Page 110 of Kiss and Tell

She sat up straighter, cutting him off. “No one in my family has ever left. I mean, look at us. All adult children, all still living on the farm. And that doesn’t even feel strange because they love it there, love being home, working the land, running the businesses.”

“Weren’t you happy here?” Miles asked.

“If you’d asked me a month ago, I would have said yes without a bit of hesitation. And I can see that I was happyenough. Then I went on the road with you guys, and I realized my true happiness can’t be found on this farm. But I was afraid if I left…” Lucy ran her fingers through her hair, toying with the ends.

“You thought that made you like your mother?” Joey was trying to put the pieces together.

“She left us. I should hate her for that.” Lucy’s voice cracked.

“Should?” Miles pointed out the same word Joey was hung up on. “Lucy, you don’t have to feel one way or another about your mom. You can feel it all. Any emotion that works for you. If you don’t hate her, then great. If you love her, great. If you could care less, also great.”

Lucy grimaced. “She died when I was ten, you would think I’d have sorted my shit out regarding Mom.”

Joey reached out and took her hand. “No. I don’t think you’ve had the time. Jesus, honey. You lost both your parents when you were a kid. As the big sister, you thought it was up to you to help take care of your younger siblings. Then your grandma got dementia—more caregiving. She died. More grieving. Your grandfather got cancer.”

“More caregiving,” she whispered. “More grieving.”

Miles leaned toward her, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. “Leaving with us obviously triggered some latent feelings you have regarding your mother.”

“Before she left, my family had all sorts of nicknames for me. Always calling me Mom’s mini-me or Little Diana. Aunt Claire always used to joke and say stuff like ‘Oh, there’s Diana and her shadow.’ And Granddaddy used to claim I was the spit of her—said we were mirror images of each other. When she left, they stopped saying those things. I don’t think they did it intentionally or to be mean. I think they were trying to protect me, trying not to remind me she wasn’t here. But the thing is…”

Joey’s heart ached for the young girl trying to find her way after losing her role model. “When they stopped using those nicknames, you took that as a negative thing. As their way of telling younotto be like her.”

Lucy seemed surprised that he got it. “I thought if I left the farm, maybe my family would look at me differently.”

Miles shook his head. “Lucy.”

She raised her hand. “I know that’s not true. Deep inside, I know it. Now. My sisters helped me see the light. And then they helped me pack.”

Joey grinned. “I’m adding their names to my Christmas gift list.”

“I didn’t lie to you guys when I said the trip we took was the best time of my life,” Lucy added. “It showed me just how big the difference between genuine happiness and happy enoughreallyis. They’re worlds apart.”

“I like knowing I helped you discover that,” Miles said. “Because God knows you did the same for me.”

Lucy tilted her head. “Rhiannon?”

“I talked to her last night. She drove down to Baltimore,” Miles confessed.

Lucy’s eyes widened. “Wow. Those don’t sound like the actions of a woman who just wants to be friends.”

Miles chuckled. “You’re right. They don’t.”

“What did you say to her?” Lucy asked.

“I said it was over. Then walked away. For good.”

Lucy smiled widely, throwing her leg over Miles’s so she was straddling him. “Good for you.” She gave him a quick, hard kiss. Then peered over at Joey. “And good for us.”

Miles gripped her ass, pushing her more firmly against his crotch. “Goddamn, I’ve missed you.”

Lucy wrapped her arms around Miles’s neck, bending her head to expand on the first kiss. Joey leaned his side against the back of the couch, soaking in the sight of the two of them. He’d foolishly let Miles convince him to walk away from this, from Lucy. He would never make that mistake again.

He’d known since the night he saw the two of them dancing in Whiskey Abbey that this was meant to be. There was no going back now.

Miles and Lucy kissed for several minutes, but Joey didn’t attempt to join, happy to simply watch for now. When they parted, Lucy looked over at him, clearly surprised to find him still on the other side of the couch. Her reaction made sense. Miles was the one who typically played voyeur, Joey too tactile to remain apart without touching.

“So what were you going to say when you got to Baltimore?” he asked.

---