A Wildflower Summer

by Caroline Flynn

  ‘You don’t have your dress yet?’ Lily didn’t mean to sound so abrupt, but if it was only a few weeks until their wedding … yeah, she would have definitely been a bundle of nerves by now.

  ‘There was some kind of holdup with the cream satin or something,’ Paige explained with a wave of her hand. ‘They assure me it’s been rectified and is on its way, though, so it should be here any day now.’ The pitch of her voice rose in anticipation.

  ‘Cream satin. Now, that is exciting,’ Lily agreed. ‘Unveiling your wedding dress for the first time …’

  ‘Custom made, just for me …’ Paige chimed in with starry eyes.

  ‘Uh oh,’ Jason interjected. ‘Looks like we’ve lost them, Dr. Cohen.’

  ‘Don’t worry, their feet will land back on the ground eventually,’ Cohen teased. ‘This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this spiel.’

  ‘Oh, stop, both of you.’ Paige playfully swatted at Cohen’s arm. ‘It’s nice to have someone around who appreciates the finishing touches of a perfect dress.’

  Lily beamed, holding up her hands. ‘Believe me, you don’t need to explain yourself, Paige. I have a soft spot in my heart for fashion.’

  Paige’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, a girl after my own heart! We’re going to get along well, you and I.’

  ‘Bonding over a love of silk and satin. Sounds like my kind of friendship.’ Laughing, Lily realized just how true that was. She didn’t remember ever meeting anyone with whom she had spoken so easily about her love of wedding fashion and dress designs. Rarely did she admit her passion to anyone because the few times she had, someone either belittled her big dreams or dismissed her ideas completely. That someone had mostly been Michael. The town of Sherman, however, wasn’t a place for someone who wanted more, someone who wanted something beyond what was considered the norm.

  Port Landon didn’t seem to be that way at all. It was small, sure, but there was more within the town limits, and it had little to do with what the town had to offer. It was more about who the town had to offer, not what. People were more open, it seemed. To change, and to outsiders. To the folks who thought outside the box. Heck, she wondered what would have happened in Sherman if a resident had ordered a wedding dress from New York instead of shopping as local as possible. A scene that resembled storming the castle with pitchforks, probably.

  ‘So, did you two come here … together?’

  Paige’s question broke through Lily’s thoughts, slamming into her with the force of a transport truck. ‘No,’ she stated immediately.

  At the exact same time Jason uttered the same word.

  An awkward pause followed, short enough that Lily was able to find her breath and keep taking in adequate air, but long enough that a slow, knowing grin spread in unison across Paige and Cohen’s faces.

  ‘Right,’ Paige replied, squinting at the two of them as though trying to see them a little more clearly. ‘Well, that answers that, then.’

  At a sudden loss for words, Lily looked to Jason, hoping like crazy that he would set his friends straight. To her surprise, she realized that his shoulders were moving slightly and one hand barely covered his faint grin.

  The man was chuckling to himself.

  ‘Eden and I didn’t know Jason was here with Carlie,’ Lily explained. She felt compelled to set the record straight, and fast. ‘Nancy said—’

  ‘Oh God, Nancy sent you here?’ Paige almost doubled over. ‘That explains everything.’

  Did it? Lily’s head was starting to spin. She had forgotten that everyone seemed to know everyone around here. Nancy’s antics were obviously widely known and part of an inside joke Lily was struggling to understand. ‘Right, you know Nancy.’

  ‘Not well,’ Paige admitted, ‘but I know Sonya, her sister. Those women are cut from the same cloth.’

  ‘The same meddling, frustrating, motherly cloth,’ Cohen chimed in. He offered a wry grin to his fiancée. ‘We had our time in Sonya’s overwhelming clutches. Looks like Nancy has chosen you two as her next unwitting victims.’

  ‘That’s not ominous sounding at all.’ She stared at the couple. They looked so happy together, and so amused at whatever was unfolding before them. ‘Should I be concerned?’

  ‘No need.’ Paige waved a hand. ‘Sonya and Nancy are just being Sonya and Nancy. They must see something you don’t.’ She reached for her fiancé’s hand, squeezing it. ‘If it’s any consolation, it took us a while to see what they saw, too.’ With that, Paige offered Lily and Jason a wink, then led Bryce and Jazz toward the play structure. Cohen followed, but only after sending one more wolfish grin in their direction.

