She should leave.
She wanted to leave. Sort of.
Now would be better, she decided, brushing her hair back from her shoulder, where the wind had tousled it, only to find a fat swipe of strawberry frosting. Ugh!
Scowling, she turned away from the window, grabbed her towel from the hook beside the door, and headed for the shower. Stupid frosting. I swear I’d leave if it weren’t for that frosting and that stupid dream. I’m stuck here until that’s resolved.
As soon as she showered and dressed, she dropped her phone in her pocket and headed downstairs. She’d just reached the landing when she heard Sarah say, “Aunt Jo says Ella will never stay in town for it no matter how much we ask.”
Ella paused. Maybe she should make a noise? Or just return to her room for a few minutes?
Ava sighed. “It’s too bad we can’t convince her to be a judge for the bake-off. She knows more about baking than anyone, and she’d bring a crowd to the event, too.”
“I know, but you know how Ella hates this town.”
That was unfair. Ella didn’t hate Dove Pond. Not exactly. She just didn’t like small towns. She bent down a little. By leaning to one side, she could just see into the kitchen through the railing.
Sarah had a steaming cup of tea in front of her. She picked up a small silver spoon and scooped some sugar into her cup, her face creased in a frown. “Do you think she’s happy, moving around all the time? She never stays long enough to make friends or get a serious boyfriend or anything. I hate that for her. She has to be lonely.”
Ella scowled. Of course she wasn’t lonely! Not usually. She’d made friends. Well… good acquaintances was a more accurate term, but that was enough for her.
Ava spread some butter on a biscuit. “It’s as if she’s searching for something but isn’t sure what.”
That’s ridiculous. I’m not searching for anything. It was time to put an end to her sisters’ deep and unwelcome dive into her life, so she straightened up and made plenty of noise as she came down the rest of the stairs. “Good morning!” she called out as if she hadn’t heard a word of their conversation. “I hope you saved me a biscuit.”
“They’re in the warmer,” Ava said.
“We made honey butter,” Sarah added.
Ella went to pour herself some coffee and put a biscuit on a plate. “What were you two chatting about?” Ha. No sense in making it easy for them.
Ava and Sarah exchanged looks, and to Ella’s surprise, Sarah admitted, “You.”
Wow. That was bold. Ella sat beside Sarah at the counter and opened her biscuit, steam rolling out. “What about me?”
Ava rested her elbows on the counter, her breakfast momentarily forgotten as she eyed Ella with a worried frown. “We were just wondering if you were happy.”
“Of course I’m happy. I have a great life.” Except for those ridiculous dreams and the strawberry frosting and the restless longing she felt every time she saw Gray, she was as happy as could be.
Ella put a healthy dab of honey butter on her biscuit. The butter melted and soaked in, so delicious-looking that some of her irritation melted with it.
Sarah sighed, her breath blowing the steam across her teacup. “I’m sure you’ve been content, but have you ever been really happy? The kind that is so perfect, you never want it to end?”
“That kind of happy doesn’t exist.”
Ava and Sarah exchanged a look. Then Ava said carefully, “It doesn’t last forever, of course. But surely you’ve had that feeling where you looked around and knew that, for that one moment, everything was just the way it should be?”
Ella finished her biscuit and licked her fingers. “No, and don’t tell me you two have had moments like that, because I won’t believe it.”
Sarah lowered her teacup. “I have them all the time. Especially when I’m at the library and it’s just me and the books, and I know you and Ava and the others are safe and sound, and our town is healthy and thriving, and I know I’ll see Blake soon—that’s when I’m the happiest. I love those moments.”
Ava added, “I feel that way here sometimes, especially when it’s quiet. I look around and I know I’m right where I belong. But you… you’ve never felt that way?”
Not once. Does everyone feel that way? Surely not. I can’t imagine Angela’s ever had a peaceful “I’m where I need to be” moment in her life. “Maybe one day. If I do, I’ll let you guys know. I—” Her phone chimed. “That’s probably Tiff.” Ella grabbed a napkin and, wiping her hands, pulled out her phone. “Oh. Tiff scheduled a Zoom meeting for this morning. I forgot about it.” Ella stifled a yawn, dropped her phone back into her pocket, and then reached for her coffee cup. “I’m going to need extra caffeine today. I’m sleepy this morning.”
Sarah sent her a smug look. “You got home late last night. I heard you come in.”
“It was late, and I was exhausted, but I still had one of those annoying dreams.” Ella wasn’t ready to talk about Gray, as much as her sisters might want her to.
Ava looked up, concern on her face. “Have you had any luck with Angela?”
“I’ve been driving her all over the place, and while we’ve gotten a lot friendlier, she shuts me down whenever I bring up that cookbook. I’m going to have to be more direct.” Ella took another drink of her coffee and then carried her empty plate to the dishwasher.
“Good luck with that.” Sarah got up and pulled her sweater from where it hung over the back of her chair. “I don’t think ‘direct’ and Angela have much in common.”
“Truth.” Ella looked with regret at her mug of coffee. “Do we have any to-go cups? It’ll help me stay warm in the car.”
Ava fished a paper cup and lid out from under the counter and handed them to Ella. “Where are you off to?”
“I need to look at some of the video edits before our meeting, and I don’t feel like hanging out here. I might just head to your tearoom and set up camp there.”
“If you need Wi-Fi, you’ll have to go to the Moonlight. Ours went out two days ago and the earliest the company can come to fix it is tomorrow.”
“Same for the library,” Sarah said. “Erma said hers was off at the boutique, too. Looks like everyone on our block got hit.”
“Good to know. I’ll be at the Moonlight, then, if you guys need me.”
Ava nodded. “Sarah, I almost forgot. Kat called last night, and she wanted me to ask if you could recommend some fun reading once she gets home from Brazil. She said she’d been working crazy hours and is going to need something relaxing.”
Kat Carter and Ava were good friends and had been since high school. Ella wondered what it would be like to keep a friendship that long. It’s probably a lot of work.
“I’ll see what I can find,” Sarah said. “Maybe the new one from Colleen Hoover. It’s riveting.”
Ella put down the dish towel she’d been drying her hands on. “What’s Kat doing in Brazil?”
Ava pulled another to-go cup from under the counter and fixed herself a coffee. “She’s been helping her dad secure a turpentine factory. She says it’ll make his fortune a fortune.”