A Wildflower Summer

by Caroline Flynn

  ‘If that’s okay with you,’ Lily replied quickly.

  ‘Of course it is,’ Nancy said.

  Jason leaned forward on his elbows. ‘I was trying to tell you outside, Nancy and I already discussed this.’

  ‘You’re more than welcome to stay here as long as you need to, dear.’ The older woman set the pitcher down and settled into her chair. ‘As I told Jason, I wondered if perhaps you and I could come to a bit of an arrangement.’

  ‘Would this be the proposition?’ Lily’s eyes sparkled over the rim of her glass as she glanced in Jason’s direction.

  He fought to keep his expression neutral. ‘It would be.’ So, this was an inside joke now, was it?

  ‘What kind of arrangement, Nancy?’ She focused away from him, but Lily’s amusement remained.

  While Nancy didn’t understand what was passing between them, she looked about ready to burst, satisfied that it was. Jason fought the urge to wince—he and Lily were giving her ammunition to use in her quest for romantic connection without even realizing it.

  ‘I need a little help around here,’ she stated simply. ‘Just some cleaning and tidying up as the guests come and go.’ She held up her hands, revealing long fingers that were thin-skinned and slightly gnarled at the knuckles. ‘These old hands aren’t what they used to be, and I’m a little slower than I was thirty years ago. Slower in physical speed, I mean,’ she added with a poignant stare. ‘My mind’s still as sharp as ever.’ She winked.

  Of course, the all-seeing, all-knowing Nancy Bergeron was letting them know she picked up on everything, no matter how seemingly trivial.

  If Lily was affronted in any way, she didn’t show it. ‘You want to hire me?’

  Nancy waved a dismissive hand. ‘Call it a trade-off,’ she replied. ‘Help me out with a few housekeeping duties as long as you’re here, and we’ll consider it even on the room rates.’

  A loud, plunging sound of multiple minor keys being pressed at once echoed off the walls from the living room, offering a doom and gloom ambience to Nancy’s offer. Jason held up a hand to stifle his laughter, finding the correlation oddly suiting.

  ‘That’s very kind of you, Nancy. Really, it is. But I plan to pay you every penny of your going rate for the nights we stay here. That said, I would be more than happy to help you out as long as I am here, and as much as I can. It’s the least I can do considering how generous you’ve been to Eden and I.’

  Nancy arched a brow. ‘Sounds like I’m not the only generous one, dear.’

  ‘No, I’m the grateful one.’ Slowly, her mouth lifted at one corner. ‘Wow, I guess I’m going to be pretty busy for the next week or so. Just the way I like it.’

  The way she said it piqued Jason’s interest. ‘I don’t think Nancy plans to run you off your feet.’

  ‘I don’t mean that,’ Lily said. ‘I’m actually thrilled to help you out.’ She locked eyes with Nancy, giving her a gracious smile. ‘But I also met Allison today,’ she added. ‘From the coffeehouse. We got to talking and she agreed to hire me while I’m here, too.’

  ‘Oh, that is wonderful!’ It was official, Nancy had gone from about to burst, to exploding wide open with excitement.

  ‘Wait, you’re going to work for Allison?’ Jason was struggling to keep up.

  ‘She said she needed someone to help her out while she’s dealing with her cousin’s wedding preparations or something,’ Lily explained. ‘Besides, I’ve got to pay back all the nice folks who’ve helped me since yesterday. That includes you, tenfold.’

  ‘Sounds like you’ve got things all figured out.’ Nancy looked as though she couldn’t have been happier if the Queen herself had arrived in Port Landon and decided to stay at her bed and breakfast.

  Another tinkling of the piano keys rang out, higher pitched this time, sounding like the theme song for a skittering, drunken mouse on the run.

  ‘I’d hardly say I’ve got anything figured out. But I may as well keep busy while my car is being fixed.’ She cast a glance at Jason. ‘I’ll be able to pay you back a lot quicker this way.’

  He couldn’t fault her logic. If the roles were reversed, if he had the plans that she did, he’d probably be looking for a way to make a quicker escape, too.

