How Sweet It Is Read online

  “Thanks.” She considered the question, reminding herself that Eden hadn’t grown up in Applewood. “Jordan? Oh, she’s—”

  “As wild as they come. Or at least she used to be,” Louise supplied dryly. “Gave her parents fits when she was in high school, dropped out of college with only one year left, and ran off to make movies, skittering about the country. It about broke both doctors’ hearts. They wanted her to go into medicine like the rest of them. Friendly kid though. You couldn’t help but forgive whatever trouble she got into because she was so darn sweet and charming. Could grin her way out of anything.”

  Molly tilted her head and tried to explain things another way. “She went through a rebellious patch in high school, that’s all. But the Jordan I remember was good at heart, a rascally little kid that would follow Cassie and me around incessantly. I used to babysit her back when I was fifteen, sixteen. That would have made her ten, I guess. We’d read books together for hours until she fell asleep.” Molly felt that wistful lump of nostalgia in her throat for a time when everything felt simpler, lighter. Like nothing bad could ever happen to any of them.

  But Jordan’s growing up years hadn’t been so easy. It had been hard for her with Cassie as an older sister. Cassie got straight A’s, broke school records on the soccer field, and followed all of her parents’ rules to a tee. And with the bar set so high, Jordan simply didn’t measure up. After a while, she purposefully stopped trying. She lived life on her own terms, and that often made waves in the Tuscana household.

  “So she and Cassie were close?” Eden popped her fourth truffle.

  “Um, mostly, yeah, especially in their younger years. But once Jordan went off to college, they drifted a bit. She took Cassie’s death incredibly hard though and pretty much shut everyone out. We haven’t seen her much since.”

  “I hope I get to meet this person. She sounds intriguing.”

  Molly picked up her messenger bag as she prepared to leave. “I’m sure you will, Eden.” She paused for a moment. “You know what? I’m just glad she’s coming home. It’s time.”

  *

  Molly’s house was pretty. That was a good word for it. But old and in desperate need of some repair. It was on her to-do list in addition, of course, to learning how to fix up a house. Maybe that would happen after she figured out a way to manufacture more time in the day and you know, learn to fly.

  She fumbled in her bag for her keys and subsequently struggled with the front door that always managed to stick. A daily battle. At least her arms got a workout. She suppressed a cheer when the door finally gave in after she rammed it like a goat. In unfortunate news, the force of the impact caused one of the decorative shutters on the outside of the house to fall decidedly on one side. It clung to life, but seemed sad now, hanging there so crookedly. She felt sorry for it and herself, as it was yet another repair to deal with.

  Molly had purchased the home three years prior, having gotten it for a steal when the elderly owner moved in with her son’s family. It was the first major purchase she’d made on her own since Cassie, and it had been just what she was looking for. Tall, mature trees, friendly neighbors, and the perfect amount of space to cozy up in. She’d taken the modest two-story with the cute blue shutters and made it her own over time. It was comfortable, simple, home. She was rather proud of her little place, even if it was falling apart.

  Once inside, she fed her beta fish, appropriately named Rover, and watched him celebrate with three laps around the tank. “Nice form, Rover. Seriously. Those Olympic scouts aren’t gonna know what hit ’em.” That’s when her phone vibrated in voice mail notification. She studied the screen curiously. How had she missed the call? Because you were busy masquerading as one of the Billy Goats Gruff, she reminded herself.

  The singular voice mail was from her father, who now lived at Applewood Manor, a retirement home a couple of miles up the road. She listened to his voice as she perused the contents of her closet for a passable outfit for the evening’s festivities.

  “Hey there, Mollydolly, I got your message about the dinner tonight. Don’t worry about stopping by. I’ve had a great but very tiring day and will probably just turn in early anyway.”

  She paused and looked down at the phone. It wasn’t often she went a whole twenty-four hours without stopping by to visit her dad. He’d been in better health lately, but the congestive heart failure he suffered from seemed to affect him more in spurts. She expected a rough few days ahead in exchange for the good ones he’d experienced so far this week.

