Page 24 of A Whisper of Summer Magic

Had she said too much? Would Jessica lose respect for her now? She’d always been her cheerleader.

Jessica picked up her cup and tapped it against Meghan’s. “Wow,” Jessica breathed, and then she set her tea aside, rose up, and came over to the couch to hug her gently. “Wow, Meghan, just wow. I think it’s brilliant.”

“You do?”

Jessica settled beside her, careful not to bump her. “I love the idea if you do. If you think you won’t be bored by a small-town family firm. No longer coming in to finalize multimillion-dollar deals.”

“I don’t think I will,” Meghan said. “Family law wasn’t on my radar in law school. Mom and Dad were pushing for corporate law or IP law as that’s where the money is.”

“Don’t I know it,” Jessica said ruefully.

She and Meghan clinked their mugs again like they were making a toast.

“But I’ve stayed in contact with Elise. We meet on occasion for drinks and dumps.”

Jessica laughed. “I’ve never heard it called that.”

“Elise is very colorful with her language still, and she keeps me updated on her life, the firm, her goals now that her grandfather is stepping back. Her cousin Rosalie’s joined—another woman so there would be three of us. I would bring a strong business and international background, if that’s needed. She says with the growth in Gaston County there’s a demand for more complicated services, and Elise is ambitious, but in a small-town, balanced-life way, and I can’t even believe I’m putting those words together.”

“You really have been thinking of this. Your eyes are shining like clover,” Jessica marveled.

“I guess I have.” Meghan ducked her head guiltily as the assumption in the family was that she and Jessica shared everything. “I’m… tired of being alone,” Meghan confessed. “I work until late at the firm, travel, come home to sleep or work. My friendships are drifting away and so are my sisters.”

“No, we’re not.” Jessica linked fingers with her. “We’re always here for you and you’re here for us.”

“I won’t get in the way of what you’ve got with Storm.”

“You’re my sister. You can’t get in the way.”

Jessica put down her cup and stared at her, looking eerily familiar to how she’d looked when they were kids and Meghan was about to share a juicy piece of gossip or a secret or something she’d overheard adults say.

And Meghan let the rest spill out. “I was wondering if I worked part-time—three days a week, or if I could have more flexible hours, if I could do something up here as a hobby or side hustle—something to expand my life, let some creativity fly—if I have any.”

“Of course,” Jessica said so quickly Meghan wanted to hug her, but she must be wondering how they’d make it sustainable since Jessica wasn’t even up and running fully. Her grand opening was in a couple of weeks, and she was supplementing her business with bookkeeping jobs and already had a wait list.

“I haven’t got it all worked out yet. No business plan,” Meghan cautioned.

Jessica laughed. “Like I did when I got up here. It took getting fired and Chloe’s big news and want for a party to kick my behind into gear. And Storm too.” Jessica’s voice softened on Storm’s name.

Yup, wouldn’t be too long before Jessica would want to commandeer the en suite.

“Is that why you were up in a tree? Were you thinking about the orchards? Making jam? That was always your favorite. I think you ate more than spooned it into jars when we were kids.”

“I love jam, and pickling, though I haven’t done it since we were kids.”

Jessica nodded. “I think you should explore it—hobby or small business. We can sell any jams, sauces, pickled veggies or olives or whatever you want to do in the shed that Storm’s converting into an office. The front area could become a store as I wanted to sell loose-leaf teas grown and dried on the property.”

“Really?” Meghan felt a bit stunned by the complete, finished vision when she hadn’t yet started. “You wouldn’t feel like I was stepping on your toes—interrupting your domain?”

Jessica had been so protective of her ideas for the nursery and garden initially. She hadn’t wanted to discuss it and had definitely not wanted to hire Storm, a landscape architect along with being a contractor.

“It’s a brilliant idea. You can use one of the greenhouses to cultivate veggies to pickle—I’ve planted some more unusual veggie starts already, but there’s plenty of room. And when the olive trees start producing you could infuse olive oil, or we can do it together.” Jessica’s eyes shone with excitement. “I’ve got an herb garden. And you could brine olives. I have so many varietals planted. And there’s the farmer’s market in Belmont, and Cramerton—or am I jumping ahead too fast? It’s your business, your plan.” Jessica visibly reined herself in.

“No. I think I… I know I’d like the help,” Meghan said. She saw herself more dabbling in making gourmet jams and a few spicy pickled produces. Infusing olive oil sounded fun—maybe some botanical concoctions for cocktails or mocktails at some point. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Jessica’s eyes shone with unshed tears, and she hugged Meghan. “I love the idea of us starting small and having room to grow and sharing the ideas and time, getting back our roots that weren’t ever really our roots, but our ancestors’ roots.”

Briefly a question fluttered through Meghan’s mind—would Sarah wish to join them at some point, in some venture? Was she too feeling isolated?

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