  ‘Don’t worry, eventually someone else will wind up in their crosshairs,’ he called out. ‘But until then, good luck, you two. You’re going to need it.’

  Chapter 10

  Jason

  Monday was a long day. Every time the office door opened, Jason kept expecting it to be Lily, showing up because she somehow knew that he had gone ahead and ordered her car parts even though she told him to wait until she had the money in hand.

  He didn’t see her, though. Didn’t hear from her the entire day, yet she was there, never too far from his mind.

  So were the memories of Sunday’s trip to the park. Located near the veterinary clinic, Jason was used to seeing Cohen Beckett and his family there. They knew his routine with Carlie, just as the rest of the town did. But it was the first time he had heard firsthand about Sonya’s antics toward them. It left Jason slightly worried and conflicted.

  They must see something you don’t. Paige’s words were clear and concise. She knew exactly what she was talking about. He had heard rumors about Sonya Ritter’s unrelenting desire to pair up Cohen and Paige when the latter first came to Port Landon from New York City. She had fallen in love with the town’s bakery that was up for sale at that time, and then fallen in love with Cohen. Whether Sonya had anything to do with that, no one knew for sure, but the older woman had seemed to know there was love in the air long before Cohen and Paige caught the scent themselves.

  The rumors were true.

  That was the part that worried Jason most. Not that Sonya’s sister, Nancy, was going to try to push Lily and himself together—it was already obvious that the woman had latched on to the notion from the very first introduction. What niggled at him was that he wondered about what Nancy was seeing. If it was actually there. If there was a … connection. Was that a good word for it? Was that even what it was?

  He didn’t know if he would recognize it himself. Or let himself recognize it, maybe that was more accurate.

  He had scoffed, then, thankful the garage was vacant. With Branch gone home for the evening and the office empty of clients awaiting their repaired vehicles, it had left Jason alone with only his thoughts for companionship. Normally, that bothered him because it was his first day without Carlie. The day following a weekend with his little girl usually resembled a hangover for him. Not alcohol induced, but an emotional one. The void of her presence after a few short days was wide and vast, and he had become accustomed to succumbing to and then healing from the hangover each time Carlie came and went.

  That particular Monday, however, had been a double whammy. Between missing his daughter and questioning himself about Lily Brentwood, Jason didn’t know which way was up.

  The following day was no different, other than the fact that Branch, as annoyingly observant as ever, noticed Jason’s preoccupation.

  ‘You know, if you think you can fix that coolant leak through telepathy, you’re sorely mistaken, my friend.’

  Jason hadn’t realized he’d been staring blankly under the hood of the F-150 in front of him until his friend’s voice broke through the haze. He shook his head and stepped back. ‘If only it were that easy, huh?’

  Branch didn’t see the humor in his halfhearted joke. Leaning against the lifted truck, he eyed Jason squarely. ‘Something’s up. What is it?’

  ‘Got a lot on my mind, I guess.’

  Bra
nch raised an eyebrow. ‘A blind man could see that. Be more specific.’

  Jason sought out the rag he’d left on the edge of his toolbox so he wouldn’t have to look Branch in the eye, then tossed it back down with a shrug. ‘Nothing, just Carlie and—’

  ‘And Lily.’

  Jason whirled around. ‘Yeah, her car,’ he replied cautiously.

  Branch adjusted his Lakers cap, leaving a dark smudge on the beak. ‘You can lie to yourself, Jay, but do me a favor and don’t lie to me.’

  Something twisted inside him. Jason didn’t lie to anyone; it wasn’t who he was. Hearing his best friend request so matter-of-factly for him to be honest with him—and knowing he had a right to request such honesty—was a punch to the gut. ‘I’m not lying to anyone, I’m just—’

  ‘Not telling the whole truth.’ Branch’s mouth curved upward at the corners. ‘Why’s it so hard for you to admit you like the woman?’

  ‘We’ve been through this. I don’t even know her, Branch.’ Jason didn’t know if that was meant to be the reason he found it so hard, or if it was his argument to prove how far in left field Branch’s notion was. By then, he was so confused, he didn’t know if he even wanted to know.

