Page 64 of Butterfly Sisters
“I was hoping the two of you would help bake,” Mama said, while Meredith made a cup of coffee for the road and slipped on her flip-flops.
“We will,” Leigh promised.
In a matter of minutes, Leigh and Meredith were in the car and headed down the road. As the rolling hills stretched out in front of them in a blanket of bright green, the sun in a clear blue sky shining above, Leigh let the wind coming in calm her. Meredith hadn’t asked to put on the radio, which she always had in the past, and the two of them had been quiet on the ride so far. Leigh was glad for the silence. It gave her time to clear her head.
Meredith had her arm out the window, her hand bobbing up and down on the wind. Leigh wound through the curving lanes, hugging the hills, and going in and out of the trees, lost in the maze of country back roads, until they came to a stop at a dead end. Only then did she realize that her path had led to the side of the old bungalow on the lake in front of Colton’s house. The building seemed unoccupied, so she and Meredith got out and walked over to it, peering into the dark windows. The dusty wood floors were bare.
“32 Emerald Lane,” Leigh said aloud, reading the house number.
“It’s beautiful inside,” Meredith said, cupping her hands against the wavy glass. “A little rundown, but incredibly well built.”
It had rounded doorways and wide moldings, as well as high ceilings for its time.
“Look at that little chandelier,” Leigh said, tapping on the window at the stunning antique fixture, dripping with crystal.
“Incredible,” Meredith replied, before turning around and running her hand along the wide porch post.
The house had an enormous front porch, and Leigh could almost imagine pairs of rocking chairs and pots of bright flowers flanking the front door. She walked around to the side of the house, putting her hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun so she could view Colton’s massive residence with the extensive deck and wood-framed dormers. Meredith followed.
A heavy sense of dread fell upon Leigh, and she turned back to the bungalow. “I can’t believe that Jimbo is gonna knock this down and build another strip mall.”
Meredith tipped her head up to view the house. “This place could be so gorgeous if someone stepped in to fix it up.”
The two of them walked down to the sandy beach, the tide slow and steady as it pawed at the shore.
“I never even knew this house was here,” Meredith said.
“I didn’t either, but when did we ever go down to this end of Jax Wrigley’s cotton farm?”
“True.” Then a big smile broke out on Meredith’s face. “Except one time when I was hiding from Officer Minton.”
“You had to hide from the police?”
“Yeah,” she said, laughing. “He was after me for eating a watermelon out of someone’s field across town. He chased me, Theo, and Sheila all the way to the Wrigley farm where we hid behind the one patch of corn he’d grown that year.”
“I wonder where Theo and Sheila are now?” Leigh asked.
“No idea. Colton might know.”
“I’ve really messed things up with him,” Leigh said. “I’ve tried to talk to him but I can’t blame him for being upset. I wish I could fix it.”
“I’ll bet this land is a chunk of change,” Meredith said, looking around. She chewed on a fingernail in thought, gazing back toward the house.
The weight of the situation made it difficult for Leigh to catch her breath. “We should probably get back to help Mama with the pie,” she said.
“Yeah.”
The two of them walked to the car together, and Leigh took one last look over her shoulder at the adorable little house before she drove away.
When Leigh and Meredith arrived back at the cabin, Leigh stopped in her tracks at the sight of Mama wearing Nan’s denim apron. She hadn’t realized until that moment how much her mother was beginning to look like Nan. Suddenly, the idea of her mother not carrying the torch and continuing on in Nan’s place seemed like such a loss.
Meredith went off to her room to get something and Leigh stayed, washing her hands.
“Just in time,” Mama said.
Leigh took in the movement in Mama’s fingers as she pressed the pie dough into its pan, pricking the dough so it stayed flat when it baked. Her mannerisms were almost exactly like Nan’s, instantly taking Leigh back to those days so long ago.
Mama slid the pie crust into the oven. “You and Meredith can help me make the filling,” she said. “Can you melt some butter for me?”