  While she wanted to call him back to make sure he’d eaten well and received his daily medication on time, the clock on the wall reminded her she was dangerously close to arriving late for dinner, a crime her time-conscious in-laws, the dueling Dr. Tuscanas, would frown upon despite their adoration for her. To make it up to her dad, she’d stop off and see him for lunch the next day, maybe bring him a snack or two from the bakeshop. That always seemed to perk him up.

  Molly tackled her closet, spending the next ten minutes trying on upward of seven different outfits, all with the same devastating result. Too tight. Okay, how had this happened? She’d weighed an even hundred and twenty-two pounds since the age of fifteen when she’d first hit puberty. Blinking back a frustrated tear or two, she stepped onto the scale in her bathroom, her mouth falling open at the news.

  Six pounds.

  She’d gained six pounds in addition to the two gray hairs.

  Wonderful.

  Now on a fact-finding mission of horror, Molly turned next to the mirror. She studied the lines on her face up close, and what she found there made her want to just curl up into a little ball and abandon the evening altogether. Just as she suspected, the early signs of crow’s feet. At least when she smiled just wide enough. She blew out a defeated breath. She was getting old and fat and there was nothing she could do about it. Okay, so maybe she was indulging her dramatic side a little. She was allowed in such a moment.

  Gathering her courage, she swallowed solemnly and shook herself out of the downward spiral. No more time for this. Downward spiraling would have to take five.

  Instead, plan B.

  She shimmied into her loosest pair of dark blue jeans and capped it off with a white dress shirt, and simple heels. Less is more when the going’s rough. Plus, she was going to see family, who loved you no matter what, right? There was no one there she needed to impress.

  Chapter Two

  Jordan Tuscana felt strange as she drove through the streets of Applewood. Perhaps she should have prepared herself more. It was home, but it wasn’t. So familiar, yet so much had changed at the same time. Her old high school had an electronic marquee now. The hardware store looked to have been remodeled, and then there were the sidewalks through the center of town. They’d been repaved and had kind of a winding quality to them now. A nice touch. She studied the faces of the people she passed, recognizing many and some not at all.

  It looked great, she thought, the town. She’d known Applewood practically her entire life and though it felt different, it was still close to her heart. Still hers.

  But this wasn’t going to be easy, the whole being back thing. There had been a reason she’d stayed away for so long, and the weight of that sadness now sat heavily upon her heart. She’d avoided it for as long as she possibly could. Declining invitations, evading family gatherings, and ignoring phone messages. She’d exhausted every tactic in her arsenal, and it was time to face what lay ahead.

  But this time when she pulled into the driveway, there would be no Cassie to hug her until they both fell to the ground outside of their parents’ home. She wouldn’t be there to tease her mercilessly or call her “kiddo.” They wouldn’t spend hours together on the old soccer field knocking the ball back and forth while they talked about every aspect of each other’s life. Shooting the breeze, they’d called it, when those talks were actually so much more than that to Jordan.

  Of course, there’d been no Cassie for years now, but Jordan h
ad done everything she could to avoid the places she’d recognize her sister’s absence the most.

  And that meant Applewood.

  Her phone buzzed and she clicked it to speakerphone just as she stopped at one of the town’s two traffic lights. A line of elementary school kids was led across the crosswalk in front of her car by, wouldn’t you know it, Mrs. Altschull, her teacher from back in the day. This was seriously the twilight zone.

  “You still alive?” Her best friend George’s voice filled the car. He was in LA for another week or so at the premiere of a film they’d worked on together.

  Jordan sighed. “Thus far. But the day is young.”

  “Don’t be dramatic. That’s my job. Just wanted to check in on you, stroke your head from afar if that’s what you need.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll call you when I’m settled and you can tell me about all the fashion catastrophes at the premiere.”