  But, though he would never admit it out loud, Jason was thinking that Nancy, as eccentric and misguided as she was, was right. It did sound like it was all figured out. Lily and Eden had a plan to stay in town. Eventually, they would get in their repaired Corolla and head off toward Chicago. But for now, they were a part of Port Landon’s community.

  He didn’t understand why that made him so happy, but he smiled, nonetheless.

  ***

  The sun had disappeared by the time Jason managed to say a sufficient number of I really should be goings to allow Nancy to let him leave. He had drunk enough sweet tea that he would be on a sugar high long into the night, and enough chocolate chip biscotti to feed an entire army. Not to mention he had sat at her kitchen table and talked, just talked, for the sake of talking, for hours.

  Jason couldn’t recall the last time that happened.

  Sure, he dropped by Branch’s place on Crescent Street now and then, but he always feared he was interfering in his downtime with Kait. Besides, he saw Branch at work every day. Showing up on his doorstep too often would signal just how much loneliness plagued him, and he didn’t need his best friend deciding that they needed to talk about that.

  Between Eden’s humorous musical serenade that made his ears want to bleed, and Nancy’s incessant efforts to remind both Jason and Lily of the things they so obviously had in common despite only knowing the woman for a day, there had been a lot of laughs and easy conversation. Jason thought he would hate having to sit there while Nancy dropped her not-so-subtle hints and pretended that their three-person chitchat session was something more than a meeting of acquaintances, but he had enjoyed himself. He was exhausted from fending off the constant insinuations, but he had liked the company.

  And he liked Lily. What he knew of her, anyway. She wasn’t one to put forth more details than she felt she needed to, but Jason respected that. He could relate. It was comforting to know there was someone else who didn’t feel the past needed to be rehashed over and over again on an endless loop.

  But there was a past there, he could tell that, too. Something Lily wasn’t interested in discussing. Something her eight-hour trip to Chicago was meant to erase. Though he hadn’t tried to outrun his own past—his past had, for all intents and purposes, run from him instead—Jason could relate to that as well.

  ‘She’s a little over the top, but I think she means well.’ Lily had followed him out onto the front porch, hands in her pockets.

  Jason glanced over her shoulder, but no one followed. Nancy had miraculously disappeared inside the deepest depths of the house, leaving them alone with only the golden glow of the porch light to chaperone. Imagine that.

  ‘Yeah, but if she’s going to continue to channel her inner Beethoven, she’s going to need some lessons—or you’re going to need some earplugs.’

  ‘I’m talking about Nancy!’ Lily chuckled. ‘You leave poor Eden alone. When she grows up and becomes a famous pianist or composer, we’ll both be looking back on this night and laughing.’

  ‘Or still cringing,’ Jason argued.

  Lily rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, come on, like you wouldn’t have let Carlie keep playing the piano. I’m fostering her abilities.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have let Carlie within ten feet of that thing,’ he reasoned. ‘Besides, I’m still holding out hope she’ll remain in love with the cars in the garage and become a world-famous automotive mechanic or painter or something. You know, like her good ole’ dad.’

  ‘You’re world famous, are you?’ Lily asked wryly.

  He held out his hands, gesturing to their serene surroundings. ‘Here in Port Landon, I am. If you’ve got an issue with your vehicle, I’m your guy. Seeing as Port Landon is about as big as my world gets, I guess you could say
I’m world famous.’ Jason grinned, mighty impressed to have come up with such an iron clad argument. ‘In a small town, Lily, everybody’s famous.’

  Headlights shone up the length of the street. A few seconds later, a dark green Ford Taurus passed by. The windows were tinted and he couldn’t see the driver, but the car horn honked in greeting. Jason waved. ‘That’ll be Ronnie Durvayne, on his way home from work. He cleans the bank and walk-in clinic after hours.’

  ‘You really are famous.’

  Jason saw the way her eyes sharpened, the way her smile widened. ‘I’ve been trying to tell you,’ he laughed, nudging her back. ‘Stick around, maybe you will be, too.’

