A Wildflower Summer

by Caroline Flynn

  But it was still love.

  ‘Jason, I … I can’t rent this space.’

  His smile faltered. ‘If it’s the rent, I will—’

  ‘Jason.’ She cut him off, stepping forward. ‘North Springs isn’t where I want to be.’

  For a fleeting moment, Jason all but collapsed in on himself, shoulders sagging. Lily didn’t think she would have seen the glimpse of despair if she hadn’t been so acutely aware of his every move. ‘We can try to make this work while you’re in Chicago, then.’

  She shook her head. ‘We don’t have to.’ Lily reached for his hand, the key still folded in his palm. ‘Jason, I turned down the internship at Lash Fashion.’

  ‘What, why?’ He stared as though seeing her for the first time, bemused.

  She chuckled lightly at his childlike puzzlement. ‘For two reasons, actually.’ Her hand squeezed his, finding the strength she needed in his touch to explain. ‘You’re not the only one who’s been talking to Paige about her contacts in New York. Goodness, what she must be thinking right now knowing that both you and I asked her the same questions but for different reasons.’ She laughed, then. No wonder Paige had been so adamant during their conversations throughout the week, knowing both sides. ‘She’s going to help me build my own business. Shirley, too. I’ve got quite the little team in Port Landon.’ She reached up and caressed the edge of his jaw affectionately, silently telling him that he was a part of that team as well. ‘So, I’m going to stay in Port Landon and slowly build my business from there. With the Internet, it’s possible.’

  His confusion gave way to complete and utter shock. ‘You’re staying.’

  The corner of her mouth lifted. ‘I am. With Cohen and Paige moving to the new home on their acreage, Paige is going to rent the apartment above The Cakery to Eden and me. I’ll work out of there for now, and if I need more room, I’ll save for a storefront. In Port Landon. Because that’s where I want to be, Jason. In your hometown.’ With a wry grin, she added, ‘If that’s okay.’

  ‘More than okay.’ Jason’s arms were suddenly around her, encircling her waist and holding her with a gentleness that belied his strength. ‘What’s the other reason?’

  ‘The same reason we’re standing here, now,’ she whispered. Words meant only for his ears. A secret she was desperate to share with only one man—him. ‘Because I know enough about you to love you, too.’

  There was so much more she wanted to say—that she wasn’t just choosing the town or the job or anything else, that it was him she wanted, and whatever other craziness came with him. But as Jason lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her tenderly, she realized the truth.

  He knew.

  ‘Want to go back to the wedding?’ His forehead pressed against hers, he grinned. ‘I think I owe you a dance.’

  ‘I’d like that.’ Although, she had to admit, standing there in his arms was a pretty perfect place to be, too.

  ‘My mother might be a little overwhelming,’ he warned. ‘But she would love to see you.’

  ‘I’d love to meet her,’ Lily replied, meaning it. ‘And we can celebrate with Eden and Carlie. Because there are a lot of things to celebrate right now.’

  Jason’s face lit up. ‘I can’t think of anything I’d love to do more.’ Hand in hand, he led her toward the door.

  ‘A dance party with the girls,’ she said wistfully. ‘Sounds like a memory in the making.’ Lily giggled as Jason stopped and tugged her to him once more.

  ‘One, in a long line of them.’ He kissed her again, soft and surreal. ‘Let’s go home, Lily.’

  Epilogue

  Jason

  Six Months Later …

  ‘That should be good!’ Jason switched his gesture from inching the flatbed truck closer toward him to halting it. The brake lights lit up as the truck groaned to a stop. Branch climbed out of the driver’s seat and made his way to the back, eyeing up the tarp-covered cargo strapped to the bed.

  ‘Lily’s going to kill you,’ he chuckled, unable to take his eyes off it.

  ‘Or love me.’ Jason smirked. He was still surprised that he had gone and done it without telling her. He hoped he wasn’t overestimating Lily’s fondness for him.

  ‘She already loves you, idiot.’ Branch tugged on one of the tie straps. ‘The question is, will she love this car?’

  Checking his phone, Jason shrugged. ‘She gets off work in a few minutes, so I’m sure we’re about to find out.’

