“Morning, Avs.” I wrapped an arm around her for a quick hug. “All right, get settled. It’s time for food.”
“Pancakes?” Mia asked hopefully.
Will chuckled. “You ask that every day.”
She turned hopeful eyes to me, and I couldn’t hold in my laugh. “It’s not a weekend.” I tried to reserve the super-sugary stuff for special occasions.
She slumped in her chair. “Vegetables?”
I tried to reel in my laughter at her dejected expression. “You’ll survive. I promise.”
“I like the veggie patch scrambles,” Ava offered.
“I’m glad.” I’d come up with the name because when we first moved into our small rental house, I’d planted a vegetable garden in the backyard. The kids loved helping tend to the plants, and I thought it would make them keener to the idea of eating the vegetables on their plates. It was hit or miss most of the time. But Ava was always a trooper.
“I like the veggie patch scrambles,” Mia parroted in a whiny voice.
My gaze cut to her as I took a seat. “Mia Renee, we don’t make fun in this house.”
She slumped lower in her seat. “Sorry, Ava.”
It wasn’t exactly heartfelt, but it wasn’t sassy either so I let it slide. Everyone dug into their breakfast, and my lips twitched when Mia was the first to finish hers. When she caught my smile, she shrugged like someone way older than her seven years. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“I’m happy to hear it.” I took a sip of orange juice, glancing around the table. “Okay, hit me with the good stuff. Three things.” I pointed to Ava.
“Um…” She thought for a moment. “I got a ninety-seven on my spelling test.”
I held out a hand for a high-five. “That’s awesome! Proud of how hard you studied.” I turned my attention to Will.
He only rolled his eyes a little bit. “Mr. Harmon was sick yesterday, and we got to watch a movie during history.”
I broke off a piece of my toast. “That definitely qualifies as a good thing. And what about you, Miss Mia?”
She beamed. “Coach Hughes wants me to practice with the big kids next week!”
I straightened in my chair, letting the piece of toast fall from my fingers. “She does? Why didn’t she talk to me?” I was going to kill that woman.
Mia shrugged. “She said she was going to talk to you today.”
I did everything I could to make sure my siblings got to do whatever activities their hearts’ desired. And pretty much from the time Mia could speak, she had been asking for gymnastics. I’d put her in a pre-K tumbling class when she was four, and Mia had taken to it like a fish to water. The coach of the program had told me that Mia had real potential. But elite gymnastics programs, even the one on our tiny chain of islands, were expensive.
It was nearly killing me to send her three times a week. If she started the elite program, that three would jump to five. I wasn’t sure I could swing it. All I could think about was the letter I’d received from our landlord the day before about our rent increase. That would be hard enough, but adding gymnastics on top of that? It would most likely be impossible. And there went any chance at the culinary class I’d had my eye on for the past few months.
“I can do it, right?” she asked.
I swallowed against my suddenly dry throat. “Let me talk to Coach, and we’ll see.”
“Okay.” Mia smiled in a way that said she had all the faith in the world in me. It was a smile that socked me right in the gut. And I knew I’d simply have to find a way. Maybe I could look into selling a kidney on the black market.
“Nope, nope, nope.” Kenna waved her hands in front of her face. “Don’t open that within a twenty-foot radius of me.”
I slowly put the packet of bacon back into the fridge under the counter. “I thought you were loving bacon lately.”
Kenna’s hand went to the small curve of her belly. “Something changed this week. It’s so bizarre. Now, I can’t stand the smell of it. It has me puking my guts up in seconds.”
Bell scrunched up her face as she slid onto a stool opposite us at my kitchen station. “Thanks for that mental picture right before we eat lunch.”
Kenna shrugged. “I figure you’d rather have the warning than me barfing in your purse.”
I bit back a chuckle. My job at The General Store had many perks, but one of the highlights was cooking for my best friends when they stopped by. “Okay, bacon’s off the table. What’ll it be, Barfy Magee?”
Kenna scowled at me for a moment before turning her gaze to the chalkboard above my head, taking in the array of salad and sandwich offerings. “How about the kale and apple salad with chicken?”
“Coming right up. Bells, you want the vegan BLT?” I glanced quickly at Kenna. “That’s not gonna make you upchuck, right?”
“No, your weird health nut fake meat should be fine.”
I shook my head as I started pulling out ingredients. “No weirder than your fake sugar, fake hazelnut, fake milk coffee concoctions. How is that decaf treating you these days?”
Kenna pointed her fork in my direction. “That is cruel and uncalled for.”
Bell let out a snorted laugh. “She knows how to hit you where it hurts.”
Kenna gave a pitiful moan. “I miss real coffee.”
“It’ll be worth it. You don’t want that baby popping out jonesing for its next hit of caffeine.” I poured some chopped kale into a bowl and reached for the dressing.
“You sound like Crosby. Do you know he’s read all of those baby books already? He’s even joined Mom forums. Every time I even look longingly at his coffee, he starts listing off all the potential side effects. He even tried to limit my chocolate intake.”
My chest gave a painful squeeze, but I kept my smile firmly in place. The last thing I wanted Kenna to know was that jealousy had made a home somewhere in the vicinity of my heart. It was a mixture of joy and pain. Over-the-moon happiness for my friend, who deserved a happy ending more than anyone else I knew. But also, a searing ache, because I so deeply wanted what she had—a true partner who would support me through all of life’s ups and downs. Someone who would be there for Will, Ava, and Mia. Who would see the kids as the treasures they were.
Bell waved a hand in front of my face. “Hello? Earth to Caelyn. Please don’t chop off a finger.”
I forced my smile wider. “Sorry. Lost in my own world.” I quickly focused on slicing the chicken once more before placing the vegan bacon strips in a skillet.
“You look tired. Is the new manager position a lot more hours?” Kenna asked.
I’d recently taken over as manager for The General Store. It meant that I not only ran the kitchen but the rest of the grocery, as well. It was a lot more responsibility and hours, but it also meant a bit of a pay raise. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough to cover both my increased rent and Mia’s gymnastics. Not even close. “The job’s good. You know me, I just lose myself in another world sometimes.”
Kenna and Bell shared a worried look that had me biting back a curse. “I swear, I’m fine.”