proportion. After all, she knew it was only a few moments before rescue, and she knew that Dani wouldn’t really mind if she was a few minutes late for their coffee date. And finally, she knew that Cody was a safe person to be stuck with.

Then why the sense of being able to breathe so much easier once the door was unstuck? She shook off the thought. Right now, she needed to concentrate on her kids and her conversation with Dani.

And somehow work up the courage to ask for a job.

Because Dani was her last hope.

Finn and Maggie skipped down the sidewalk in front of her and Dani. Well, Finn skipped. Maggie performed a little stumble hop on her chubby toddler legs. The bobble on her fuzzy purple hat danced with her antics. Even after the snow melted, Mia hadn’t been able to convince her toddler to put the winter hat away.

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