Page 84 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

“Sorry. I did knock, but it sounded like you had your hands full in here, so I let myself in. How can I help?”

Mia’s eyes pricked again. That silly scratch must be bothering her more than she thought. “Can you help Finn get some clean clothes?”

Working together, they cleaned up the mess, changed Maggie’s bandage, and got both kids settled down in front of PB&Js for some supper.

“Thank you,” Mia said. She moved to the sink and began washing the dishes.

Cody picked up a towel and dried the cup she set into the sink. “No problem.”

“Why are you even here?” She glanced over at the kids. They were dancing their sandwiches across the plate before taking a bite. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”

“I wanted to tell you that you were right. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what you said last night. I’m going to talk to my dad soon. I’ll ask him straight up what he thinks of me.” Cody flashed her a smile as he reached for the next cup. “I feel better even having made that decision. You’re always right.”

Ha. That was a laugh. “Not always. Turns out you were right about Matt. He called and told me he was pulling out of the agreement.”

“What? When?”

“Right before both kids had a meltdown. I was getting ready to call you when…” She waved her hand in the direction of the kids’ bedroom as if that explained everything.

“I’m sorry, Mia. I know how much having Matt here meant to you.”

“It wasn’t Matt, or at least it wasn’t only him. It was the idea that someone would be in that art space. It would feel like maybe everything from my past was redeemed.” Like she had a piece of her old self left. “And now I don’t have that. And I won’t meet my quota.” Her heartbeat ramped up.

Cody opened his mouth then shut it again. Then he took a deep breath and said, “How about we get on the phone right now with Mrs. Harper? She was the last name on the short list, right? We could see if she’s still interested.”

“No. It’s too late. We don’t have enough time to get her on board.”

“Mia, this is worth a try.”

His soft pleading went straight to her heart. “Fine. Let’s call her.” Frankly, at this point she’d even beg.

After checking on Maggie and Finn, who had moved on to eating mandarin orange slices, Mia dialed Jocelyn Harper. She put the phone on speaker and held it between them.

“Hello, Mrs. Harper? This is Mia Franklin. I’m wondering if you are still interested in the offer to relocate to Jonathon Island?”

“Oh!” There was a rustle on the other end of the phone, then they heard Mrs. Harper say quietly, “It’s the JI council. They want to know if we’re still interested.” A rumble came over the phone as someone answered her. Another rustle and then her voice came clearly again. “I’m definitely interested. But my husband needs to talk over some things with someone before we sign anything.”

She widened her eyes at Cody. “I’d be happy to answer any questions he has. Feel free to put him on the phone.”

“Oh, no. He wants to meet in person. He says he has to look someone in the eye to see if they are a good person to do business with. He has a sixth sense about these things.”

“The town council meets tomorrow, Mrs. Harper. They can arrange a video call for you. In fact, they will probably insist on it.” She glanced at the kids. Still eating peacefully. Thank God for minor miracles. “I don’t think anyone can meet you in person before that. We have the forms all set up online for you to sign.”

“My husband doesn’t trust online forms. Isn’t there any way we can do this in person?”

“You could come on the ferry in the morning?” Mia’s shoulders tensed.

Another rumble, then, “I’m sorry, we can’t come tomorrow. Can someone come here tonight?”

Maybe? Mia glanced at the clock. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. The last ferry had already left for the day. “I’m sorry. That’s just not possible.” She put a hand to her forehead. “The soonest anyone can meet with you is the day after tomorrow.” It might not save her house, but she’d committed to doing a good job for Dani. And that meant filling all of the businesses even after they’d foreclosed on her house. Mia made arrangements with the Harpers to meet them at their home and then hung up.

Fatigue rumbled through her body. All of her muscles gave way, and she slumped into a chair. “I guess that’s that.”

“Mia.” Cody sat next to her and took her hand. “I’m sure the council will give you an extension. Especially if they know the Harpers are still interested.”

“I guess they might, but I doubt it. And what then? I’m just fooling myself to think I can make a go of it on island. I need to get practical and move somewhere I can have a real, paying job. Something that keeps the roof over my kids’ heads.” It was time to face facts. She would need to say goodbye to her little house on Lilac Lane.

“What if I go over to the Harpers tonight?”

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