Lorri was glad she’d met her girlfriends for lunch, but she couldn’t wait to get back home to Dalton Mill. She loved this time of year when the days were at their longest. Thankfully, it would cool down a little by nine o’clock when the sun finally dipped behind the horizon so she and Mister could take a long walk.
She turned into the neighborhood, looking at it now with a fresh perspective. A year of growth on the landscaping had filled in the bare spots, and the young trees were beginning to make this rolling pastureland look lush and homey. A smile played on her lips as she turned down her street and her house came into view.
In so many ways she was still new in town, having spent most of the past year working from home.
She pulled into the driveway and parked. With her doggy bag in hand she got out of the car, pushing the door closed with her hip. She followed the sidewalk to the front of the house and let herself inside. “Hello,” Lorri called out.
Mister let out one loud woof, then scrambled on the slippery wooden floor to greet her, his sniffer doing double duty on the bag.
“Hey there.” Tinsley bounced up from the sofa. “We were just watching a movie. You’re back way earlier than I thought you’d be. When I get together with my girlfriends time flies.” Tinsley paused the movie and met Lorri halfway.
“It was such a nice visit. I’m glad to be home though.” Mister gave her a slobbery kiss then whimpered like a pup.
“He missed you,” Tinsley said. “He kept going to the front door and pacing, until I took him out back and brushed him. Sorry to tell you, but after that he kind of forgot about you. He’s been so good.”
“At least now I know I can leave him with you if I have somewhere I need to go.”
“Anytime,” Tinsley said.
After being in the city this afternoon, it confirmed what she loved about living in Dalton Mill. The slower pace, peaceful neighborhood, and beautiful homes with wide open spaces and neighbors like Tinsley.
“When I lived in Raleigh, I never realized how much traffic there was,” Lorri said. “I used to love that town, but I couldn’t wait to get back here.”
Lorri took some money from her purse and handed it to Tinsley.
“No.” Tinsley stepped back. “You weren’t even gone that long. I’m not taking your money. It’d be one thing if I stayed all day, or overnight, but this was my pleasure.”
“Take it. Really. You helped me out. I appreciate it.”
“Well, ask me again some time. I’d love to spend time with Mister. Maybe some day you’ll help me out with a logo for my new company or something.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Lorri knew Tinsley was destined for great things.
“Works for me.” Tinsley gathered her things. “You know, I was thinking while you were gone. I don’t know if you know about the Leafland County Fair, but it’s a big to-do around here.”
“I’ve been to the state fair once. I was in fourth grade, I think.”
“Well, the county fair isn’t as big or fancy as the state fair, but we have a really good one. I’ll be working the aquaculture booth. You should come. It spans five days. Different things each day. The schedule is online.”
“That sounds like fun,” Lorri said. “I’ll check it out.”
“Fair food. Crafts. Local artists. The 4-H livestock shows, if you like that kind of stuff. Businesses from the county have booths too. Might be a good way to meet some of the tradespeople. I mean, you never know when you’re going to need a plumber or HVAC guy.”
“Hopefully not anytime soon on a new house, but you’re right.” Wouldn’t hurt to put her name out in the marketplace for potential clients too. “I’ll look for you there.”
Tinsley headed for the door. “Might not be too late to enter Mister in the dog show.”
“I don’t think he’s the show type.”
Mister sprawled out on the floor and dropped his head to the ground.
“It’s not a breed show. There are fun categories like ‘snoring’ and ‘couch potato.’ He’s Olympic-level at both of those.”
Lorri gave him a soft pat. “We’ll practice for next year.”
“Hope to see you at the fair. Everything gets started this Tuesday night.” Tinsley stepped outside.
Lorri followed her out onto the porch. “Hey, I meant to ask you about The Wedding Ranch. Do you know anything about it?”
“Yeah. I know the people who own it. It’s the coolest wedding venue on the whole East Coast. Every event is unique. They transform the old tobacco barns into the most magical settings with lights and flowing fabric in different colors. Honestly, I don’t know how they do it. You should look at the pictures online. They’re booked three years out already. You better hurry if you want to secure a date.”
“No. Not me. I just heard … well, it sounds very exclusive.”
“Very expensive, too,” Tinsley added. “Thank goodness they give a significant locals’ discount. I’m not sure even with the discount if I could ever afford to have my wedding there.”
“Country venue weddings are very in right now.” Lorri pictured the glossy wooden signs with shiny gold lettering that read THE WEDDING RANCH in script with arrows to the venue, but she’d never driven down that way. “Aren’t we lucky to be out here so close to it,” Lorri said. “We live in the best location in town.”
“I wouldn’t say that so loud,” Tinsley half whispered. “That’s kind of a sore subject around here. Well, not right here in the neighborhood, but in town.”
“Really? The Wedding Ranch? Why would that be a sore subject?”
“Not The Wedding Ranch. The location of this neighborhood.”
“I’d heard it was an old cattle farm. The corporate farms are making it so hard for small farmers to thrive these days. I’ve seen that on television before. It’s really sad.”
