Tara, the Steel Magnolia.

As the cabbie set Tara’s various bags on the porch, the three of them just stared at one another, five years of estrangement floating awkwardly between them. The last time they’d all been in one place, Tara and Maddie had met in Montana to bail Chloe out of jail for illegally bungee jumping off a bridge. Chloe had thanked them, promised to pay them back, and they’d all gone their separate ways.

It was just the way it was. They had three different fathers and three very different personalities, and the only thing they had in common was a sweet, ditzy, wanderlusting hippie of a mother.

“So,” Maddie said, forcing a smile through the uncomfortable silence. “How’s things?”

“Ask me again after we sort out this latest mess,” Tara murmured and eyed their baby sister.

Chloe tossed up her hands. “Hey, I had nothing to do with this one.”

“Which would be a first.” Tara spoke with the very slight southern accent that she denied having, the one she’d gotten from growing up on her paternal grandparents’ horse ranch in Texas.

Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled her always-present asthma inhaler from her pocket, looking around without much interest. “So this is it? The big reveal?”

“I guess so,” Maddie said, also taking in the clearly deserted inn. “There don’t appear to be any guests at the moment.”

“Not good for resale value,” Tara noted.

“Resale?” Maddie asked.

“Selling is the simplest way to get out of here as fast as possible.”

Maddie’s stomach clenched. She didn’t want to get out of here. She wanted a place to stay-to breathe, to lick her wounds, to regroup. “What’s the hurry?”

“Just being realistic. The place came with a huge mortgage and no liquid assets.”