Home Again Read Free

not necessarily here, but maybe somewhere nearby,” Danna said smiling. “So, tell me what’s been going on with you lately.”
     
    “Well, Heath and I are expecting our first baby in December!”
     
    “Congratulations! You’re going to be a great mommy. You always loved kids. I remember when you would babysit every kid in town.”
     
    “I do love kids, and I can’t wait to have this one. I also work at the elementary school now. I’m a special ed teacher.”
     
    “That’s great, Katie. I can see you working with the special needs kids. You’ve always had such a heart for helping people.”
     
    “And speaking of helping people, I’d like to help you out, my old friend,” Katie said with a scheming look in her eye.
     
    “How is that?” Danna asked as she leaned against a display case and crossed her arms.
     
    “Jack…”
     
    “No, Katie. That ship sailed a long time ago.”
     
    “Maybe for you, but my brother has never gotten over you, Danna. Just the other day, I was helping him clean out his attic and noticed he still has a whole box of mementos from you in high school.”
     
    “He does?” Danna was surprised.
     
    “Yes, he does. He rarely dates, and when you got married he left town for two weeks before he finally showed back up again. We were worried sick about him.”
     
    “Then why would you want him to hook back up with me, Katie? I’m bad news for Jack. I don’t want to hurt him all over again even though I’d love to see him…”
     
    “He’d love to see you too. Look, we don’t often get second chances in life, Danna, but it seems to me that you’re here, you’re single, Jack’s single…”
     
    “Always the matchmaker,” Danna said with a sly smile. Her friend was always matchmaking even back in high school, although Katie was a year older than her and Jack.
     
    “Just think about it, okay? You know where to find him, and I think you’ll be surprised at how Jack has turned out.”
     
    “You’re the second person to say that to me in the last two days,” Danna muttered under her breath, referring back to her sister’s comment.
     
    “Go see him, Danna. You’ll always regret it if you don’t,” Katie said with a grin as she pushed her cart up the aisle.
     
    ***
     
    As Danna got home with her groceries, her sister Olivia was hard at work at the kitchen table, crunching numbers as usual.
     
    “Whatcha doin’?” Danna asked as she plopped down next to her twenty-five year old sister.
     
    “Working on spreadsheets. Where have you been this morning?”
     
    “Had to load up on some snacks for my stay. Mom doesn’t have anything unhealthy in this house,” Danna complained as she opened a bag of chips.
     
    “Chips in the morning?” Olivia said looking down her nose through a pair of reading glasses.
     
    “Chips are good anytime, anywhere. What’re your plans for today, sis?” Danna asked.
     
    “I’m working from home today.”
     
    “But it’s Saturday…”
     
    “Danna, I work almost everyday of the week.”
     
    “It’s June. Isn’t tax season over?”
     
    “Tax season is never over,” Olivia said with a laugh.
     
    “How do you ever date?” Danna asked. Olivia was an attractive woman with blond hair and beautiful blue eyes, but she hid it well under a tight bun and matronly clothing.
     
    “I don’t date. No time for that right now,” Olivia said looking back down at her spreadsheet. Realizing she was interfering in Olivia’s work, Danna slowly slid out of her chair and went upstairs to her room.
     
    Looking out her window, she could see so many familiar sights from her childhood. The big oak tree on the corner of her property where she and Jack had regular make-out sessions while waiting for the sunset. The old red barn on Mr. Milton’s property where Danna had jumped off the loft and broken her arm at ten years old. The creek where she’d caught tadpoles and picked muscadine berries. So many memories, yet one important