“Hardly,” I laughed. “Most of the male population here are in diapers, both young and old. I did get his name, though.”
“Which is?”
I paused for a moment to remember. “Eli. Eli Cooper.”
“Give me two seconds.”
“For what?”
My phone buzzed a few seconds later. Sadie had sent me a photo—of Eli.
“Did you social media stalk him?”
“It’s one of my many superpowers. That’s him, right?”
I didn’t want to say yes, but it was him—every tall, dark, and brooding bit of him. “Yep,” I said reluctantly. “That’s him.”
“Oh my God, he’s gorgeous. Seriously, get yourself on his profile now. And who is—Christ almighty,—he has two brothers, and they’re all stupidly hot. That’s so unfair.” There was a moment of silence followed by an ear-piercing squeal. “And a soon-to-be brother-in-law, too. Who’s also handsome. That means one of them is getting married. Not Eli, though, so I guess you’re in luck.”
“Stop planning my life. You’re being creepy.”
“And you’re being impossible.”
“Like you said, I’ll be leaving soon. Who cares how many brothers this guy has, or who’s getting married?”
“You should, so you can get in there for some fun before you fly back. God knows you need it.”
“Like I said, if luck is on my side, I’ll never see this Eli guy or his brothers again. I’m here for my ma. Speaking of …” I paused when I heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway. “It sounds like she’s up. I better go. Thanks for calling and giving me a few moments of normalcy.”
“Any time. I mean it. Call me any time. Preferably during work, because I need the distraction.”
“I don’t know how you keep your job.”
“Me either,” Sadie laughed. “You love me, and you know it, Flanagan.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, I do. Go back to work.”
“Overrated.” She sighed. “Go find that guy and do the same.”
“Sadie—”
But the call ended with a click, leaving my protest unfinished as my mom wheeled her oxygen tank to the living room. The flickering fire lit up her eyes.
“Emily, sweetheart, you have no idea how lovely it is to see a fire.”
I stood up and led her to the corner of the sofa, arranging her oxygen tank down by her feet as I put a blanket over her lap. “Do you want some tea, Ma?”
“Yes, please. A glass of wine sounds better, but I’ll settle for tea”
“If you can’t have alcohol, the least I can do is make you something full of caffeine.”
Mom chuckled, but it came out more like a cough.
“Is Earl Grey okay?” I asked from the kitchen. “That convenience store was out of normal tea bags yesterday.”
“That works. Milk and—”
“Two sugars,” I finished for her. “I know.”
I found a chocolate bar in the cupboard to go along with the tea. It wasn’t a perfect pairing, but it would do. Oh, to have a packet of good, old-fashioned digestive biscuits would have been perfect. Sometimes, I could admit that there were things about Ireland that I missed in America. Proper biscuits were one of them.
When I returned to the living room with tea, my mother sighed in appreciation as she took the cup from my hand. She inhaled the steam with a smile on her face.
“Nothing like a good cup of tea.”
“I can’t attest to it being any good, but it’s still tea.”
There was silence for a minute or two as we ate and drank, then I located the television remote and found her favorite channel.
“Who was that on the phone?” she asked.
“It was Sadie. She was checking in to see how things were going.”
“I take it you told her things were terrible?”
“Hmm … maybe.”
“You know, one day, you might rediscover those small-town roots of yours and realize you love this place.”
I made a face. “It’s not likely. Frazier Falls doesn’t have much to offer me.” What I wanted to say was Frazier Falls wouldn’t pay for the utilities or put food on the table. I did that by working in Los Angeles.
“Hard to believe you made do with three hundred folks once upon a time.”
“Yep, seems unthinkable now.” After another moment of silence, I turned to face her. “Do you miss it? Ardmore, I mean?”
“Oh, no. Not at all,” mom laughed. “The weather was awful, and the MacLellans' were the worst gossipers in town. Your da wasn’t always a good guy, but the stories they told about him grew taller each time. I’m glad we moved. Frazier Falls seems like the happy medium between a tiny village like ours and a big city. I’m happy here.”
“What can I do to persuade you to move back to Los Angeles?”
Mom frowned. “Emily, please stop trying to get me to move closer to you. I want to enjoy what I have left of my life. I can’t do that in California. It’s too crowded. Too much everything.”
“I know.” She was right. It was all those things, but it was home.
I let out a sigh of resignation. I’d always known I got my stubbornness from my mother, but now it was coming back to bite me. If I couldn’t convince her to come back with me, then that meant …
No. Don’t even think about it. You can’t move here. No job. No hope. No life.
The thought was enough to send shivers down my spine.
I would never, even if my life depended on it, move to Frazier Falls. But what if Ma’s life depended on it?
Chapter Five
Eli
The snow had finally let up enough that my brothers and I could head out for our usual Friday drinks at Reilly’s. It couldn’t have come at a better time. I was certain Pax was on his way to suffering from full-on cabin fever because he’d said at least a hundred words in the last ten minutes.
“And then John Reilly had the gall to say I’d been flirting with his wife. I didn’t even talk to her—I smiled, and somehow I was flirting.”
“Pax,” Owen muttered. “Shut. Up.”
I glanced at him, surprised. He shrugged his shoulders. “He’s been staying with me all week, and he’s driving me crazy.”
“I was trying to bond,” Paxton complained. “I thought being snowed in together would do the trick, but now I’m tired of the snow and Owen.”
“Stop whining,” I said.
Pax glowered at me. “It’s never been this bad. At least not since I could remember, which means I was really young during the last massive snowstorm. This is the worst winter I’ve had to survive in my entire life.”
“It’s not like Eli and I remember that much, either,” Owen chimed in. “I was six. All I remember is staying inside a lot. School was canceled.” He pumped his fist in the air. “That was a bonus.”
“And yet, we keep our office open even though we have no orders. What’s up with that?” Pax complained.