  “Will do. Wish you were here.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t think the studio shares that sentiment. Plus, I need some time away.”

  “I know, sweets. I love you more than Prada. We’ll talk soon.”

  “We better. Bye, Georgie.”

  It was five minutes later when she took a deep breath and eased her car into the driveway of the Tuscana home. As she looked up at the house she’d spent most of her childhood nestled inside, her heart thrummed nervously in her chest.

  Yeah, this was gonna be rough.

  Rallying, she reminded herself of all the reasons she’d come. The biggest of which was easy. She missed her family. It was her father’s sixtieth birthday in a few weeks, and her mother had begged her to not let it go by without a visit. Then there was the fact that her own life was radically off-kilter. She’d spent much of the year on location shoots from LA to Austin and hadn’t seen her apartment in Chicago in months. Her love life was a joke. And then there was the fact that the studio had her banned from her own movie set when she’d shown her highly inappropriate lead actor she wasn’t his personal blow up doll.

  So here she was, needing to take a few steps back, assess her life, and find a way to put it all back together again. And that meant going back to basics. She had to remind herself of who she was before she could figure out where she was going. Deep down, she knew her family, her old friends, and this town would do that for her…if she could just let them.

  “Jordana Avery Tuscana,” her mother practically shouted from the front porch. “You come here this minute!” She held her arms open and smiled widely as Jordan approached. Once her mother’s arms enveloped her, she instantly sank into that feeling of comfort they always provided. It felt good, and in response, her eyes welled up at the long forgotten feeling. She pulled back enough to meet her mom’s sentimental gaze. She wiped away a tear from Jordan’s cheek and Jordan laughed at herself and the unexpected emotion.

  “Hiya, Momma. I missed you.”

  “Hi, sweetheart. It’s been too long since I’ve seen this face; you know this, don’t you?” She shook Jordan’s chin slightly.

  “I know.”

  “And you should be ashamed of yourself for not coming home in so long. Now that you’re here, I’m not letting you get away again so quickly. You’re staying for a while. Understood?”

  “Feisty. But yeah, that’s the plan. If that’s okay with you and Dad.”

  “We insist. Daddy’s taking care of some of the details for dinner at Gibson’s. Your brother will be there, and Teresa and the kids along with the rest of the family.” She paused, studying Jordan a moment. “How are you? And don’t kid a kidder.”

  Amalia Tuscana had aged since Jordan saw her last. Not a great deal but enough that it caught her attention. Small lines had sprung up around her eyes. She was thinner than ever before, and most of her hair was now white, not just the subtle streaks she remembered. She decided to answer honestly. “I’ve had better months. I think I just need a little break from everything. The studio thinks so too. Actually, they’ve insisted on it, which is kind of the problem. I was pulled from the movie. They’ve brought in another producer to fill my slot.”

  As her mother opened her mouth, probably in question, Jordan held up a hand. “Can we maybe talk about it later? I don’t think I have it in me right now.”

  “Of course. I’m here if you want to…talk.” Jordan nodded. She’d not had many heart-to-hearts with her mother over the years. It had always been Cassie she’d turned to for advice or to confide in. And more recently, George. He was pretty much her go-to. Her parents, though always well intended, had never understood what motivated her and disapproved of many of her choices. Okay, all of them. They disagreed with all of her choices. But then she hadn’t been exactly helpful in that department either. Not the easiest kid to raise.

  “Thanks. Maybe.”

  Her mother’s eyes dimmed in defeat. “Well, your room is waiting for you if you’d like to take an hour or so before dinner to rest or freshen up.”

  Jordan leaned in and kissed her mother’s cheek. “It’s good to be home.”

  *

  Gibson’s Steak House was the most expensive restaurant in town, and it was bustling with Tuscanas and their closest friends by the time Molly arrived. She was pulled immediately into one big bear hug after another, an Italian family imperative.

  Cassie’s older brother, Michael, swooped in, took her coat, and placed a big, sloppy kiss on her cheek. “Molly’s here; the party can begin,” he called over his shoulder to the room at large.

