A Wildflower Summer

by Caroline Flynn

  She whirled around, clutching a bag of English muffins to her chest. ‘The Forrester boy is a good judge of character. Must have seen something in you that he liked.’

  There was no mistaking the glint in her eye.

  Or pitied, Lily thought to herself. ‘Well, I appreciate the help he’s given us, too. Do you know Jason well?’

  ‘Girl …’ Nancy began, dragging out the word and making it sound like they were teenagers about to embark on a juicy gossip session while they braided each other’s hair, ‘I’ve known him since he was knee high to a grasshopper. His mother, Bettina, and I go way back. He’s as good as they come, darling.’

  A good judge of character. As good as they came. Jason was good. Got it.

  ‘If you both are any indication, then I’d guess the same goes for the rest of Port Landon.’ Lily smiled before tipping her mug up again.

  ‘Now you’re catching on.’ Nancy winked, dusting her hands off. She stared at the tower of bread rolls and bagels fondly. ‘So, where were you headed when your car broke down, Lily?’

  Every time she spoke Lily’s name aloud, it made Lily smile. Nancy didn’t have an accent, but she pronounced it almost like Leelee, drawing it out and giving it a luxurious ring that had never been there before. She had a feeling the woman did that with most things in life.

  ‘Chicago,’ she replied. ‘But the universe had other plans, it seems.’

  ‘It usually does.’ Nancy stopped flitting around like an exuberant butterfly long enough to perch on one of the stools near the island. ‘A temporary trip, or a permanent move?’

  ‘Permanent. It’s just temporarily on hold until I can get this setback figured out.’

  Nancy nodded. ‘Good for you. You’re absolutely right, it’s merely a setback. A broken car can be fixed, and it doesn’t stop you from going forward when you’re able.’

  She was right, although Lily hated to think about when she actually might be able to move forward. Mostly because the answer was undoubtedly a lot different compared to when she wanted to go. Which was now. ‘Speaking of that, I should probably get Eden dressed and give Jason a call to see where I stand with the car repairs.’

  Nancy stood. ‘If you’d like, I can give you a ride to his garage. I have to pick up a few things downtown.’

  ‘Oh, you don’t have to do that,’ Lily said quickly. Nancy had already done too much for her and Eden as it was.

  ‘No one said a thing about having to do anything,’ Nancy replied. ‘I want to, and it’s only a few blocks away. Afterward, I can either pick you up, or you can enjoy the scenic walk home. See what our tiny town has to offer.’ She was already bustling about, grabbing her shoulder bag and plucking a list from the countertop.

  Lily had to admit, a walk in the summer sunshine might be good for her. Eden would enjoy the outing, too. From what Jason said last night, there was no way her car was going to be ready for at least a few days, so it would probably be wise to get her bearings in the town she had unwillingly been plunked in.

  ‘Thank you, that sounds nice.’ She rose to her feet to rinse her mug. ‘I’m a little scared of what Jason is going to tell me, but I guess I’ve got to face the music sooner or later. Once I know what I’m up against with him, then I can tell you for sure when Eden and I will be out of your hair.’

  Nancy fluttered by, her shawl floating in her wake. ‘Oh, Lily, it’s okay. Trust me, you’re the only one counting down the days.’

  ***

  Forrester’s Auto was a large, three-bay garage with an adjoined office on the edge of town. Nancy was right, only four blocks separated it from the bed and breakfast, and as she had driven Lily through those residential streets and onto the last road that gave way to the treed expanse behind it, Lily found she was looking forward to the walk home amongst the Victorian homes and the flourishing flower beds.

  All three bay doors were closed. Hand in hand with Eden, she walked under the green and white Forrester’s Auto sign and pushed open the steel door. She barely had the door closed before a loud voice called out to her.

  ‘Hey, can I help you with something?’

