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asked feeling frantic. She had a date with Cade Harden, and her heart wouldn’t settle down as she repeated that to herself a dozen times.
    “Don’t what me Elle. You are dating Cade Harden? When did this happen?”
    “I’m not dating him. He just asked me out. Does it bother you? Cause if it does I’ll call him and cancel.” Noelle dropped onto the couch with a sigh. “It’s weird right? Me going out with your old high school boyfriend?”
    “Good Heavens, why would it bother me? We dated eons ago and I’m married remember?” Del laughed.
    “Still...”
    “Noelle, you are a grown woman with needs. Something, dear sister, you have ignored for far too long. Go out and have fun tonight. He is an intelligent, financially independent man and sexy as hell, go for it!” Dell gave her a playful shove. “Oh! Wait... What are you going to wear?”
    “Wear? Geez.” This was getting to be overwhelming.
    Del looked thoughtful, “How much stuff do we need to go through today? I have an idea.”
    Noelle led the way into what had been their mother’s bedroom. All it held now was a couple of kitchen chairs, a half dozen boxes and a hope chest. Her sister seemed to physically relax once she entered the room. “I couldn’t handle seeing her bed empty in here. It was the first thing to go.”
    Del sat with a sigh and sifted through the loose pictures. Most of them were Polaroids. She laughed aloud and pointed to the picture. “Do you remember this one? You and I were what… maybe six and nine? You wanted to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast for Halloween and I went as the Beast. We got so much candy that year. Mom made both our costumes…” Del paused tears springing to her eyes. “I’m sorry Elle. I haven’t been a good sister.”
    Noelle smiled kindly at Del. “Do you hear me complaining? I know it was hard for you with Mom. The important thing is that you came to say goodbye. I know that meant more to her than anything. She loved you Del and forgave you a long time ago. It may have taken a while but I have too.”
    Tears were flowing freely down both the sister’s cheeks. Noelle got up and found a box of tissue for them both. She leaned over and hugged her sister as the wall of grief between them crumbled. They cried together for a while sorting through various pictures. “Do you recognize any of these people?” Del asked turning them over. The backs were blank.
    “I already sorted them into the ones where I knew people and the ones I didn’t. Mom wasn’t very good about labeling. I left those for you to look through; I thought that maybe you might recognize a few. We should have updated her to the digital age years ago.”
    Del laughed dabbing the last of the tears from her eyes. She shuffled through them, chuckling at some of the contents. “I say throw the lot of them, who’s going to miss them?”
    Noelle shrugged, thinking about her mother. She didn’t like the idea of throwing out any pictures of her mother regardless of who was in them, there were just so many. “Set them is the box in the corner, then.”
    The women spent the next couple of hours marking boxes with relatives’ names and sorting through knick knacks and memorabilia sometimes stopping to relive a happy memory sometimes to cry a bit more. Finally, everything was sorted down into a keep and a discard box.
    “I’m ready for a bre ak, how about you?” Del asked, getting up and heading to the kitchen.
    Noelle nodded and followed. She poured both of them a fresh mug of coffee. “So, tell me sister dear, what’s this idea you have for my date?”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Noelle stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom.
    “See, what did I tell you?” Del commented with a grin. “Beautiful. I wish I had your legs little sister.”
    Noelle laughed, “Yours are nothing to scoff at either Del.” She turned slightly making the flared skirt of the dress Del had insisted she needed to buy, swirl