Free Room for More by Beth Ehemann Page A

perfect length. “This house is amazing!” I muttered incredulously.
    “I know. I love it here.”
    Lucy and Piper, happy to finally be out of the car, skipped around the front yard with Diesel excitedly chasing after them.
    “I thought I heard giggling out here,” JoAnn said pleasantly as she flowed through the front door, letting it slam gently behind her. She wiped her hands on her apron and walked toward us. “I’m so glad you guys could make it.” She reached out and pulled me into a big, warm hug. I gladly squeezed back, feeling instantly connected to her all over again, just as I had at the hospital.
    “Hey, Mom,” Brody said when she turned her attention toward him. She reached up and wrapped her arms around him as he lifted her off the ground in a big bear hug.
    He set her down and she turned and looked out at Lucy and Piper, who were still running around the yard playing. They’d outlasted Diesel, who was laying at the end of the porch, panting in the shade.
    “Girls, come here!” I called out, but they didn’t hear me over their giggles.
    “Oh, don’t. Let them play.” JoAnn smiled nostalgically their way. “They never stop, do they?”
    “Never.” I sighed with a smile on my face.
    “I tried to get Shae to come home this weekend too, but she couldn’t pull herself away from her new boyfriend.”
    Brody’s eyes hardened at his mom’s revelation. “She has a new boyfriend?”
    “Yep. Ricky May. Apparently he’s the one .”
    His face softened as he tried not to laugh. “May? His last name is May?”
    She nodded.
    “Oh my God, he can’t be the one. She can’t marry this guy.”
    JoAnn crossed her arms over her chest and took a step back, cocking her hip to the side. “And why is that?”
    “His last name is May, Mom. That would make her Shae May.” He held his stomach and fell down onto the wicker couch, laughing hysterically. “I would be bound by sibling law to make fun of her for the rest of our lives.”
    “I have a feeling you’re going to do that anyway.” She sighed as Brody reached in his pocket and took out his phone. “What are you doing now?” she asked him.
    “Just texting Andy to remind me to run a background check on this clown.”
    She laughed and bent down, swatting his shoulder. “Oh, Brody. Stop scaring away her boyfriends.”
    He held his hands up defensively in front of him. “I’m not scaring anyone away, just protecting my baby sister.”
    JoAnn rolled her eyes and turned toward me. “I was just making lunch. Wanna come help me?”
    “I would love to.” I looked back at Lucy and Piper as they squatted down, staring at something on the ground.
    “Go ahead, I got them,” Brody said, following my gaze. “Mom, where’s Dad?”
    “In his shop, building a picnic table or something.” JoAnn waved for me to follow her into the house. “C’mon, Kacie.”
    “Your house is beautiful!” I cooed once we were in the kitchen.
    “Thanks. It’s our dream house. Brody built it for us.” JoAnn smiled that proud mama smile that I’d worn myself so many times.
    I tilted my head to the side and smiled back at her. “He told me. He talks about you a lot, actually.”
    “I’m very lucky.” She motioned for me to sit at the kitchen table. “He’s a great son. Not everyone can say that.”
    “Well, I think he’s pretty wonderful too, but I know you had a big hand in that. What was he like as a kid?”
    “Oh, goodness.” A small chuckle flew from her mouth as she set a tall pitcher of sweet tea on the counter and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet. “Brody as a child. Let’s see… For starters, he made Dennis the Menace look like an angel.” The ice cubes in the glasses popped and cracked as JoAnn poured the tea over them. “He was bold and adventurous and charming, even at eight years old.” She slid a glass in my direction as she sat down across from me. “He was all dark brown curls and big cheesy grins. I didn’t know a child could smile