Page 102 of Mountain Pine
“What time even is it?” Nick asks.
“Two-thirty,” Carly answers.
He stomps around the side of the house, dramatically whining about how he has to lay brick in three more hours so why don’t we all stay up and eat waffles.
Conner kisses my forehead and wishes me a happy birthday one more time before he leaves, dragging Nick with him.
Carly and I make it to the kitchen before she asks, “Cuz, are you sure you don’t want to try one more time with Conner?”
“No way. My heart shattered once and I still haven’t recovered. He’s not into me like that, Carly. Stop bringing it up because it’s never going to happen.”
She looks out at the greenhouse one last time and sighs…
“Aw, you guys are thecutest.” Grace bats her lashes and sighs. “I always thought Dean, and I had the best love story ever, but you and Conner might have beaten it.”
“I don’t know. Yours was pretty epic.”
“We’re lucky ladies.”
“Totally.”
The church pew is loaded with plants, most of which need to be repotted because they’ve gotten so big. “Lettuce Pray” has faded from constant sunlight. The paint on the windows and doors is peeling and cracking, but I can’t bring myself to put a fresh coat of color on any of it. It’s aging so beautifully.
“Let’s get to work,” I say with a surge of joy. “Put on that podcast, baby. Let’s get dirty.”
Grace hooks her phone up to my Bluetooth speaker and we listen to our favorite serial killer stories while soaking succulents, propagating other plants and have tea on my patio.
“This is such a great day,” Grace sighs.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Everywhere I look reminds me of a whimsical fairy world with practical magic vibes. You should make content to post online.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening. I don’t have the energy to put into that.”
Grace shrugs, because she knows better than most how much time it takes to be an influencer. Her cell buzzes and she reads a text. “Dean and Conner are coming over with dinner.”
“Perfect.”
We kick back and soak in the sunset while we wait for our guys. The instant I hear Conner’s truck pull up my insides get all excited.
Dean and Conner walk around the side of my house and Grace whistles and cat calls.
Dean shakes his head and chuckles. “Have fun today?”
“So much. Look at me.”
Grace is covered in dirt. I swear it takes talent to get more on herself than in the actual pots. I love thatfor her.
Conner kisses me and then heads inside to shower and change. By the time he’s done, we’ve got a spread of food covering my patio table.
“I’mstarving.” Conner grunts and groans as he sits next to me. He must be exhausted.
“So.” Grace pops the top off a beer and hands it to him. “Did you ever hear about the Finger Man?”
Conner snarfs his beer. “The what now?”
“The Finger Man.” Grace leans in. “It’s not like it sounds. That wouldn’t be so bad.”
