“Indie and I will grab the ingredients for hot cocoa here in the Springs, then we’ll swing by the barn to get the butter and Jupiter. We’ll head over after that, probably about four.”

“Fantastic. Oh, no, not that one, Max … Theo? I’ve got help in the kitchen. I need to go.” Odette hung up without saying goodbye and Theo smiled.

“Butter and blackberry hot chocolate,” Mamie said. “Sounds like an interesting combination.”

“Odie got a phone call from Caleb this morning. He’s decided to fly in for the holiday. She’s putting together a big dinner tonight. She requested the butter. The hot chocolate was my idea.”

“Hot chocolate?” Patty said as her wheelchair rounded the wide doorframe. “Tell me you didn’t bring something warm. I’ve been thinking about that milkshake since PT started.”

“Here it is, Mama,” Indigo told her, carrying Patty’s peanut butter milkshake toward her.

“Thank you, sugar.”

“And we have one for you, too, Birdie.”

“Well, I appreciate that, Goldilocks.” She took a pull on her straw. “Banana,” she smiled. “Just what I was hoping for. Delicious.”

Indigo gave her a wide grin.

“So, Cleopatra, it looks like you’re not the only one coming home for the holidays.”

Patty looked over at Mamie. “No?”

“Caleb Reilly is flying in this afternoon.”

“Is he an old flame?” Birdie wanted to know.

“Oh,” Patty sighed, pretending to be tired of the subject. “That was so long ago I can barely remember. Theodora is hot and heavy with Caleb’s baby brother, though. It just seems that the Murphys are forever tied to the Reillys.”

“I think that’s very true,” Theo agreed. “It’s been like that since the moment Whisper Creek was founded.”

“The historian over here,” Patty said with a roll of her eyes.

“Glory is the historian,” Theo corrected. “At least as far as Whisper Creek is concerned anyway.”

“Well, thank goodness she left you all her journals. Oh, wait, that’s not all she’s left you, is it?” Patty tapped a finger against the top of her cup. “It started with her SUV I believe. But that got washed away in the flood, didn’t it? Then there was the barn, and the Brubaker Building … gosh, she’s left you to care for just about everything now, hasn’t she?”

“That’s enough, Cleopatra,” Mamie scolded. “Let’s not forget you’ve asked Theo to take care of some important things, too.”

Theo’s eyes trailed over to Indigo.

“You want to play Go Fish, Mama? I brought the card holders so it won’t be so hard for your hand.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Mamie urged. “And while the two of you are doing that, Theodora, Birdie and I have some things to discuss.”

Theo looked in the rearview mirror. She could see Indigo, who was looking out the side window, and behind her stood Jupiter staring back at her with inquisitive eyes. Theo thought about their visit with Patty as she drove to Fireweed Farm.

She and Mamie had gone into the hall with Birdie and told her that the bungalow at the Madeleine had been prepared, and that her room was ready for her when it was time for her and Patty to move in. Then Birdie had moved Patty’s wheelchair to the table and left the Murphy women to play several rounds of Candy Land, Cootie and Zingo for the next hour and a half.

When it was time for them to leave, Patty was still throwing Theo dirty looks, but she’d been sweet with Indigo, which was the only thing that really mattered. Patty had been born three years before Theo, but she’d always acted like the younger sibling. No matter how old the two of them got, that was one thing that remained the same.

Theo turned onto the family access road that led to the Reilly’s main house. She parked the Jeep next to Jordan’s hail dented black pickup truck and Jupiter began to whine with excitement.

“He knows where we are,” Indigo told her aunt.

“And he can’t wait to get out of the Jeep.” Theo smiled at Indigo’s reflection, then she slid out of her seat and opened the back door. “Hang on, Jupe,” she told the dog. “Human kids come first.”

Indigo giggled and scrambled out of her car seat. “Can I bring my games?” she asked.

“Sure,” Theo said. “Let’s just be careful not to lose any of the pieces, okay?”

“Jordan!”

Indigo jumped to the snow-covered ground and took off running. Theo went around to the back and opened the door. Jupiter flew past her in his attempt to join Indigo. Theo looked up as she gathered the canvas bags she carried groceries in and watched Jordan lean forward, swoop Indigo up into his arms and toss her high in the air. The child giggled and Jupiter ran around the two of them, barking and kicking up snow.

Theo felt the anxiety of a visit with her sister slowly melt away as she watched Jordan press a kiss to Indigo’s forehead. He put her down again, and both she and Jupiter ran toward the back door of the Reilly family home.

“Hi.” Jordan’s boots crunched in the snow as he moved around the back of the Jeep.

Theo put the bags down and turned, burying her face in Jordan’s chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and felt his body heat against her as he hugged her close.

“I’m happy to see you.”

“I’m happy to see you, too. How were things with Patty?”

“She’s mean spirited and a pain in the ass.”

“So, normal, then.”

“Yeah, I just …” Theo’s voice faded.

She made no effort to pull away, so Jordan held her a little tighter.

“Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours, T.J.”

“You already know all of it.”

“I know but you can always tell me again.”

Theo closed her eyes and held onto Jordan. “I told myself that if Patty made it through the accident, that I would accept her for who she is.”

“That was a lot to ask of yourself.”

“Some days are definitely harder than others.”

“And today was one of the harder days.”