And just as Letty had predicted, Asher and I made out in his wreck of a living room. A beautiful open space that when finished would be spectacular.

And as I kissed him, I hoped with everything inside of me I got to help him complete it.

21

“And that’s everything.”

I was sitting in the back corner of Smutties in one of Letty’s kickass purple velvet chairs. Sadie was sitting in the matching chair to my right and Brooklyn and Letty were on a two-seater couch. I’d just finished telling them the story of Elise.

Earlier, Brooklyn and Letty had taken me to get coffee and I learned what a coffee hut was. Further, I learned that Idaho coffee brewed in what looked like a tiny house on the side of the road was better than any coffee I’d had in California. I wasn’t sure if it was the chilly air, the snow-covered mountains all around me, the friendly service, or the company. But it was excellent. I’d scratched good coffee onto the Reasons To Stay In Idaho list.

After coffee pick-up, we went to Macy’s and grabbed a few things. But then the girls took me to North 40 Outfitters where Brooklyn kitted me out in winter gear and boots. According to Letty, temperatures had been mild but they were expecting a cold snap. Seeing as the last time it snowed in The Valley was sometime in the Sixties and in SoCal fifty degrees was considered freezing, I didn’t particularly agree with Letty’s definition of mild.

Once the girls were satisfied I wasn’t going to freeze to death during my stay, we headed to Treats. As soon as we walked into the cute bakery and I took in the pastel-pink accents and dark gray walls along with the black and white chevron tiles, I fell in love. I immediately scribbled Treats onto the Reasons To Stay In Idaho list under amazing coffee. And that was before I’d met Sadie and tried her lemon poppyseed muffins. After my second muffin, I’d moved Treats up to the number one spot.

Asher had been right, Sadie was shy. But he was also right when he said she warmed up quickly. It might’ve been her watching me with a smile as I shoved the last of my second muffin in my mouth and declared around a mouthful that she was a culinary goddess. Or maybe it was the way Letty and Brooklyn had easily accepted me. Either way, Sadie was open and friendly and had the prettiest blue eyes I’d ever seen.

Our visit was cut short when Letty got a call saying she was needed at the bookstore. I was dying to browse her shelves and Sadie shooed us off with the promise she’d be over shortly. It was then I met Mrs. Simpson. The very second I spotted the old woman I knew I wanted to grow up to be her. She was the spitting image of Liz Taylor—old, glamorous Hollywood with a perfectly styled short hairdo, a face full of makeup, dressed to the nines, along with tasteful but elegant jewelry. She looked ready to walk the red carpet, not work the checkout counter of a bookstore in Coeur d’Alene. After a quick but formal introduction—because of course Mrs. Simpson would be proper and reserved—Brooklyn whisked me away to show me around.