Bell turned towards me. “Have a little faith.”

Having faith wasn’t my strong suit. I was more of a prepare-for-the-worst sort of person. I’d been through too much to have a Pollyanna outlook on life. And thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong meant that I could be prepared for them all. But it also meant I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Bell let out a small growl. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“I know what you’re thinking. That nothing ever works out for you. But that’s not true.”

The stuff that worked out for me were mostly things that I willed into existence by my hard work and refusal to give up. Being the first person in my family to go to college. Finishing on time even after taking a leave of absence. Getting my accounting degree. Climbing the ranks at my job. “You’re right, there are a lot of good things in my life.”

“Like Caelyn and me. Ford and the tiny terrors. Crosby.”

My heart did a little stutter step at his name. He had brought a lot of good into my life, but that also meant he could take it when he left. And I was getting used to the energy, the vitality that he seemed to infuse my days with. It was corny as hell, but he reminded me of all the beauty that was in the everyday.

I cleared my throat. “There’s a lot to be grateful for.”

“And there will be even more once this case is settled, and you can officially make The Gables yours in every way Harriet wanted you to.”

A wave of apprehension skittered across my skin. I hadn’t been brave enough to enter the main house yet. I knew all the memories I’d shared with Harriet would assault me as soon as I walked in the door. And I would break. I wasn’t strong enough to face it yet. But I would. Once the house was truly mine, I’d find a way to make it into the home Harriet had always wanted it to be, the one her family had never been able to give her.

Voices and footsteps sounded, and I turned to take in the newcomers. Grant and Lacey led the way. She was pressed tightly against his side, and the sight had bile swirling in my stomach. The photos she’d sent me of the two of them played in my mind on an endless loop. The nausea had nothing to do with my feelings for Grant. Those had died a fiery death a long time ago. It was simply a sickening reminder that he was another person I’d loved, who had betrayed me in the worst ways imaginable. Lacey sent a sneer in my direction and looped an arm through Grant’s. Her father trailed behind the group.