Don't Touch My Petunia

by Tara Sheets

  Somewhere near the entrance to the treehouse, hope surged inside her. Juliette sensed the exact moment something shifted within the heart of the tree. New growth pushed its way up through the trunk from deep within the earth. Suddenly, everything sprang to life and the sickness began to fade. Her limbs shook, and it took everything she had to cling to the branch, but inside she rejoiced.

  The old maple tree began healing before her eyes, its branches stretching and reaching toward the sky. Tiny leaves unfurled, lush and vibrant, growing and multiplying and spreading into a kaleidoscopic canopy of green above her. Within minutes, the tree was larger and healthier than it had ever been. The sickness was gone.

  She’d saved it.

  Juliette could barely stay awake. The treehouse entrance was only a few inches to her left. If she could reach it, she could drag herself inside before she collapsed. Slowly, feeling as though she were moving underwater, she reached out, stretching her fingertips toward the ledge. She lifted both hands, braced her feet against a lower branch, and jumped.

  Her hands slapped against the floorboards of the treehouse entrance. She scrabbled to grab on to something, but her hands felt clumsy. Her fingertips scraped against the rough wooden planks. For one fraction of a second, she thought she was going to make it. Then she slipped.

  Falling wasn’t so bad, Juliette thought dimly. The leaves blurred past her in myriad shades of green. The wind was cool against her heated cheeks, and the breeze caught at her nightgown, floating it around her in a peaceful arc.

  It was the unforgiving earth that surprised her.

  * * *

  Logan sat in his real estate agent’s office, watching her gather the final documents together for the sale of his house. Her office was as gray as her simple, pinstriped suit. Everything was angular and modern, with nothing but a small plastic plant on the corner of her desk to indicate a semblance of life. She was all business, which he’d do well to appreciate. He wanted to sell his house as quickly as possible.

  “Even though it needs some work, your house should sell fast,” she told Logan, placing his file on the desk in front of her. “It’s near a greenbelt overlooking the ocean, so it’s a prime location.”

  Logan slid his chair back and stood, focusing on the tasks ahead of him. He refused to allow himself to think of anything else. Especially not Juliette. “Everything’s in order then?”

  The agent assured him things were fine and that she’d contact him soon.

  Logan left the office with a dark sense of resignation and got into his truck to head home. His parents had called to say that they were looking forward to seeing him, and the Florida weather was beautiful. He even had a job waiting for him. An old military buddy owned a construction company and needed someone to manage it. All things considered, his future looked promising.

  He turned his truck onto the highway, gripping the steering wheel with bleak determination. It was pointless to think about Juliette and the future he’d wanted with her. She’d made it more than clear she didn’t feel the same way. Learning she’d purposefully sold Bella that Desire perfume had been a blow to his pride. It hurt to know Juliette was behind all that nonsense, even though the magic never worked on him. Hell, the only desire he ever felt with Bella was the desire to eat. No wonder he was always starving whenever she came around.

  Then when Juliette told him he had just been a casual fling, it had been a blow to much more than just his pride. All this time, he’d been falling in love with her. He wanted her more than anything he’d ever wanted in his life, but she didn’t want him. She never did. And he just had to get on with it.

  Logan pulled into his driveway, feeling a heavy sense of defeat when he saw the FOR SALE sign in his front yard. Juliette had been right. For all his intentions of keeping his grandfather’s house and rebuilding his life, some things just weren’t meant to last. Even the old tree in the backyard had tried to tell him.

  He glanced over at it and slammed on the breaks, his car skidding to a halt in the gravel driveway.

  The tree was enormous and bursting with life. It now stood like a mighty sentinel in his yard. Where once the branches were withered and brittle, they now stretched twice as large as before, reaching toward the sky in a thick canopy of vibrant green leaves.

  Impossible.

  Something white fluttered in the tall grass beneath it. It was like a scrap of cloth, or—Cold fear gripped him.

  He shot out of the car and ran, heart thumping in panic, dread coursing through his veins at what he would find.

  Juliette lay sprawled under the tree in the grass. One arm was twisted under her, the white nightgown bunched around her legs. Mud caked her feet, and there was a scrape on her forehead against skin so pale, she looked . . .

  “Juliette!” Logan fell to the ground beside her. He pressed his ear to her chest. She was still breathing, thank god. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911. In a steady, monotone voice he told the operator the necessary details.

  When he hung up, he checked her vital signs again and smoothed her hair gently back from her face with a shaking hand. She’d done the impossible. She’d healed his tree, but the cost had been far too precious. Nothing was worth her life. Nothing. A cold terror gripped him. What if she didn’t wake up? “Why, Juliette?” he said shakily. “Why did you do this?”

  Her eyelids fluttered.

  Logan’s heart flatlined, then kicked into overdrive. “Juliette. Can you hear me?”

  She opened her eyes a fraction and winced.

  “Don’t move,” Logan commanded, fear raising his voice to a near shout. “Help is coming. Stay completely still, do you understand?” He sounded harsh, he knew, but it took every ounce of willpower he had to stay calm. “Keep still.”

  Her lips moved like she was trying to say something.

