She had to admit, she was glad to have her sister and niece to herself for awhile. She wanted to learn more about them, figure out what made them tick.

She put a large platter of blueberry pancakes on the table and then a bowl of cheese grits. “Sorry I don’t have biscuits this morning. Time got away from me.”

“Don’t you just pop them out of one of those rolls. You know, the ones that make you think they’re going to explode?” Evie asked.

Mia smiled. “No, sweetie. We do everything from scratch here. All from my Momma’s recipes. She was an amazing cook.”

“What did she look like?” Evie asked.

“She was beautiful. You remind me of her, especially your cheekbones. Actually…” Mia said, standing up and walking to a small desk in the living room. She pulled out a small photo album and opened it. “Here she is.”

Evie took the album and stared at it. “Wow. She does look a lot like me. Look, Mom,” she said, turning the album to face Kate. For a moment, Kate looked away like she was uncomfortable. But then she eased up and finally looked at the picture.

“I can definitely see a resemblance,” she said softly. It occurred to Mia that this was the first time Kate was seeing her birthmother, and she wasn’t going to get to hug her. She could only see a photo, and the thought made Mia well up with tears.

Evie turned the page and laughed. “What is this?”

Mia stood over her, looking at the photos. “Oh, that’s your grandmother’s Halloween costume a few years ago. She wanted to be a princess, but she ended up looking for like a drag queen. We had a good laugh over that one.”

“Was she funny?” Evie asked. Mia was so glad she was interested in knowing about her grandmother. She felt like it was her duty to fill in those blanks.

“Oh yes. She had a great sense of humor and loved playing practical jokes on me growing up. We were like best friends.”

Kate moved uncomfortably in her seat. “So, what’s on tap for today?” she suddenly asked.

Sensing that she was pushing too hard, Mia redirected her attention to Kate. “Well, I’d love to take you into the town square, maybe get lunch later?”

“That sounds fun, doesn’t it, Mom?” Evie said.

“Sure. So, tell me more about this place, Mia. What kind of revenue do you do?”

“Um, well, Momma handled all that, really. I’m just getting around to looking at the books.”

Kate’s eyes were wide. “That’s really important if you want to keep the business running.”

“I know. It’s definitely not my forte, though,” Mia admitted.

“Mom, maybe you can help her. You’re great with numbers,” Evie said. Kate cut a look at her.

“I’d be glad to take a look.”