* * * *
                          
By 12:30 in the afternoon I'd already showered and left the house, headed toward Coldcreek to scoop up Tinley. Today was the afternoon I said I would spend with her so my sister, Bonnie, could take a much-needed break. Normally I visited home about once a week, but between cramming for finals and squeezing in extra shifts at Cross Meadows when I could, I hadn't had the time lately.
                          
Coldcreek wasn't a bad little town, but it did have its drawbacks for some. For me, though, I didn't care to live the fast-paced life of a city dweller. My life was just as fast-paced and hectic as I could handle as it was. Cruising down Main Street at the designated twenty mph, I took in the town's charm-people walked down the sidewalks with smiles and shopping bags clamped in their hands, the little shops were vibrant with colors to lure in customers, everything was clean and perfectly manicured.
                          
Coldcreek was decent.
                          
Turning onto Wyatt Street, I took another sip of my vanilla frappuccino and went through the mental checklist of things I'd compiled for Tinley and me to do today. After two more turns, I pulled into my sister's narrow driveway. She didn't live in a mansion, but Bonnie did have the whole "white picket fence"thing going for her. She and her husband, Brice, had bought a three-bedroom brick house right after they were married with the hopes of filling both spare rooms with children quickly. That was almost five years ago.
                          
The thought that Bonnie had gotten married-and to Brice Carter of all people-when she was a year younger than I am now, was insane. I was nowhere near ready for marriage-then again, you sort of had to be dating someone for awhile to get to that point and I wasn't near accomplishing that either.
                          
I'd just cut the engine on my crappy Mazda when Tinley came barreling out the front door of the house,shouting my name and waving some little stuffed bunny in the air at me as she ran. It was quite possibly the cutest thing I'd ever seen. When she made it to me, Tinley wrapped her little arms around my thighs and squeezed as tightly as she could. Bonnie appeared in the front door. She leaned against the frame and smirked at the two of us.
                          
"She's been asking when you were going to get here since yesterday," Bonnie said. "She heard me talking to Brice about you coming by today and has been ecstatic since."
                          
I laughed and ran my fingers through her blonde hair. "Aww, well, I've been excited to see you too, Tinley."Bending down, I picked her up and headed toward the house. "What's that you have there?" I asked her, motioning toward her rabbit.
                          
"Bunny!" Tinley said. Her over excitement lither blue eyes and made me smile. "It's pink!"
                          
"That's right, the bunny is pink," I said,amazed she knew the color pink already.
                          
"She's been learning her colors lately, Aunt Blaire," Bonnie said with a proud smile. "She already knows pink,white, green, and yellow."
                          
"Oh, really?" I asked, making a big deal about it.
                          
Tinley nodded her head and her smile grew. "I do."
                          
She wiggled her tiny frame free from my arms as soon as we passed through the threshold of the house. Her little legs carried her across the living room at breakneck speed to the coffee table, where I could see she'd been coloring a picture.
                          
"See! Pink, white, gween, and wellow!" she said.
                          
She'd used each of the colors she knew in the picture. It was from the Dora the Explorer coloring book I'd brought her the last time I came to visit.
                          
"Pretty," I said to her. "Is that for me?"
                          
Tinley nodded and then concentrated on finishing the picture. Bonnie walked to the kitchen, just off the living room, and I followed. She stuck her hands into the sink filled with soapy water and continued washing the dishes in it.
                          
"Don't you use the dishwasher?" I asked. I leaned against the counter and took another sip of my frappuccino.
                          
Bonnie looked at me like I was stupid. "Yeah,it's full and running. This was what wouldn't fit."
                          
"Jesus, you guys eat a lot, don't you?"
                          
"Well, when you cook three meals a day, plus one afternoon snack, the dishes tend to pile up."
                          
"I can see that." I grinned.
                          
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "One day you'll understand."
                          
"Not anytime soon."
                          
"That's right, not if you aren't dating anyone." She shifted her eyes to look at me directly. "Are you dating anyone?"
                          
My eyes fell to the floor. "No, I've been busy with finals and work lately."
                          
"Blaire, you're at the perfect place to meet guys-college! No dating site in the world could compete with the selection and easy access you've got there."
                          
"Oh yeah, it's some selection all right-of stoners, idiots, and future alcoholics," I said with mock excitement.
                          
Bonnie laughed. "They can't all be bad... I mean, they've got to be better than the selection at Cross Meadows,right?"
                          
I let out a dry laugh. "Funny."
                          
For whatever reason, an image of Jason from last night popped into my head-his thick black hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and kissable lips. The urge to check my Facebook again and see if he'd said anything to me via private message or if he'd changed his status update in the last forty minutes or so blasted through me. Damn him. It was high school all over again, only this time he'd sent me a friend request and I'd accepted.
                          
"So, how's the sewing business going?" I asked. It was a plotted change of subject, but one I knew she would fall for.
                          
Bonnie was a sewing extraordinaire. For the last year and a half she'd been crafting new ideas for things to sew up and sell. She'd sold a few odds and ends to people around town, but about eight months ago I'd talked her into creating an online platform and going from there. She'd set up her own shop on Etsy and created a blogger website for her stuff as well. She started selling things like hotcakes-chic potholders, aprons, throw pillowcases, even tote bags with pockets for markers or crayons built in. Everyone had been on board with her decision to pursue her handcrafted career choice; I even passed out her business card sat work, but then her sales slowed and the applause stopped from some people-mainly her husband.
                          
"It's going." Bonnie shrugged. She placed the large bowl she'd been rinsing into the dish drainer.
                          
I scrunched my nose. "Is Brice being supportive?"
                          
Bonnie tensed. "He's... Well, he's Brice about it all."
                          
"Which means?"
                          
"When it's making money it's a real job, but when it's not he acts like it's a hobby."
                          
Rolling my eyes, I sighed loudly. Brice could be such a damn jerk sometimes, and especially to my sister. Why she put up with him half the time I had no clue. She was beautiful,anyone would agree with that, and yet she'd picked the one person in Coldcreek who didn't see her for what she was worth.
                          
"And do you tell him that's not the case?" I asked.
                          
"Every day," she said. "He just doesn't get it and he never will. It's like a vicious cycle with us. I tell him sales are slow and he tells me to get a real job then, because we need the money. I say we can't afford to put Tinley in daycare and he says well, what do you want me to do then. It's always the same."
                          
I hated how broken and defeated she sounded.It tore at the edges of my heart and made me wish there was something I could do to help out her situation more, some magic button I could push that would instantly make a million people rush to her site and buy every damn thing she had available and then some. Unfortunately, my dream of doing just that was impossible.So, I settled for making my sister smile instead.
                          
"And you wonder why I'm not dating anyone," I said with a slight chuckle.
                          
Bonnie burst out into a fit of laughter. I joined in, but part of me wondered if she was laughing because it was either that or cry about her current situation, and it made my laughing feel fake.
                          
"Maybe you have it right and I don't, little sis," she said.
                          
Finishing the last of my frappuccino, I smiled at her and nodded. "Maybe."