Tangle

by Locke, Adriana

  “Oh, yes. This made his week. His year,” she says. “But still . . .”

  I square my shoulders and lift my chin. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Maybe the new people will keep me. And if not, maybe I’ll go back to school and become a botanist. Or a landscape architect. I saw some awesome things from them at the flower expo.”

  She pulls me into a quick hug. “The world needs more people like you.”

  “I think it needs men like me so women like me don’t get burned.”

  She gives me a sad smile. “Let me check something real quick.” She disappears in the back before returning with a pink-and-white arrangement. “This can be delivered anytime today after nine. It’s after nine. Why don’t you take it now so we can work on the library stuff when you get back?”

  “Perfect. Where’s it going?”

  “Mount Zion Road. The Kelly residence.”

  I take a step back, convinced the universe hates me today. My body sags. “That’s Trevor’s family.”

  “It’s for a Meredith Kelly. Do you know her?”

  I nod.

  I wonder if he’s told his family we aren’t together. And are Branson and Meredith in town already?

  I groan.

  This is going to be so, so awkward.

  “Can you do it?” She looks at her phone. “The Realtor is calling. I really need to grab this.”

  “Go,” I say. “Just . . . go. I got this.”

  I think.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  HALEY

  The house already looks different.

  Men work in the yard, putting in shrubs and trees. A porch swing has been hung, and a plaque reading THE KELLYS is mounted prominently by the doorbell. Meredith definitely went a little more casual, not quite as fancy, with this house. It’s perfect. So perfect.

  I step out of my car, checking for any sign of Trevor, and take the arrangement out of the back seat.

  Just deliver it to whoever you see first and get the hell out of here.

  “Haley, hello.”

  I look over my shoulder to see Meredith walking toward me. A little white poodle is nestled in her arm. She’s the image of contentment, of the life I hope to have for myself—minus the poodle. Tears flick the corners of my eyes as I wonder if I’ll ever find it.

  “I’m so glad to see you,” she gushes. “This is Buffy. Muffy is inside, eating her breakfast.”

  I stick my hand out for the dog to get to know me. She licks me immediately and tries to jump in my arms. Meredith loves this.

  “Oh, look at that,” she says. “She likes you. Here. Hold her for me while I take the flowers into the house.” We exchange bundles. She examines hers while mine licks my face. “I’ll be right back. These are outstanding. I love the fullness of this arrangement.”

  “Thanks. Jennifer did it.”

  “She’s good,” she says, winking.

  I look at Buffy. Little yellow bows sit on her ears as she wags her tongue in my face. “What about you? Are you good?”

  The poodle barks in response, her body shaking from excitement.

  I laugh. “You’re a good ego boost, you know that?”

  Meredith returns quickly, a smile splitting her cheeks. “Here. Come to Mommy.” She opens her arms and the dog leaps into her chest. Meredith nuzzles her under her chin, scratching her belly as she looks at me. “I was hoping you’d take a walk with me, Haley.”

  “Oh,” I say, surprised. “I, um, I need to get back to work. Jennifer is on her own, and there are a lot of things happening today.”

  Meredith smiles, undeterred. “So a short one, then?”

  I want to say no. I need to get back to the shop and away from all things Kelly. But Trevor’s words ring through my mind, that Meredith always gets her way, so I relent to get it over with.

  “Well . . . okay.”

  We traipse across the yard parallel to the house. I’ve been here a hundred times to drop things off for Dane or to let Mia see him when he was working late. But I’ve never seen the far side of the house now that the porch is up.

  “Oh, wow,” I say as we round the corner.

  I can imagine the view from the top of the deck and how far you can see. It would be the perfect place to sit and read a book or watch the leaves turn colors.

  “What I want to show you,” she says, “is even better than this.”

  “Is that possible?”

  Her baby-blue eyes shine. “Yes.”

