Three Little Words (Fool's Gold #12)

She glanced around and then leaned in again. This time her mouth lingered. “Dinner,” she whispered.

* * *

ISABEL PAUSED ON THE PORCH to check her phone. Still no return call from Sonia. She wondered what was going on with her friend. She’d left a message on Sonia’s Facebook page, where her friend had regular updates. But the lack of direct communication was troubling.

“Auntie Is, Auntie Is!”

Isabel grinned and dropped to her knees so Brandon, Maeve’s six-year-old, could run into her arms.

“Look at you,” she said, squeezing him as he laughed. “You’re so big.”

He hugged her back, then broke free and hurried back through the front door. “I can read, Auntie Is. I have a book.”

Isabel watched him bolt into the house, then followed. While she appreciated the happy greeting, she wondered how much of his enthusiasm came from his memories and how much was inspired by his older siblings. Isabel knew she’d had more to do with them than the younger ones. Mostly due to time and distance, but still.

Maeve waited at the front door. “You’re going to have to listen to one of his ‘Bob’ books now,” she said by way of greeting. “It’s the first level of reading. ‘Bob can walk. Bob can jump.’”

“Sounds like a bestseller.”

They hugged. Isabel patted her sister’s stomach.

“You seem to have something in there. You knew that, right?”

“Very funny.”

They settled in the family room. In addition to a huge sectional sofa, there were several chairs, a large, square coffee table with padded corners and toys everywhere.

Maeve burrowed onto a cushion and sighed. “I tried to pick up before you got here, but I’m at the tired stage of my pregnancy. In the next few weeks, I’ll get my energy back and then watch out.”

“You would know,” Isabel said, thinking Maeve had plenty of practice.

Maeve and Leonard had waited a year before getting married, just to make sure their love was the real thing. By then Leonard had graduated from college and passed the CPA exam. He got a job with the biggest accounting firm in town. Two years later, Maeve had gotten pregnant. The kids had kept on coming. Now she had four, all under the age of nine, with a fifth on the way.

“Is this the last one?” Isabel asked.

“I think so.” She smiled. “Leonard says yes, for sure. But we love having kids. We’ve talked about maybe stopping having our own, but adopting a few. Not babies. There are plenty of people who want an infant. We’re thinking maybe older kids who would benefit from a stable home and life in a town like this one.”

“Impressive,” Isabel murmured. “Now I officially feel shallow.”

Her sister’s blue eyes were concerned. “Why would you say that? You’re a successful businesswoman. That’s impressive. All I do is stay home with a bunch of kids.” She smiled. “Not that what I do isn’t important and I love it, but I haven’t ever seriously worked in the world. When Leonard and I were first married, I knew my job was to save for our house down payment. I didn’t want a career. When the youngest is in school, I may get something part-time, but I can’t imagine doing what you do.”

“Right now I’m working at Paper Moon. Which isn’t that notable.”

“But you’ll start your own business.”

“That’s the plan.”

Maeve leaned her head against the sofa. “You always loved that store. You and Grandma were there together every weekend. You knew all the styles of dresses by the time you were five, and by ten, you could have ordered the inventory.”

Isabel nodded. “She was wonderful.”

“She liked you best.”

Isabel wrinkled her nose. “She liked that I loved the store.”

“Same thing. Paper Moon was her life. I never got the point. I guess retail isn’t my thing.” Her sister looked at her. “You’ll take that with you when you open your own place.”

“I hope so. It’s going to be different. Back to New York for me.”

“I wish you could stay around.” Maeve raised one hand. “I know, I know. New York is a fashion capital and all that. Fool’s Gold isn’t going to be a star on anyone’s trendy map. Still. Mom’s been getting regular reports from our local gossips, and everyone says you’re doing great. Just so you know, the parents are secretly hoping you’ll change your mind and stay.”

Isabel sighed. “I know. She mentioned it the last time we talked.”

“You tempted?”

“I have a goal and it doesn’t include staying here.” Not that being home was as horrible as she’d thought it might be. In fact, parts of her return were quite excellent. Her friends, for one, and Ford. Ford was an unexpected gift.

“Do you and the folks have a timetable?” Maeve asked.

“They’re due back from their trip before Thanksgiving. Then we’ll go over my plan for refurbishing the store. It should all be done by the holidays, and then we’ll put the store up for sale after the first of the year.”