Page 76 of Butterfly Sisters
TWENTY-SIX
“I want to make the front room with the chandelier my office, so I can see the lake while I work,” Leigh said, as she and Meredith sat together in the kitchen in front of her laptop.
The inspection of 32 Emerald Lane was done as a rush early that morning, and repairs had been scheduled with the handyman down the road. Surprisingly, there were no major structural issues found. While Mama was at work, Leigh scrolled through furniture options on her laptop as Meredith looked on.
“I was thinking I could have a desk like this one.” Leigh turned the laptop to show Meredith the driftwood-colored desk she’d found for a decent price. “I could have the walls painted a light taupe…”
“That would look perfect with a big blue butterfly painting on the opposite wall,” Meredith said with a grin. “I might know where we can get one if you like the idea of it.”
“I adore that idea,” Leigh said, draping her arm around her sister and giving her a squeeze. “We’ll want to get that room set up as soon as possible. Know why?”
“Why’s that?”
Leigh clicked onto a different screen and opened her new Instar Commercial Management email inbox, showing her sister three emails from potential clients. “I haven’t even advertised yet,” she said. “Pamela Lyons has been spreading the word. I’ve got one from Salt Lake City, one from Omaha, and one from right here in Nashville.”
“That’s amazing!” Meredith said.
“Thank you for staying,” Leigh told her.
Meredith put her head on Leigh’s shoulder. “Of course.”
That evening, after laying out all the plans for 32 Emerald Lane, Leigh flopped back on her bed, feeling Nan’s presence all around now, just like Meredith had, and she knew that her grandmother was with her. After facing her fears about going out on her own and actually taking the steps to make it happen, a surge of serenity washed over her that had been with her ever since, and she knew it was Nan. She could feel it in her bones.
Then, suddenly, she heard a tap at the window, pulling her from her thoughts, and she sat up, frozen for a second. She hadn’t heard that tap since she was a teenager, and she knew exactly who was doing the tapping.Tap, tap—two more. Leigh walked over to the window and raised it to find Elvis sitting in front of it, wearing a sign that said, “I miss you. Come outside.”
Leigh’s heart skipped a beat, and she was unable to hide her complete relief at seeing the dog. “You do?” she asked him.
His head twisted sideways to understand her, his tail wagging in the grass.
She closed the window and rushed out the back door, through the porch, and around to the side of the house where she found Colton standing in the yard, his brooding dark eyes on her in the dim light of sunset. Her breath shallow, her mind on high alert to interpret his expression, she walked up to him.
“Hey,” he said. He looked tired, but the fondness in his eyes was undeniable, making her heart patter.
Elvis dragged the sign with him as he walked over and greeted her. She rubbed his fur, slipping the cardboard off of him.
The corner of Colton’s mouth turned up into a grin. “Do you know why Elvis likes you so much?”
She gave him a meaningful look and shook her head.
“Because he can sense the way I feel about you.”
Her mouth went dry, her breath shallow.
“That first day when you arrived and I saw you, it was all I could do to keep my heart from beating out of my chest at seeing you again. So many days I’d wished you’d walk through the door, and after all that time, I’d come to the conclusion that you probably never would.”
She held her breath, restraining herself from throwing her arms around him so she could hear him out.
“I spent two years fighting Jimbo Peterson over the land behind my house, and when you casually came in and turned over everything I’d worked for, I was so upset with you.” He took a step toward her, invading her personal space, the two of them standing in the deep shade of the pines, the glistening lake behind them. “The whole thing hit a nerve, because for years I was angry at your work, at your drive. I wanted you to show that kind of passion formeinstead.”
She put her hand over her mouth, shaking her head, tears welling up. “I never meant to put anything above you. You were always like magic in my memory.”
“I tried to stay away after I found out about you helping Jimbo. It took everything I had not to run straight to you and scoop you up into my arms when I saw you at Leon’s the other day. I told myself I’d get over it.” Gently, he put his hands on her waist and pulled her nearer, her breath catching. “I let you walk away because of your career once—we were too young; I was forced to—but I’m not going to let it happen again. I can live with a parking lot in my backyard if it means I get to see you every day. I won’t let you go without doing everything in my power to convince you to stay first.”
“You don’t have to,” she said. “And Iwantto stay. So much so that I bought the lake cottage behind your property.”
He pulled back, frowning in confusion. “What?”
“I’m going to start my own commercial management company at 32 Emerald Lane.”
