by Jenny Hale
So that rift was why Theo didn’t want to have contact with his father… But why was his father frequenting Fireside Cabins? Was he looking for the money? She sighed, having got more questions than answers. She rolled her head on her shoulders, trying to let the Christmas lights calm her.
Unable to get this whole thing off her mind, she decided to call Piper to tell her what was going on. She needed to hear a friendly voice. Charlotte was most likely busy in LA, and Edie was less sympathetic over things like this. Piper would listen objectively and give her honest but gentle guidance.
“I keep reading about him, too,” Piper said once they were talking. “I’m surprised it’s taken this long for people to realize he was living just outside Nashville in Pinewood Hills.”
“It is funny that he didn’t go very far,” Lila noted.
“He’s born and raised in Nashville. It’s his home.”
“Yeah…” Lila said. “Makes you wonder if he’s still close.” She took in a deep breath to keep her chest from tightening, her gaze flickering over to the view out the window of the rolling, snow-covered hills dotted by pine trees. “It could just be wishful thinking.” She picked at a loose string on the afghan. “I just want to help him.”
“He’s a big boy. He can handle it,” Piper said. “But you know what I think?”
“Hm?” she said, waiting for Piper’s insight.
“I think it’s more than wanting to help him. I think you like him. A lot. But I still feel like you deserve better than this, Lila.”
Lila didn’t answer—she didn’t know what to say to that.
“And if it makes you feel any better,” Piper added, “I think Theo knows that too, and that’s why he’s cut the cord. He cares enough about you already to let you go before you get mixed up in his mess.”
“What if I can handle the mess?” Lila said. “His life is definitely chaos, but I really don’t think he stole the money—I have to believe that.”
“How can you be sure?” Piper asked.
“Because everything he’s done until now doesn’t fit with that. He didn’t run away somewhere and live in the lap of luxury. He pulled into himself and moved to a modest town to run an even more modest business. It was almost as if he didn’t want anything to do with money.” She remembered his intensity when he’d told her, This is my life. This is it.
“I think you should just be careful, Lila. Take the disconnected phone as a sign that this is a little too messy to get involved with.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said, still not really believing it.
“Right, on to something more cheery. How’s Eleanor? Has she baked anything delicious?”
“She’s always baking something amazing,” Lila replied, glad for the change of subject. “She made some Christmas sugar cookies that were out of this world.”
“I should’ve stayed,” Piper said. Lila could feel her warm smile down the line.
“There’s still time. It looks like I’ll be staying a while… I quit my job.”
“What?” Piper said with a gasp. “You finally did it?”
“Yep. My lease is up in a matter of days too.”
“You’re staying around Nashville, right? Please say yes,” Piper said in a pleading whine.
“I’m not sure…”
“Are you thinking of staying at Fireside Cabins?”
“I’d like to.” Before she could answer completely, Lila’s iPad lit up just as her phone pinged with a text, and she sucked in a breath. “Hang on,” she said. “Someone’s texting.” Her heart pounding, she reached over and grabbed her iPad off the table. When she saw who the caller was, it felt bittersweet. “It’s Charlotte,” she said, trying not to sound disappointed. “She says she misses me and to call her when I’m free.”
“Aw, that’s nice,” Piper said. “She’s been crazy busy. I’ve hardly been able to talk to her at all. I’ll let you go. You can call me back any time. Go ring her.”
“You sure?”
“Yes,” Piper replied. “I’m going to need at least an hour more so I can convince you to stay in Nashville.”
Lila smiled. “I haven’t said I wasn’t. I just don’t know.”
“Well, call Charlotte and then call me later so I can talk some sense into you,” Piper teased.
“Okay,” Lila said with a laugh. “I’ll call you later.”
They said their goodbyes and Lila called Charlotte immediately.
“Girl!” Charlotte said, without even a hello. “I miss you!”
“What have you been up to?” Lila asked, already in a better mood. Her friend always had that effect on her.
“Well, I got a Haley Russo original for starters.”
Haley Russo was an up-and-coming fashion designer in Nashville. Her line was a funky mix of elegance and cowgirl chic, and Charlotte had been dying to get her hands on one of the blouses in last year’s line.
“I couldn’t believe it. She was doing a runway show out here in LA, and she grabbed me after the show, recognizing me from her debut party in Nashville!”
“Oh, that’s awesome!” Lila said, genuinely excited.
“She was thrilled that I’d been following her since the beginning, and when I told her I’d been dying to get my mitts on anything from her line but just couldn’t get there before it all sold out, she took me backstage and let me choose something from the model rack.”
“Oh my gosh, lucky you.”
“Yes,” she hissed with excitement. “I got a red sundress with a little slit on the side.”
“Sounds amazing. Any chance you can grab me something? Maybe one of her big southern belt buckles with the beadwork?” Lila teased.
“Give me time…” Charlotte said with a laugh. “But that’s not even the main part of the story. Guess how I got invited to the show in the first place?”
“Do tell.”
