"Yeah," he says. His eyes find mine. “With the right woman, the family tree grows more branches, Abby.”
I swallow, feeling scared because I realize this – him – it’s all I want.
He must sense something stirring within me because he wraps me up in his arms, and he holds me tight. There isn’t any music playing, but we slow dance in that museum, imagining a life that has roots going deep in the town of Home.
11
BARTLETT
A weekwith Abby and my life has changed.
She makes me feel like anything is possible. And that may sound corny, but only if you've never been in love.
"Love?" Lemon says, shaking her head at me. She's brought in muffins from Home Made, the bakery across the street, and hands me a blueberry one. "You can't be in love with someone after knowing them for a week. That's ridiculous."
I shrug. "When you know, you know."
"Have you told her this?" she asks me with a frown, eyes narrowed.
"Not yet, but I plan on telling her after family dinner this Sunday."
Lemon groans. "That's so romantic. Let me guess. You're going to take her out behind the house, up to the old treehouse, and point out a star, and–"
"Hey," I say. "That was my plan."
"Oh, my God," Lemon says. "You are such a boy."
"I was trying to be romantic," I say.
She laughs. "Well, I think it's ridiculous."
"I just think you're jaded. Why aren't you more optimistic?" I ask. "If memory serves me correctly, your best friend, Juniper, met her husband, Jacob, in the most random way in Alaska not even two months ago."
Lemon takes a giant bite of her muffin to avoid answering my question. I laugh. "Exactly," I say. "When they came home for Christmas, I don't think I've ever seen two people more in love in my life. They were all heart eyes and lovey-dovey. It was cute. And Juniper deserves to be happy. That girl has had a hard life and Jacob makes her happy."
"True," Lemon says. "I am happy for Juniper and Jacob, and they are happy together. Happy, happy, happy.” She groans. “But that's one in a million. What are the chances of you falling in love equally as fast just one month later? Not statistically possible."
"You're not even good at math, woman," I tease as Plum comes into the store with her dad, Rueben.
"Hey," Rueben says with a smile. "What are you joking about?"
"Oh, I'm just giving our big brother here a hard time," Lemon says, wrapping her arms around Plum. "He thinks he's in love."
"With Abracadabra," Plum says with a grin.
"Abraca-what?" Lemon asks.
I press a finger to my lip. "Shh," I say. "That was our secret, Plum."
Plum giggles. "Sorry, Uncle Bart. But I have big news," she says.
"What's the news?" Lemon asks.
"The circus is coming to town," Plum says, jumping up and down. "Look." She shows us a flyer and sure enough the Big Top Circus is coming to town this weekend. Today is Thursday.
My stomach drops.
"What kind of circus performs in the middle of winter?" Rueben asks. "Kind of weird, right?"