A Wildflower Summer

by Caroline Flynn

  About the Author

  CAROLINE FLYNN is a Canadian writer from Northern Ontario. She doesn’t have to imagine what small-town life is like—she lives it every day. Caroline loves everything book related, whether it’s reading them or writing them, and she is the dog-mom of an eccentric brindle boxer named Jazz (who makes an appearance in The Forget-Me-Not Bakery!). Caroline uses her coffee addiction to fuel her writing passion, and she can’t imagine devoting her life to being anything other than an author.

  Also by Caroline Flynn

  The Forget-Me-Not Bakery

  The Winter Berry House

  A Wildflower Summer

  CAROLINE FLYNN

  HQ

  An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  HarperCollinsPublishers

  1st Floor, Watermarque Building, Ringsend Road

  Dublin 4, Ireland

  First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2021

  Copyright © Caroline Flynn 2021

  Caroline Flynn asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

  E-book Edition © July 2021 ISBN: 9780008480936

  Version: 2021-06-23

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  About the Author

  Also by Caroline Flynn

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Prologue: Jason

  Chapter 1: Lily

  Chapter 2: Jason

  Chapter 3: Lily

  Chapter 4: Jason

  Chapter 5: Lily

  Chapter 6: Jason

  Chapter 7: Lily

  Chapter 8: Jason

  Chapter 9: Lily

  Chapter 10: Jason

  Chapter 11: Lily

  Chapter 12: Jason

  Chapter 13: Lily

  Chapter 14: Jason

  Chapter 15: Lily

  Chapter 16: Jason

  Chapter 17: Lily

  Chapter 18: Jason

  Chapter 19: Lily

  Chapter 20: Jason

  Chapter 21: Lily

  Epilogue: Jason

  Extract

  Acknowledgements

  Dear Reader …

  Keep Reading …

  About the Publisher

  To Jazz.

  You’ll always be the heart of Port Landon,

  just as you’ve always been the heart of everything in my world.

  Wildflower (def.): a flower that grows in the wild,

  meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted.

  Prologue

  Jason

  ‘You’re the greatest son a mother could ask for, Jason, but the truth is, neither of us are getting any younger.’

  Jason stifled a groan, trying to keep his voice down lest he bother any of the other six people sitting in the waiting room with them. His mother, however, didn’t give a hoot who heard about his advanced age of thirty, or his lackluster love life.

  Okay, nonexistent love life. That was more accurate.

  ‘You make it sound like I’m over the hill, Mom.’

  ‘Well, if one of us is, it isn’t me, darling.’ The laugh lines etching her pale bluish-green eyes grew deeper with her cheeky grin.

  When she smiled like that, Jason had a hard time remembering that the woman sitting in front of him was in her mid-sixties. He had an even harder time with the fact that the eyes staring at him with so much sparkle and vitality were failing her, slowly but surely. He welcomed the moments when he forgot that truth, but it only made it harder once the realization hit him again, bowling him over with the same flood of shock and sadness he felt when he’d first found out.

  Bettina Forrester had glaucoma. Eventually, she would be blind.

  But today was not that day, and Jason reminded himself that he couldn’t dwell on what would inevitably happen. Just like he couldn’t dwell on what had already happened. The past was the past.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t far enough in the past for him to entertain his mother’s recurring monologue about finding someone to fall in love with. And that’s how she always phrased it, finding someone to fall for, as though he could go into the nearest Wal-Mart and pick someone off the clearance rack. Jason wished it were that easy.

  ‘Did Grandma Mary-Jean give you this much trouble about settling down and getting a ring on your finger?’ He regretted the mumbled enquiry the moment it left his mouth. His grandmother was a force to be reckoned with, and there wasn’t a soul in Port Landon who didn’t know it. The old woman might have only stood four feet ten inches tall, but she could cut a grown man down to size with a quick-witted comment, never once letting her radiant smile waver. And people loved her for it, because they always knew where they stood with Mary-Jean, and they always knew her words and advice came from a place of love.

  Jason’s mother was no different in that regard. That didn’t mean he liked hearing about his lack of a significant other all the damn time, though. He was starting to think she believed he wasn’t whole or something, unless he found the piece to make him that way. It certainly wasn’t the way he saw it, even if he had to convince himself of that on a daily basis.

  ‘Heck no.’ His mother chuckled. ‘She and Daddy thought I’d lost my marbles when I agreed to go out with your father at such a young age. Mama told me to hold my horses and wait for someone to come along who had money.’

  Jason shook his head. He had heard this story countless times, and he knew the latter comment was true. But it was said in jest. Everyone knew Roderick and Bettina’s love story could be summed up in four words: love at first sight. They had married young and never looked back. Even now, so many years later, they only had eyes for each other.

  ‘See, that’s what I’m talking about.’ He gestured with his hands, as though she had given him a perfect example of what he was trying to say. ‘I’m just waiting on a girl with money, Mom.’

