Page 59 of Butterfly Sisters
“It’s not? How so?”
“I lost my job,” she admitted. “I saw an opportunity with Greystone Properties and I took it, hoping to build my résumé. Yes, that’s work, but I have to be able tolive, Colton.” She folded her arms in anguish and frustration. “There was no way I could have known what he had planned.”
“But see, the difference between you and me is that, when you lost your job, getting another was the number one thing on your mind. Over what your mom had to tell you, over seeing your sister after years away, over coming back to the cabin…” He trailed off, thoughts dancing across his face.
She remembered his words when they were kids:I wanna fish off the side of my boat and watch football out on my porch in the evenings. I wanna go into town and know everybody there.Those were his priorities. And she couldn’t argue with any of them.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking out at the untainted view, feeling like she’d failed at literally everything. “It’s true. I love what I do. And it’s incredibly sad that I have to choose between making you happy and having a career when I should be able to achieve both.”
“It seems like it isn’t possible to have both, so I guess we’re at an impasse.”
“I guess so,” she said, her voice breaking, feeling that between her career and Colton, either of the two was too big to lose.
Still unsettled after talking to Colton, Leigh walked along the lake shore at the cabin, her bare feet digging into the cold sand as she strode through it.
Things aren’t good, Nan, she said to herself, trying to channel the one person she needed most right now.Mama and I are trying to be cordial with Meredith even though we completely disagree with her changing the cabin, I’m nearly sure that the whole town is going to hate me for helping Jimbo, and I’ve ruined Colton’s happiness. I don’t know what to do.
She tipped her face up to let the night breeze blow through her hair. It pushed against her softly, as if it were trying to console her stormy mind.
What would Nan want her to do?
“Look,” her mother’s voice came from behind her. “A butterfly.”
Leigh turned around to find her mother holding out her hand, a bright-green butterfly resting on it.
“That’s actually a Luna moth—they come out at night,” Leigh said. “I remember Nan telling me about them.” She peered down at the beautiful creature. “She used to tell me they represent determination.”
The moth lifted off Mama’s finger and fluttered into the air, hanging over them a moment before disappearing into the woods. Had Nan sent her a message when she’d needed it most?
“I keep seeing butterflies,” she said to her mother.
Mama looked around the sky as if more would come. “I hear that they’re a sign your loved one is near.”
A prickle of happiness ran over Leigh’s skin. “I was just talking to Nan in my mind, and I wondered if it was her.”
“Mm.” Mama smiled, taking in a breath of the earthy air.
“I’ve really messed up.” She told her mother about Jimbo’s plans to build near Colton’s.
Mama tucked a loose strand of her gray hair behind her ear. “You couldn’t have known.”
“But what if I could’ve done things differently? Colton thinks I put work above everything else.”
“We are who we are, Leigh.”
Leigh stopped walking and faced her mother. “That’s true, but I also think that even though I can’t change what’s happened, maybe I need to take a long look at my priorities. I asked myself what Nan would want me to do…”
The current washed over their toes as the two of them faced the water.
“The one thing about you that’s always been incredibly strong is your drive. What only you can figure out is: what’s the end result you want?Thatwill direct you as to how to live your life. Even Nan couldn’t do that for you. You have to decide that yourself.” She looked back at the cabin where Meredith’s silhouette could be seen, painting in Nan’s studio. “That’s something Meredith figured out before all of us.”
Leigh contemplated the idea, starting with her feelings about her sister.
“What are you thinking about?” Mama asked.
“Meredith,” Leigh replied. “What do I want the end result to be with her?”
“And?”
