Page 4 of Love Like Ours

“You will,” Lucas said easily. “Taxes and utilities will be on you, but the mortgage was paid off last year.” He smiled. “Mom busted her ass to pay it all to secure your future.”

She closed her eyes on the pain. “She was always thinking of us before herself.”

“I hope I’m half as good of a parent as she was,” Lucas said.

“Your both going to be amazing.” She squeezed his hand.

After breakfast, she packed her bags and had Lucas drive her to the beach house in Hidden Cove that her mother had bought when they’d first moved to Pride.

The two-story white cottage was smaller than most of the other homes in the neighborhood. It had three bedrooms and two full bathrooms upstairs and a small den or office space downstairs along with a living room, dining room, and kitchen. In her opinion, the house had far more charm than the ones that sat on either side of it.

The stone steps and pathway that led to the wide front porch were well lit and lined with flowers that grew in the spring. It was easily one of her favorite places on earth. It had a modern beach look with its black metal roof and dove-white paint.

Large black-framed windows and French doors gave each room lots of light during the day. The detached two-car garage sat slightly to the right at the front of the property. The lot was one of the smaller ones in the neighborhood, but they still had almost a full acre. The home sat in the middle of the lot, giving them plenty of space behind the building before the yard turned into soft sand and tall sea grass.

She waited while her brother unlocked the glass front door with his keys and then stepped onto the porch and out of the rain that was falling.

Lucas helped carry her things in and disappeared upstairs, no doubt to drop her bags off in her old room. She stood in the living room like a statue and looked around.

There was so much of her mother here. The house had seemed so small when she’d lived here before. Her mother had known how to fill a space. She’d been so vibrant. So full of spunk.

Even though most of the items in it were older or secondhand, she’d made it feel warm and like… home.

Being a single mother had hardened her, Sophia supposed. Before her brother returned down the stairs, the tears had blinded her and the pain of her loss doubled her over.

When her brother’s arms wrapped around her, she willingly melted against him.

“What am I going to do?” she asked between sobs.

“Live. It’s what she wanted. For you to just… be happy,” Lucas said into her hair.

“How?” she said into his chest. “How am I ever going to be happy without her? Without knowing she’s only a phone call or a text message away?”

“She was our rock.” Lucas sighed as his arms tightened around her.

When he stepped back, she noticed his eyes were as wet as her own.

“I love you,” he said, cupping her cheek.

She nodded and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Go to work. You’ll be late for the lunch crowd.” She squeezed his hand and released it.

“If you need anything…” he said.

She nodded quickly. “I’m good,” she said softly before he turned and left.

Out of habit, she hung her coat on the hook by the door and took off her boots. She put them on the mat next to her mother’s boots and slipped on her slippers, which her mother had kept by the door.

She stood for a moment before slowly making her way further into the house she’d called home for a while. This had felt like more of a home than the one in Edgeview where she’d grown up. That was due in part because of how welcoming the townspeople of Pride were towards them. The other reason, she supposed, was the soothing sound of the waves outside.

She walked down the hallway, past the small office her mother had used, and through the living room and kitchen that sat at the back of the home.

Opening the back glass doors, she took a deep breath and soaked in the crisp chilly salt air.

She wrapped her arms around herself and stepped out on the small deck, letting the sleet wash over her.

When her nose became chilled and the sleet turned into full-blown snow, she stepped back into the warmth of the house.

Her mother had always kept everything in the place tidy. A week after they’d moved there, they had gone together and purchased new-to-them used furniture for the entire home. They had a few older pieces, like her grandfather’s clock that sat by the fireplace, which was her only family heirloom from her mother’s side of the family.