“I’ve become really good friends with Nikki Mars—remember I was so worried about doing her hair? Turns out, all she needed was a little straightener. Anyway, knowing I was from Nashville, Nikki invited me to Haley’s show.”
“Very cool,” Lila told her, folding her legs under her on the sofa.
“Nikki is super sweet. As I got to know her, she told me something and my mouth fell open.”
“What is it?”
“Guess who Nikki’s best friend was in school?”
“Who?”
“You’ll never believe it.”
“Who?” The suspense was killing Lila.
“Have you ever heard of Alexa Fontaine?”
“Stop it… You’re kidding.” That name was burned into Lila’s brain.
“Let me just give you her full title: Alexa Fontaine, former fiancée of Theo Perry. Better?”
Lila held her breath, the only sound she could hear the buzzing of the lamp beside her. After a loaded moment she asked, “Did she say anything about Theo?”
“Piper told me all about what’s been going on with you and Theo, so I poked around a little. I asked Nikki if she was still in touch with Alexa, and when she said yes, I asked if Alexa was still dating that musician’s son Theo Perry.”
“What did she say?”
“Nikki told me that Alexa wouldn’t even speak of him. He completely ruined their upcoming wedding. Her family was toying with trying to sue him for the cost of it—it was millions. But she said it’s useless because he doesn’t have any money anyway. She thinks that’s why he was stealing from his own company.”
“None of this sounds like him,” Lila said, shaking her head in confusion, her heart racing.
“I figured you’d say that, so I asked why he wasn’t ever arrested if he stole from his company and everyone knew about it. She said Alexa thinks his dad paid off the police department. They got that new wing at the department, and suddenly the family accountant declared it was just an oversight and paid the taxes, and everything was wiped clear. But Theo’s dad cut him off from the family inheritance and he ran.”
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�Then why would his dad be looking for him now?” Lila asked. It didn’t make any sense.
“I’m not sure. Maybe his dad found out he’d stolen more money or something, and he wants to get it back. I don’t know.”
“This seems so crazy. Why would Theo steal money from his company if he was a millionaire already?”
“Nikki said there have been rumors that Theo overspent extravagantly and ran the family finances into the ground… I think you’re too kind, Lila,” her friend said gently. “If he cut you off, then it was probably a blessing. Who knows, his phone may have been disconnected—can he pay the bill?”
Lila sat, shell-shocked. She didn’t know what to say. Theo sounded worse with every bit of new information she’d gotten. And even though it went against her gut instinct about him, she was at a loss for how to feel.
“So you’re telling me that the man we met who runs a coffee shop, gives free guitar lessons, and watches Rex all day and night as a favor—that guy is an overspending, lying thief who stole from his own father? I just don’t buy it.”
“We don’t really know him, do we?” Charlotte said.
Lila shook her head, feeling lost. With a sinking feeling, she finished up the call with Charlotte and walked into the kitchen, thinking, when she noticed a tiny slip of paper tucked beneath a candle on the counter. She picked it up and smoothed it between her fingers. It was the fortune she’d gotten from the confectionery when she’d visited with the girls and Eleanor. Lila scanned the words: When faced with a choice, choose to believe. It’ll change your life. In that moment the sentence spoke to her—even though there were so many things piling up against Theo, she still prayed by some miracle none of it would be true.
Wanting to go for a walk and clear her head, she put on her big coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck, her mind racing the whole time. None of it added up. Was she in denial? She was a pretty good judge of character, and while Razz had been a disaster, a part of her had known that going into the relationship. But Theo was different. It was as if he had some sort of split personality.
She opened the front door and stopped cold. Sitting on the porch of the cabin, in the freezing temperatures, was a giant Christmas bouquet with at least twenty red roses and sprigs of holly, spruce and baby’s breath. It was the most incredible bouquet she’d ever seen. Lila looked around, wondering if the delivery had been to the wrong cabin, but she was sure no one was renting the others. After all, she’d just helped Eleanor fix them all up.
Lila carried the bouquet inside and set it on the kitchen table. She took her coat back off and dropped her scarf in a lump on the chair, before plucking the card out of its little envelope. It read, You know, you made me like Christmas. And I didn’t mean to ruin yours. Enjoy the holiday. Love, Theo. She held the card to her chest, her skin tingling with joy.
The handwriting looked similar to the scrawl she’d seen on his ledger book at the coffee shop, which meant that he’d gone into the florist’s himself… Lila turned the card over and read the name: Hutton’s Flowers. With a quick search on her phone, she was able to get the address. But then she paused. Did he want to be found? If there was even a slight chance that he did, it was worth trying to find him. She grabbed her coat again and ran out the door, heading straight there.
Twenty-Three
“I know that it’s not usual protocol, but can you please give me the address of the person who ordered my flowers for me?” Lila asked the florist, her heart thumping.
The woman behind the counter shook her head apologetically. “Even if I could, I don’t have it anyway,” she said. “He paid in cash, and the only contact information I have is Brian Brown, which you probably already know since he was the one who signed the card, right?”
