Page 89 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

Okay. That eliminated one more choice. She did some quick calculations. If she worked part-time, and maybe even got back into the realty business with its flexible hours, she might be able to afford something larger. But how was she going to find childcare?

She looked down at Finn and Maggie. They smiled up at her. Even if she could find a job, childcare, and a place to live, and those were some mighty big ifs, how could she take them away from their family and the island that they all loved? If she lived on the mainland, there was no way she’d be able to afford to take the ferry crossing as often as she wanted.

She thought of the empty bedrooms in her parents’ house. Evie’s words about having a conversation with her dad came to mind, and she tightened a fist. Scrawling some numbers out on a paper, she estimated how long it would take to save for a down payment on a better place.

She dialed her mom’s cell phone. “Hi, Mom. Can I come over?” For her children’s sake, she would put aside her pride and become the proverbial prodigal.

Putting the kids in the bike trailer made for them, Mia rehearsed what she would say to her dad. Finn and Maggie jabbered the whole way there. Their happy voices turned her resolution into steel.

A mile of hard biking and her parents’ house with its sweeping porch and turrets came into view. She knew when the weather warmed, her mom would hang baskets of flowers along the porch, and her dad would drag the Adirondack chairs out of storage. She shook off the memories of this place she hadn’t called home in years. She was here for her children. Not because she belonged.

Sure, she’d been back many times, but always with a buffer of other people. Today she was on her own.

Mom opened the door. She gave Mia a quick embrace. “Dad’s in his study. I’ll take care of these two.” Mia rested a hand on each child’s head briefly before they ran off to the kitchen where they knew Grandma would have a treat.

Mia walked down the hall toward her dad. Along the wall hung pictures of the whole Jonathon family. It felt like walking through time. She started with their baby pictures and then she and her siblings grew up over the course of school photos, a few family portraits thrown in here and there. Evie’s wedding photo marked the change into a new generation. Mia paused at the last family photo with all of them in it.

Taken right before she’d left for college, the family appeared perfect in every way. Too bad she’d spoiled all of that less than a year later.

She moved on. No photo of her courthouse wedding graced the wall. But here were Finn and then Maggie as scrunched-up babies. Then more of all the cousins.

Too soon, Mia reached her destination. She hadn’t been in her dad’s study since the night almost five years ago when she’d broken the news that Finn was on the way. It hadn’t changed since then. A faint smell of leather and sandalwood hung in the air. She rubbed her damp hands along her pant leg.

Her dad sat at his desk. She hesitated in the doorway until he turned to her. A smile lit his face. His thick, salt and pepper hair framed a face with more wrinkles than she remembered. Was he getting old? How had she not noticed that? They hadn’t spent much time together lately, but still. You should know if your dad is getting old.

“Hey kiddo!” He still had the same booming voice. “Mom said you were coming by.”

“Hi, Dad.” She crossed to him. He rose and gave her a hug. Her arms stayed stiffly by her side.

“Let’s sit over here.” He led her to the two leather chairs framing the wall of bookshelves. “I heard Cody was out on the lake last night. I’m glad he made it home safely. That’s a relief. I like that kid.”

“Yes. He weathered the worst of the storm.” The thought of Cody poked her heart again, so she shoved it away. That was over now.

Her dad must have noticed the look on her face. His grin dropped away. “This doesn’t seem like a pleasure visit. What can I do for you?”

Mia twisted her fingers together. “Dad, I know things haven’t been great between us, but I was wondering if you would allow me to move home for a while.”

“You want to move home? I thought you liked your house? Lilac Lane is a pretty part of town.”

“I—I can’t afford to live there anymore.” She gripped her cold hands together as she outlined how Troy’s insurance had been eaten away and then their meager savings. “As you obviously know, I had that deal with the city and the development committee to pay off my mortgage with a dollar.” She breathed deep. She could do this. “But I didn’t meet my quota.”

“I heard that the council voted against paying off your mortgage but…” His face creased. “That means you’re losing your house? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought you would have found out by now.” She shrugged. Maybe her money problems weren’t as much of a source of gossip as she thought.

“I knew about the deal, but I never suspected it was out of necessity. I thought you used Troy’s insurance policy to keep paying for the mortgage.”

“I did for a while, but his policy was so small…The kids and I have been living off the rest.” Did she have to repeat herself?

Her dad reached out a hand to her but let it drop to his knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how hard it has been for you. Why didn’t you come to us before?”

“You’ve never approved of anything I’ve done, from marrying Troy to any of the decisions I’ve made since then. I guess I just didn’t want to disappoint you again.” She laughed without joy. “Look how that turned out.”

“Honey, it was never about disapproving of your choices. Was I surprised when you got pregnant? Sure. I didn’t handle that very well, and I’m sorry for that.” He reached out to her again, but she didn’t reciprocate. “I should have told you that you are loved unconditionally and the choices you made and the baby, Finn, who was a result of those choices, didn’t change the fact that I love you, and I always will.”

Tears pricked at her eyes. “You turned away from me.”

“What do you mean?”

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