Chapter 8
EIGHT
“I’m on duty this weekend, so don’t worry about a thing,” I heard Savilla say to Lacy as I approached.
She’d brought the two of us piping-hot hot toddies.
The cups had Anton’s and Lacy’s names and their wedding date scrawled in a cursive font across the front.
“I had these made for this weekend, and when I realized how hard it is to heat the Carriage House, I decided to offer hot drinks too.”
I set aside our champagne in favor of the warm mug and gave Savilla a grateful nod, pleased that our combined efforts were keeping Lacy’s face from showing signs of her earlier distress.
“This place is transformed.” I smiled, turning to Savilla. “I’m really impressed with what you’ve done with it.”
“Who knew that a dusty old garage had so much potential?” Savilla surveyed her handiwork proudly and then she pointed above us.
“I’m thinking about turning the storage space up there into a loft apartment.
And it would be the perfect size for a gal who wants her space but also wants to live near her sister. ”
She gave me a fixed smile, and I laughed.
Savilla’s hints about me moving “back home” were no longer subtle.
Every other day she texted me an article about thriving businesses in small towns, about the need for veterinarians in rural areas, and the best parts of country living.
Though at first I’d struggled with the idea that Savilla and I could possibly be related, my sister had definitely become a part of my daily life with her random texts about updates at The Rose and her FaceTimes, which kept me up-to-date on town gossip.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I said, hoping to keep this conversation from becoming about me. “But I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Can’t you see turning this into the cutest little veterinarian office ever?
” Savilla asked Lacy, looking around. “This could be the lobby where owners drink coffee and chat with other animal lovers while their pets have their”—Savilla struggled to find the word and waved her fingers vaguely toward the wall—“their surgimacal things Dakota does to make their furry little lives better.”
Lacy glanced at me with a half-smile. She’d come to appreciate Savilla’s unique phrasing as much as I had.
“Didn’t you just have this space upgraded for parties?” I asked, as I took in the plush seats gathered into little clusters.
“No, silly. I had it upgraded for you,” Savilla said, staring at me as if this should be obvious. “For your thriving practice.”
“You think horses and puppies need room for coffee and conversation?”
“No, but their owners do.” Savilla chuckled.
“I took an unofficial poll of at least a hundred residents. They would love a practice here. Imagine: they relax and catch up while they wait for Rover and Spot to get their shots. Or they read a book while their horse gets their annual check-up. People would pay a premium for that kind of service from one of their very own.”
I laughed, marveling at how Savilla could conjure realities out of thin air. She was the perfect person to run the Rose Palace.
“We could build three enclosed exam rooms along that far wall, and over there we could put a small surgical space,” Savilla continued, her eyes glistening in the light as she visualized the possibilities.
“And now you have plenty of resources to hire techs and assistants—ooooh, and in a year or two you could bring on another doctor.”
I tried to see what Savilla had described.
I’d always planned to be a small-town vet, but that was when I hadn’t known there could be more, that I could work with some of the finest animal doctors in the nation, learning specialized procedures on creatures of every size.
The only problem was that this opportunity was far from Aunt DeeDee, Lacy, Charlie, and Savilla.
Was I willing to sacrifice home-cooked meals, coffee runs, late-night movies, and dinners out with them for a chance at a bigger life?
The question made my heart beat faster, and I noticed I was gripping my mug tightly.
My sister, misreading my angst, made a pouty face. “Or you could move across the country and sell out to… I don’t know… to the big vet.”
I raised my eyebrows at my sister’s abrupt change in tone as well as her use of “big vet.” I was about to tell her all the ways she was misrepresenting the San Diego fellowship when Lacy caught our eyes and lifted her chin to silence us.
“Or,” Lacy interjected, trying to mediate, “we could let Dakota make her own decisions.”
It was generous of Lacy to take this approach since I knew that she too wanted me back here in Aubergine with her.
Savilla stepped closer and threw an arm around my shoulder, squeezing me tight. I could hear the hint of tears in her voice as she said, “I know, I know. It’s just… I only found out about you. I don’t want to lose you so soon.”
“Whatever happens, you won’t lose me,” I reassured her. “We’re blood.”
