Page 33 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

He grimaced. Since when had he been so dissatisfied? This single life wasn’t a new development. He was used to it.

Really.

He spun on his heel and walked out of the shop. After locking up, he dug out his cell phone and called Lily.

“Hey, big brother!” He could practically hear the sunshine in her voice. He wondered if that Florida sun had bleached her already blonde hair any lighter.

“Florida still treating you okay?”

She hesitated, then, “Yeah. It’s going fine. Why?”

“Hold on.” He tucked his earbuds into his ears and his phone back into his pocket before zipping up his jacket. The evening breeze coming in off the lake bit his exposed hands and nose. “I was just in Hart Family Fudge and was thinking about you.”

“What? Why were you thinking about me?”

“I was remembering all the good times we had there. Then I thought, maybe you should come home and reopen the place. There’s a push right now to revitalize the businesses downtown?—”

“I don’t think so, Cody.”

“Why not?” To his left, the late sunlight winked off the choppy lake water. He turned around and started walking on the boardwalk toward home.

“I’ve made a life for myself here. Besides, I’m on the verge of something big at my current company.”

“Aren’t you a glorified gopher?” Despite completing culinary school with an emphasis in candy making, she’d been an apprentice under the same guy for years without any promotion.

“Hey! I still get to make candy. But yeah, Roger does like to remind us that he’s in charge and we are lucky to be in his orbit.” She snorted. “But someday soon, I’m gonna knock his socks off with a new recipe, and then it’ll be my turn. Just you wait.”

“I don’t doubt it. You’re brilliant in the kitchen, Lil. I’m sorry Roger’s failed to see your potential.” His footsteps sounded hollow on the boardwalk.

“Everyone has to pay their dues. That’s just how it works.”

“Okay, but you always talked about being the next great thing in fudge on Jonathon Island.”

“Things don’t always go the way you think they will when you’re in high school. You of all people should know that. Hold on, I’m getting in my car and putting you on speaker.”

He heard the rustle of the car door, the grumble of her engine starting, and then the echo of the speakerphone. “Can you hear me now?” he teased.

She laughed. “You’re good to go. Sorry, I was just leaving my shift and didn’t want to stand in the parking lot having this conversation.”

“I get that. And you have a valid point. Plans change after high school.” He walked past the ferry dock. Normally the port bustled with activity this close to Memorial Day, but now, it was like a ghost town. Maybe Lily was the smart one. Building a life off this island. But if Dani’s plan worked…

“I know. I’m always right. Speaking of making a life for ourselves, what’s the news on your boat?”

He filled her in on the part he was still waiting for. “I might have a bigger problem though.” He hunched his shoulders into the wind that kicked up. “Dad is saying he won’t sell me the fishing license. He might sell it to an outfit on the mainland instead.”

“What?” A rustle came through the phone line. “Sorry, I almost dropped the phone getting it onto the holder. Dad can’t be serious. That license is a big deal. If he gives it up, there’s no guarantee you will get one for yourself.”

“I know.” That thought had kept him up more than one night since the argument.

“You have to get him to give it to you. Or at the least, sell it to you.” Her voice had risen an octave.

“Sorry, sis, I don’t think anyone has ever gotten Dad to do something he didn’t want to do. Maybe not even Mom.” He’d reached his shop and reached out to unlock the door.

“Mom! Great idea. Get her on your side. Dad will never have a chance.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s already on my side. You should have seen her face when he said he was giving up the license.” He’d only ever seen that look once before, shortly after the boating accident when Dad told her that Steve, and then Troy, had succumbed to their wounds. A stark grief.

“Well, when I come home, all three of us can work on him.”

---