She loathed having to call Brady. Not that her brother wouldn’t help. Any one of them would. But Adam and Kane both were busy with their own lives. Which was why Arabella had first broached the subject of moving to Rambling Rose with Brady. He’d already gone to work for the Hotel Fortune as concierge at that point and she’d had the idea that if she helped take care of the twins for him, not only would she be helping him, but also she could get by without having to pay him rent until she got herself established. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t have tried to charge her rent anyway, but he also would have totally lorded it over her that he was taking care of her.
Only in the time since then, Brady had fallen for the twins’ nanny, Harper Radcliffe.
Which meant that now, instead of moving in with her brother and his rambunctious twins, she was imposing on the engaged couple and their rambunctious twins. They even had a dog now. All that remained was the official I do’s.
They never said there wasn’t really room for Arabella, but that didn’t mean there was.
Harper was lovely and brilliant with the boys and they adored her. Once she and Brady married, Tyler and Toby would have a new mother to care for them. They certainly didn’t need Arabella’s help now.
Pity party, much?
This time Arabella didn’t try to shut up the voice.
She tightened her ponytail, pulled on her ball cap again and tried the key one more time with no more success than before.
Not even the radio turned on.
Nor could she roll up the power windows.
She glanced around the interior of the car. Was there anything she was afraid of being stolen, anyway?
Plus, in a town like Rambling Rose, was there even any danger of leaving a car open like this? She was parked right outside the police station, after all.
She grabbed the book bag that was both a holdall and purse and even though she knew it was pointless, she pushed down the door lock after she got out of the car.
She hefted the long strap crosswise over her shoulder and looked up and down the street.
She’d been in town for only a week, but thanks to Petunia’s brisk floral business, Arabella already had a good lay of the land and she set off for Provisions. Adam managed the restaurant, but he and Laurel had gone to Houston with Larkin for one of his doctor’s appointments. She knew they wouldn’t be back yet.
Which meant Arabella could at least satisfy the hollowness in her stomach in privacy while she dealt with her car.
I think you should know that...
...I can be a rude jerk.
She picked up her pace and was breathless when she reached the cool interior of Provisions.
There were people waiting for a table but she bypassed them for one of the few empty seats at the bar. She ordered an iced tea when the bartender came over, then pulled her cell phone out of the book bag before plopping it on the floor.
She called the flower shop first to let Petunia know that she’d finished her deliveries for the day. She did not, however, tell her boss about the dead car battery. One of the only requirements for the job was possession of an operable vehicle.
Just as Arabella finished her call, the bartender slid a tall glass in front of her. “Get you a menu?”
“That would be great, thanks.” She wrapped one hand around the blessedly cold beverage and took the offered menu with the other. “Say—” she quickly read the bartender’s name badge “—Evan. Any auto places in town you recommend where I can get a car battery?”
Evan reeled off three places. “But,” he added as he glanced at his wristwatch, “I think they all closed at five.”
Great. She smiled weakly. “Thanks.”
He smiled back far more cheerfully and headed off again.
She chugged half the contents of her glass while she verified that the auto supply stores were closed. Only one was still open, but it was all the way across town. She didn’t have a hope of finding a ride there in time.
She heaved out a breath.
“That sounded heartfelt.”
She jerked slightly, and then looked behind her to see her cousin Ashley who, along with her sisters Megan and Nicole, had opened the restaurant the year before. Arabella flashed the screen of her phone at her, displaying her search results and made a rueful face. “Car problems.”
Ashley’s brows knit. “Oh, no. Anything I can do?”
Though Arabella hadn’t even met Ashley and her sisters until that January, she’d gotten to know all of them better in the time since—mostly via text messages. But that didn’t mean she felt comfortable taking advantage of that fact. Ashley was obviously working. “No worries. It’s just the battery.” She wouldn’t allow herself to think otherwise. “I’ve got it covered.”
“Well, at least order some dinner. On the house.”
“You don’t have—”
“Please.” Ashley waved her hand. “You’re family. It might as well be policy.”
Arabella couldn’t help but laugh. “I know from Adam that half the people who come in here are Fortunes. You’ll lose far too much of your profits with a policy like that.”
Ashley just grinned as she gave a sideways nod to the hostess who was trying to catch her attention. She squeezed Arabella’s shoulder. “I’ll check on you later.”
Arabella wasn’t sure if it was a promise or a warning. Either way, she didn’t really see how Ashley would have the time. The restaurant was already busy and Arabella knew it would only become more so as the evening progressed. Adam had said many times how impressed he’d been by their young cousins’ success not only with this restaurant but with Roja in the Hotel Fortune as well.
Unsaid, at least in Arabella’s mind, was how little she had accomplished so far.
And she was a year older than the triplets were.
Evan appeared again with a pitcher. He refilled her glass. “Can I