  The grass is soft, my shoes sinking into the ground as we plod our way down the side of the hill. My brain is muddled with the loss of Trevor and the uncertainty of the flower shop. I suck in a breath and tell myself I’ll battle through today because I always do.

  “How have you been?” she asks.

  “Okay.”

  “I heard Trevor is an idiot.”

  “Yeah.”

  She smiles at me. “You know, Branson and I dated when he first got divorced from the boys’ mom. It was this torrid love affair, a fling that had my head spinning. And then he stopped seeing me out of nowhere.”

  “Why?”

  “Heck if I know.” She tickles the dog under its chin. “I was devastated. He’d talked about marriage and I’d told him I can’t have kids and I was ready to do the damn thing. And then he pulled the plug. I was . . . well, destroyed. I don’t know what else to say.”

  My heart aches for her. She’d be a great mom, oozing love for Branson, her dogs, and everyone around her.

  “I’m sorry to hear you can’t have kids,” I say.

  “I’m lucky to be alive. I’m able to live and love and have my puppies and maybe adopt one day. I don’t know. Branson is a lot older than me, and I don’t want to put pressure on him to raise a baby at this point in his life.” She shrugs. “It’s a discussion we’ll have someday. Hopefully once we settle in up here.”

  We walk a little farther until the house is out of sight. There’s a stand of trees to our right, and Meredith leads me around them.

  I glance to my left and think the road must be close. “Aren’t we almost by the road?” I ask.

  She nods. “We are. There’s an access point to it, actually, right around this bend.”

  I furrow a brow, not remembering ever seeing that from the road. As we make the turn around a grove of pines, I gasp.

  “Oh, my God. Meredith! This is amazing.” My jaw hangs open as I see a little cabin, not much bigger than a standard living room, nestled into the stand of pines. It has a little chimney on top and a wall of windows that overlooks a valley in the back.

  “It’s a sweet little place, isn’t it?” she asks smugly.

  “Sweet? It’s perfect.”

  I walk a circle, taking in the beauty of the space. It’s nestled against a grove of trees, but the view on the other side is breathtaking. It’s absolutely spectacular.

  Meredith points to a spot off to the side, beneath some of the windows. “Tulips will come up there in the spring. And crocuses. But no daffodils.”

  “Oh, that’s perfect,” I say. “Daffodils are so boring.”

  I stop moving and look at the sky. Something prickles the back of my mind.

  Didn’t I say that same thing to Penn?

  “I think I helped choose those,” I say.

  “You did, which is ironic, given the circumstances.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll see. Come on.” She flashes me a smile as she sets the puppy on the ground. Waving a hand for me to follow, she starts toward the little house.

  I can’t move. I’m not sure why. My mouth goes dry as I will my feet to move, following her until we’re on the porch.

  “Penn has been working on this for the last week or so,” Meredith says. “It’s not finished by any means. The outside is complete in case bad weather hits early this year, but there’s still a lot to do.”

  “You’ll really enjoy it in the spring,” I say carefully. My chest flutters, my stomach flipping at the look in her eyes. “It’ll be
a great spot to curl up with a book.”

  She takes a deep breath. “You’ll have to let me know.”

  I take a step back until I’m against the railing. I look at her and then at the house, then back to her. Buffy barks behind me, but I barely hear her.

  “Meredith, I don’t understand.”

  “There’s a note inside, if you want to read it. And if you’re still too tender to do this, that’s fine too,” she says softly. She looks at me with the kindness only someone who truly cares about you can show. “Trevor has been a big baby.”

  I blink quickly but am unable to fight the tears.

  “I’m not telling you what to do,” she says. “That’s for you to decide, and whatever you decide is the right thing. But maybe go in and check the place out and see what you think.”

  I can’t think straight. I can’t comprehend anything other than I might be sick.

  “Before I say anything,” I say, my mouth full of cotton, “what is this place?”

