“Speaking of buying homes,” Sadie said. “I’ve been thinking long and hard about it, and I want to buy the cottage from you, Mama.”
I nearly slipped off my chair. “What? Wait. How? What?” I was so confused. Surely Sadie was joking.
Mama said, “I told you, Sadie, I don’t want your money. The cottage will sell just fine on its own. Don’t you worry about me.”
Determination glinted in Sadie’s eyes as she leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. “It’s time I found a home base for my travels instead of living on the road or as a guest in someone else’s house. The cottage will be my anchor. I can give you more than a fair price. I know the business pretty well, and I love the business, so why not the cottage?”
I shook my head at my sister. “No. Uh-uh. You’ll throw yourself into running the place, and your career will suffer.” Now that I knew the scope of her work and understood why so many people embraced her so wholeheartedly, I couldn’t let that happen. Miss Violet had been right the other day: the world needed Sadie’s stories.
“I’ll keep doing A Southern Hankerin’,” Sadie said. “I don’t know how quite yet, but I’ll find a way to make it work.”
I kept shaking my head. “Something’s going to suffer if you pull yourself in too many directions. Besides, what about the money? Where are you going to get it? I can’t imagine you’d be able to get the kind of mortgage this place will need.”
Mama laughed loudly. “What makes you think Sadie doesn’t have money?”
I shrugged. “Where would she get it? A Southern Hankerin’ is free to watch, isn’t it?”
“Oh, child,” Teddy said, sipping a cocktail. “Those videos are monetized. All those ads that pop up on the screen? Each one viewed is money in the bank for Sadie here.”
“Plus,” Bree added, “I’ve been watching a lot of Sadie’s videos since I got here, and she does brand deals sometimes—like once, she did one for a Crock-Pot. Oh, and there was one for a special kind of flour. That’s extra money, kind of like someone being paid to do a commercial.”
I looked at Sadie. “How much money?”
Her eyes twinkled. “Contractually I’m not allowed to answer that question.”
Bree had pulled out her phone. “There’s a public website that lists how much people earn from YouTube and other platforms. It’s not completely accurate, but it’s close.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked her in awe.
She shrugged. “I thought everyone knew. Here, look.”
Bree handed over the phone. On the screen was a website that had Sadie’s channel listed along with a grade—an A—and average earnings per month and per year. If this site was accurate, Sadie was on track to earn a little more than a million dollars this year alone. My jaw dropped. “Holy hell, Sadie. And you let me buy the paint?”
She laughed. “You insisted, remember?”
Stunned, I handed the phone back to Bree, then faced Sadie. I pulled my shoulders back, lifted my chin, and was prepared to go to battle if I had to. “Well, having money doesn’t change anything. You shouldn’t buy the cottage.”
“Now, now,” Mama said. “Maybe we should think this through a bit.”
“The lake magic’s done gone crazy,” I said, reaching for the pitcher of margaritas. “Mama and I have switched places. It’s Freaky Friday around here.”
Mama laughed, and Sadie said, “Maybe it’s just you that’s gone crazy. I can make the cottage a home. It’s time I dropped an anchor and stopped drifting.”
It certainly felt like I suddenly lost my mind. All these years I wanted Sadie to come back, and here I was pushing her away. “You’d be buying it for all the wrong reasons. Just like Mama kept it for all the wrong reasons.”
“Hey, now,” Mama said.
Buzzy held up his hands. “This is a conversation better left for tomorrow. It’ll give you all some time to think it through. Tonight is all about celebrating, right?”
“Right,” Sadie and I mumbled at the same time.
Tucker ran up to Bree. “Bee, throw ball?” He tossed the ball in her lap. She picked it up, then stood. “How about Bee throw you?” She reached for him, and he squealed and took off. She gave chase as Nigel barked.
“Now, who’s ready to have some wishes come true tonight?” Buzzy asked, rubbing his hands together as he reached for his pen.
Mama shook her head. “I said no wishes this year, and I meant it.”
