Page 17 of As They Are
He hummed. “So, I’ll need to say it’ll take a while. That’s fine. I’m patient.”
“I’m very busy with the clinic. I’m fine just being a doctor.”
“It’s a big world out there, Henry. You can be more than just a doctor.”
4
WREN
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Atticus Thompson:Whose cow is this?
Comments:
Kerry Winsor:@Mollie Wilson, is it one of y’all’s?
Mollie Wilson: Oh SHIT. THAT’S MOOSLEY.
Atticus Thompson:Your Moosley pooped on my porch.
Mollie Wilson:Use it for whoever pisses you off next. Trust me, it works.
Kerry Winsor:Are you speaking from experience?? How did that happen?
Mollie Wilson: It was Cain’s doing, you’ll have to ask him about it.
Kerry Winsor:We’re just now getting along!!! Do you really think I can text him about POOP?
There are the yellow irises.
Kerry was still talking in my ear, but I was too busy trying to find the flowers. The first one was near a plaque that had information on the town. And now I wanted to read it.
But she was dragging me to the diner and I had to focus on looking as normal as possible. Thankfully, Kerry seemed to be as deep as a puddle of water. All she could talk about was the show, and she hadn’t looked twice at me to parse out how I was feeling.
The diner was a short walk from the store, and I let my eyes take in more of the town square. I’d come here to fix the flickering light bulb in Mollie’s bathroom. She’d been busy working in the fields, and I tore off to town before she could get on my case about relaxing. I thought I could figure out something to bide my time, but Henry was right. Mollie would kill me if I kept at it.
I just needed something else to do.
Once I finished this meal with Kerry, I would find the rest of the irises. That would keep me busy for maybe an hour.
Kerry opened the door to the diner, pulling me inside. I was met with pink walls and checkered tile—a pinnacle small-town diner. Madison had wanted us to find a place like this in Nashville to do some of our filming. We’d made it work, but most of the old-time establishments had closed down in favor of newer, flashier restaurants. Places in the city were forced to grow or close.
It was nice seeing something stay the same.
A woman with dyed blonde hair and a name tag that readDakotaturned around. She took a look at Kerry and me and put her hands on her hips.
“Now who did you find?” she asked. “Please tell me you haven’t started kidnapping people to fill your time.”
Kerry scoffed. “I only need to because you’re so rude. This is Wren. You’ve heard of her.”
Dakota hummed and looked at me. Then she paused, eyes widening when she realized who I was.
“Here I am,” I said, hoping my laugh didn’t sound awkward.
“Can you believe we have astarhere?” Kerry asked. I resisted the urge to run again. “I can’t believe Mollie knew her the entire time.”
Astar?Is that what I wanted to be? Sure, being a Nashville local legend had its perks, but stardom?
