Page 12 of Meet Me on Blueberry Hill

The open four-wheeled carriage with the two bench seats for passengers and rigid canopy had been one of the first that his grandparents had used when they opened their tour business over seventy years ago.

Now the aged beauty was nothing more than a relic of the past.

But what if it didn’t have to be?

His eyes roved over the solid lines and curves of the body as an idea took shape. If he could get his family’s carriage business up and running again, then maybe he could pay his aunt and uncle back for their kindness of the past year and give them a reason to want to return to the island.

That would mean he’d have to find a new place to crash, but he’d worry about that later.

His phone chimed, signaling a video call.

He groaned and fished it out of his front pocket. His cousin’s face appeared on the screen. He accepted the call. “What up, Busy Lizzie?”

She made a face as she twisted her dark brown hair into some sort of knot on the top of her head and jammed a pencil to hold it in place. “Ugh, don’t call me that. You’re the only one who could get away with it, you know. You and…well, you.”

The catch in her voice did little to settle the tightening in Asher’s gut.

She’d been about to say Jared.

“Sorry, hello, Eliza Jo Quinn. How may I be of service?” He rolled his hand and bowed at the waist.

“Weirdo.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “To be honest, I can’t believe you actually answered the phone.”

“Maybe I missed you and wanted to hear your voice.”

“Missed me like a hangnail, maybe. More like you’re tired of listening to yourself talk to Gus and Ginger.” She folded her arms on the desk. Behind her, the city skyline lay in the shadows of the late morning sunshine.

“Did you just call to bust my chops?” He strode out of the barn and grabbed his water bottle off the chopping block. “I have work to do.”

“Yes, you do lead a very busy life these days.”

“Not all of us can sit in cushy offices and create social media memes for a living.” He guzzled half the bottle, wiped a hand across his mouth, then turned his attention back to his cousin. “How’s life being an assistant to our world-famous author auntie these days?”

“Aunt Sally works very hard, and you know it. She deserves everything she’s achieved.”

“I never said she didn’t. She’s just a bit…opinionated about it.”

“That’s because you don’t like anyone telling you want to do.”

There was that.

“Where were you, by the way? Looked as dark as a tomb.”

“I was in the barn.” Squinting against the sun, Asher jerked a thumb over his shoulder, then rested an elbow on the split-rail fence. “So, what’s up? Seriously. You don’t call to chat.”

She paused a moment, which wasn’t like his chatty cousin. “Mom called.”

“Okay…”

“She and Dad are heading home.”

Asher straightened and glanced back at the barn where the carriage sat shrouded in shadows. “Home? As in back on island?”

“Of course. Not all of us have houses on three continents.”

He let the dig slide. “Do you know when?”

“I think they plan to be home by the end of the month or something like that. Mom doesn’t want to miss some concert in the park. Know what she’s talking about?”

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