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The Hamiltons’ homenear Billings was welcoming. As soon as Mrs. Hamilton opened the door, her face brightened and she smiled warmly at Tori.

“I’m so glad to see you, come in.” Tobias’ mother was a pretty woman who always reminded Tori of being a teenager. When she started dating Tobias, she’d often spent afternoons in their kitchen. Mrs. Hamilton and her mother had been good friends and often visited each other.

Although it was nice, it made it hard to sneak off with Tobias to make out. The mothers always kept vigilant eyes, claiming they would not allow the teens to ruin their good friendship.

In the end, it had not ruined it, but made the two women closer.

“What brings you to town?” Mrs. Hamilton said, leading her to the back porch. “I was out here watering the plants and watching the hummingbirds.”

“Oh my goodness,” Tori exclaimed at noticing the four feeders. All of them had tiny birds fluttering around them. “How cute. Look at that one. Oh, over here, there are three of them.”

For a few moments, she allowed the whimsy of the moment to allow her to relax. While Mrs. Hamilton watered the plants, they talked about what was going on at Laurel Creek. Tori filled her in on the relay races and finally admitted to punching Tobias on the nose.

“He probably deserved it,” Mrs. Hamilton said with a shake of her head. “That boy has always spouted off without thinking.”

Tori met her gaze. “I apologized to him. There is never any good reason to strike another person.”

Mrs. Hamilton laughed. “You obviously didn’t grow up with boys. They punch and kick each other regularly. Even nowadays, they fight like boys in a schoolyard over every little thing. A few months ago, Luke and Ernest had a fist fight and then the twins are always giving each other a black eye or a busted lip.”

At Tori’s wide gaze, she added, “However, you are right. This is different.”

“He’s still planning to get married, Mrs. Hamilton. He told me so. So, I’ve decided to return the ring so you can give it to him to give to Mimi.”

“That’s not going to happen. I am not giving that woman the ring. I may just have it reset and gift it to Clara,” Mrs. Hamilton said, referring to her daughter. She took the proffered bag and placed it on a tabletop.

It was best not to interfere and ask why. Her heart was already broken at the decision to distance herself from the Hamiltons.

Mrs. Hamilton studied her for a moment. “What about you? It’s time for you to find a good guy and settle down.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever find someone that I want to sacrifice my independence to,” Tori replied with a chuckle. “I like not sharing a bed.”

“I can certainly understand that,” Mrs. Hamilton said. “Especially with these Hamilton men. They are so bulky.”

Tori looked away, not wanting to think about the fact she’d shared a bed with a Hamilton just recently.

When a hand pressed down on her shoulder, she wanted to lean into the kind woman and cry. “You’ll always have us. I consider myself your aunt. Look at me.”

It was not what she wanted. This was going all wrong. How to tell her she’d decided to part ways, to not stay in touch?

The kindness in the woman’s eyes chipped at Tori’s resolve. “You have been part of our lives since you were a kid. Don’t let the fact things didn’t work our between you and Tobias and that he’s getting married change anything. Promise me.”

Shit.

Tori let out a long breath. “I will be in touch and even come visit when it’s safe. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to continue to invite me to family gatherings. Mimi is already demanding they move away from Laurel Creek because of me. I don’t want to cause any more problems.”

Mrs. Hamilton’s face hardened and she shook her head. “That boy only learns when he goes headfirst into a big mistake. But there’s nothing to change his mind.” Her expression suddenly changed and she dug a cell phone out of the front pocket of her pants. Holding up a finger, she dialed a number.

“Hi, Sweetheart. I’m fine. Did you get a chance to make any inquiries?”

There was a long pause as she listened to whomever she’d called. Then her eyes widened. “You should speak to my son about this.”

Again she listened and rolled her eyes. “Well, you tried. I’ll call him…or no, I think I’ll go visit the dork myself.”

She hung up and her lips curved. “Sorry about that. I remembered I had sent Eric on an errand. If I don’t call about things when I recall them, they can be lost forever.”

They laughed at the comment and although Mrs. Hamilton seemed to be at ease, something about the phone call was strange. For some reason, Tori felt as if it had something to do with her, or would affect her in some way.

Since Mrs. Hamilton didn’t offer any explanation, she tried to figure out a way to find out which son she’d spoken about. “Is Luke in some kind of trouble?”