Page 31 of When You Got a Good Thing (Misfit Inn 1)

“She’s got your entire time abroad covered in there,” Pru added.

Kennedy stared at her. “Seriously?”

Pru grabbed another volume and opened it to the front to display a map with a route highlighted. “She saved everything you ever sent and even made notes when you called, what news you shared or what you’d been doing. I think it made her feel closer to you, when you were so far away.”

A lump set up in Kennedy’s throat. “I...I had no idea. I mean, I know my being gone was hard on her, and I tried to keep in touch as best I could. But I never imagined...”

This time Pru was the one to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “She missed you. We all did. But she was so terribly proud of what you were doing, all the adventures you were having.”

After all the flack she’d caught from her sisters about being immature, selfish, aimless, the idea that her mother had actually been proud was a bittersweet pill to swallow. Her eyes burned with a fresh round of tears.

“I wished she was with me. So I tried to paint as vivid a picture as I could so she sort of could be.”

“She loved that. I did too. It was exciting to hear about what all you were doing. And she loved the trip you took her on more than you can possibly know. You gave her something there that none of the rest of us could.”

Kennedy thought of her blog. She’d never told anyone in the family about it. It had been easier to share with strangers. But her mother would’ve loved it. And she would’ve been ecstatic about the idea of turning it into a book. But Kennedy had never responded to the editor, and the window for that opportunity was no doubt closed. It didn’t matter. She couldn’t afford to be so self-indulgent. There were other things to worry about.

They both lapsed into silence as Athena and Maggie came in for another load. When they’d walked out again, Kennedy wrapped Pru in a tight hug. “Thank you. I can’t tell you what it means to me to know that. To know that she didn’t hate me for going. That you didn’t.”

Pru squeezed her back and looked after where their sisters had disappeared. “They don’t hate you either. They just don’t understand. They’ll come around eventually.”

Maybe. But at this point, Kennedy was looking forward to both of them heading back to their own lives and having some time to actually heal.

She boxed up all the albums and carted them to her own room. Later, when she wasn’t feeling quite so raw, she’d go through them. It’d be nice to see what Mom thought about where all she’d been. And it might be fun to revisit her travels. She spent most of her focus on the present or the future. Rarely the past.

The sound of the front door opening drew her to the top of the stairs. Xander stepped in, his eyes seeming to zero in unerringly on her. The quick curve of lips was so familiar, so welcome, she almost trotted straight down the stairs to lay a big, fat kiss on him, as she would have years ago. Then another man, slightly shorter, stocky, with a close cropped beard, came in behind him and saved her from herself. Whatever was happening between her and Xander, letting themselves fall back into old habits and pretending the past decade hadn’t happened would be a mistake.

“Thanks for coming,” she told him.

“No problem. This is my buddy, Logan Maxwell.” Xander thumped him on the shoulder. “He’s a farmer by trade, so he’s got a good, strong back.”

Logan looked utterly unperturbed. “I take it you’re Kennedy.”

“I am.” She shook his hand.

“Heard a lot about you.”

Kennedy’s gaze flicked to Xander.

“Mostly not from him,” Logan added.

“Then I’d wager only about thirty percent of it is actually true,” she said.

Her sisters came into the foyer, Athena laden with bags, and Xander made introductions to Logan.

Athena actually made nice for a full ninety seconds. “I hate to hi and bye, but I’ve got a plane to catch.”

“And I need to drive her.” Maggie winced.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got things covered here,” Kennedy assured her.

Maggie didn’t look entirely sure of that, but what was she going to say? It wasn’t as if Kennedy and Pru couldn’t handle the finger pointing required to get a few pieces of furniture moved.

Pru wrapped Athena in a hug. “Be safe. Call us when you land and when you get home.”

Athena rolled her eyes but squeezed Pru back. “I’ll call when I land, but I’m going straight to the restaurant. I’ll be home super late.”

“Text at least.”

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