  Logan leaned down until his face was only inches from hers.

  A faint whisper. “Bossy.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. She was killing him. He wanted to throw his head back and roar. He should never have asked her to help save the tree. He should’ve been there to stop her. “Why did you do it, Juliette?” he choked out. “Why would you risk your life for nothing?”

  “Not nothing.” Her whisper was barely audible over the wind. “Everything.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Juliette sat in her hospital bed feeling exhausted and heartsick. It was past six o’clock, and she’d slept like the dead. On any other day she’d be in her garden by now, curled up in her favorite quilt with Luna. And after everything that had happened yesterday, it was the only place she could think of that would bring her comfort. She rubbed her aching head. “How much longer is this going to take?”

  Emma patted her hand from a chair by the bed. “You have a concussion, and you were dehydrated when you got here yesterday. They’re not going to just let you dance out of here first thing in the morning.”

  “I’m totally fine,” Juliette insisted, even though it wasn’t true. Her mind strayed to Logan and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart ached, her body ached, and yesterday had been a disaster. But she’d saved the tree. That was something. She’d saved Logan’s tree.

  “Logan was here all night,” Emma said, as if reading her mind. “He was a wreck, Juliette. Pacing back and forth in the waiting room like a caged lion until the nurse said we could come in. And once he saw you passed out with that IV in your arm, he looked even worse.”

  Juliette glanced at the cotton ball taped to the inside of her elbow where they’d given her an IV drip. Thankfully, she didn’t need it anymore. “He came to see me?”

  Emma nodded. “He stayed here all night until I finally made him go home. I told him I planned to stay at your house for the next couple of days, and the doctor had to assure him three times that you were completely fine, before he’d leave.”

  Juliette twisted the corner of her bedsheet between her fingers. “Did he . . .” She swallowed. “Did he say anything?”

>   Emma’s eyes filled with compassion and understanding. It made Juliette want to cry. “He said he was sorry. He wanted me to tell you that.”

  Juliette closed her eyes. He was sorry. So was she. How had everything gone so wrong between them?

  “And when he left, he said he had to go take care of something, but he’d be back.”

  Juliette looked at Emma. “Back when?” Was he coming back to say a final good-bye? She didn’t want him to. Not today. Not when she already felt so broken. It would be too much to bear.

  Emma shook her head. “I don’t know. He wasn’t very talkative. Mostly he just hovered in here like a silent thundercloud, glaring at the poor doctor and nurse whenever they came to check on you. And when I finally convinced him it was okay to go, he stormed out like he was on a mission. I think the nurse would’ve kicked him out long before I did if she hadn’t thought he was part of the family.”

  At the mention of Logan being a part of the family, Juliette turned to stare at the wall. She didn’t want Emma to see how bleak and hopeless she felt. If only she hadn’t hurt him with her careless words that day in her garden. If only she hadn’t been so afraid to tell him the truth.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Several days later . . .

  “Ms. Holloway?”

  Juliette glanced up from the inventory list she’d been putting together.

  Her new employee, Felicity, walked into the back room with a watering can. She was a bright seventeen-year-old with thick glasses, a quirky grin, and a genuine interest in plants. “Should I water the ferns by the front window?”

  “Yes, that would be perfect. Thank you.” Juliette watched the young woman go, grateful for her new hire. Ever since the accident several days ago, so much had changed. She gripped the splint on her wrist and flexed her fingers. They said she’d been lucky. It was just a sprain and it would be better in no time. The doctor had been mystified that she’d only suffered a mild concussion when she fell from the tree, but Juliette imagined the tree had something to do with it. She vaguely remembered the branches reaching out to break her fall.

  “Hey, you.” Kat bustled through the back door with Hank at her heels. Edgar the crow was perched on her shoulder. If a bird could have an expression, his could only be described as pure triumph.

  Juliette grinned. “Do you know there’s a bird on your shoulder?”

  Kat rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ve given up. He follows me everywhere, anyway. Stupid Cheetos. I should’ve known better.” She gave Edgar an affectionate pat, then turned back to Juliette. “I came to see if you’re meeting us for lunch. Emma and the girls said to tell you the bridesmaid dresses are ready for fitting.”

  Juliette put the inventory list neatly into her small desk drawer. “Tell them I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “You bet. Oh.” Kat pointed to Juliette’s hair on her way out the door. “I’m loving your new look, by the way. It makes you look like a superhero.” She waved good-bye, then closed the door behind her.

  Juliette brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. A one-inch streak near her temple was now snowy white. Emma said it was probably because she gave so much of her energy to heal the tree. Neither of them knew if it would stay, but Juliette didn’t mind it. Every time she looked in the mirror, it reminded her of Logan.

  Her heart ached at the thought of him. He hadn’t returned that morning at the hospital, and she still hadn’t seen him. She tried to tell herself that it was fine; she’d saved his tree and that’s what mattered. But it still hurt that he hadn’t come back. Even if only to say good-bye.

  “Ms. Holloway?” Felicity poked her head around the corner. “There’s a customer out front who wants to buy some flowers.”

  Juliette nodded absently. “The summer bouquets are in the cold case.”