Sadie picked up her marker and started drawing books again. “I’m out.”
I hadn’t made a wish in eight years, but I was tempted to tonight. Just to make sure Sadie saw reason. But no—if I’d learned anything this past week, it was to not force my wishes on anyone else. But maybe I’d wish for something generic. Peace on earth. Happiness. Good health. My gaze shifted to Connor. That he’d find happiness in his new business.
“I’m out, too,” Teddy said, licking frosting off her fingers.
Sadie’s head jerked upward. “What about true love, Teddy?”
Teddy smiled as she watched Bree run around, chasing after Tucker. “I think I already found it. It’s been here all along, and I was just too blind to see it, thinking love had to be a certain way to be real or true. I’ve never been happier than I have been since Bree’s been staying with me, and it was a real eye-opener that I don’t need romantic love to be happy. I sure do love that girl and want the world for her. I’m going to ask her if she wants to move in with me. I’m a poor substitute for her mama, but I’m sure going to give her my best effort.”
Tears came to my eyes. “Oh, Teddy. You’re her AuntMama.”
“Don’t you go crying,” Teddy said, “or you’ll get me crying, and I didn’t spend ten minutes gluing on these lashes for them to be wept right off my face. And I can only dream to be AuntMama’s equal, but she gave me the strength to give this a try. Now, y’all, cross your fingers Bree says yes.”
We all crossed our fingers—on both hands—and I noticed I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes. Sadie’s tears were dripping down her face, and she quickly wiped them away when Bree approached.
Winded, Bree dropped into her seat and took a sip of her Coke. “What?” she asked when we all stared at her, each of us wearing a goofy smile.
“Nothing.” Mama grinned. “Nothing at all.”
“O-kay,” she said, shooting a what’s-going-on look at Teddy, who patted her arm.
“We were just talking about Susannah’s heart and whether it’s strong enough to hold up during lovemaking.”
I choked on my margarita, coughing and sputtering.
“Now I understand the weird looks,” Bree said, nodding.
Mama burst out laughing, and Buzzy jumped out of his chair, his face bright red. “I think I need to go check on … something.” He ran quickly for the cornhole game.
Sadie slapped my back and said, “Come on, now, Teddy, there are children present.”
“I’m eighteen,” Bree protested, taking offense.
“I was talking about Leala and me,” Sadie answered, her voice rising dramatically. “There are some things we don’t need to imagine … or discuss.”
This was true. So very true.
Tucker ran up, put his hands on my cheeks, and said, “Mama, okay? I kiss?” Leaning in, he kissed my cheek. “Bettah?”
I nodded and swiped tears from my eyes. “Yep! Thank you. Whew. Good thing you were here.”
He spotted the ball on the other side of the table. “I throw!”
“Keep it away from the fire,” I said and held my breath, waiting for my mother to comment snidely, intimating that I was overreacting.
Mama nodded. “You mind your mama. That fire is hot.”
“Hot,” Tucker repeated, bringing his arm back and slinging it upward. The ball hung in the air for a few seconds before landing ten feet in front of him. Nigel grabbed it and took off.
“Ni-gel!” Tucker yelled, giving chase.
I slid a look at my mother and
found her smiling at me. Perhaps Connor was right. Trust would come one moment at a time.
“Are we still doing yoga on the dock tomorrow?” Bree asked. “Or going straight into lantern collecting?”
“Floatilla doesn’t start until nine, so I’m up for yoga if y’all are,” I said.
There was murmured agreement all ’round the table, including Mama, which made me wonder if she’d show up with coffee in hand again and no desire to move from her seated position.
“Have you ever thought about teaching yoga, Leala?” Bree asked. “Like, for real? You’re really good at it.”
“I do enjoy it,” I said, shrugging, “but if I do go back to work, I’ll go back to my old job. Plus, I’m not qualified to teach a real class.”
“She’s only qualified to teach us misfits,” Teddy said with a smile.
Sadie tipped her head, studying me. “What’s it take to get qualified, Leala?”