  She swatted at him. ‘Oh, you are not.’ She laughed. ‘I raised you better than that, and your grandmother raised me better than that, too. You’re not holding out for money, son. You’re holding out for a girl who will hold your heart and keep it safe, not break it like she did.’

  She. Jason didn’t remember the last time his mother said his ex-fiancée’s name out loud. He couldn’t remember the last time he did, either. He reached out for Bettina’s fingers, acutely aware of how paper-thin and weathered the backs of her hands seemed.

  ‘I’ve got to do what’s right for Carlie. The casual dating scene isn’t any place for a four-year-old to be.’ Or for a man with a four-year-old.

  His mother’s gaze narrowed. ‘Jason, you—’

  Whatever she was about to say—and he had a pretty good idea what it was—it was thwarted by the sound of her name from across the room.

 
‘Bettina Forrester.’

  Simultaneously, they turned. A woman in lavender scrubs held a clipboard against her chest, staring out into the sea of faces. The muted green of the waiting room only looked more putrid in Jason’s eyes when mixed with the pale purple she wore. Then again, maybe it was just the reason for the follow-up appointment that had him seeing everything within these walls as sickly and unnatural.

  We’re up, he thought. He stood, holding out a steady arm to his mother. Any other minute of the day, Jason put his effort into being what Carlie needed him to be. A good father, her provider, her hero. Right now, it was time to be what his mother needed. She needed him to be strong. For her, for their family.

  He had every intention of doing right by her, too. Even if it broke his heart. After all, he was no stranger to heartache.

  The nurse led them down a short hallway, her dark ponytail swaying with each step as they entered a cramped examination room. The furnishings were just as drab and sterile.

  ‘Dr. Evans will be right in.’ Her smile was warm, a stark contrast to her swift movements as she headed out the door. The nurse was efficient, good at her job. Jason didn’t begrudge her that. For her, this was her place of employment, and she had to keep the revolving door turning.

  For him and his mother, it was where their life changed. And not for the better.

  ‘It will be okay.’ Bettina had taken a seat beside the exam table. She reached out and patted his hand.

  Jason stared at her fingers. Wasn’t he supposed to be comforting her? He didn’t get the chance to come up with his own consoling words.

  ‘Bettina, you made it here,’ Dr. Evans announced before he was barely through the door. ‘The traffic’s getting quite bumper to bumper out there.’

  Immediately, Jason picked up on the fact that the doctor didn’t greet her with, So nice to see you. He figured that wasn’t an accident.

  ‘We did. Not hard to tell that school is out and summer is officially under way.’ Bettina patted Jason’s hand again, who had taken up residence against the wall beside her chair, attempting to make himself feel smaller than his broad shoulders and six feet of height allowed for. ‘This is my boy, Jason.’

  Idly, he wondered how old he would have to be before his mother stopped introducing him as a boy, but he shook the doctor’s outstretched hand, nonetheless. With Bettina Forrester, the odds were it would never happen. ‘Good to meet you.’

  It wasn’t the first time he’d been within the walls of the North Springs Memorial Hospital. Far from it. He brought his mother here for her regular appointments when his father wasn’t able to. It was, however, the first time Bettina had asked him to come into the appointment with her. She was always so keen to keep her health concerns under wraps. If there was one thing Forresters didn’t handle well, it was having someone else worry about them, regardless if there was reason to do so or not.

  And there had never been a reason to worry, until a year and a half ago. That was when they were introduced to Dr. Evans, an ophthalmologist who held satellite clinics in North Springs. His main office was in Lansing, but he made scheduled biannual visits to the city to accommodate some of his patients. As a doctor specifically trained in the medical and surgical treatment of glaucoma, Jason’s mother became one of his rostered patients when a few tests and a dilated eye exam revealed her dwindling eyesight wasn’t just from the need for a stronger eyeglass prescription.

  ‘I’ve got your most recent intraocular pressure tests.’ Gone was the talk about the summer sun and the bustling traffic. The doctor was all business, his gaze trained on the manila folder in front of him. He shuffled a few papers around. ‘There is slight fluctuation, Bettina, but compared to the values from your last tests, it’s relatively stable.’ He glanced up at his patient. ‘That’s a good thing.’

  ‘So, the disease isn’t getting worse.’ It wasn’t a question, and Bettina hung on to his every word, desperate for the answer she obviously wanted to hear. Jason suddenly felt just as overwhelmed by the need to hear some positive news as well.

  ‘Not quickly,’ Dr. Evans assured her cautiously. ‘As we’ve previously discussed, your glaucoma wasn’t caught nearly as early as we would have hoped, and there is no cure. But it can be controlled.’ He held up the papers. ‘These tests are telling me that your medication regime is working. I may adjust the dosage slightly, but I’m confident in the progress we’re making. As long as we’re making progress and the disease isn’t, I’m a happy camper.’

  Jason wished he could share in the good doctor’s sentiment. While it was good and fine that the glaucoma wasn’t getting worse in a rapid fashion, it wasn’t getting any better, either. It was unfair of him to think it, but he didn’t understand how, with all the medical advances made during this day and age, they couldn’t cure this godforsaken disease and make his mother better. That’s what he wanted.