  “To be honest, it was originally supposed to be the poodle spa. Then I realized how inconvenient that would be and decided to incorporate it into the house. That left this place half-built with no purpose.” She scoops up her puppy. “Trevor called the other night to mope, and I was trying to talk some sense into him. A few ideas sprang to life, and . . . he thought maybe this was a place you would like to use.”

  I can barely swallow. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. And there’s no pressure. But I will say, I have no friends here and thought that even if you and Trevor don’t work out, or if you make him wallow a little bit, it would still be nice to have you around.” She bites her lip like she’s afraid she overstepped. “You’re nice and maybe, you know, we could be friends.”

  “Wow, Meredith. Of course, I’d like to be your friend. But this . . .” I look at the house again. “This is just . . . a lot.”

  She laughs. “I know.”

  Curiosity gets the best of me. “Can I look inside?”

  “Absolutely. It’s yours, after all. If you want it.” She heads down the steps, cuddling Buffy. “I’ll leave you alone. If you need anything, please shout.”

  “Meredith?”

  “Yes?”

  My heart pounds in my chest as I look back at the little white-and-green building. “Is Trevor in there?”

  She smiles softly. “No. He didn’t want you to feel like you had to take him if you took this. This is a no-strings-attached kind of thing. He just thought you’d love it.”

  I nod as she heads across the lawn. The breeze flutters by, the air clean and crisp. It’s so quiet, so still, that I almost cry. Not just because it’s beauty realized, but because no one is here to see it with me.

  Taking my time, I walk to the building and climb the three little steps. The bronze handle opens easily and I gasp.

  My words come floating back.

  “I’d put a little place somewhere like that. With a great view of the sunrise and a field with tons of wildflowers. There’d be a room with windows like this and a woodstove because there’s nothing more romantic than that. And a claw-foot bathtub nestled in a corner and tons and tons of bookshelves.”

  He listened. He really listened.

  The windows reach from the floor to the ceiling. A fireplace sits in the corner with river rock framing it up the wall. Bookshelves line every wall that isn’t taken up by a window.

  Blinking back tears, I close the door behind me.

  It smells like new construction and cedar and is warm and cozy. A cream-colored sofa faces the fireplace, and a table with a marble top sits beside it. A room opens to the right, and I peek inside to find a claw-foot tub and another fireplace. It’s more finished than I realized.

  “Oh, my God,” I whisper, stepping inside the bathroom.

  On an open shelf are a stack of towels. I take a washcloth and dry my face, clutching it in my hand like it’s a life raft. The tears keep coming as my heart pines for Trevor.

  I miss him. I miss him so much, and I can’t understand why he did this if he doesn’t want me.

  As I reenter the living room, I see an envelope with my name scrawled across the front in blue ink next to a bouquet of camellias.

  My fingers fumble the paper, tears streaking down my face, as I unfold it.

  Ohio,

  I had no idea how much my life was going to change when I dropped into the Dogwood Café the first time. I just wanted a cup of coffee. Claire talked me into a doughnut. You talked me into giving you my heart.

  Because it’s yours. I didn’t realize that until lately. Or maybe I did know it before but couldn’t understand. It’s hard to understand things you haven’t experienced before.

  There are a lot of things I want to do in my life. None of them I want to do without you. I bought a flower shop this morning (okay, two), and all I wanted to do was tell you.

  I don’t blame you for not talking to me. And I hope you don’t feel any pressure from this. It’s yours, whether you want me or not. (But please want me.)

  And when it comes to the flower shops, I hope you’ll help me with them. Meredith talked me into buying them. She said it’s good for my karma and promised to step in and help out if you want no part of it. (Please want a part of it.)

  The camellias mean “my destiny is in your hands.” Nice touch, right? I hope you aren’t feeling mean anymore.

  Trevor

  “Damn you,” I say, clutching the letter to my chest.

  “Does that mean I have to get Meredith to help me with the stores?”

  I swing around at the sound of his voice to find him standing in the only room I haven’t explored. My knees go weak as he catches me in his arms.