  Lily whirled and her gaze landed on a man in a Lakers cap, his dark, wisps of hair curling out from underneath it. She clasped Eden’s hand tighter. Everything she had witnessed in Port Landon so far seemed so small. Somehow, Lily had wrongly assumed that Forrester’s Auto was a one man show. She hadn’t expected the office to open up into the garage bays from inside, either. ‘Oh, hello. I’m actually looking for—’

  ‘Me.’ Jason appeared from underneath a mid-nineties Ford pickup, rolling across the concrete floor on a wheeled stool. ‘How are you, Lily? I kind of thought you’d be here before now, so I took a look at your car this morning.’ He rose, wiping his stained hands on an equally stained cloth he plucked from his toolbox.

  Immediately, guilt swarmed her. Looking around, Lily saw that the first two bays were full, with vehicles jacked up on hoists, waiting to be tended to. She hadn’t missed the cars and trucks sitting outside, either. One was Jason’s and another probably his coworker’s, but some of them were undoubtedly clients’ vehicles in the queue for repairs.

  He had pushed her car to the front of the line.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she began. ‘Eden and I slept in and—’

  Jason held up a hand. ‘No need to apologize,’ he assured her. ‘I didn’t give you an exact appointment time. Besides, if you can avoid succumbing to Nancy’s hospitality, then you’re not human.’ Jason crouched down. ‘Hi, Eden. I met you last night, but you were pretty sleepy. Do you remember me?’

  Eden glanced up at Lily, and her mother offered her an encouraging nudge. The little girl turned back toward Jason, shaking her head.

  ‘That’s okay. I’m Jason, and I’m going to help fix your mama’s car.’

  ‘What’s wrong with it?’ she asked, swinging her head from him up to Lily’s once more.

  Lily was a bit surprised by the question. She shouldn’t have been, seeing as the girl had been fast asleep throughout most of last night’s ordeal, but Eden was a shy child. Rarely did she acknowledge people she didn’t know well, let alone ask them direct questions. Then again, maybe she was overthinking it and the question was actually directed toward her. It was hard to tell. Either way, it was Jason who responded first.

  ‘There’s a few new parts it needs in order to run good again,’ he explained to her. ‘If you want, there are some cool toys over by the desk that my little girl left here. You can play with them while I tell your mom about the new car parts.’

  Eden followed Jason’s finger as he pointed toward the red tote of toys. It took only two seconds for her to shake her head and step in closer to Lily’s leg.

  ‘Don’t take it personally,’ Lily chuckled. ‘She’s shy until she gets to know folks.’

  ‘Carlie’s the same.’ Jason nodded toward the farthest garage bay. ‘Ready for the not-so-great news?’

  She followed him. ‘You can just call it bad news, you know. I can handle it.’

  Over his shoulder, he replied, ‘I like to be an optimist. Because, you know, it could always be worse.’

  Lily wasn’t sure whether to take that as a ray of hope that it wasn’t as bad as he originally thought, or that Jason Forrester was just a glass half full kind of guy, to the point of being slightly exasperating.

  In the harsh fluorescent lighting, Cruella looked even worse than Lily remembered. Lifted on the hoist, the rust underneath the car was at eye level, making it a lot harder to ignore. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘All right, I’m ready.’

  Jason’s expression announced that he didn’t quite believe her, but he went on, anyway. ‘My original suspicion was correct. The car needs an alternator and a new battery. And, like I said last night, that will take a few days to order in and—’

  ‘And it’s expensive,’ Lily finished for him.

  ‘It’s not cheap,’ he agreed.

  She eyed him. ‘Same difference. What else
?’

  ‘I started looking at other things. The transmission fluid lines are cracking, though I don’t see evidence of an active leak. The brake pads and rotors are on the verge of worn out. There’s a—’

  ‘Wait,’ Lily interjected. ‘You’re telling me these are all things that need to be fixed, too?’

  He didn’t blink. ‘I’m telling you I’m shocked that this car didn’t leave you on the side of the road long before last night.’

  Lily felt the blood drain from her face. ‘Oh, Cruella,’ she muttered.

  Jason’s eyebrows rose. ‘Cruella?’

