Say You're Mine - Layla Hagen Page 0,51

jerked her head back even as she shook hands with both of them. “Nice to meet you. Where did you get all that information?”

“Well, those pics also had your name attached... and then we stalked your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles,” Jana said proudly. “Instagram too.”

Donna was glaring at me. “Yeah, we were hoping our dear cousin would call and tell us about you, but when he kept mum, we had to take matters into our own hands.”

“You’re never going to learn to mind your own business, are you?” I teased.

Donna rolled her eyes. “Never.”

Jana looked around. “Okay, we can gang up on him later. What can we do to help? The grill smells like it’s almost done.”

Dad waved his hand. “Sit down, all of you. I’ll just put the meat and cheese on plates and bring it to the table.”

A few minutes later, our plates were full. From the first bite of steak, I was transported to my childhood days. My parents used the same seasoning. I’d forgotten what it tasted like.

“So our task for the party tonight is to pick up a box of decorations from the general store. Want to join us, Isabelle? We can show you around town,” Donna said.

“Only if you promise to give me as much dirt as possible on Brayden. I’ve heard you two are the perfect source for it.”

“Oh yes we are,” Jana exclaimed proudly. “Who told you that?”

“Mom called you two ‘good girls,’” I added, barely holding back laughter.

Donna gaped at Mom. “Esther, I don’t remember you praising us as kids. You were always calling us spawns of the devil.”

“You three were driving me insane, and a certain someone was helping you do it.” She glared at Dad, who shrugged.

“Kids are kids. And they turned out fine.”

“You did,” Mom conceded.

Donna wiggled her eyebrows at me. “We have so many stories about him.”

“I’ll come too,” I said calmly.

“No you won’t,” Dad butted in. “That party tent won’t build itself.”

“Please tell me it’s not that same old tarp from when I was a kid.”

“It’s a perfectly good party tent,” Mom said.

The Blue Falls General Store owned two party tents that they rented out. They’d been old and gray even when I was a kid.

“Wait a second. Who was going to help you out if I wasn’t here?” I asked.

“Jerry and Hank,” Dad answered, referring to my cousins’ husbands. “And they’re helping anyway.”

I caught Isabelle’s eye, and she winked at me. She fit in here so seamlessly and didn’t seem to think that helping was beneath her, or mind that my parents led a simple life. I was damn grateful to her for convincing me to come to Mom’s birthday. She had a way of making me take things easier and enjoy life more. She made me happy.

How the hell was I supposed to let her go?

Chapter Sixteen

Isabelle

“The town is lovely,” I exclaimed a while later as Donna, Jana, and I headed to the general store. We were in Donna’s red Chevrolet truck, driving down Main Street, where you could find everything from a hair salon to a pharmacy and a Goodwill store. The security company Sasha hired was tailing us, of course. I didn’t think it was necessary, but it seemed to make Brayden happy.

The buildings were all wooden, painted in different colors. I’d called shotgun the moment I saw the truck. Jana was sitting in the back.

“Jana and I both studied in Boston but then came back home after graduating,” Donna said. “I’m a programmer, so I can write code from anywhere.”

“And I’m a chemistry teacher. Always wanted to come back to teach at the local high school. We’re small-town girls through and through.”

“I understand,” I said. “I grew up in Montana in a town half the size of Blue Falls. Can’t say I’ve ever wanted to go back though. I like to go there to visit my parents, but that’s it. I like big cities. I used to live in Philly before moving to New York.”

“We know,” Jana said. “It was all there in your LinkedIn profile.”

“We’re sorry if this is creepy. We were curious about you,” Donna said.

Donna stopped the truck in front of a small pink house with a black roof and the sign “General Store” on it. It looked very quaint and cute, but the main entrance was closed. There was a paper glued to it: “Out for lunch.” It didn’t say when they were coming back. There were three huge boxes next to the main entrance labeled “Party