“There you are! You nearly missed cake!”
Pru smiled and wrapped an arm around the girl’s thin shoulders. “That would be a tragedy, for sure. Let’s go get some.”
“I already had a piece,” Ari admitted.
“Child, you only live once. If you want more cake, you can have more cake. Besides, Mrs. Lowrey won the state fair with this recipe five years running. It’s worth two pieces.”
Flynn watched as the two of them moved off toward the cake table, arms linked, dark heads bent toward one another. Something warm moved through his chest, seeing how easy they were together. Pru really was going to make a great mother.
By the time he made his way to the cake himself, another girl had bounded up. She gestured wildly with her hands, then the two girls turned pleading eyes on Pru, hands clasped in total adolescent supplication.
“Here now, what’s going on?” he asked.
The second girl’s eyes went wide at his accent. “You are not from around here.”
“Indeed, I’m not.” He grinned. “Is this begging for more cake? For I’ve not yet had my share.”
“Your cake is safe,” Pru assured him. “Kacy just invited Ari to go on a trip down to Nashville with her and her family. Tomorrow.”
“I know it means me missing out on the cleanup after the wedding. But I swear I’ll make it up with the rest of my chores around the inn. Please, Pru?”
“We’d only be gone a couple of days,” Kacy added. “And I can help clean up when we get back.”
Pru’s face softened. “I want to have a word with Kacy’s mom first to clear up some things, but you can go. You’ve worked quite hard enough the last few months to earn some time off.”
Both girls whooped and practically knocked Pru over with their enthusiastic hugs. Then they were off again, racing, Flynn imagined, to tell Kacy’s mom the good news.
He leaned in to get himself a slice of cake. “Seems the Universe had a backup plan after all.”
Chapter Four
“DO YOU HAVE ALL your stuff?” Maggie asked Athena.
“I’m the one who’s been standing down here with a fully-packed suitcase for half an hour.” Athena eyed the stack of Maggie’s luggage. “You never could travel light.”
“Some of us had non-wedding related work to do while we were here.”
And some of us have work to do after you go. But Pru didn’t share that particular thought.
The house couldn’t empty fast enough.
After she’d cooked what felt like the world’s largest breakfast—enough pancakes and sausage to feed the literal army under her roof—the first wave of her former foster siblings headed out. Right on their heels, Kacy and her parents had picked Ari up. Those who remained had helped with clean-up in the barn. The tables and chairs were folded and stacked, waiting for pick up by the rental company on Monday, and the other detritus from the reception had been swept up or cleared away. Mostly. The lights would take longer to pull down, but later. It could all wait for later. Pru just needed them all gone so she could have a minute or five to breathe. And maybe have a nap, since she didn’t sleep a wink last night.
“Y’all should get on,” she urged. “There’s construction on I-40. You don’t want to miss your flight.”
“In a hurry to get rid of us, sis?” Athena’s lips curved in the sort of loose, relaxed grin that only came from being thoroughly sated. Not that Pru would know anything about that since she hadn’t been.
“Honestly, I want an afternoon of quiet where nobody wants anything from me. I’ve been going ninety miles an hour since we started the inn, and throwing Kennedy’s wedding into the mix, on top of maintaining my own business, has meant no breaks for me.” She came off harsher than she’d intended.
Maggie frowned. “The burden of the everyday running of things has absolutely fallen on you. That was never our intention. Maybe we should revisit the idea of hiring you some help.”
“We can’t afford it yet.” It would be into the fall before they were truly in the black. “And it’s fine. I’m just crabby and tired right now. Now that the wedding is over, things will slow down. Ari and I can manage fine, while Kennedy’s away.”
“What about Flynn?” Athena asked. “Is he sticking around now that Kennedy’s off on her honeymoon?”
“He’s here for a couple more days, while he lines up some new gigs. I expect he’ll be gone by midweek, when the next reservations are booked.” Pru refused to analyze the pang she felt at that.
“Where’s he gotten off to?” Maggie looked around, as if just realizing Flynn had disappeared. “I haven’t seen him since we finished with the barn.”