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“Make a wish, my girl, and if I were you, I’d wish for patience.”
“Why?” I shifted in the dirt, running my finger up the stalk of a lilac bush.
Blaire smiled sweetly, her southern accent still heavy on her tongue as she clicked it.
“Because you’re aknife, my girl. Born to shape, divide, and prune. You’re a gift to this family, and while you can’t see it, one day they’ll need you.Hewill need you.” She shifted her gaze around the garden, her face softening. This was Colson’s special place, so I assumed she was talking about him.
“How do I wait for them to want me?” I swiped at my eyes, slicking away the mascara that had run from my lashes.
“Make a list, every single day, of all the good things you can think of. You make those lists until you feel your heart grow strong enough to love in the midst of pain. One day you’ll have your own family, and you’ll show them how powerful your love can be. Some of them will need your love, and others will need your honesty. You keep your eyes open, Haley Hanes. Watch and see. You’ll hold all the power soon enough, and never forget—in all this wealth, the most powerful asset you will ever have is the power to forgive.”
I closed my eyes, letting her words sink in, and blew out my candles.
CHAPTERONE
Sun that shouldn’t be shining in winter
Heated Seats
Bluetooth
Mountain Views
New Friends
Hillary Duff
Work
Wi-Fi
The chipped mugreally should have been the first sign that this place wouldn’t have espresso or anything other than drip coffee on the menu. I didn’t know why, but damaged mugs just said something about a place. As did the booths pockmarked with tiny rips. The carpet was in desperate need of replacement—in my opinion they should swap it for hardwood—but the location wasn’t bad. I could see the entire street from my seat in the diner.
Today marked one week since I arrived in Macon, Oregon, and I was still trying to figure out exactly what I was doing here. Malibu had been my home for all twenty years of my life, and as much as I didn’t fit in there, this leap I decided to take didn’t make much sense either.
It wasn’t like I just drove up here on a whim.
My brother sort of deserted his girlfriend at our parents’ house, and when I offered to drive her back, she took me up on it. So, after taking a fifteen-hour road trip with Nora, I plopped myself here in my brother’s town. I just happened to pack everything I own in the back of my SUV when I left.
So, here I was, being a dutiful sister to the one brother who never saw me as one.
“How are you doing? Can I refill your coffee?” a waitress offered with a beaming smile and a pop to her hip. Her coral lips stretched, causing a few wrinkles to appear near the edges of her mouth. I hated that my first thought was how she seemed to fit into this entire small-town-diner aesthetic.
Returning her smile, I covered my mug. “No, thank you, I’m okay.”
“Well, look at those nails and that hair! I haven’t seen hair that shiny since I took a trip down to L.A. I saw Hillary Duff. She was just out there walking her dog like it wasn’t a thing at all, can you believe that? A lot of people around here think I’m lying, but I saw her, and I remember her hair being so shiny that it looked like liquid gold.”
I caught sight of the name tag, pressed against her pink shirt.
“Thank you, Tammy, that’s sweet of you to say. And I believe you about Hillary Duff; she’s a national treasure and has been seen a lot around Los Angeles.”
Tammy took a seat, sliding in across from me, her pot of coffee going right in front of her.
“Isn’t she? I just loved her in that modern Cinderella movie. She did such a good job, and my nephew showed me that she’s on that Clock app too. I think it’s so fun to be able to see these stars on those videos. So what part of California are you from?”
Feeling a little apprehensive about being locked into this conversation, I spun the mug around in slow circles.
“Uh…well …”