  ‘It’s the car’s name.’ She waved her hand, dismissing the fact. ‘Look, Jason, I don’t know what to do here. I don’t have the money for a long list of car repairs right now. Not on top of paying to stay at Nancy’s bed and breakfast.’ Heat rose in her cheeks. Her humiliation threatened to burn her up from the inside out. Without realizing it, she shook her head, disgusted by her own helplessness. But the truth was out, and she couldn’t take it back.

  Jason looked just as uncomfortable about her confession. It only made Lily feel worse.

  ‘Eden,’ Jason said softly, resuming his crouched stance to bring himself eye to eye with the girl. ‘Can you do me a huge favor?’

  The little girl bit down on her lip, uncertain, but she nodded.

  ‘I need something out of that red tote in the office. There’s a long metal car. It’s a dark reddish-purple color.’ He held his hands about a foot apart, showing its approximate length. ‘Do you think you could go grab it for me?’

  Eden’s grayish blue eyes were round as she glanced up at her mother for guidance. Lily nodded, nudging her softly in the direction of the overflowing red tote.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Lily promised. ‘I can see you from here. Go ahead.’ Her daughter reluctantly released her hand and dawdled across the concrete floor.

  ‘I knew last night that you didn’t have money for the repairs.’

  Lily snapped her head toward Jason, slightly affronted. ‘Yet, you towed it here and put it before all your other clients first thing this morning.’ She didn’t mean it in the accusatory manner it came out, but she wanted him to know she realized he had made an exception for her. She needed him to know. And if he had done it all under the ruse of helping a damsel in distress when the truth was that he wanted to make sure he made a little cash for his efforts, she was darn sure going to make him say it out loud. ‘Why?’

  ‘What was I going to do?’ He raised his oil-stained hands, palms up. ‘Leave you and your daughter on the side of the road in the middle of the night? You might not know me, but there’s one thing I can attest to on my own behalf, Lily. I’m not that kind of man.’

  Lily’s throat moved as she took him in—really took him in. His hair was as dark as his eyes, somewhere between a deep espresso and an inky black. The smudges on his worn work pants and blue crewneck T-shirt matched his gaze. It looked as though he hadn’t shaved that morning, and the stubble only accentuated the rugged curves of his cheekbones and jaw. Leather work boots covered his feet, the yellow laces tied loosely as though he liked to slip them on and off rather than retie them every time he put them on. Jason Forrester was the personification of a working man. A man who worked hard, who wasn’t afraid to put in time and effort. The deepest depths of his steady gaze, however, revealed more than that. A warmth lingered there, as she had seen the prior evening. An unebbing compassion that ran deep and free.

  She thought of making a quirky comment about chivalry not being dead, but Lily feared it would belittle his random act of kindness. Instead, she sighed and went with the brutally honest truth. ‘I appreciate that more than you know, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have the money for the repairs. I can pay your towing fee right now, but that’s it at the moment. My hotel reservation in Chicago was nonrefundable. I’m appealing it, but until they give me my money back, I have to make what little money I do have last. I’m not looking for sympathy, Jason, but I want to be honest with you—I’m drowning here.’

  Dread filled the pit of her stomach like lead. Never one to admit defeat, it was downright painful to have to admit to him, a stranger she hadn’t even known existed twenty-four hours ago, that she had taken her first real, honest-to-goodness leap of faith and fallen flat on her face.

  Lily knew now that she should have just stuck to planning and organizing and preparing for everything. Absolutely everything. Instead, she had gotten ahead of herself and given herself that little bit of leeway—two weeks’ worth of time to make the pieces fall into place without securing the perfect apartment beforehand—to add a dash of excitement and thrill to the move.

  There wasn’t a person she could think of who would ever describe her as spontaneous, but Lily had wanted to give it a shot. She wanted to live a little, not to mention see the place firsthand that she and Eden would be living in before forking over her money, and be able to look back on the gutsy move and laugh at her temporary reckless streak. She wanted to know she had taken the chance, moved on from the heartache she had endured, and walked away from her safe little life in Sherman with her head held high. She had wanted so badly to hold out hope that it was meant to be.

