Page 93 of Meet Me at the Grand

A few miles of hard biking gave her time to bury the past hour deep into her heart before the weekly family dinner with her parents.

Her parents’ grand house with its sweeping porch and turrets came into view at the northern tip of the island. Jonathon Island had been named for her great-great something grandfather, Jacob Jonathon, who had established the first settlement in the early 1800s.

Kicking down the bike’s kickstand, she parked on the lawn. Along the front porch, Adirondack chairs waited for lounging guests. Near each support beam hung the baskets of flowers she and her siblings had chipped in on for Mother’s Day a few days before—a Mother’s Day she had spent at home with Finn because he had a fever.

She reached into her bag for a Kleenex and her hand brushed a ragged piece of paper. What the…? She pulled out her tattered envelope still stuffed full of cash. Across the front in a slanted script, Mr. Michaelson had written “for the children.” She pressed a hand to her mouth for a heartbeat then straightened her shoulders and walked up to the porch.

Following her nose, tickled with the scent of her mother’s signature spaghetti sauce, she headed straight for the kitchen.

Finn chased Maggie around the butcher block center island, and her dad, Liam, and Dani were talking over in the far right corner. At the stove her mom stirred a pot, and her big sister, Evie, was pulling plates out of the green-paneled cabinets on the other side of the kitchen.

Mia crossed the room and kissed her mother on the cheek. Her mom’s gray-streaked, dark, bobbed hair brushed her cheek, and the scent of her gardenia perfume wafted over Mia.

“Hi, honey.” Her mom didn’t look up from the pot. “We’re almost ready here. Can you take care of the bread?”

“No problem.” Mia took a place at the island, slicing the bread and giving it a generous coating of butter before adding some garlic salt, wrapping the whole thing in foil and slipping it into the oven.

Dani crossed the kitchen and gave Mia a hug. “Good to see you, cuz.” She pulled back a bit. “What’s wrong?” A crease formed between Dani’s green eyes.

Mia pasted on a smile. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

Dani raised one eyebrow. “I’m not buying it. We’ll talk later.” Her cousin moved to the silverware drawer and scooped up a handful of forks before heading to the dining room.

I’ll give you one more month.The banker’s words swirled through her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it with a burst when someone ran into the back of her legs.

Her eyes flew open. Finn blinked up at her. “Finn!”

“Sorry, Mommy.” He moved around her and dashed three steps before her dad swooped him up into his arms.

“He’s just full of energy today.” Her dad, every piece of his salt and pepper hair neatly in place, leaned over to pat her on the shoulder, but the timer for the bread began chiming and she whirled away. Behind her she heard her dad sigh and then set Finn on the floor. “Almost time to eat?” His deep voice cut through the chaos.

She nodded and then pulled the bread out of the oven and turned. Finn scampered away, chasing Maggie again.

Nora, her fifteen-year-old sister, slouched into the room, dressed in her standard uniform of leggings and a hoodie. Her dark hair hung loose around her face. “When are we going to eat?”

Evie’s three kids joined Finn and Maggie in squealing around the middle of the kitchen.

“Hi, Nora.” Her mom turned from the stove and bussed her cheek. “Done with schoolwork? Can you take these kids to the table? We’re almost ready.” Her mom pulled the pan of spaghetti sauce off the stove. Hopefully she missed the eye roll from Nora before the teen began obeying her mother.

The kitchen fell to near silence after Nora played Pied Piper to the kids.

Soon, they’d all moved to the dining room table.

After saying grace, they began dishing up. Mia tended to her kids’ plates while Evie helped fill five-year-old Cora’s plate. Eight-year-old twins Chloe and Chase didn’t need any help. At the end of the table, Dani and Mia’s dad continued deep in conversation.

“Where’s Kyle?” Mia asked as she cut Maggie’s noodles into small pieces. The toddler shoved the pasta into her mouth almost as fast as Mia cut it. “Slow down, baby. You’re going to get sick.”

“He had something come up at work, so he told us to come over without him.” Evie reached for a slice of bread. In her L.L.Bean top and her dark hair just brushing her shoulders, she looked like a cookie cutter version of their mom. Minus a few gray hairs, of course. “Mom, have you heard from Bash lately?” Their older brother, a lawyer, lived in New York City. He didn’t come home nearly as often as her mother liked, but that was the price he paid for being successful.

“He called on Wednesday just to check in,” Elise said. “He said to tell everyone hello.”

“We should find out if the town council is fully on board with your plan by the end of the day tomorrow.” Her dad’s voice boomed over the table.

Mia forked a bite of spaghetti into her mouth and glanced at Dani. Her best friend and cousin lit up at her dad’s words.

“What plan?” Evie asked.

Mia missed Dani’s reply because Maggie chose that moment to lift her plate off the table.

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