“Did you ever find my gray sweater?” Gracie asked as I strapped Hunter and Hayden, the twin boys Cass and I had brought into the world nine months ago, into their car seats. “I know it’s warm today, but I suspect it will be chilly by the time we get back from the pumpkin farm.”
“I found it. It’s on the third-row seat. I was going to sit back there with Paisley and Anna after we pick her up. Cass will drive, and Tom can ride shotgun. You can sit on the middle seat with the boys since it’s easier to get in and out of, but if they get fussy, you and I can switch.”
“It’s a good thing you have a big car,” Gracie chucked as Baxter jumped into the cargo area with Milo.
I smiled. “It’s the perfect car for my perfect family.”
“Did you tell Grandma that we’re going to stop by and bring her a pumpkin?” Paisley asked after climbing into the third-row seat.
“I did, and she’s very excited about seeing all of us,” I answered. Even though Ethel had decided it was time to go into assisted living, and Paisley had moved in full-time with us, we were very diligent about visiting her on a regular basis.
“Did you ask her about the diary she was going to lend you for your article?” she asked.
“I did.” I kissed both my sons on their chubby cheeks and then climbed in next to Paisley. “Dex loved my idea about writing a town history, and I think your grandma’s diary is going to help me really pull things together.” I hugged her. “Your idea was excellent.”
She grinned. “I’m going to be a newspaper columnist like you someday. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help out when I can.”
My heart bled just a bit when I realized that Paisley would be going to college in two years. God, how I’d miss her. But I wanted her to have her heart’s desire, and at this point, being a journalist seemed to be where she was heading. As Cass started the van and pulled out of the drive, I turned and looked back toward the attic window where Alastair sat staring down at us. Little had I known that first night when I’d sat with the cat in that very window after leaving New York and returning to Foxtail Lake, that the life I’d been sure at the time I’d mourn until the end of time, had in fact, only been a placeholder for the life I’d been destined to live all along.
The End
USA Today best-selling author Kathi Daley lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken. When she isn’t writing, she likes spending time hiking the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home. She has authored more than a hundred books in twelve series. Find out more about her books at www.kathidaley.com
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