  ‘Well, if she doesn’t,’ Branch said, grinning despite the icy chill, ‘I’ll be glad to take it off your hands. I’m already thinking it could use some wide white walls and a few engine modifications—’

  ‘Get your own project car.’ Jason’s thick winter jacket rustled as he shoved his friend away from the covered vehicle. ‘I’ve got plans for this one.’

  And he did. He just hoped Lily looked at it and saw what he saw. It wasn’t just a car. It was a symbol of how far they had come, the future they would have together.

  ‘Help me get her unloaded, will you?’

  Together, they spent the next twenty minutes getting the car maneuvered into the vacant spot in Jason’s garage behind the repair shop. He didn’t miss the way Branch eyed up the patina on the hood or the rusted mirrors before they slipped the cover over it once more. His best friend was itching to get his hands dirty and restore the vehicle himself.

  It was one thing to own a car that Jason had wanted since he was a teenager, but it was even more fun to own one that Branch had coveted just as long.

  ‘What are you two up to?’ Lily stood in the doorway, watching them suspiciously as her breath puffed out before her. ‘It’s freezing out here.’

  Jason practically jumped out of his skin. He whirled around, confirming that things were where they were supposed to be. ‘Lily, hey. I thought you were going home before you came here.’

  Smooth, he thought. Out of the corner of his eye, Branch looked downright delighted that the mere sight of her sent Jason into a nervous frenzy.

  ‘I did, and there was a note saying your mom brought Eden here. It was hard not to notice the tow truck in the driveway, though, so I got curious.’ Her narrowed gaze announced that her curiosity had heightened into full-fledged wariness. ‘What’s that?’

  Purse slung over her shoulder, she strode across the garage, passing by the covered Panther Lima on her way to him. Jason was hit by the aromatic scent of coffee beans and sugar wafting from Lily like a seductive perfume. Her casual shifts at the coffeehouse were few and far between since she formally opened her online dress shop and began offering her sewing services to Port Landon residents, but she enjoyed both Allison and her job so much that she couldn’t bring herself to walk away from the café entirely. Allison was only too keen to keep her on the payroll.

  Branch held up his hands in mock surrender, his feet already moving toward the door. ‘That, my dear Lily, is my cue to leave.’ He offered Jason a pursed-lipped smile that said, Buddy, you’re on your own with this one, and disappeared out the door into the wintry afternoon.

  ‘Gee, that’s not ominous at all.’ Lily stared after Branch for a long moment before turning back to Jason. ‘Jay, what’s going on?’

  ‘It’s the weekend, you just got off work, and you haven’t even given me a kiss yet, that’s what’s going on.’ He enveloped Lily in a hug, kissing the top of her head before pulling away just far enough to be able to press his lips to hers.

  ‘Good coverup, but you still haven’t answered my question.’ The worry creasing the corners of her eyes had eased slightly.

  Jason’s cell blipped loudly from the workbench.

  Saved by the bell, literally. ‘One sec, sweetheart.’ He untangled himself from her and reached for the phone, sending a brief text before setting the phone back down. ‘Okay, moment of truth.’

  ‘Again, ominous.’

  Jason rolled one of his adjustable stools toward her. ‘Here, sit.’ Lily didn’t take her eyes off him as she obeyed, letting her purse
slide to the floor.

  ‘This wasn’t how I was going to show you this, you realize that, right?’ Jason closed the door, blocking out the December chill. ‘I had elaborate plans and—’

  ‘You’re stalling, and it’s making me more nervous by the minute.’ Lily’s mouth curled at the corners. ‘If this is some kind of Christmas surprise—’

  ‘It’s not,’ Jason assured her. ‘Actually, I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone.’

  ‘What isn’t?’

  ‘That I love you, Lily.’ Jason crouched down in front of her. Even the coldest days had no chance against the warmth he saw in those pale ocean eyes. ‘That I loved you before I even realized it myself.’

  ‘Oh, Jason …’

  A series of raps on the garage door echoed off the walls, and they both snapped their gazes toward the sound.

  ‘Come in!’ Jason called out.

