Page 32 of Starting Over with You
who said she’s sorry? She’s only cleaning up her messes.
Ash
LOL Mom is a hoot.
Skyye
*sends attachment.*
Ash
why is her head in the toilet?
Flint
what’s wrong now!
Skyye
she got sick cleaning the puke out of the hat.
Skyye
can’t tell if you guys realize this, but we’re having a blast.
Flint
LOL good.
Ash
Jesus, hydrate that woman and send me a link to Dean’s favorite hat place.
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
Kenni
I’m still queasy as I walk toward the police department. After making sure the kids I hired to clean Dean’s truck did a good job, I put his freshly cleaned hat on the dash and made my getaway without anyone seeing me.
Thank God for Google and my precious niece, or none of that would have happened.
As I make my way through town, I’m hit with a wave of nostalgia I wasn’t ready for. This is my home, my safe space. The hot Tennessee air may be suffocating me, but for the first time in nineteen years, I can breathe. The little town of Thistlebrook is stunning all year-round. The mountains are an incredible backdrop, and the smell of cedar and pine adds to the ambiance. So much has changed, but so much is still the same. There are more businesses—new clothing stores, and we have a candy shop now. Noelle’s is bustling with customers, and there is a line out the door of the outdoors shop. Tourists are out in droves for our trails.
As I take a turn off Main Street, I take in the breathtaking steelstructure that is the Ice Thistle. I have a meeting with Jett and Fable Cook tomorrow to pitch my services. Missy and Sadie have gotten me all kinds of interviews with folks wanting my services. It’s exciting, for sure. I’ve hit the ground running, which is the only way I know how to do things. I am a doer, a get-shit-done kind of gal, and I’m going to do that here. I am going to make the best life imaginable.
I never should have left, but if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have the boys.
When I walk into the police station, my dad’s longtime assistant, Tammy, squeals when her green eyes fall on me. My grin takes up my whole face as we embrace and hug each other tightly. There was many a day when Tammy kept Missy and me when Dad was working late. She would make us food and get us gifts for holidays. She’s always been in our lives, and being in her arms has me all in my feelings. I hug her tightly as I murmur, “I have missed these hugs.”
She squeezes me tightly. “Me too, my sweet girl. How are you?”
“I’m good,” I lie. I feel like shit, and I’ve come home with my tail between my legs after a failed marriage. But hey, I got puke out of a cowboy hat. “Doing big things.”
“Always,” she gushes, cupping my cheeks. “You’re stunning, Kenleigh. Always been the prettiest girl in Thistlebrook.”
My face warms from the praise as I wave her off. “Me? Look at you! I’m pretty sure you haven’t aged since I left.”
