The Cottage on Glass Lake by Amy Pine

Author:Amy Pine [PINE, AMY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2023-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

“What do you think, Dad?” Evie asked, pulling Sadie from her thoughts and back to the moment to find Max standing frozen beside her. “Can we start doing the candles on Fridays? I get to light them because I’m the woman of the house.”

Sadie elbowed him gently in the ribs, and he coughed.

“You did a great job, Peanut. We—um—we can get some candles if you want. You’ll have to teach me the blessing, though. It’s been a while.”

“We could all learn,” Shelby said, swirling the wine in her glass before taking a sip. “I mean I know it’s not our holiday, but I love the idea of celebrating the end of the week by taking time for ourselves—for family.” She cupped her hand on Delilah’s cheek. “And since you’re the only family I’ve got in these parts, sugar, I think we can crash the party with these folks, don’t you?”

Delilah laughed, then kissed Shelby’s palm.

“Well, that settles it,” Sadie said. “Becca and I are here for three more weeks, which means three more Fridays, and we expect all of you here before sundown each Friday night.”

Becca craned her neck to glance at Sadie, a mixture of hope and fear swirling in her eyes. “We do?”

Sadie gave a definitive nod of her head, then hooked her arm through Max’s, pulling him toward the table.

“We do,” Sadie replied, repeating Becca’s words. She ignored the dance of butterflies in her belly when her skin met Max’s—as he walked with her rather than pulling away.

When they were all once again seated around the table, Sadie filled her own wineglass—then Becca’s too. She held hers up. “To found families and new traditions—even if it’s only for a short time.”

Shelby and Delilah raised their glasses. Becca did the same, and Evie followed suit with her water. Only Max and Leo hesitated, both staring at the bottles of Spotted Cow in front of their plates.

Sadie cleared her throat. “Come on, boys. I’m not asking you to kiss and make up or anything. It’s just dinner. You can make it through four dinners together for the sake of family, can’t you?”

She raised her brows, waiting for one of the men to make the first move, but it looked like they were both playing chicken with each other. So—Sadie took a page from two of the other women at the table and reached her foot across to tap Max on the knee.

He huffed out a breath and shook his head, but he raised his bottle of beer. “Yeah. Okay,” he relented. “Evie and I are in.”

Leo gave his brother a sly grin, then raised his own bottle. “I knew you couldn’t resist my devilish charm and boyish good looks. Must remind you of someone you knew before he was a jaded old man.”

Max opened his mouth to offer a retort, but Sadie cut him off before the evening devolved into disaster and her toast went out the window.

“Cheers, everyone!” she called out, clinking her glass against Becca’s, Evie’s, and then Max’s beer bottle.

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