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This was needed. I’d never been one to always stay home, and I was curious to see how much Strawberry Springs had miraculously changed.

If the coffee shop was open this late, I could do some work. I had far too many emails to answer and I didn’t know where to begin. Night had snuck up on me, though; the shop was closed, and now my options were limited.

Gaining custody of the girls had me off kilter. Hell, I’d been messed up since Alice died.

When I stepped out onto the square, my eyes went upward. The entire square was lit up in fairy lights.

“Wow,” I muttered to myself. The last time I was here, everything had been dark, save for the dying streetlights illuminating random corners.

When the renovation show came here, I didn’t see why.

Now I did.

It was like a fever dream come to life, and it sat heavy in my chest. I stood there for far too long trying to decide what to do. I even did a few things on my phone before deciding to walk to Bell’s Brews.

I’d been too young to spend time here when I left, but Atticus had brought me in for sodas a few times. It was mostly the same, except with more signs and newer chairs.

Damn, this had gotten better too.

Mark nearly dropped a glass when I approached the bar. “Holy shit. You’re really here.”

“I’m sure you heard the news.”

“I did.”

I made myself smile as I sat in front of him.

“Hell has frozen over.”

“What do you drink?”

“I can’t drink tonight. Can you get me a club soda with cranberry juice?”

Mark paused and I knew he was shelving that information for later. Having to go home to two wild children meant that getting drunk was the last thing I needed to be doing.

He started on my order, and I took a second to rub my forehead. With a break from the two girls driving me over the edge, my thoughts shifted to Jade.

The thing I hated the most was the way she looked at me.

When she told me to never come back to town, all that was written on her face was anger. Years must have changed that for her. Now I could see a deep sadness that she only reserved for when she had been talking about her dad.

Somehow, I joined the same group as the man who never gave her any attention and worked all the time. That was a bitter pill to swallow.

It would have been better if I had bought a different house slightly out of town. Unfortunately, there were hardly any properties for sale because the people who lived here wanted to stay here.

Mark slid the drink to me. “You okay?”

“Are you not siding with Jade?”

“I could. I have a feeling neither of you feel great, though.”

I frowned. Jade was the one who’d stayed here. I would have expected her to talk so much shit about me that no one would take me back.

“We’ve all learned some lessons about judging people,” Mark continued. “Many lessons, really. But I doubt you care about those.”

“I’m mostly surprised you guys all collectively learned something.”

“It took a lot of mistakes.” Mark smiled. “We all make them.”