  She smiled happily at her brother-in-law and held up the brown paper sack. “Chocolate chip cookies for the kiddos. I promised and I always make good.”

  “Nicely done.” He dipped his face deep into the bag and inhaled. “Wow. Are you sure we have to let the kids in on this little deal?”

  She popped him playfully on the shoulder. “Mikey, don’t you dare play cookie monster. Come by the shop tomorrow and I’ll hook you up. Those are for the munchkins, who I have to kiss at least a million times right this very minute. Directions, please?”

  “About fifty feet in. Kids’ table is on the left.”

  “On it.”

  Molly said a few passing hellos as she made her way to the kids’ table where she found her six-year-old nephew, Zachary, and her four-year-old niece, Risa, coloring before dinner was served. “There are my two favorite small people.” She ruffled Zach’s hair and received an adorable smile in response. Risa, however, bounded from her seat and leapt easily into Molly’s arms. She had a special bond with the little girl, who now clung to her gleefully. “What’s up, little Risa? How was your week? You married yet?”

  Risa giggled. “No, silly. Zach and me got to help Grandpa at the clinic and he let us pretend to be the doctor. I was the best one. Oh, and Aunt Jordan is here.”

  “She is?”

  Risa nodded and pointed across the room. Molly followed her gaze and paused. There was Jordan, speaking quietly in the corner with one of her elderly aunts.

  Except it wasn’t Jordan, not exactly.

  This Jordan was…different. Not at all the kid Molly projected in her mind whenever she thought of her. She was so grown up. It was startling.

  In reality, she knew that time had passed and Jordan was no longer a wayward teenager. Hell, she’d seen her several times throughout her college days, but the young woman before her now was so much more than all of that. Somewhere along the way, Jordan had gone from attractive to absolutely stunning. Her long dark hair was pinned back on one side, keeping her bangs from falling into her face. She wore faded designer jeans and a V-neck dark green T-shirt that somehow made her look cooler than all of them.

  As Molly absorbed the confident carriage, the easy smile, the finesse with which Jordan moved and spoke, she couldn’t help but feel a little proud of Cassie’s little sister. It was then that Jordan lifted her eyes and smiled at her.

  And there she was, the Jordan she knew.

  Molly gently lowered Risa to the ground and closed the distance
between them, grinning and pulling Jordan easily into a hug. “Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence at long last.”

  “You know me, Mol, always forgetting the time.”

  As Jordan released her, their eyes met and something moved between them. An understanding. An acknowledgement of the difficult years that had passed since they’d last joked in this way. Jordan’s smile faltered briefly, her eyes brushing the ground before she raised them back to Molly’s soberly. “I should have called you more. Or been here. Something.”

  Molly squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, Jordy.” And it was. The accident had changed life as they knew it, and everyone had reacted in different ways. “You’re here now and sure to unleash all sorts of trouble on the unsuspecting citizens of our small town.”

  Jordan narrowed her gaze. “Who told you?”

  “We’ve met, remember?” That earned a grin. This was more like it. They’d all spent too much time being sad. “Hope you brought your appetite. Your parents ordered the menu eighteen times over.”

  “My kind of meal.”

  They settled down to dinner. The seventeen adults present were seated at a long table and the children at their own circular table off to the side, allowing their parents easy access. It was whenever they all got together like this that Cassie’s absence was noticed the most. Almost like a gaping hole that no one quite mentioned anymore, but everyone still felt. Molly offered up a silent smile to let Cassie know she was remembered and missed on the day of her sister’s homecoming. She found if she made Cassie a part of her everyday life, it made her feel somehow closer.

  Molly was ushered to a chair next to Mikey’s wife, Teresa, and across from Jordan. The early stages of the meal involved lots of questions about Jordan’s job as a producer in the film industry. She seemed to field the inquiries as matter-of-factly as possible, but didn’t give an abundance of information.