At that moment Jemma joined us, swigging back a glass of champagne. “Hey, bitches, what naughtiness are we getting into tonight?” She was already tipsy, and though it was definitely amusing, we had a whole night ahead. She needed to slow down.
“Have you had anything to eat? Or water?”
Jemma narrowed her eyes at me. “I thought this was a party, Mommy dearest.”
I shook my head as I laughed lightly. Jemma would be a good distraction from all the family nonsense if nothing else.
“Let’s just try to pace ourselves, darling,” I said, in my best mothering tone.
“I’m just saying,” Savilla said, still on the subject of me and my future as she took a sip of hot toddy, “you’ll have everything you need right here.” She hesitated, catching Lacy’s glance and adding almost as an afterthought, “if that’s what you want.”
I appreciated the last sentence, and wondered if Aunt DeeDee had also sat down with her for a chat about laying off the pressure just a smidge.
Savilla took a deep breath, and her smile settled easily back into place. “Okay, so we need to get to our first stop soon.”
I’d planned a schedule that would take us to our old haunts in town when we were teens, and I’d written each stop in the form of scavenger hunt clues that Lacy could solve before we moved on to the next place.
Since Bella Rivera hadn’t yet shown her face—blessedly—I thought we might sneak out without her tagging along.
I was about to pull out the first clue when four other women walked into the Carriage House, startling us all.
It was Patty Swanson along with Bella Rivera and the cousins, Myrtis and Charlotte.
“Lacy, we found you,” Patty exclaimed, having fully recovered from her outdoor conversation with Anton.
I watched as Lacy peered around them, hoping to see Anton trailing along behind them—and leading them right back out the way they’d entered.
“Anton’s off with the menfolk,” Patty said, answering Lacy’s unasked question. “But he told me where I could find you. Of course, I figured that you’d all want to get to know each other since we’re about to be family.”
After hearing Patty argue with Anton about how she didn’t actually want Lacy to be in her family, I had the urge to tell her off and send all of them packing back to Texas.
“This is a closed party,” Jemma said, her head to one side as she studied the other ladies before pointing at Bella.
“Except for maybe you.” She walked over, picked up a handful of hair from the woman’s shoulder, and inhaled.
Jemma’s eyes glowed as she stayed only inches from Bella’s face and she said seductively, “Yes, you can stay.”
I’d assumed that Jemma only dated men, but once again my stereotyping of beauty queens was all wrong. Jemma was obviously smitten with Bella, who was backing away, worry lines deepening on her face with every inch.
“Don’t be silly,” Patty fluttered. “I don’t plan to stay! I wouldn’t want to be a buzzkill if you gals are getting up to something… illicit.”
Lacy shook her head at her future mother-in-law, and I could see in her expression that despite Patty’s awfulness, Lacy still cared what the woman thought. “We weren’t planning anything like—”
“—but I knew you wouldn’t want Bella or Anton’s cousins to miss out,” Patty interrupted, speaking over Lacy.
Bella glanced around the room, likely trying to find Anton, while Myrtis grabbed a drink and took a long swig.
That’s when I spotted Will Hurt sneaking in the back door, his eyes fixed on a jacket he’d left behind.
As Patty prattled on about how everyone should be welcoming this weekend, Will went to grab the long coat. And I saw Charlotte fix her gaze on him and move toward him. He gave her a slight smile, and she took his arm easily, pressing into him and whispering something in his ear.
The entire interaction was ten seconds, maybe twenty, but it was long enough to notice a connection between the pair.
I frowned at the sight of the two of them—Will was married to one of my childhood peers, after all—but when I glanced around, no one else seemed to notice that Will and Charlotte obviously knew each other. But how?
I had the urge to scurry over and tell Charlotte to take her long-nailed paws off of him— which was strange.
Although I’d grown up with Will’s wife, Valerie, and although they’d both been guests at the homecoming reunion that turned murderish last October, I had no particular interest in the two of them.
Still, married is married, and Charlotte had no right to flirt with Will. He was a family man.
My instincts had no time to play out though. A moment later, Will and his long coat were gone and Charlotte was slyly grinning to herself.
“So, I’ll just leave the three of them here,” Patty said. “And you can show them what a good time Aubergine has to offer.” She began to back out of the Carriage House, calling the last words out almost like a threat. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll all decide to settle down here someday.”