The joy and shock on her face was the most satisfying thing I had ever seen.

Second to which was the joy on Tess’s.

Her cheeks and nose were pink and splotched, the sweetness of her lips—lips I’d familiarized myself with last night—caught in that gentle half-smile, half-frown only achieved when crying. Those tearful, dark eyes were absorbed with my mother, who choked on a laugh doubling as a sob.

“I … what have you done, my impossible, sweet children?”

“It was Tess,” I said, pulling Mom into my side. “She came up with the idea.”

Tess shook her head. “No—all of this was Luke. Without him, we wouldn’t have ever had the impetus. He made all this happen.”

Mom laughed. “You two. You even argue when you’re complimenting each other.”

“Come on,” I said with a smirk at Tess, who chuckled, swiping at her cheeks. “Wait until you see inside.”

Mom’s arm wound around me, her other trembling hand resting on my chest as she looked up at me. “I can’t believe this,” she said. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“Am I so unreliable that my own mother didn’t believe in me?” I joked, smirking and squeezing her shoulder.

She swatted at me. “Oh, you know that’s not what I meant. I’m just so …” Her gaze drifted back to the windows. “I just never imagined it could be like this. Generations of women have passed this store down to their daughters, and the last person to update it was my mother. I … I wish she could have seen it. I wish she could have seen what you did.”

Mom reached for Tess’s hand, squeezed it as they smiled at each other.

“They were wise to have you do this, Tess. Never in my life have I seen such a beautiful display, and never could I have believed we would have something like this in our shop. You are a treasure,” she said with a sob.

She’d said it before, and I agreed more now than ever. Tess was a chest of doubloons, waiting for an eternity under a waterfall, just waiting for someone to find her. To open her up and admire her riches. And I was the greedy pirate she’d accused me of being. I’d found her, and as far as I was concerned, that made her mine.

“Come inside,” Tess coaxed, taking her arm. “Luke made magic.”

We headed in, past the turquoise door, across the threshold of the shop, over the black-and-white checkered tile. Tess had set up a display of foxtails on the front table, the stems dyed neon pink and tops blonde and grainy. And all around the display were potted succulents for sale. Mom took in every detail, gasping over our old finds, wandering into the window installations, crying again when she saw the rain boots.

She knelt, running her hands over them. “This was my mother’s. And this little one, that was mine. My grandfather’s. Your f-father’s.” The words dissolved, and for a moment, she collected herself. When she stood, it was with pride on her face and tears still in her eyes. “I am beyond words.”