I glanced at Connor to find him looking my way. He smiled, and I melted a little. “I don’t know, honestly. I’ve never looked into it.”
“Maybe you should,” Sadie said, giving me a nudge with her elbow. “It shows how much you love it.”
Mama nudged me from the other side. “That’s a fact.”
Out of nowhere, I wanted to look into it. I wanted it more than anything. But it didn’t make sense. None at all, not when I had an accounting degree.
Yet …
My gaze fell to my lantern, and I suddenly realized exactly what I wanted to wish for. And I hoped more than anything that it would come true.
Chapter
27
Sadie
Will held a stick over the fire pit, a marshmallow speared on its end. “Leala told me that you’re thinking about buying the cottage.”
I glanced at my sister, who still sat at the patio table, this time with Connor at her side, their heads tilted together as Leala gestured toward Buzzy’s house and absently threw the ball for Tuck and Nigel. “Leala has a big mouth.”
In the kitchen window, framed in the light of the kitchen, it was easy to see Uncle Camp and Iona standing at the sink, doing dishes of all things, laughing at a joke only they knew. I suspected offering to do an early cleanup had been a ploy to get some time alone together. Maybe if all the stars aligned, Uncle Camp would have the perfect place to move to. Maybe in finding love, he’d find a new home, too, one not too far away in Wetumpka.
Fireworks popped from the area of the cove, and a burst of light brightened the darkening sky. Teddy and Bree had taken a shaking Nigel into the house when the fireworks had started to get him settled with some sort of special coat that helped calm his nerves. Tuck had been upset at first at losing his playmate, but he’d collected Moo and continued to play, now throwing the ball to himself in between asking Leala to toss it to him.
“Was it a secret?” Will asked.
I leaned back in the Adirondack chair and watched the lights of the fireworks float back down to earth, fading as they fell. “No. It’s just that I wanted to tell you myself.”
He turned the stick, toasting the marshmallow on the other side. “Leala also mentioned that she doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”
“And you?” I turned my head to look at him. “What do you think of me buying the cottage?”
He pulled his stick out of the fire. “Depends on your reasoning, Sadie Way. If it’s for any reason other than your whole heart is invested in owning a B and B, then don’t do it. And I’ll remind you again that the offer to live with me is still open.”
My heart was doing funny things as he looked at me. “I actually do love running the B and B.”
“As much as I’d love to have you here all the time, what about your work?”
“I love my job, too, and the people I meet on the road.” Leala’s voice echoed in my head, about how my work would suffer if I bought the cottage. “There has to be a way to do both.”
Light from another exploding firework sparkled in his eyes. “Well, as you know, where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’ll help you any way I can.” He leaned over and kissed me.
When he pulled back, I said, “That’s the kind of help I can get used to.”
His smile stretched wide. “More of that where it came from.” He sandwiched the marshmallow and a square of chocolate between two halves of a graham cracker, then handed the s’more to me.
Mama and Buzzy were carrying all the lanterns down to the dock, readying them to set afloat. They were laughing as they walked, and suddenly I wanted to find my lantern and make a wish after all—that they’d always remember how much they loved each other. Because knowing Mama, she was going to try his patience a time or two or twelve. Love would help them through the hard times.
Will stood up. “I’m going to get more marshmallows. Need anything?”
“No, I’m good. Really good. Thanks.”
As he walked away, Tucker came barreling toward me, running after the ball that he’d just flung into the air.
“Sadie! I throwed!” He looked up, trying to track the ball’s location with poor Moo flopping about helplessly in the crook of his arm. As I tracked his progress, my heart went straight into my throat. He was running straight toward the fire pit without realizing it.
“Tucker, stop!” I shouted, dropping the s’more as I jumped up. I took two big steps and leaped forward. Just as he tripped on the stone ring around the fire, falling toward the flames, I surged forward and caught him. I curled his body upward against mine, away from the heat. In my momentum, I had no place to put my foot down but in the pit itself, and flames hugged my leg as I pushed off again. I landed hard on the lawn on the other side of the pit, tucked, and rolled, keeping Tucker close to my chest, wrapped in my arms. My heart pounded, my body shook, and my leg was searing hot as I rolled to a stop.
