Page 82 of Mistletoe & Magic
Me: Bring the trailer. Need your help.
Tate: For what?
Me: Clearing out the office. Tonight.
Three dots pop up.
Finn: You’re serious?
Me: Dead serious.
Finn: You’re so dramatic.
I slide the phone back into my pocket and take one more look at the disaster of a room. It’s going to take hours, maybe all night, to get it cleaned out. But when Ivy comes back, this is going to be hers. A space that says she belongs here.
I press my hand against the door frame, grounding myself.
“I’m going to fix this,” I say out loud, the words hanging heavy in the quiet house. And for the first time since she left, I almost believe it.
The bed of my truck is full of cans of paint, brushes, rollers, drop cloths, the works. It smells like possibility. Like a fresh start.
I back into the driveway just as Mom’s car pulls up on the other side and parks. Junie hops out first, hair flying everywhere, then bolts for the porch, Lola fast on her heels.
“Dad!” she calls, bouncing on the top step like she’s excited to see me. “Is Ivy back, yet?”
I close my eyes. “Not yet, bug.”
I grab two cans of paint from the bed and meet them halfway. Mom gets out of the driver’s seat, that pencil perched behind her ear, that sharp, knowing look in her eye like she’s curious what I’m up to.
“Did you have fun at Nana’s?”
“She let me eat two cupcakes before dinner,” Junie says proudly.
Mom just shrugs. “You only live once. So, what are you doing to get Ivy back? Finn said you’re working on it.”
I jerk my head toward the front door. “Come look.”
Inside, the house still smells like sawdust from last night. The office is empty now, just clean wood floors and the big bay windows letting in the afternoon light. The room has wall to wall bookcases that sit empty. The whole place feels… lighter. Like a new beginning.
Mom stops in the doorway and takes it in, her expression softening. “My, my,” she says slowly. “I see you’ve been spring cleaning. What are you doing with this room?”
I set the paint down, my throat feeling tight. “I’m building Ivy a library. Finn is building the ladder and adding the hardware so it rolls across the shelves.”
Mom’s red-lipsticked smile spreads, slow and sure. “Wow. This is a romantic grand gesture. I love it.”
Junie gasps and hugs my waist. “Is she coming back?!”
God, I hope so. I crouch down to meet her excited little face. “I’m trying, bug. This is…my way of telling her she belongs here. With us.”
Junie throws her arms around my neck, squeezing so hard I have to blink a few times to keep it together.
My mom clears her throat, like she’s pretending she’s not getting misty-eyed. “Well, if you’re building a library, it needs books. Let me speak to Willa at the bookstore and put in an order. We’ll get those shelves filled.”
“You don’t have to do that, Ma.” I huff out a laugh, standing again. Then I ask her, quieter and nervously. “Do you think I have a chance?”
My mom arches one perfectly shaped brow. “Remy, I’ve been writing romance for thirty years. Do you really think I’mgoing to let the best love story in Wisteria Cove end before it’s properly begun?”
Junie giggles, already spinning in a circle in the middle of the empty room. “Can we paint it pink?”
