Page 82 of A Dream for Daphne

“Geez,” she said. “That doesn’t inspire much faith. All I have to do is put up with your antics and she’ll like me.”

He laughed. “You’ll have to do more than that. She’s going to love you for being you. Don’t worry about it. I’m just picking.”

“Abe, don’t be rude. Stop yammering, and bring your girlfriend into the house.”

Daphne turned and saw who she assumed was Abe’s mother in the hallway with a big grin on her face.

“You heard her. Time to go in the house before she grounds me for not listening.”

Abe’s mother snorted. “Abe normally got grounded for goofing off or not listening but never for being a bad kid. He’s never done much wrong.”

“That’s good to know. I’m Daphne Allen,” she said, putting her hand out to shake.

“We hug in our family,” Carrie said. “Bring it in.”

She laughed when Abe’s mother’s arms went around her.

There was a comfort in that embrace the same as when she was holding onto Abe.

Well, not the same, but similar enough that most of the tension escaped her body in a mad rush like customers into the store when the doors opened on Black Friday.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said when Carrie finally let go of her.

“The same,” Carrie said. “Come in, though I know you’ve been here before.”

“I have. It’s a beautiful home. I would have loved to grow up in something like this.”

Not just the house itself but how welcoming Carrie seemed to be.

She didn’t know the last time her mother hugged her. Not even when she was leaving Texas to move here.

Nope, they’d had words like they always did and her mother couldn’t even wish her well, let alone give her a nice comforting parental hug.

“It was a great place to grow up,” Abe said. “Me and Easton got into more trouble here than my mother wants to admit. Why don’t we go in the back and you can meet him? You know Laurel.”

She followed Abe and his mother to the back and saw Easton and Laurel stand.

Easton came over. “You two do look alike,” she said when Easton put his hand out. “I can see where Laurel might have been confused from afar.”

There was laughter at that statement. Abe grinned. “Laurel says she feels like an idiot over that,” Easton said.

“I didn’t use those words,” Laurel said, smiling. “Nice to see you again.”

“You ended up with the right Cooke in the end,” Carrie said. “Both of you. Abe had told me about you some, Daphne, but I’d love to hear more.”

“Sure,” she said. “What would you like to know?”

“How hard it is to deal with Abe when he’s cracking jokes all the time,” Easton said. “That is what Aunt Carrie wants to know.”

“You mean like you’re doing right now?” Laurel asked. “Ignore them. How much fun is it working for Poppy? I love her and her sisters.”

Which reminded her they had the same employers.

“She’s great. I know she’s my boss and all, but she treats me like a friend. I’ve never had that with a job before.”

“It’s like that at Blossoms. Most times,” Laurel said. “They are still running a business, but if you respect them, they respect you and accept you into their fold.”

“Aster has made comments like that,” she said. She turned to Abe’s mother. “Aster is my brother, if Abe didn’t tell you that.”

---