“Tucker!” Leala screamed, the sound shattering the peaceful night, breaking it into small pieces. I barely noticed everyone running toward us as I stared at the sky, the glittery stars, trying to catch my breath.
A second later, Will was on his knees by my side, beating everyone by mere seconds. I sat up and glanced at my right leg, the skin red and raw and blistered, and let out a soundless cry at the sight. Will opened his mouth, and I grabbed his arm. “Don’t yell.”
He’d been about to call for help, for an ambulance, for something. “Sadie, your leg…” He quickly took off my shoes, tossed them aside. The sole of my right tennis shoe had melted.
“It doesn’t hurt,” I said. “Look. See? It’s already healing.”
The red was fading, the skin turning pink. In another minute it would look like it had never been touched by the heat at all.
“Tucker!” Leala shouted as she stumbled forward.
A muffled “Mama!” came from my arms, and I slowly opened them. Tuck rolled out onto the grass and laughed. “Sadie fly!”
Leala knelt down and scooped him up, squeezing him tightly, and I noticed she was shaking, too. Connor wrapped his arms around them both.
Tears sprang to my eyes at the anguish on Leala’s face, the sheer terror. It only took an instant for life to change forever.
Will had tears in his eyes, too, as he helped me stand up. He yelled, “Sadie’s fine! Tuck’s fine. Everyone’s fine!”
I heard mumbles about magic and miracles as Mama and Buzzy rapidly approached.
“Dear Lord, child!” Mama shouted when she finally made it to my side. “Why not give me another heart attack? What’s one more this week?” she added dramatically as she edged Will out of the way to look me up and down. Satisfied, she wrapped her arms around me, holding me close, much like Leala was holding Tucker. “Thank God you’re both okay. Thank God you were here! And to think you wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t asked you to stay the whole weekend. Lord-a-mercy! These festivals are going to be the death of me one day. I swanee!”
I could only smile at Mama’s theatrics. I didn’t know how she’d reacted the night I’d been pulled from the lake, but I
suspected it was something quite similar. She was trying to change her ways, yes, but I fully believed some things she could never change—they were as much a part of her as her curly hair.
She abruptly let go of me, kissed Tuck’s head, and patted Leala’s shoulder. Then she clapped her hands as she headed back to the patio. “Everyone’s okay! Everyone’s all right! That’s quite enough excitement for the night. Let’s finish gettin’ these lanterns to the dock! It’s about that time to set them loose—and let’s put this fire out, shall we? Buzzy? Grab the hose, sugar! Whew-ee. I need a drink.”
Tucker squirmed in Leala’s arms. “I fly! Again?”
“No!” we all shouted.
With a pout, he lifted his hands up in question and asked, “Where Moo?”
Moo. Oh no. I glanced at the fire pit and saw the poor stuffed animal lying in the flames, a shadowy lump amid the crackling logs. I swallowed hard and fought the urge to sob, instantly grieving Tucker’s beloved friend. Will pulled me into a hug, and I pushed my face against his chest, unable to hold back the tears.
“Maybe he’s taking a nap inside,” Connor said quickly, his voice thick as he covered up the sad truth.
“We find Moo?” Tuck asked, oblivious to his loss.
His grief would come when Moo wasn’t found, but for now I was grateful for him to hold on to his innocence for a while longer.
“Yeah, let’s go look,” Connor suggested, taking Tucker from Leala’s arms and giving her a bleak look.
There were tears in her eyes as she stared at the fire, the flickering orange flames reflected in the moisture. She looked traumatized, as if all the would-haves and could-haves and what-ifs were racing through her head.
I knew those questions well and knew little good would come from dwelling on them.
The Lights of Sugarberry Cove Page 27