  He had meant it so innocently, the words rolling off his tongue without thinking them through. But he saw the way Lily shifted from one foot to the other.

  ‘For a little while,’ was all she said, in a tone void of the humor that had been there moments ago.

  Jason cleared his throat. He needed to get back on solid ground. ‘So, you’re good, then? Feeling okay about helping both Nancy and Allison out?’

  She shrugged. ‘I have to be. Allison said I was more than welcome to bring Eden with me since my circumstances are a little unorthodox, but I’m worried about her. Nothing worse than a bored five-year-old.’

  ‘Nothing scarier, you mean.’ He offered her a quirk of his lips. ‘Allison wouldn’t offer if she didn’t think it’d work out. I’m sure coloring books and the antics of Sonya and Allison will be enough to keep her occupied for a few hours. If it’s not, there are a few people here in town that have babysat Carlie before. I could give you some names.’

  In the bronze lamplight, she stared at him as though the words coming out of his mouth were foreign or unintelligible. ‘Your generosity knows no bounds, does it?’

  ‘Just being a good neighbor, that’s all.’

  ‘We’re not neighbors,’ she pointed out.

  Jason took a step closer, pointing down the street. He whispered, as though he were about to tell her his deepest, darkest secret. ‘That’s what you think. I live around the corner, third house on the left. Trust me, we’re practically neighbors.’ He was close enough that when Lily turned to peer up at him, his eyes were only inches from hers.

  So was her mouth, he noticed a heartbeat later.

  Too close. Jason retreated a step, needing to break the sudden pull he felt, a tether between her allure and his intrigue.

  ‘Thank you,’ he whispered after a long pause, not realizing the words were out of his mouth until Lily’s eyes rounded, alarmed.

  ‘For what?’ Was that a tremble he heard in her voice?

  ‘For trusting me,’ he replied quietly. ‘For letting me help you, with Nancy and with your car. I know it can’t be easy when you don’t know me.’

  She was still as a stone. ‘It’s not like I have much of a choice.’

  ‘And that only makes me more grateful. We’ll get this figured out. I won’t let you down.’ His throat moved as he swallowed, and it looked as though her pale eyes were trained on that movement, eyelids fluttering with each rapid blink.

  ‘Have a good night, Lily.’ He backed away, not trusting himself to speak again and having already said too much, and headed for his truck.

  Chapter 9

  Lily

  Growing up, Lily had never been one to stand by and have someone show her how to do something. She preferred to learn by doing, by using her own bare hands and putting herself through the process in order to convert it all to memory.

  When she first learned to drive, she had coerced her mother into taking their old Chevy pickup out on the gravel backroads and letting her get the feel of the steering wheel under her palms rather than reading the driving manual the licensing office issued her. When she had seen her first fashion show on television and become enthralled with the fabrics and buttons and accessories, she had retrieved her grandmother’s old sewing machine from the attic and learned how to operate it through trial and error rather than looking up tutorials to reveal how other people created their fashion masterpieces.

  Helping Nancy at the bed and breakfast was no different. With nothing to do but wait out the weekend—and hope that the discussion she had with the hotel manager in Chicago led to a refund so that the Corolla parts could be ordered and arrive in good time next week—Lily decided to dive headfirst into her new role as Nancy’s assistant. Her conversation with the Starbucks manager hadn’t been nearly as positive, though she had been granted a little extra time to figure out when she would be available to start her new job. At the moment, dealing with bedsheets and vacuums was much more appealing than the thoughts of her disastrous trip.

  Yesterday had been a busy Saturday, rivaling any Saturday she had ever experienced at the restaurant she waitressed at in Sherman. Not because her job hadn’t been hectic at the restaurant—anyone who ever waited tables before knew that was impossible—but because Jason was right about Nancy’s tenacity.

  ‘I can see you practically twitching from here, wanting to be left to your own devices and do what needs to be done,’ she had said, tossing linens into an oversized hamper on wheels. ‘Let me show you where the cleaning supplies are and give you the basics, then I’ll leave you be. If you have questions, you can ask.’