  Crossing his arms, Branch sighed. ‘You know enough about her to be thinking about her when you should be working,’ he replied. ‘And I didn’t think there was anything that could slow down your breakneck speed, so that’s got to count for something.’

  ‘You wouldn’t understand,’ Jason countered.

  ‘Why, because Kaitie and I have known each other since high school? Because I barely remember a time when I didn’t know her?’

  Maybe he did understand, after all. ‘Exactly. I don’t know how to explain it.’

  Branch let out an exasperated laugh. ‘Why do you feel like you have to explain it at all? Just because you haven’t known Lily since you were a kid, doesn’t mean you can’t relate to her now. There’s no rulebook for these kinds of things.’

  ‘I’m not looking for rules, I’m looking for logic. She’s leaving town soon, and I’m helping her do it.’

  Branch leaned in, smirking. ‘Funny, there was a time when I said I was leaving town, too.’ He slapped Jason on the back. ‘Seriously, it’s not going to kill you to admit you like this girl, even if it doesn’t make sense. Stranger things have happened around here.’

  ‘Just what I want to be; the next strange thing to happen in Port Landon.’ Jason laughed it off, but his friend’s words of encouragement helped. So, he wasn’t completely crazy for wondering if Lily had been flirting with him on Sunday.

  ‘There are worse things to be,’ Branch assured him. ‘Like scared, for example. Scared of taking a chance.’

  ‘I’m not scared of taking chances,’ Jason argued.

  ‘Good.’ Branch pointed toward the door. ‘Then, take one. We’re out of coffee, and there’s a woman you might know working at the coffeehouse downtown. Go talk to her. It’ll be more productive than standing here staring at the truck radiator.’

  Jason glared at him. How in the world had they gotten to a point where his best friend—his employee, for all intents and purposes—was sending him, the owner, on a coffee run? ‘And say what, exactly?’

  Branch scoffed, pulling a ten-dollar bill from his pocket. He held it out to Jason. ‘You’ll have to figure out that part on your own, Jay. But while you’re at it, get me a large dark roast coffee.’ When Jason took the money, shellshocked, Branch headed back toward his bay. ‘And make it snappy, will you? I’m jonesing for the caffeine the way you’re jonesing for the chance to say hello.’

  ***

  Driving to the Portside Coffeehouse was the easy part. Once Jason finally found a parking spot on Main Street—which was a feat of its own considering the number of people milling about that afternoon despite the overcast skies and sporadic rain showers—and parked his truck, he was no wiser as to what he would say once he entered the coffeehouse. All he could do was order Branch’s coffee and hope the rest of the words came to him before he looked like a fool.

  He didn’t quite understand the point of the quest, anyway. What was it Branch wanted him to do, walk in and profess his undying love for Lily? Pretend he was a smooth talker and nonchalantly ask her out so he could wine and dine her?

  Jason wasn’t that kind of guy, and that wasn’t what this was. He didn’t know a thing about wine, had nowhere to go after eight o’clock to dine, and he certainly wasn’t harboring an undying love for anyone. He saw Lily as more of a kindred spirit. Someone who seemed to understand without verbalizing it. It didn’t mean he was interested in her in any way beyond that.

  Even if she was taking over his thoughts.

  Laughter rang out as he stepped inside. Only a handful of folks sat at the bistro tables, and their chatter was muffled and hushed. Another laugh carried from behind the ordering counter. It took Jason a second to realize that the gleeful sound was coming from Sonya Ritter herself. As Allison’s right hand, he wasn’t surprised to see her manning the shop in her absence. But he didn’t think he had ever heard the older woman laugh so unapologetically that her bob-style hair bounced with each intake of breath. With her raspy voice and straight to the point demeanor, the deep laugh sounded foreign and uncharacteristic. A moment later when another chortle erupted, Jason finally got a glimpse of what—or who—was the cause of it.

  Lily. She was perched behind the counter, donning a black T-shirt with the Portside logo on the breast pocket that matched Sonya’s perfectly. And she was playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with Eden, who stood before her with a mischievous grin on her face.

  ‘She’s a master at this!’ Sonya cried. ‘You don’t stand a chance, Lily!’

