Page 71 of Off the Beaten Path

“What did he say about Mia?”

I let my gaze trail up to the wide-open sky above us, breathing in the pine-scented air. “I’m going to need a churro first.”

A smile stretches across Stevie’s face, and she loops her arm through mine, guiding me toward the Airstream. “That can be arranged.”

This has been one of the longest weeks of my life. Mia isstillhere, which means that I haven’t spent any evenings with Holden and June. Holden invited me to dinner one night, but I didn’t want to intrude on Mia’s time with June. I just didn’t realize how much I would miss them, how hard it would be to be away from them. How much a part of my life they’ve become.

I’ve hated watching them sit around Holden’s kitchen table at night while I’m in my cottage alone, so I’ve spent the last few nights at either Stevie’s or my parents’. Holden told me that Mia booked a flight for tomorrow afternoon, and he invited me to family dinner at his mom’s again, so I’ll finally get to see them tomorrow night. I just have to fend for myself for one more night, and I intend to spend it having a picnic at the overlook. I haven’t been there since that last time with Holden, and I wonder if it will feel different now that it’s not just my special place. It’s ours. I wouldn’t have thought a few months ago that I’d be so happy about that.

There’s a knock on my front door just as I’m about to leave, and when I swing it open, surprise hits me square in the face. Mia is standing on my porch, dressed in white slacks and a soft taupe cashmere sweater. She looks put together in a way I never will. Even her curls look shiny and tamed, unlike my wild tresses that chose today to completely rebel.

“Wren, is it?” Mia asks, smiling at me, although her eyes feel assessing.

“Yeah, and you must be Mia,” I say, a little breathlessly. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Her smile tightens slightly. “Likewise.”

My confusion must show on my face because she clarifies. “June talks about you constantly.”

I clear my throat, awkwardness burning a hole in my belly, because while she says June talks of me, she’s rarely mentioned Mia.

“She’s a very special little girl,” I finally say, and Mia’s pinched smile softens.

“She is,” Mia agrees. “May I come in? It’s chilly.”

I barely manage to contain my shock, but I do, moving back from the door to motion her inside. “Yeah, of course.”

Mia moves into my tiny cottage, and I try to see it through her eyes. The mismatched dishes on the open shelving in the kitchen. The vintage rug with a strawberry wine stain on the corner from a tipsy girls’ night with Stevie. The empty teacups on the scarred coffee table and the colorful blankets thrown over the back of the couch. The shoes I walked right out of discarded by the front door. My space looks especially eclectic when she’s standing inside it.

“Would you like something to drink?” I ask, moving toward the kitchen, desperate for something to do.

“No, thanks.”

I stop in my tracks, swiveling to face her, twisting my hands together in front of me. My bottom lip catches between my teeth as I examine her, trying to figure out what she could possibly be doing here.

“This is awkward,” she says, a statement, not a question. Maybe that’s what makes me feel comfortable enough to sigh and nod.

“A little,” I agree.

Mia’s eyes snag on my coffee table, and I follow her gaze to the stack of friendship bracelets June and I worked on at the cabin last week when we were supposed to be helping Holden. She stoops, picking one up and tracing the beads with her fingers.

“H, J, W,” she says softly under her breath, and a knot of anxiety forms in my stomach.

“Mia, I—”

“You’re good for them, you know,” she says, meeting my eyes. “I’ve never seen Holden so settled and happy. And June…”

I don’t know how to respond, so I don’t.

“I’m glad they have you.”

“I think they’d be glad to have more of you too.” Mia’s eyes connect with mine. The surprise reflected in them matches the surprise I feel at actually saying that aloud. Maybe it wasn’t my place, but I can’t help but see the effects of her absence on Holden and June.

She’s silent for a long moment before saying, “I want that. Holden says I need to be more consistent if I want to be in June’s life.”

I don’t know if she expects a response from me, but although I told her I think Holden and June would like to see her more, I don’t feel it’s my place to comment on her parenting. Even if I do think it leaves something to be desired.

Mia clears her throat. “Well, I just wanted to meet you before I leave tomorrow.”

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