  Lily could have hugged the woman. If she hadn’t known any better, she would have thought Nancy was vying to become her favorite boss on the first day.

  Now, a day later, the difference one day made was astounding. Yesterday morning, Lily had felt like an outsider looking in, like she was merely fumbling through the cleaning and folding and tidying up in hopes that maybe she’d done one out of five tasks right. She quickly realized that Nancy was just happy to have help, and she wasn’t picky about how crisp the corners of her folded fitted sheets were or whether the throw pillows on the sofa were plumped to perfection. Today, Lily felt more confident in her abilities, and she knew where things were kept and what needed to be done. It was a good feeling.

  The house was huge. Lily had already known that, but it wasn’t until she ascended and descended the stairs for the millionth time and pushed the vacuum across the floor of the long stretch of hallway both upstairs and down that she really appreciated the sheer immensity of the home. Four bedrooms upstairs, two on the main floor, along with a massive kitchen, dining room, and living room with an entryway. Add in the three bathrooms and the unfinished basement and attic, and Lily wasn’t sure she would ever see the whole place before she left town.

  Speaking of the difference a day made, Lily figured she shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, one day she had never heard of Port Landon, and now she was in the thick of it. She had never heard of Jason Forrester, either. Now, she found her thoughts returning to him while she worked away under Nancy’s employ. The acrid scent of floor cleaner was no match for the scent of hazelnut coffee creamer still lingering somewhere in her memories when she thought of him.

  I won’t let you down.

  As Lily navigated through the century-old home, she heard his choice of words. Was haunted by them, yet uplifted by them. They made no sense coming from the mouth of a man she didn’t know, yet were so full of conviction that she comprehended every syllable as though it were etched into her psyche, leaving its permanent mark. She didn’t understand his reasons, but she believed that he meant it, nonetheless.

  Whether or not he was able to live up to the precedent he set was another matter. After all, Lily was sure that Michael had uttered those five words more than a few times himself. A simple promise to make, but a harder one to keep. But she had believed him as well, taken his promises as more than just things people said. Michael, however, had meant it about as much as he had meant we’re in this together, and we’re a family.

  Just words. He was the father of her child, but that hadn’t meant much to him in the end, either.

  Lily had loved Michael Pennington since her senior year in high school. He was the football star, the teenage boy who looked the part, acted
the part, and played the part. It wasn’t until many years later that Lily realized just how flawless his acting skills had been. But the wild-eyed girl she had once been was too blinded by love to see the truth about him—that it was all a show; a well-rehearsed play that Michael starred in every day, playing the hometown hero and the knight in shining armor.

  It was hard to be a heroic knight, however, when life got in the way. Real, everyday life didn’t need princes on white horses who said all the right things and made sure things looked perfect from the outside looking in. Real life called for stand-up folks who worked hard to provide for themselves, and their families. Real life included more than a day-to-day search for the next big thing, the next easy way to make quick cash and avoid the trials and tribulations that came with working for that perfect façade. At the end of the day, though, façades were just that—fake. Smokescreens. Dirty windows that gave a blurred view inside.

  And any theatrical play, no matter how well rehearsed, will fall apart if a new character is introduced that was never in the original script.

  A shudder crept through Lily despite the mounting heat of the day. She couldn’t think about this, about him. Any reminder of her naivety and his betrayal should have been long gone—that was one of the main reasons for the move to Chicago. No constant, tangible reminders surrounding her, forcing her to stay rooted in the mistakes her foolish heart had made.

  The problem was, no amount of distance could allow her to outrun her memories, and no amount of cleaning would ever erase the smudges left on her heart by his hurtful words about her own dreams in life, ones she now kept to herself for fear of someone belittling them once again.

  It didn’t mean she had to revisit those memories, though. Lily tossed the reusable end of the mop into the washing machine, then set it up to wash. She might not have ended up exactly where she had been headed when she left Sherman, but she was away, and there was distance between her and those painful reminders. It was a silver lining, and possibly the only one she was going to get. Being grateful for the little things was the only way to get through the trying times.