Page 51 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

He smiled to himself and tucked the phone back into his pocket. His sister’s words made him pause. What if he was brave enough to pursue Mia? To tell her that not only did he used to have feelings for her…but still did? Had never stopped, really.

Picking up both kids like two sacks of potatoes, he marched back to his bunk room. “Finn, let’s see if my shampoo works on engine grease.”

Yep. Whiplash. But the best kind.

Chapter Nine

Okay. This was her time to shine. Mia sat with Dani, Martha, Janine, and other members of the town council around the conference table at the tourism center. They had scheduled video calls for today and planned to put all the fancy tech invested in this room through its paces.

Mia hadn’t known what to expect the night before when she picked her kids up from Cody’s. But they looked great—all smiles. Finn said something about being a football player, and Maggie babbled nonstop about the big boat. They both smelled faintly of cedar and eucalyptus and engine oil. A scent she usually associated with Cody, actually. They were clean and full and tired and had gone right to bed with just one story.

It was a little like a miracle.

She’d hoped to pick up the conversation with Cody from earlier, but with the kids being ready for bed, it hadn’t been the right time.

Today, she had taken the kids over to Evie’s house in Port Joseph where they would spend the night. She’d breathed a sigh of relief on her crossing. Just like every time she’d taken the ferry since Troy’s death, she’d been tense the whole time, but the boat made the trip without a hitch.

In preparation for this meeting, Mia had prepared slide shows, one for each candidate. Sure, they were trying to see if these applicants were a good fit for the program, but they were also trying to entice them to choose Jonathon Island. A mutual wooing, as it were. She’d shown the presentation to the council and received mostly approved nods, though Martha’s face hadn’t given away many of her thoughts.

The computer blooped with the video chat connecting noise, and they all turned their attention to the screen.

Mia gripped her hands together before wiping them on her pants.

Dani led the first part of the discussion with Meredith Olson and her husband. They hoped to open a bakery specializing in treats made with Michigan blueberries.

Each of the other members of the group had a chance to ask a few questions, and then it was Mia’s turn. “I’ve prepared a few slides to show you the store space I think would be perfect for you, it used to be a pizzeria, as well as a house that fits your requests.” She’d gone around taking photos of all the homes and businesses.

Onscreen, Meredith nodded, a smile cresting her lips. So far so good.

“Let me just share the screen.” Mia moved to the computer, past Patrick, and sat next to Dani. She clicked a few buttons, and a photo of Finn and Maggie filled the screen.

“That doesn’t look like a house,” Meredith said, her voice dry.

Mia heated. “Sorry. Sorry. Just a second.” She clicked into the correct program and the old Island Pizzeria popped up. “This is the place I thought you might like to rent.” She ran them through the specs ending with, “Of course you are free to bring your own equipment, but the previous owners left a few things behind.” She loaded a photo of a huge Hobart mixer.

“I’m prepared to offer a very low rent,” her dad’s voice rumbled from across the table.

“Yes, we understand that.” Meredith looked at her husband. Their faces, projected on the screen, revealed nothing of their thoughts. “Can we see the houses please?”

Mia clicked to the next part of the presentation. “This home on Poppy Lane has been recently refurbished.” She noted with pride the changes Cody had made to the space. Everything looked beautiful. She clicked through a few more slides, doing her best to sound like a competent real estate agent.

“I’m sorry,” Meredith interrupted. “Did you say there are only two bedrooms?”

“Yes, many of the houses we are offering only have two bedrooms.” Mia’s pulse rate spiked. “These are all older homes. Some even have historic value.”

Meredith sniffed. “We have two children. We will need more than two bedrooms.”

“Aren’t they both daughters?” Mia realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. Of course, Meredith wouldn’t want her daughters to share, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked for something bigger.

The room grew heavy with silence as everyone stared at Mia. She thought quickly over the other options. “Okay. I can show you one with three rooms.” She maneuvered to another presentation. This meant she’d have to scramble to fit in a new house for the other candidate. “This one has three lovely rooms and a wraparound porch.” She concentrated on the photos, pointing out the benefits of the home. Around her the silence grew thicker.

She glanced up at the screen. Oh.

Meredith sat back in her chair, arms crossed, a grim look on her face. “This one won’t work either. We need a bigger yard for the dog.”

Mia swallowed hard. Her first call and she was already failing. “All of the houses with three bedrooms have the same size yard.”

“So, you’re saying it’s choose a yard or choose more bedrooms?”

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