She grinned and laced her fingers with mine. “Only if you’re by my side.”
“Always,” I replied, opening the door to our new life.
Amelia
“And without further ado, I give every citizen of Auburn Hill, Peacock B & B.”
We’d spent almost the entirety of the last six month arguing over the name of our business. The rebel in me felt it only right that “cock” be part of the name of our B&B. Titus had objected to that, but then relented when I explained that it was the peacock fight that had brought us together and, really, didn’t we owe that crazy bird some credit for his matchmaking?
As we rehearsed, Titus yanked on the ropes at that exact moment, the tarp falling from the sign next to our new bed-and-breakfast. The logo was a colorful span of peacock feathers with a caricature of our house in the middle.
Titus and I moved to grab the huge ceremonial scissors borrowed from the city and cut the red ribbon strung between the pillars on the wraparound front porch. Family snapped pictures and even someone from the newspaper was there to run a story on our new business. Titus put the scissors down and immediately tipped me into a movie-star kiss.
The town all clapped and whistled their approval. All save for Wayne, my old boss, who remained slightly miffed I’d opened up my own place. Word on the street was his hotel had gone into disarray without me there, a rumor that made me feel smug and maybe a little guilty. But mostly smug. Even Big Foot had jumped ship and lived with us now at the Peacock.
Titus brought me back upright, the movement and the rush of realizing my dream making my head feel like it would fly off into the wispy clouds in the blue sky above. Today, anything felt possible, even pie-in-the-sky grand dreams.
“We’ve laid out some food for you, all of which you can order while staying at our fine establishment. Come on in and check us out.” I waved people in the front door and they streamed in, eager to see what we’d brought to Auburn Hill.
“Will there be any peacocks for us to see?” Poppy asked eagerly as she waited in line to get inside.
I smiled. I knew someone would ask sooner or later. “Oh no. Those things are foul.”
Poppy froze, then let out a yelp a hyena would be proud of. “Oh, you jokester.”
Little did she know, I wasn’t kidding. Charlie and Finnie had tried to get us to re-home their wild peacock as our B&B mascot, but seeing the destruction on the backside of their property, I had no interest. I’d keep the peacock on Titus’s ass and call it good.
People hugged me, high-fived Titus, and shared their well-wishes regarding our new business. Citizens, old and new, young and old, came through with smiling faces. Even my third-grade teacher was there, patting my cheek and telling me she’d known all along I’d straighten out one day. Backhanded compliment aside, I was happy to see the turnout of almost everyone in town.
Suspiciously missing was Titus’s brother, Dom. The two brothers had had a falling-out a few months back. I hated how much Dom’s behavior weighed on Titus’s mind, but there’d been a noticeable peace about Titus now that he and Dom had parted ways. Like not cleaning up after Dom any longer had freed him somehow. I wasn’t one to cheer for families splitting apart, but sometimes distance was what was needed to be healthy.
“Amelia!” My sisters came running up the porch steps, squealing and smiling, pulling me into a sister huddle.
Oakley quieted them down with a stern bark. “We’re all incredibly proud of you, Amelia. Congratulations on kicking ass at life.” She craned her neck above our heads. “Where’s Titus? He should be in this huddle too.”
Esme grabbed him and pulled him away from a conversation with Yedda and into the middle of our circle. “Here he is!”
He spun until he found me, his glazed eyes showing his overwhelm. Yeah, I knew that feeling. Welcome to being part of a family with five sisters. Everything was overwhelming.
Oakley gave a short little speech, congratulating us both, and then they all let out a cheer. Titus grinned so wide I wanted to take him back in that pantry and get him grinning for other reasons. I loved seeing him with my sisters. They were the siblings he never wished he had and yet you could tell he loved them and all their crazy antics.
The girls went into the house, leaving just Titus and me on the front porch. We could hear all the conversations flowing through the open windows, the clink of glasses and food being shared among friends. Our house was full. It had come alive and become a home.
We did it.
Titus pulled me in tight under his arm and we just stared through the front door, both of us lost in the emotion of the moment. My eyes burned and I went with it this time, letting a tear trail down my cheek.
Titus looked down at me and jerked.
“Happy tears,” I interrupted him before he could ask. “It’s fine to cry if they’re happy tears.”
“I like that new Amelia rule.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Now come here. I have something else to show you.”
He pulled his arm from around me and laced our fingers together instead, tugging me to walk around the porch to the backside of our house. Charlie and Finnie were standing next to a large tarped object on the edge of the grassy area we’d toiled over just three weeks ago when we laid the sod ourselves. Lucy and Bain came from around the shed, along with Lenora and Jayden. Hazel burst out of the shed with a dazzling smile and Rip