  A second later when Lily’s gaze met his, Jason didn’t stand a chance, either. Her pale blonde hair tied up in a simple ponytail, her face fresh without a hint of makeup, she looked lovely. Carefree, even. He wasn’t sure he had seen her this relaxed since they met.

  At least, she’d looked relaxed until recognition set in.

  ‘Jason, hey.’ Lily’s hands stayed outstretched and unmoving. Eden, still firmly rooted in the rules of the game took it as a sign of Paper, and her Scissors motion quickly earned her another win.

  ‘Scissors! You lose!’ The little girl pretended to chop her mother’s fingers hungrily, then pivoted and high-fived Sonya beside her.

  Sonya didn’t miss a beat; not the high-five or the locked gaze between Lily and Jason. There wasn’t a thing that happened in Port Landon that the older woman’s eagle eyes missed. Ever.

  ‘Hey. Training is going well, I see.’ He held up the ten-dollar bill as though it explained everything. ‘Branch sent me in.’ Immediately, he hated himself for his explanation. He didn’t want her to think he was only there on someone else’s behalf, but he was leery of letting her think he was there on her behalf, either. He was even warier of Sonya thinking that. ‘How’s it going?’

  He stifled a groan. At this rate, he wasn’t going to need anyone’s help to sound like a fool.

  ‘Jason!’ Eden waved emphatically from behind the counter. Barely able to peer over it, she gripped the edge. ‘We’re working.’

  Jason leaned down on his elbows, resting his chin on his arms. He couldn’t see her mouth, obstructed by the edge of the counter, but her smile reached her grayish eyes. ‘I can see that. And how many times did you beat your mama at Rock, Paper, Scissors?’

  ‘A hundred times!’

  ‘You’re on fiyah!’ Barely raising his chin, he untucked one hand from beneath it and held it up, earning himself his own boisterous high-five. ‘Good job.’

  ‘On fiyah!’ Eden mimicked, letting the pitch of her voice trail upward on the last syllable.

  Laughing, Jason raised his head. She was too much. ‘Think I can get a coffee for my friend, Eden?’

  ‘Mom, coffee!’ The little girl bounced away from the counter and pushed her mother toward it.

  Sonya let out another hearty guffaw. ‘The girl’s som
ething,’ she chuckled. ‘Isn’t she, Jason?’

  ‘She really is,’ he agreed, shaking his head at Eden’s outlandish antics. In a matter of days, she had been uprooted and temporarily planted in a place where she knew no one, and she just seemed to roll with it, taking in every minute and enjoying it rather than questioning the reasons.

  Lily had stepped up to take his order, but that didn’t stop Sonya from closing the gap between them, either. Leaning in, she eyed Jason. ‘I wasn’t talking about Eden,’ she whispered.

  The woman pushed away from the counter, her mischievous eyes staying securely locked on his until she reached for Eden’s hand and led her into the back room. ‘Eden, come help me get another sleeve of paper cups. Holler if you need me, Lily.’

  There were other people in the coffeehouse but be damned if Jason could hear them through the blood pounding in his ears. And he couldn’t see them because, in that moment, all he could see was Lily, her face flushed crimson and her eyes wide as saucers. She had heard Sonya, then.

  ‘What did Branch want you to order for him?’ she asked.

  Jason’s hands pressed against the countertop. When he spoke, his voice hushed. ‘Don’t let Sonya get to you. She’s like that with everybody, I swear. You heard Cohen and Paige yesterday. The woman’s a menace. Two large dark roast coffees, please, ma’am.’

  ‘Call me ma’am again and I’ll put salt in it instead of sugar.’ Her lips pressed together to suppress a grin, but she looked thankful to have something to do.

  ‘And if Allison’s got any of that flavored creamer stuff back there, I’ll take a shot of—’

  ‘Let me guess, hazelnut?’ She smiled without taking her eyes off the coffee she poured.

  ‘Did you learn that mindreading stuff during your training yesterday?’

  ‘Nah, just observant.’

  There was something about the way she said it, so confident and sure, that made Sonya’s overbearing comment drift into the background. He didn’t remember the last time anyone paid enough attention to remember his favorite coffee creamer. He kind of liked the sentiment. ‘Things are going okay here? You’re getting the hang of the whole barista thing, it looks like.’