  The door burst open, and a herd of wild five-year-olds came galloping in. Okay, not a herd, but Carlie and Eden were stomping so hard in their winter boots, their incessant giggles so shrill, that there may as well have been twenty of them instead of two.

  ‘Right on time,’ Jason laughed. The girls came to an abrupt halt beside him. Eden pressed her hand to her mouth, as though holding in a secret. Carlie bounced on her heels, practically vibrating with excitement.

  ‘On time for what?’

  ‘Girls, will you do the honors?’ Jason was thankful he’d already crouched down. His own dizzying anticipation was making him slightly lightheaded. Eden’s puffy jacket concealed the little box perfectly, and together both she and Carlie opened it, revealing the sparkling solitaire diamond ring encrusted with smaller diamonds on each side.

  ‘Will you marry Daddy?’ Carlie swayed on her heels, suddenly shy. Jason swelled with pride. She had recited the question perfectly.

  The gasp that emitted from Lily was loud. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. Eyes wide, she gaped at the ring, then Jason, then the girls, disbelieving and overwhelmed.

  Jason shifted his weight to one knee and gently pulled the delicate ring from the box. ‘As I was saying, Lily, I love you. All of you. The parts I know, and the parts I have yet to learn about. I love you, and I want you to be my wife. Lily Brentwood, will you marry me?’

  He didn’t think it was possible for her glistening eyes to widen further, but they did. At first, all she could muster was a jerky nod. Through the sobs, Jason finally heard the word he had been wishing for.

  ‘Yes,’ she cried. ‘Jason, my goodness, yes!’

  He didn’t see her move. One second she was sitting on the stool, barely holding her emotions together, the next her arms were wrapped around him, hugging him tightly and threatening to bowl him over with her exuberance.

  ‘I love you,’ she whispered. ‘I love you so much.’

  ‘I love you, too,’ he replied. ‘Let me put the ring on your finger before the girls spontaneously combust.’

  Laughing, Lily pulled away and held her trembling hand out.

  ‘Six months ago, I met you and taught you names of automotive parts that weren’t real,’ Jason explained. ‘Eden, what’s our name for your mama’s diamond ring?’

  Eden tittered, removing her hands from in front of her mouth. ‘Her chrome plated piston ring.’ Chwome pwated pithton ring. The words got to him every time.

  Lily choked on her laughter, wiping her eyes as Jason slid the ring on her finger. A perfect fit. ‘I can’t believe you girls knew about this!’

  ‘There is one thing they didn’t know about, actually.’ He couldn’t bring himself to tell them everything. Frankly, it was a miracle that two five-year-olds had managed to keep his proposal a secret. He didn’t want to push his luck. ‘Technically, two. I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve.’

  He stood, planting a soft kiss on Lily’s forehead before heading toward the covered cars. Two vinyl covers hiding two very different vehicles, but they both represented the same things to Jason.

  Promises. Changes. Family.

  ‘I’ve done everything I could lately to keep you guys out of this garage,’ he explained, untucking the corners of the cover that masked the Panther Lima. ‘I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.’

  ‘What surprise?’ Surpwise.

  Jason grinned. ‘A long time ago, Eden, I made you a promise. Do you remember what it was?’ Six months wasn’t very long in the eyes of an adult, but he would have bet his paycheck that the little girl saw it as a lifetime ago.

  Eden looked to Carlie, who was just as bewildered, then back toward him. She shook her head.

  ‘In the summer, I promised you a ride in Cruella. I said we’d all go together someday. Do you remember that?’

  Fidgeting with her fingers, her gaze rounded. ‘Yeah.’

  Fueled by his own excitement, Jason nodded, pleased to have three sets of eyes watching him with such rapt attention. ‘It’s my grandpa’s car,’ he reminded her. ‘Been in the family for a really long time. Now, I want to share it with my family.’ Jason stepped forward, dragging the cover off the car.

  Lily almost knocked the stool over as she scrambled to her feet. ‘Jason, oh my goodness!’ Carlie and Eden uttered a mix of whoas and wows, but Jason still heard Lily’s exclamation under her breath. ‘It’s my design.’

