He shook his head vehemently. “I do not need to be any more entangled in the operatic drama up there than I already am.”

“A reasonable stance,” she said. “Are you sure you don’t need a tree house?”

“Go build something for Miriam,” he told her. “I’m kicking you out.”

This was brilliant. She started with a small renovation project to help Miriam get the Blum Again business settled in at the farm by doing a little bit of work on the carriage house. Then it escalated, as she kept adding on elements that might make Miriam smile when she came back.

“You’re in serious danger of turning into a wife guy,” Hannah laughed as Noelle pulled off her safety goggles and brushed wood chips out of her hair.

“I would be a great wife guy,” Noelle said, her heart doing a little flip at the word “wife.” She and Miriam hadn’t talked about marriage, even in a general “do you believe in engaging in heteronormative cultural practices” kind of way. She would be okay with whatever version of forever made Miriam comfortable, but Noelle had to admit that she got more of a thrill than she would have expected out of the idea of calling Miriam her wife. But it was way too early for any of that.

“I’m glad, if I’m not going to be your person anymore, that your person is Miri,” Hannah said, motioning for Noelle to put her head down before picking out a piece of wood she’d missed.

“What?” Noelle protested. “You’re still my person. And Miriam is your person, and now somehow I’m Cole’s person. We’re all just each other’s people. It’s a big overly emotionally enmeshed club. If Cole falls in love, we’ll probably fold them in, too.”

“My life would have been so much easier if I could have fallen for Cole,” Hannah lamented, hopping up to sit on a worktable. “We could have wrapped it all up in a neat little bow.”

“Get your butt off my table! You know that’s unsafe woodworking protocol.” Noelle shooed her off. “I think Cole has his eye on someone else, and I know you’re not ready to fall in love again. Believe me, I would be thrilled if you were.”

“What if I’m never ready? What if I never fall in love with someone else?”

Noelle looked at Hannah, who was twisting a piece of wire nervously in her hands. She didn’t want to lie to Hannah, to tell her that it would be okay eventually, to assure her that someday she’d be over Levi. Noelle couldn’t imagine ever being over Miriam, and Hannah had loved Levi a hell of a lot longer.

“Well, you will ascend to your rightful place as the Carrigan, taking on the mantle to collect a new generation of misfit toys and lure them into the mountains.”