Page 111 of Protect My Heart
‘Talk to her right now,’ Dad says. ‘What are you waiting for?’
I leave his room and return to the waiting area where I find Mia talking to Lyndsay.
‘Mia, we need to go,’ I say. ‘Hey, Lyndsay.’
‘Hey.’ She smiles at me. ‘What are you so happy about?’
My excitement must show on my face.
‘I’ll tell you later.’ I take Mia’s hand. ‘C’mon. We need to go home and talk.’
‘Um, okay,’ she says. ‘Bye, Lyndsay.’
‘Bye!’
When we get outside, Mia asks why I’m in such a hurry. I don’t tell her. I want to wait until we’re home where we can discuss this without being interrupted.
‘Would you please tell me what’s going on?’ Mia says the moment we get in the house.
‘Do you like it here?’
‘Where? This house?’
‘This town. Haydon Falls.’
‘Yes. I love it. It’s beautiful.’
‘So if we could stay here, you would?’
‘Definitely. But we can’t, so why are we talking about this?’
‘I think we should move your parents here.’
She doesn’t say anything as she slowly walks to the couch and sits down.
‘I’m not saying we have to. I was just thinking there isn’t really a reason they need to stay in Boston, is there?’
Mia’s staring straight ahead, looking lost in thought. ‘I can’t believe I never even considered that.’
‘I know, right?’ I go to the couch and sit next to her. ‘This whole time it’s been an option and nobody thought of it.’
‘I just assumed because their house is there and because they’re from there that they couldn’t leave. But they’re going to have to sell the house. My dad can’t live in a house with stairs.’
‘What do you think of this one?’ I get out my phone and show her the house Matt told me about.
Mia gasps. ‘It’s perfect.’ Her eyes light up as I flip through the photos. ‘My dad would love the brick on the outside. And Mom would love the built-ins in the dining room. And thatkitchen looks like the one in the house Mom grew up in. When was this built?’
I read the description. ‘It says 1950, but Matt said the owners have done a lot to fix it up.’
Mia takes my phone and scrolls through the listing. ‘Did you see the price? That can’t be right. It’s too cheap.’
‘Houses are cheaper here. A lot cheaper than Boston. What do you think? Could we convince them to move?’
‘I don’t think we’ll have to convince them. They loved this area when they came to visit. I could totally see them living here.’
We just need them to agree to it. I don’t know why they wouldn’t. Living here is cheaper, safer, it’s easier to get around, and they’ll have not just Mia and me, but my whole family to help them out if they need it.
I was prepared to move to Boston, but staying here and having Mia’s parents with us is a better option for all of us. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.