  “No, not a bouquet. This.” Felicity held up a ceramic pot of petunias. It was the same petunia plant Logan had been mangling the first day he walked into her shop. The bittersweet reminder of it made Juliette’s heart ache even more.

  “How much is it?” Felicity asked.

  Juliette shook her head. She’d been meaning to take the plant home. “That’s not for sale. Show them the geraniums instead.”

  Felicity left to deal with the customer, returning a few moments later. “He says it has to be this exact plant, and no other will do.” She gave the flowers a dubious look. “And he says not to worry because he’s really good at handling petunias?”

  Juliette’s mouth opened on a tiny inhale. She rose unsteadily from her desk chair, unlacing the dirt-smudged apron from around her waist and hanging it on a peg near the kitchen sink. Or at least, she tried. It fell to the floor, but she didn’t care. With slightly shaky hands, she smoothed her hair and walked into the front room.

  Logan stood near the large window looking tired, but otherwise the same as always. Beautiful.

  He gave her that half smile full of secrets. “Hi.” Sadness washed over her because she missed his smile. She wished she could have it back. She wanted it all for herself. But he was leaving soon, and she had to accept that. The old Juliette would’ve tried to act cool and easy-breezy, but that’s not how she felt. She didn’t want to fake anything anymore. Especially not with him.

  “Where’ve you been?” She gathered her courage. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I had to go to Florida for a couple of days to take care of some things. I just got back.”

  “Of course.” He was selling his house and moving across the country. It only made sense that he’d be busy taking care of last minute details. Saying good-bye to her must be one of them. Her chest tightened in grief and she swallowed hard.

  Logan took a step closer and said in a low voice, “Juliette, I’m so sorry. I should never have asked you to save the tree. I never meant for you to get hurt. You could’ve died, and I should’ve been there to—”

  “—No,” she interrupted. “Please don’t apologize. I wanted to do it. I’m glad it worked.”

  He shook his head and glanced down for a moment. “I need to ask you something.”

  The old Juliette also would’ve frozen up, raised the drawbridge and got out the brick and mortar to build walls. But she wasn’t going to be that person anymore. She wasn’t going to shy away from her feelings. “What is it?”

  His gaze was all serious intent. “Why did you do it? Why did you risk your life to save my tree?”

  That was easy. “Because you love it.” But now came the hard part. It was now, or never. If she was going to live courageously, this was her moment. He was leaving and that wouldn’t change. But at least he’d leave with the truth. She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eyes. “And because I love you.” His expression was unreadable, but she kept on before she lost her nerve. “And I want you to know that I loved you before. Those things I said in my garden . . . I didn’t mean them. I was angry and hurt. I’m sorry. I just want you to know that the thing we had between us . . .” She fought to steady her voice and forged on. “That was real for me, too. All of it was real. I was just too scared to admit it.”

  There. She said it. And now he would go, and she would love him forever, and life would go on as normal. For everyone else. Just not for her.

  A small crease formed between his brows. Slowly, he reached out to brush his fingers along the white streak at her temple. “Your hair.”

  “Yeah, it’s because—” Wait, what? She just bared her soul and he was commenting on her hair? “I said I love you. Did I say it out loud, or just think it?”

  His mouth curved into a smile. “You said it out loud.” Then he held her sprained wrist, cradling the splint between his large hands.

  Juliette felt confused, but also elated that he was touching her and looking at her like she was precious. “Well, I do,” she said shakily. “So there you have it.”

  He lifted her wrist and kissed her fingertips. “I know.”

  “You know what?” she asked, sidetracked by the delicious nearness o
f him.

  “I know you love me,” Logan said simply.

  “You do?”

  “Mmm-hm. That’s why I went to Florida to meet with my buddy who runs a construction company. We’re going to open a branch out here, and I’m going to manage it. That’s also why I took my house off the market.”

  Juliette stared blankly at him. “You’re not leaving?”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  Juliette swore she felt the earth come screeching to a halt. Time stood still and everything froze. Nothing moved or breathed. She felt like they were the only two people on the entire planet.

  “Um.” Felicity cleared her throat from the back of the shop. “So did you still want the petunias, or . . . ?”

  Logan didn’t take his eyes off Juliette’s face. “I absolutely do.”

  Felicity mumbled something and wandered into the back room.

  “You’re staying,” Juliette said, just to make sure she’d heard him right.

  “Yes.”

  He’s staying. She repeated it in her head until the reality of it surrounded her like a favorite song, enveloping all her senses, sinking into her skin. “Why?”

  “Because I love you, too.” He took both her hands in his. “And you’re just going to have to get comfortable with that. We’re going to make this work, Juliette.”

  Something warm unfurled inside her because nothing had ever sounded better. She needed to know it was going to last. She wanted the whole thing. She wanted the fairy tale. “You promise?”

  He lowered his head and whispered, “I promise.” Then he sealed it with a kiss.

  And in that moment, Juliette knew it was true. She felt it in her bones, in the same way she knew exactly when the sun would rise, or when it was going to rain, or when new spring grass was just about to emerge. She would always remember that kiss as the exact moment her future bloomed into something beautiful.