This was our home, no matter how old we got.
I went to the cupboard where she kept the coffee cups and took out a mug.
“Guess who I bumped into at the store yesterday,” Mom said, picking up her own mug.
“Who?” I asked as I refilled her cup, then my own.
“Bonnie Haskins.”
“No kidding?” I laughed. “I was just thinking about her on the drive over.”
“She had Marie with her. That girl is growing like a weed.”
Marie, the baby I’d delivered during that snowstorm. Named for my middle name.
The last time I’d seen Marie had been at the hospital. She’d come in for her annual sports physical. “She’s so cute.”
“She’s going to give the boys at the high school a run for their money.”
“You’re not wrong.” I smiled and sipped my coffee.
This was why I lived in Quincy. So that Marie Haskins would grow up in front of my eyes. So that Hudson and Emma and Drake would be doted on by their aunt Talia.
A tiny giggle sounded from the living room. “I heard you’re babysitting today.”
“Your dad is on duty until I get this pie in the oven. But otherwise, we’re going to have a fun day. I bought finger paint.”
“You spoil them.”
“Hell yes, I do.”
“I’m going to go say hi.” I left my coffee on the counter, then headed for the living room, where Dad was on the floor with three babies. Emma, seven months old, was lying on a blanket with her toes in her hands, trying to shove a foot into her mouth.
Her one-and-a-half-year-old brother, Hudson, was smacking two blocks together. While Drake, my brother Knox’s son, was toddling around Dad, giggling as Dad tried to tickle him.
“This looks like fun.”
Hudson took one look at me and the blocks were forgotten. He shoved up on his feet and held up his hands. “Uh. Uh.”
Up. Up.
“Hey, buddy.” I swept him into my arms and kissed his cheek. Then another little boy crashed into my leg, so I bent and hefted Drake up too. My siblings always teased me for having baby fever. I wanted kids. Someday. And until that day came, these babies were my fix. “How are my guys today?”
Drake answered with a string of gibberish.
“Ah. Well, that sounds excellent.” I put them both down and sat on the floor. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hi, sweetheart. What are you up to today?”
“I came out to take Neptune for a ride.” I toyed with Hudson’s blocks, helping him make a stack.
“It’s a pretty day. Sun’s shining.” No matter what the temperature, hot or cold, Dad considered any day with sunshine a golden one.
“I thought I’d swing by the hotel this afternoon,” I said. “See if Eloise needs any help before the Christmas rush. I talked to Lyla this morning and she was oddly calm, considering how busy it’s been.”
Dad chuckled. “I thought the same thing when I talked to her yesterday. But you know it won’t last. She’ll be dead on her feet by the time Christmas gets here next week.”
The entire town was decked out for the holidays with garland and lights and trimmed trees. Lyla owned the coffee shop in Quincy and she’d spent three hours the other night hand painting Eden Coffee’s front window with snowflakes.
She had customers streaming through her door from the time she opened at six in the morning until closing at seven each night. Half were locals who’d placed special orders for holiday pastries. Half were tourists in town to enjoy the festivities.
Lyla would be exhausted by the time New Year’s was over. So would Eloise and Knox. But they’d have help. The Edens pitched in to help each other, without hesitation.
“What’s new at the hospital?” Dad asked.
“Nothing really.” There wasn’t much I could tell him, but on occasion, I’d gripe about Rachel.
Hudson threw a fist into my stack of blocks, then giggled, so I stacked them again.
“You okay?” Dad’s eyes narrowed on my face. “Something is bothering you.”
There was no point in denying it to Dad. He’d always been able to read my moods. And I’d rather him hear it from me than the Quincy grapevine. Knox hadn’t mentioned bumping into Foster at the hospital earlier this week, but chances were, it would come up sooner rather than later. We didn’t get a lot of famous UFC fighters in Montana.
“Foster Madden is in town.”
“What?” He straightened, lowering his voice. “Why? What does he want?”
We hadn’t talked about Foster in years. Knox teased me for being too private for my own good. But I was glad I hadn’t had to explain the Foster situation to everyone. It was a story I didn’t have the heart to share multiple times.
Lyla knew I’d been dating someone in college and that we’d broken up when I’d gone to medical school. Eloise knew the same. And my brothers, well . . . they avoided their sisters’ love lives.
“He claims he’s moving here,” I said. “He bought that vacant gym on Lower Clark Fork Road.”
The previous owner had gone broke when I’d been in high school, and the gym had sat vacant for years. There just weren’t enough people in Quincy to support two gyms, especially when the Firehouse had new equipment and fitness classes.
“Have you talked to him?” Dad asked.
“Yeah.”
“And?”
I shrugged. “I don’t want him to live here. But I guess I don’t have much choice.”
Dad’s mouth flattened. “You know, I thought about buying that building to flip. Damn it.”
“It’s . . . strange.” I had a feeling that even if there’d been no building, Foster would have come anyway. I forced a smile and ran my fingers through Drake’s blond hair. “I’ll be fine. It was a long time ago. Just a shock. But I’m going to take my ride. Get some air. Then I’ll be good as new.”
“Want some company?” he asked.
“I’d say you’ve got your hands full.” I bent down to kiss Emma’s forehead, then stood. “See you after a bit.”
After a quick stop in the kitchen to say goodbye to Mom, I headed outside, grabbing a pair of gloves and a beanie from my car. Then I zipped my coat up to my throat and headed for the stables.
“Your horse is all ready, Doc.” A hired hand saluted me by touching the brim of his hat as he strode out of the building.
“Thank you.” I smiled, then walked inside. Neptune stood in the closest stall. “Hey, girl.”
She huffed, butting up against my hand as I stroked her dappled gray cheek.
Neptune was one of eight horses Dad had purchased years ago. Eloise had insisted on naming them all, and at the time, she’d been doing a school project about the solar system. So each of us siblings, plus Mom and Dad, had a horse named after a planet.
“How’s my pretty girl?” I crooned, opening the door to lead her out.
We walked for a bit, out of the stables and lapping the corral before I made a few adjustments to my saddle. Then I stepped my left foot into a stirrup and hoisted myself up, settling into the seat before we headed through a gate—the hired man had opened it for me—and into a field.