“No, it wasn’t like that. Part of the family who owned the land sold off their acreage without letting the others know until it was a done deal. When the rest of the family found out it had been sold to a developer, there was a lot of drama. I heard they put the stipulation of lot size in the deed at the last minute to ease the tension.”
“I wonder what the developer’s original plans looked like.” She thought about how the spaciousness was such an important factor in her own decision to move into this neighborhood. “It wouldn’t be the same with even twice as many houses, but they could have really packed them in.”
“They could have.”
“It’s a gorgeous place to live,” Lorri said. “I fell in love with it as soon as I saw the pamphlet, and I love all of the green features. I’d think they would’ve been pleased.”
“Well, who ever said family fights made sense?”
Lorri thought of the long-running conflict within her own family. After Jeff’s death so many things spun out of control. “They can live on way longer than the original issue.”
Even now, years after his death, it was hard to talk about Jeff without someone getting bent out of shape.
“Yep,” Tinsley agreed. “Best to just stay out of those. Good night.”
“Thanks again for watching Mister today.” Lorri went back inside and sprawled out on the couch.
Mister followed along.
“Hey, buddy. Did you know your dad is marrying the lady from puppy school?”
It was bad enough Craig had left her for the other woman, but to marry her? And so soon? No, she’d never seen that coming.
It took him five years to pop the question to me. Maybe Tiffany’s pregnant. She has a two-year-old already. It’s possible, and it would explain the rush to get married.
“He never wanted children. I’m glad he gave me you. You’re the next best thing. Tiffany has a two-year-old.” She looked the dog square in the eye. “Did you ever meet her toddler?”
Mister pulled his head back and turned away.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t put you in the middle. It’s okay.”
Can’t live your best life on yesterdays.
Her laptop lay on the end table. She reached over and grabbed it to search online for information about the county fair. The website was well done with bright graphics and lots of smiling faces.
It was an occupational hazard that she could never just look at a website without a critical eye. Years of experience in marketing had ruined that for her. A checklist of missed opportunities always took over, but the county fair did look fun. Well, not the rides—she wasn’t the ride type—but there were lots of shows. Even pot-bellied pig races. That could be fun to watch.
She found the schedule of free craft classes. Pottery, mosaics, even a birdhouse-building session. She’d quickly grown to love all the different birds in her backyard. She had some flexibility in her schedule, maybe she could catch the birdhouse class. Anything to keep her mind occupied and off of Craig and Tiffany’s upcoming wedding.
The next thing she knew, her fingers were flying across the keyboard, typing in “Craig Walker,” searching for engagement announcements. At least they hadn’t been so tacky to have posted anything so soon after the divorce.
But it was just timing. It didn’t change the fact that they had to have been planning their wedding for a good long while. It takes time to book and plan a wedding in a venue like The Wedding Ranch, and from the sound of it this was going to be a big one.
A picture of Tiffany at the Golf Club Fund Raiser with that Yorkie in her purse popped up on her screen. She zoomed in on the picture. She isn’t that pretty.
Craig’s comment about Lorri not being a purse-sized-dog type of woman irked her. At the time she’d thought it was a compliment. Who wants to be a purse-dog woman anyway?
She reached for Mister, giving him a pat on the back.
Not me. Let all this go about Craig and Tiffany, she told herself. I’m living the life I dreamed of in a beautiful home, with this sweet dog, in a town of nice people. Working from home in pajamas is pretty awesome, and I’m in the best shape of my life.
“You know what I’m going to do, Mister? I’m going to make a forget-about-it jar and put it on my desk.” She got up and went into the kitchen. Scouring the cabinets for something that would work, she tiptoed to reach a mason jar on the top shelf. With a grunt she stretched just enough to tip the jar and grab it before it fell. “This’ll work.”
Mister stayed right at her hip. Ever curious, he pressed his nose to the glass jar. “There’s nothing in it. Not yet.” She walked back into the living room and sat down at her desk. Pulling broad-stroke permanent markers out of the caddy in her drawer she started decorating the front. She hadn’t hand-lettered anything in a while. She used to love doing that.
Finally, happy with it, she turned the jar toward Mister. “What do you think?” He stuck his nose inside the top of the jar and sniffed, then backed out and sneezed. “Every time I waste a minute thinking about my old life, I’m going to put five dollars in this jar. The goal is to keep it empty.” She set it in the right front corner of her desk. “Can I get a high five on that?”
Mister lifted his huge paw and tapped her hand.
“I probably owe it twenty dollars just for today, but we’ll start now.” The jar wasn’t a painting, but at least it was a little crafty. She got up and walked upstairs to the loft. She flipped through the paintings she’d stored there, along with the old projects in different stages of completion.
She pulled out a canvas. One beautiful tree on a rolling hill. It had never seemed quite finished. It needed some balance. She placed it on the easel. Pressing her finger to her lip, she stared at the image before her.
What the painting needed became clear. It was darn near a recipe for her own life. She knew now what was missing. Life.
Balancing a palette in her hand she squeezed a dab of three different colors and then stood back for a moment before dipping her brush into the paint and pulling the brush across the canvas. That first stroke filled her with inspiration. Maybe I do still have this gift.