Page 74 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

The subdued noises of a library on a weekday morning surrounded her. Mia had met Evie here earlier and promised to watch Evie’s kids during story time.

A roll of laughter rang out from the nook where several island kids gathered around Allean Meyer, the librarian. As per usual, the short, slim woman wore a funny hat—one shaped like a giant teacup today—and sat in a chair the kids had dubbed “the reading throne.” Once again, Mia shot a word of thanks heavenward that the public library stayed open year-round. Keeping two small children entertained without resorting to YouTube all the time proved to be a full-time task. Story time at the library became the highlight of their week.

She ran a thumb along the edge of the papers again. All her hard work from the past few weeks in a neat stack. She ought to be thrilled.

Except it wasn’t good enough.

She needed one more business filled to keep her own from foreclosure. Her deadline, highlighted in red on her phone calendar app, was only a few days away. She’d gone through all of the eligible applicants, posted several new videos, and sent the information about the opportunity to any contact she could think of. But no one was interested in the last slot.

Another wave of laughter drifted her way, Finn’s loudest in the crowd of under-fives. She wanted to put her fingers in her ears. Her chest grew tight at the thought of taking Finn and Maggie away from here. Tighter still at the thought of moving away herself.

She glanced at the Cat in the Hat clock on the wall. Story time would run another ten minutes. She could use the computer until then.

A few minutes later, she spotted Evie coming across the room. She quickly minimized the search she had up and spun in her chair to greet her sister.

“Thank you for keeping the kids today. I know you have a lot going on.” Her sister twirled her hand in the air as though to say ‘with all this’.

“Somehow, adding a few to the mix can sometimes be easier. They entertain each other,” Mia said. She put her elbows on the desk in front of her, knocking the mouse to the side. All of the searches she had minimized sprang to life again on the screen.

“What is this?” Evie stepped closer to the computer, peering at the photos of apartments as though they were hieroglyphics.

Mia slapped at the mouse, but too late.

“Are you going to move?”

“Keep your voice down,” Mia said. “I haven’t talked about it with the kids yet.”

“Why in the world are you thinking about moving away?” Evie’s voice pitched higher.

The tightness in her chest squeezed harder. She blinked rapidly against a pricking in her eyes. “I failed on this job for Dani. I couldn’t meet the quota.”

Evie put her arm around Mia’s shoulder. “You’re not a failure. Everyone knows how hard you’ve worked on this project.” Evie paused. “I know you don’t want to ask Mom and Dad for help, but?—”

“That is so not going to happen. I told you that already.” She crossed her arms. The library air conditioning kicked on, and a cold breeze fluttered the edges of her shirt sleeves.

Evie swiveled Mia’s chair and looked her in the eyes. “It was worth a try. But if you’re not going to ask Mom and Dad for help, at least you can ask God.”

Mia’s heart thumped.

No one judges you for your past except you.Cody’s words echoed in her heart for the thousandth time since he’d said them to her.I don’t think your parents are judging you…They’re super proud of you.

“Cody said something similar to me. He’s on your side about Mom and Dad too.” Mia began packing her work away.

“I can see you’re done with this conversation, but at least promise me you will talk to me before you make any decisions about moving. And talk to God about it too.” Evie handed her a stack of papers from the edge of the desk.

Mia nabbed them from her and added them to the stack. “Fine. I promise.”

“So. Cody?”

“We’ve been spending time together.” Her face warmed as she recalled exactly how they’d spent their time a few nights ago.

Evie’s face softened.

“It’s natural for us to spend time together, you know.” Mia put her hands on her hips. Except, why was she denying her feelings for him to Evie, one of her best friends and confidant ever since they were kids? She put her hands down. “The truth is, I don’t know what is up with us. I…kissed him. And then he took me on a super romantic date.”

“What?” Evie’s squeal drew some attention from the library patrons in the magazine section.

“Shh. It’s the library.” Mia resisted rolling her eyes. Barely.

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