  The 1981 Panther Lima was no longer a mix of rust and battered steel. Lily’s hand-drawn design had jumped off the page. Plum purple with metal flake, the car glittered like it was encrusted with the same sparkling diamonds as Lily’s ring. Yellow, red, and orange flames stretched from the grill across the door, feathered in brilliant lime green. The fourteen-inch spoke steel rims were polished to perfection, just as Lily’s design had suggested.

  ‘Jason, how …’

  ‘I called in a favor to a friend in Lansing,’ he explained. ‘Had the car towed there last month. I didn’t do the work myself the way I planned to, but I think my grandfather would understand.’ His arm snaked around her waist, holding her to him. ‘Things don’t always work out as planned, but it doesn’t mean they don’t work out like they’re supposed to.’

  Lily beamed up at him, pressing her hand to his chest. ‘She’s beautiful, Jason,’ she whispered. ‘Your grandfather would be so proud.’

  Jason wondered if she could feel the relentless beating of his heart against his ribcage. ‘I think you’re right.’ On one of his grandfather’s good days, he vowed to show the elderly man what had become of his car. To reveal what love could do.

  ‘Can we take her for a spin?’ Carlie squealed from the other side of the car.

  ‘In just a sec.’ He stole another glance down at Lily. ‘With the Lima done, it’s like the end of an era. I want to begin a new one.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Lily raised an eyebrow.

  He released her and headed toward the other covered car. ‘The Lima was my grandfather’s car. The car he wanted to build with his family.’ Jason reached for the vinyl corner. ‘This is the one I want to build with my own family. Our family.’

  Peeling the cover away, he revealed a sun-faded two-door sedan.

  Carlie shrieked with delight at the sight of it. ‘Daddy, what is that?’

  ‘That, sweetheart, is a 1949 Ford Business Coupe. Also known as a Shoebox Ford.’

  ‘It looks like something out of a black and white movie,’ Lily chuckled, circling it. ‘You want to restore this … with us.’

  Jason followed her, enthralled by the way her fingertips grazed across the rounded hood and up over the edge of the murky windshield. He could almost see the wheels turning as she stared into the car, seeing what it could be with time.

  With love.

  ‘We can all be a part of it. You, me, and the girls. After all, you’re the one who reminded me that a hotrod should have a little American muscle.’ He winked. ‘We can take all the years we need to make it what we want.’ He reached for her hand, kissing her knuckles gently. ‘Making memories along the way.’

  Lily cupped her other hand over h
is. ‘I’d like that. The four of us.’

  ‘The four of us.’ He leaned in, brushing his lips against hers. ‘You wouldn’t believe the ideas I have. I mean, once folks see the custom design you did for the Lima, I think you’ll have people knocking down the door to have their own cars redesigned, so get ready. But, on top of the spectacular custom design you’re going to have to create for this one, I’m thinking a four-inch roof chop, and maybe Branch was right about the white walls. For engine modifications, a Weiand supercharger will increase performance, and Offenhauser heads—’

  ‘Jason, I have no idea what language you’re speaking, or if that stuff’s even real.’

  He grinned, wide and sincere. ‘You and I both know things don’t have to make sense to be real, Lily. All you’ve got to do is trust me.’

  ‘And I do.’ Lily brushed the edge of his jaw with her thumb. ‘Let’s go for a ride in Cruella.’

  ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

  Gripped by A Wildflower Summer? Don’t miss The Forget-Me-Not Bakery, another unputdownable novel from Caroline Flynn. Available now!

  Click here if you’re in the US

  Click here if you’re in the UK

  Keep reading for an excerpt from The Forget-Me-Not Bakery …

  Prologue

  Cohen

  Eight Years Ago …

  There are days that change everything. Change our lives. Change us.

  Cohen Beckett didn’t understand the razor-sharp truth of that statement. Until now. Now that he stood at the edge of the room, surrounded by all the people he knew and just as many that he didn’t, aching with the painful loneliness of a man stranded on foreign ground without a soul in sight. Now that he was left behind, to carry on living a life he didn’t know how to live alone. Now that his family of three, content and constant and perfect, was only a family of two.