Elyse
The following Monday, I was arranging a display of beach reads—ironic, given my recent disdain for them—when Grace walked in, a knowing smile on her face.
"How's my favorite reformed vigilante?" she asked, keeping her voice low enough that the few customers browsing couldn't hear.
I rolled my eyes. "Did Drew and Cat tell everyone?"
"Not everyone. Just me. And possibly Paige. Who probably told Sarah. Who definitely told Jenna." Grace's eyes twinkled. "So, no. Not everyone."
I groaned. "Great."
Grace leaned against the counter. "Don't be embarrassed. We're all just glad you finally came to your senses before something bad happened."
"I know, I know," I said, arranging a stack of Grace's latest romance novel prominently on the display. "I was being reckless. Point taken."
"And how are things with the adoption process?" Grace asked, smoothly changing the subject.
At this, I couldn't help but smile. "Moving along. My parents are fully supportive, which helps. And my dad's been trying to track down my sister to see if she'll sign the paperwork voluntarily."
"Do you think she will?"
I sighed. "Honestly? I have no idea. On her better days, she loves Holly more than anything.
But addiction makes people do terrible things.
" I thought about the things my sister had stolen, the lies she'd told, the promises she'd broken.
"I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.
Just because she said it before doesn't mean she'll actually follow through on it. "
Grace squeezed my arm. "Well, regardless of what happens with the legal stuff, that girl knows she has a home with you and Drew. That's what matters most."
"Thanks, Grace." I gestured to the display I was working on. "What do you think? Too cliché to put sunglasses and little paper umbrellas with the beach reads?"
Grace laughed. "Completely cliché. Do it anyway."
As Grace browsed the store, I found myself reflecting on how much had changed in just a few weeks.
The urge to play detective hadn't completely disappeared.
I still found myself observing people a little too closely at restaurants, wondering about their stories, but the compulsion to intervene had faded.
Instead, I was channeling that energy into planning Holly's future bedroom remodel (she insisted the guest room was fine, but Drew and I wanted her to have a space that truly felt like hers), organizing Paige's book launch party, and working on the newly expanded children's section at the bookstore.