Page 4 of His One True Wish

“Wow.”

“Word got out that I picked Shelia, and I could tell that the other ladies were miffed. Even Laurie seemed upset with me, and everyone knows that she has the longest fuse of us all.”

“NotLaurie,” I said.

“Yes, Laurie,” Mom repeated, stone-cold.

“Mom,” I said, chewing my cookie, “nobody should tell you which agent you can work with. That is your decision. If you want Abby, you get Abby.” It felt so good, coaching my mom with a big dose of girl power.

“I am so relieved you agree,” Mom said, her voice still a half-whisper. She leaned back in her chair. “Well, Abby emailed me out of the blue, and once I knew that she was doing real estate, I couldn’t pick one of the other ladies. I mean, I may move, but I don’t want to ruin Zumba.”

“Who would?”

“Abby works for one of those brokerages where I pay a lot less,and that matters to me,” Mom said. “She grew up here, and I remember how you two used to hang out?”

“Wait. What?” I stopped chewing.

“Working with her kind of made me miss you a little less. It was like old times when she used to come by and hang out with you after school. That was such a long time ago.”

I held a cookie in front of my mouth. My eyes narrowed, and my body tensed. “Wait. You are talking aboutthatAbby? Abby I-went-to-high-school-with Abby?”

“Yes.” Mom rocked back in her chair. “Abby Brix. How many Abbys do we know, honey.”

“You asked Abby Brix, my ex-best friend, to be your agent?” I said, my head spinning as uncomfortable memories of high school flooded over me. Abby and I sitting in the kitchen talking about boys. Abby hugging me when Travis dumped me for another girl. Abby crying when she confessed the other girl was her.

I wanted to tell my Mom to fire Abby and hire Shelia from Zumba, but I’d just given her my “you do you” girl-power speech. I couldn’t go back from that.

“She’s a good agent,” Mom said. “Gran even mentioned her to me. She said Abby finds the right person for the right home.”

“You do remember she is the one Travis dumped me for,” I said. I put down my cookie and crossed my arms.

“Billie, high school was a very long time ago,” Mom said, biting her lip. “I do not remember that, and you were better off without that boy anyway.”

“Hewasan idiot,” I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Travis was a wrestler and addicted to Super Mario Bros. I knew he wasn’t the love of my life, but thinking of those days, I still hated how insecure and jealous I felt.

“Honey, I did the best I could, and she impressed me. She’s going to come by later. I think it would be good for you two to reconnect.”

“It’s fine, Mom,” I said, picking up the plate of cookies. I knew that I was probably being stupid, but I did not feel like reconnecting withthe girl who stole my first boyfriend. “I will skip tacos for now. I am going to unpack, then check out the boxes and storage situation.”

“Okay, honey,” Mom said. “Tacos will be warm and ready for you.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said. Managing a smile, I exited the kitchen, a plate of cookies in hand.

I went upstairs with my cookies and suitcase. I felt like an idiot. So what if Abby Brix was selling my mom’s house? It was my mom’s house. She was right. I was better off without stupid Travis. Abby did me a favor my sophomore year. Still, Abby’s pending arrival was proof-positive I couldn’t pick a boyfriend who would stay faithful to me.

I lay down on my childhood bed, holding the plate of cookies on my belly. Mom was surprised but nonplussed to learn Abby was the “other woman” in my big breakup. It wasn’t entirely her fault. I’d been so embarrassed about the whole situation, I never told Mom why I broke up with that dumb boy. The truth was, it wasn’t about the boy. It was about me. I was afraid that there was something wrong with me.I closed my eyes and ran my fingers over the star-covered quilt covering my bed. A gift from Gran, the quilt was her way of making sure my wishes would never be stopped by the weather. At least that is what she told me when she gave it to me. Gran’s favorite wish was always on a shooting star. This quilt ensured the sky was always accessible to me in this room.

I needed to remember to take this quilt home with me.

“I wish,” I whispered, running my finger over the golden tail of a star, “I wish I could go back to the way things used to be.” The shutters clattered open with a bang.

I jumped to my feet and raised the window, pushing the shutters back into their open position. I locked them into place. The air felt cold and crisp on my skin.

Outside and across the valley, the Rockies stood tall and proud. Their peaks shone in the early evening light with freshly fallen snow. The Rockies always took my breath away. They represented more than a view to Mom, Gran, and me. In part, they belonged to us.

When I was six years old, Gran took my late grandfather’s governmentpension payout and purchased our family a cabin in the town of Smoke River. We spent every summer and a portion of every winter in that one-bedroom cabin.

I shut the window tight. My eyes stayed glued to the mountains. Gran talked about renting the cabin or hiring a caretaker, but she never pulled the trigger on it. The cabin and barn were empty. Mom needed storage. The truck was packed and ready to go, and the Smoke River cabin was just an hour away.

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