“I heard the argument you had with my Mom. It sounded like you weren’t happy about her getting half of this place and us living here.”

Mia smiled sadly. “It was just a shock, hon. That’s all. Your momma and I will work it out, I’m sure. For now, I’m looking forward to showing you Sweet Tea B&B!” They pulled up in front of the property, and Evie’s eyes opened wide.

“Wow. Look at this place! It’s huge!”

“Yep, it’s pretty big. We have ten rooms we rent, in fact.”

“I’ve never stayed at a bed and breakfast.”

“Well, now you can cross that off your list of things to do. Come on!” Mia jumped out of the car and stood in front of the B&B, her arms outstretched over her head. “Welcome!”

Evie giggled. “You have a lot of energy.”

“I’ve always been told that,” Mia said, smiling. “Momma used to say I had ants in my pants.”

“That’s my grandmother, right?”

Mia poked her bottom lip out and put her hands on Evie’s arms. “Oh, darlin’, I wish you could’ve met your grandmother. She was an amazing woman. So strong and funny. She even had hair like you,” she said, running her fingers through Evie’s smooth mane of hair.

“Really?”

“Yes. And those freckles on your nose. I bet you get those from her too.”

Evie touched her nose and smiled. “I’ve always wondered about that. Mom doesn’t have them.”

As if on cue, Kate finally pulled down the gravel driveway. When she got out of the car, she wrinkled her nose as she looked around and then tapped her feet on the ground, looking at the gravel.

“Have you ever thought about paving this?”

Mia rolled her eyes. “Well, do you have about ten grand laying around to do it?”

Kate shrugged her shoulders. “So, this is the infamous bed and breakfast. Pretty nice.”

“Pretty nice? Come on, Mom. This place is amazing!”

Kate looked at her daughter for a long moment and then leaned in to get her tote bag from the car.

“We’ve got a light load of guests today, so I’ll put y’all in one of the nicer rooms. We call it the Savannah. Follow me.”

The sun was starting to set, and Mia needed to prepare dinner for her few guests. Tonight was chicken and dumplings with salad and cherry pie for dessert. Of course, sweet tea would be the beverage of choice. Charlene’s sweet tea was one of their guests’ favorites. Something about the way she made it was special and different. Mia wasn’t convinced she had the same gift.

Kate and Evie followed Mia to the front door. She never locked it, so she just opened it and walked inside.

“Wait. You don’t lock the doors here?” Kate asked.