  “I’m still mad at you,” I say into his chest. I breathe him in and feel his heart thumping as wildly as mine. “Very mad at you.”

  “But very attracted to me too. Right?”

  I roll my eyes. “And very annoyed with you.”

  “Yeah, I get that one.” He pulls back and looks me in the eye. “I don’t expect you to do anything. I want you to do whatever makes you happy. Whatever you feel is the right move for you.”

  I wad up his red sweatshirt in my hands and keep him close to me. I give myself a moment to truly feel what I feel.

  The longer I stand, the more I know.

  “How I feel has nothing to do with this place,” I say softly. “Or . . . did you really buy two flower shops today?”

  He winces. “I have a meeting in about an hour to sign the papers. I know shit about flowers, so this should be fun. And Jake’s thrilled, let me tell you.”

  I sigh but nestle myself against him again. “It has nothing to do with that or the camellias, but those were a nice touch.”

  “I saw them at the flower show. I had that in my pocket for a rainy day.”

  I can’t help but laugh.

  “We can take this slow,” he offers. “Or fast. Or however you want to take it.”

  He pulls me off him, much to my dismay, and holds me at arm’s length. His eyes shine as he looks at me.

  “I left you because I was scared. I was scared of what I was feeling and what that meant and what that might mean. But I realized shortly afterward that I’d already hurt you. And then I went home and lay in bed and realized something else: I was more scared of never holding you again than I was of anything else.”

  “Trevor . . .” I wipe a tear off my cheek.

  “Someone very wise told me that when you find the right person, you hold on to them for when the storms of life get bad. I know now that I can’t even imagine going through the good times without you, let alone the bad.”

  I laugh, brushing tears as quickly as they fall.

  “I want to do this right, Haley. I want you to want me. I hope you’ll choose to trust me enough to need me, and I need your love. I thought for a long time I didn’t need love, but I do. And I need it from you, and even more, I need you to accept mine.” He swallows h
ard, his throat bobbing. “This feeling I’m scared of? It’s me, falling in love with you.”

  There’s no stopping the tears that flood my face. He’s blurred from my vision as I openly cry.

  I don’t try to fight it. Don’t try to stop it. Don’t try to do anything but believe that I’m capable of handling the choices I make.

  He hands me a napkin.

  I, TREVOR KELLY, PROMISE TO MAKE YOU, HALEY RAYNOR, FALL IN LOVE WITH ME EVERY DAY. AND I PROMISE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU OVER AND OVER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

  Tears blur my sight as I look up at this gorgeous, flawed, perfect man. “I love you, Trevor.”

  “And I love you, pretty girl.”

  EPILOGUE

  HALEY

  The bustle inside the newly minted Buds, Branches, and Books is beyond chaos. People come in for hot chocolate and to see what’s been going on behind the blacked-out windows for the last two months.

  Christmas songs play softly on the speakers, a tree sits in the corner with little pieces of paper with the names of kids who need help this time of year. It’s more than I ever wanted it to be, and to see it finished, a plan coming to fruition, makes me want to burst at the seams.

  “I told you this was going to be a hit.” Trevor wraps his arms around me from behind, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. “I’m so proud of you, Ohio.”

  “It’s because of you.” I turn my face and brush my lips against his. “I’d tell you that you’re pretty special, but you already know that.”

  “Yeah,” he jokes, “I do.”

  “Hey,” I say, waving as Neely walks in with another woman. “This must be Grace.”

  The short woman with beautiful eyes gives me a warm smile. “This place is adorable,” she gushes. “And yes, I’m Grace. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “I’m Haley, if you didn’t know. And this is Trevor.”

  I look at my man. The pride on his face as he looks down at me makes my heart skip a beat.

  “Nice to meet both of you,” Grace says.

  Neely looks around the store, her eyes wide. “Haley. Seriously. This is amazing.”

  “Thanks. I’m pretty proud of it.”

  “You should be,” she says. “It’s such a great thing for our town.”