Page 83 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

Sitting on the couch, cocooned in an afghan her grandma had knitted her, she gazed at the devotional in her hands. Had she comprehended a single word? Nope.

Yesterday’s boating adventure, out on Lake Huron, Cody at the wheel, had been fun. Until it wasn’t. Mia wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. She closed her eyes tight against the memory of Maggie’s face covered in blood. Nope. More vivid that way. She pushed the thought aside, opting instead to remember the tender moments afterward with the kids and Cody.

In fact, she should probably take some of her own words to heart.Are you saying to get over myself?Cody’s words drifted through her mind. Huh. Maybe she needed to cut herself some slack too. We all make mistakes. She certainly didn’t have the time or energy to dwell on the past right now. Because by the end of the week, the storm would hit.

Tomorrow would be the day the town council made their final decisions about the last of the businesses moving to Jonathon Island. After the meet and greet, they’d extended several contracts, but still had spots to fill. She’d set up interviews for a few more people, working with Dani every step of the way. She had no doubt they would all be approved, and her quota would be fully met, but after tomorrow, her life would be busy with getting the final preparations finished for the new people, then helping everyone move in and settle down.

Not to mention receiving her paid-in-full notice from the bank. The minute she had that paperwork in hand she planned to have a bonfire and burn that mortgage statement.

Her heart lifted at the thought.

Not having a mortgage would mean that she wasn’t dependent on someone else for her children’s home. It would make all the difference in their lives, and hers. She could even start thinking about the future. She still needed to make money somehow. Real estate? The last few weeks had been so intense she hadn’t been able to spend a whole lot of time thinking about how exactly she would provide for her kids.

Speaking of children, she really should get moving on something for supper. She needed to check Maggie’s stitches too.

While unwrapping herself from her blanket, she noticed a missed call notification light up her phone. Weird. The phone lay next to her the whole time she fought to concentrate on her daily devotional. Why hadn’t the phone made a noise? Probably time to add buying a new one to her list. She might be able to afford one after her mortgage was paid off. She swiped open the voicemail.

“Hey, Mia,”Matt said, voice tinny on the recording.“Listen, I have some bad news for you. Good news for me though…I’ve received an offer to share a studio space in Boston. The other artist works with sculpture, so her style and mine complement each other well without being direct competition.”

Mia’s fingers and toes grew numb while her head heated as Matt’s words began to sink in. He described how sorry he was and ended with“I wish things had worked out there on Jonathon Island, but in the end, I have to do what is best for my career, and Boston is it.”

The voicemail ended, and Mia stood in her living room and stared at the silent phone.

Matt was backing out. That meant that even if everyone was approved tomorrow, she was still short of her quota.

Fumbling, she dialed his number.

“Matt, please don’t do this.”

“Hello to you too, Mia.” She could hear water and an engine on Matt’s end of the line.

“Tell me you’re joking about leaving Jonathon Island.” Okay, so she was a little desperate, but come on, it was her kids’ home and future on the line. An image of the apartments she could afford flashed into her mind. Not good.

Matt sighed. “Look, Mia, the truth is, I saw your video and remembered the good times we had in college. I did a little digging and saw that your husband wasn’t in the picture anymore. I was checking out some new spots to relocate to and thought, two birds with one stone, you know?” He paused and the silence grew long and taut. “When it was obvious you weren’t into me—sorry, I know that sounds like I’m full of myself, but it’s the truth—I decided it would be better to move on.”

“You won’t move here because I won’t date you?” Mia pulled the phone from her ear and looked at it. She put the phone back to her ear. “That doesn’t make any sense. Are you serious right now? We can still work together in a platonic relationship.”

Matt was silent for a long moment. He cleared his throat. “You maybe can, but I can’t. You were the only reason I would have chosen Jonathon Island. I took my shot and lost.” She pictured him on the other end of the line, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “Now I need to move on. Look me up sometime in Boston. I wish you well, Mia. I truly do.”

He hung up and Mia stared at the phone again. Great. Just great.

Her legs gave way, and she dropped into the chair behind her. A spring gave out with a twang. The sharp end poked through the fabric and scratched the back of her leg. The pain was minimal, but tears sprang into her eyes.

From their bedroom, Maggie began crying.

“Mom!” Finn’s voice quavered. “Maggie still has an owie.”

Mia ran a hand over her wet eyes. She straightened her shoulders and heaved herself out of the chair. No time to check if her scratch was bleeding as Maggie’s cries became more insistent. “I’m coming, guys.”

In the bedroom, she was greeted with the pungent odor of ammonia. She looked at Finn. He sat on his bed, eyes on his lap. Oh, buddy. Finn hadn’t wet the bed in two years. These past few days must have overwhelmed him.

Maggie stood on her bed, her wailing getting louder and louder. Mia picked her up and spoke to Finn. “It’s no big deal, honey. Let’s get you cleaned up and your bedding changed.” She shushed Maggie, brushing her hair back from her hot, red face. “Okay, Mags. You’re okay. We’ll get you a new Band-Aid when we get Finn’s bed taken care of.” She set her daughter down, but Maggie cried louder.

“Hold Mama,” she sobbed.

Mia scooped her back into her arms and looked to Finn. “Can you get yourself some clean clothes? I’ll strip your bed, then we can all go into the bathroom.”

Arms full of a sweaty, still-crying Maggie and a load of damp sheets and blankets, Mia stepped into the hallway and collided with something. Cody stood there, a sheepish look on his face.

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