  She never dreamed that it would work out like this.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Jason said. He reached a tentative hand out as though to touch Lily’s shoulder, then stopped only inches away, obviously thinking better of it. It wasn’t until she locked eyes with him and saw his shocked expression through blurred vision that she realized she was barely holding back tears.

  Could it get any more humiliating?

  ‘Is there someone you can call?’ Jason continued. He craned his neck in Eden’s direction, watching her dig through the tote of toys.

  At once, Lily knew what he was really asking. Can you contact Eden’s father for help, perhaps? The simple answer was no, but Lily’s preferred answer was that she would rather file for bankruptcy and live in a paper sack before she would ever call on Eden’s dad, Michael, for anything. Not that she had the option, anyway. With no phone number or address for him, Michael was gone.

  She also couldn’t bring herself to call her best friend, Danielle. As the only person in Sherman that Lily considered family since her mother passed away a few years ago, admitting that she had crashed and burned before making it to the Chicago city limits would only succeed in making the defeat more real and breaking her best friend’s heart in the process. Danielle believed in Lily. Maybe even more than Lily believed in herself. She couldn’t do that. To her friend, or to herself. Not yet.

  ‘No.’ Lily shook her head. ‘This is my mistake, so I’m going to have to fix it, somehow.’

  ‘You really don’t do well with asking for help, do you?’ Jason arched a brow. No malice laced his tone, just an observation he felt compelled to voice. ‘Or allowing others to help,’ he added.

  ‘I try to avoid needing other people’s help, if that’s what you’re asking.’ She breathed in deeply, feeling confident that she had sufficiently reined in her tears for the time being.

  Shoulders shaking, Jason chuckled. ‘That wasn’t what I was asking, actually, but I think you answered my question, anyway.’ He reached for another rag from the top of his toolbox, this one cleaner than the last, wiping his hands. ‘The thing is, whether you want my help or not, I think you might need it.’

  Lily glared at him. It was like pulling teeth to have to confess it out loud. ‘Well, you’re not wrong.’

  His mouth pressed into a hard line as Jason fought to contain his amusement. ‘Careful, that sounds slightly optimistic,’ he joked. ‘I’m about due for a coffee break. How about you sit with me for fifteen minutes or so and we can talk this through? I might have a few ideas that’ll help you come up with a plan to get you back on the road to Chicago. And if not, at the very least, you’ve got a few things off your chest and had a decent cup of coffee. I’ve got apple juice and cookies for Eden. Sound good?’

  Everything in h
er was telling her to turn him down. Yet, that same inner voice was also telling her to do it out of principle, not because she actually wanted or needed to. She didn’t know Jason Forrester, but her gut instincts were telling her she could trust him. Knowing she could trust someone and actually doing it were two different things, however. Trusting her gut instincts also seemed to be a recipe for disaster lately. ‘Is the coffee from the coffeehouse downtown?’

  Surprised, Jason nodded. ‘Yeah, why do you ask?’

  ‘No reason,’ she said. ‘Count me in.’

  Chapter 4

  Jason

  He could tell Lily was going through something. He didn’t know what it was, and he certainly had no right to ask. In fact, it would have been simpler to fix the car and leave the rest of it up to her.

  In a perfect world, at least. But this wasn’t a perfect world, and he wasn’t a perfect man.

  And that was before she had come two seconds away from crying.

  If there was one thing Jason couldn’t handle, it was the tears of a woman. Whether from the eyes of a four-year-old girl or a thirty-something woman, seeing those wet droplets of emotion splash onto the cheeks of a lady broke something inside him and weakened him. He could tell she needed help and was likely too proud to ask for it. And as soon as he saw the telltale glint brimming her eyelids, threatening to overflow and essentially drop Jason to his knees, he would have done anything, said anything, if it meant it would prevent Lily one more second of that kind of pain.

  Luckily, he had managed to come up with the suggestion of coffee and a meaningful conversation. Isn’t that what women lived for, caffeine and talking about their feelings? He didn’t know anymore—it had been a long time since he’d thought about what women wanted in any way, shape, or form—but he wagered it was a good enough guess.