  That’s what she deserved.

  The follow-up was fairly uneventful after that. It wasn’t until after the routine eye testing and the consultation, on their way back out to the parking lot, that Jason realized his chest ached. He had been rigid as a fencepost throughout the entire appointment, waiting for the ball to drop, for the catastrophic news to come. It didn’t. But he realized now that he had been expecting it. It was funny; he didn’t feel any better knowing there was no bad news. Because it would come. Eventually. Maybe not during this hospital visit, or the next, but eventually. And there was nothing in the world he could do to stop it.

  ‘You doing okay, Mom?’ He opened the passenger door of his Dodge truck for her and helped her climb in.

  ‘Doing just fine,’ she replied. A quizzical expression clouded her features. ‘Why wouldn’t I be? Dr. Evans is right, Jay. Things are stable, and that’s a good thing. Sometimes stable is all we can ask for.’

  Jason held the seatbelt out for her until she grasped it between her fingers. ‘I don’t want stability for you, I want a cure.’

  Bettina tilted her head, a dark lock of her hair falling in front of her face. ‘I love you for that, I do. But sometimes we don’t always get what we want, my boy. We’ve just got to deal with the hand we’ve been dealt.’

  Under any other circumstances, Jason knew exactly what she meant. He knew it all too well. But there was a fierce level of irrationalism that came with the unfairness of his mother’s sickness. To him, she was an angel, on a pedestal so high no one else would ever reach it. ‘I just wish there was something I could do,’ he confessed. ‘Anything.’

  His mother’s lips formed a genuine smile. With the seatbelt firmly locked in place, she reached for her son’s hand and squeezed it encouragingly. ‘There is,’ she replied. ‘You can open up that heart of yours and allow yourself to find love. It’ll happen when you least expect it, but you’ve got to let it in.’ She paused, ducking her head to make sure he was staring into her eyes and paying attention. ‘I want to see you happy, Jason. That’s all any mother would ever wish for.’

  Chapter 1

  Lily

  She had begun this trip with the best laid plans. Everything she needed was packed meticulously into the cramped confines of her car’s backseat. Every mile and gas station pit stop was plotted on a printed map draped across the passenger seat. And almost every dollar in her bank account was spoken for in her attempt to get to her destination.

  Lily Brentwood was a planner, an organizer. She wasn’t a fan of surprises and did her darnedest to avoid them.

  But she never planned for this. Amidst all those preparations, she never once thought that her trusty Toyota Corolla—or Cruella, as she frequently referred to it, referencing its dingy white exterior and black cloth interior—would give up on her.

  Yet, here she was, standing on the side of the highway, staring at Cruella with a stricken expression as the car’s unmoving wheels sat on the gravel shoulder—its engine unwilling to rumble into life.

  Lily glanced around. Darkness had fallen hours ago, and any other time she would have welcomed
the night. She had always been a fan of the serenity it brought with its blanket of blackness, covering everything it touched and enveloping it in safety until morning arrived. Others might not see nighttime the way she did, too hung up on the shadows to see the beauty that created them, but Lily loved it. It was one of the reasons she had chosen to make the eight-hour drive from her hometown of Sherman to Chicago later in the evening rather than through the bright light of day. It also made it easier for Eden, who was currently fast asleep in the backseat, completely oblivious to the conundrum they faced.

  They were only four and a half hours into the trip. Barely halfway there, and obviously nowhere near the city. Around her, silence reigned—save for the chirping of crickets and the odd snap of a branch from the one of the many trees that lined the road. She could just make out the flicker of light from what she thought might be a farmhouse in the distance. In the other direction was the town limit sign she had aimed for when she realized her car was taking the nosedive from suddenly running poorly to not running at all.

  Welcome to Port Landon.

  She had never heard of the place, but Lily hoped that beyond the sign, somewhere in the not-too-distant darkness, was a town that held everything she needed, which acutely included a mechanic with an emergency line and hopefully a whole lot of mercy.

  This was the furthest thing from the city life she had set out for. In fact, judging by the nearby farm on the outskirts of town and the wholesome rustic vibe of the town’s signage, Lily would bank on Port Landon being closer in size to the small town she had just escaped from.

  Escaped. Goodness, she made it sound like her hometown had held her there, in captivity with shackles and chains. No one had forced her to stay as long as she did, and no one had kept her from leaving.

  And now, when she had finally taken that step, good ole’ Cruella was going to make it even more difficult.

  ‘Not if I can help it,’ Lily muttered. She opened the driver’s side door as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake Eden. A soft click was the only sound she heard as the door unlatched, followed by a squeak as it opened, which probably wasn’t nearly as loud as it seemed in the silence of the night. Her phone lay under the map. Lily didn’t bother consulting the paper, she went straight for Google. It would know everything there was to know about Port Landon and its capability to get Cruella back up and running. This was a curveball in Lily’s plans, not the end of them completely. She refused to let the setback hold that kind of weight.