He hadn’t even used his real name. Had she really thought he’d give his address? “He actually signed it Theo,” she said. “But I guess that doesn’t help. Okay, thank you for your time. Sorry to bother you.”
Lila pushed aside her disappointment. What had he intended by sending her flowers? Was it a consolation prize—sorry I won’t ever see you again and I feel bad? Or had he meant something else? Whatever the gesture was, she felt even more confused than before. Realizing that she needed to get out of her head and try to enjoy the holiday, on a whim she decided to stop by the farm on her way back to the cabin. Maybe a nice hot chocolate in the café would turn things around. Trudy and Judd were probably working, and Lila could hear about how they were all doing and catch up on the latest cuteness with Rex. She needed a friendly face, and the Johnsons were just the right family to lift her spirits.
Getting into Eleanor’s car, Lila drove down the main road toward the farm. The snow was really coming down now, a winter storm rapidly moving in. The hills were a blanket of white with little dots of green spruce peeking through, the scenery stretching out in front of her, looking just like a Christmas card. She really did love it in Pinewood Hills. She couldn’t wait to have something delicious like a peppermint hot chocolate and cinnamon Christmas roll at the farm. She’d cozy up by the heater and chat with Trudy and Judd until she was dripping in holiday cheer, and hopefully Theo would soon be a distant memory.
Even though she knew better and was trying to put herself in the festive mood, Lila glanced over at the coffee shop as she passed it, despite knowing the for-sale sign would only distress her. But when she caught sight of Theo getting into a red truck, she slammed on her brakes, hydroplaning on the wet tarmac and sliding toward the ditch. The two passenger-side tires skated madly across the surface, locked and helpless to control the vehicle. The growl of the engine as the car came to rest, the tires groaning against the snow bank, caused Theo to spin around. She could see the frustration in the slump of his shoulders as he started marching toward her.
Lila cut the engine and jumped out of the car, her feet sinking into the snow that had piled up, icy clumps of it sliding into her shoes as she trudged toward him. But she barely noticed, the mixture of elation and anxiety overwhelming her and clouding any rational thought she had.
“What the hell just happened? Are you okay?” he called to her, as he peered over her head at Eleanor’s car.
His tone was clipped but Lila didn’t care. When she reached him, she couldn’t help smiling. Instinctively, and despite everything, she lifted her arms to put them around his neck, but he caught them and gently held them by her sides.
“Thank you for the roses,” she said, looking up at him and not bothering to hide her affection.
His face softened. “You’re welcome.”
“Were they goodbye roses?” she asked, feeling the vulnerability in her words.
He stared at her, as if drinking her in, not answering. Did he even know?
“Don’t disappear,” she said, twisting her hands around and grabbing his. “Let’s go inside and talk for a minute.”
“I think we should work on getting Eleanor’s car out of the ditch first,” he suggested.
“It’s not in the road. It’ll be fine for a few minutes.”
Theo clearly deliberated.
“I’m freezing…” she tried.
With a huff, he took her hand. They walked up to the door of the shop and he let her inside, the warmth hitting her like a tidal wave, giving her a shiver as the cold left her. When she’d recovered, she smacked her hands on his chest, startling him. “You shut off your phone,” she snapped, everything she wanted to say surfacing at a mile a minute in her head. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve worried, having no idea if you’re okay?”
“The way you care for people is unbelievable,” he said.
But she didn’t let his statement derail the conversation. “Theo, if you don’t want me around, then so be it, but don’t just disappear and cut yourself off completely. Don’t do that to me again.”
He locked eyes with her, remorse sliding down his face. “Lila, I didn’t intend to meet you, and it’s really bad timing…” He tilted his head, seemingly contemplating the situation. For
a second she thought the corners of his lips were forming a smile. But then it faded. “I didn’t cut off my phone so you couldn’t call me. I cut off my phone to keep myself from calling you.”
A buzz of excitement swam around inside her. “Why stop yourself?” she asked.
Theo slid her coat off and draped it on one of the chairs, then offered her a seat. He lowered himself down across the table from her. “The first time I saw you walk in with all your friends, something about you pulled me in. I had to work to keep my eyes off you. It frustrated me to no end because all I wanted was to be left alone.”
“Why?”
“It was easier to avoid getting hurt.”
“And now?”
“That’s the problem, Lila. I’m not in a position to be what you want me to be.”
“And what do I want you to be?” He was talking in riddles.
“Present.” He rolled his head on his shoulders, closing his eyes, clearly dealing with some kind of inner turmoil. “I’m so far under water that I can’t focus on anything but myself right now. No matter how much I’d love to.”
“You’re present every day at the coffee shop,” she said.
“I won’t be anymore. I’m here because I just met with my real estate agent. He’s got an offer on the shop.”
“Oh,” she said, letting her dejection show. She leaned across the table and touched his arm. “Theo, why don’t you tell me what you’re going through so I can go through it with you? You don’t need to deal with whatever it is alone.”
“I don’t want to drag you into this.”
“You wouldn’t drag me into anything. I’d willingly step into it with you.” When he didn’t answer, avoiding her gaze, she changed course. “We don’t have to have a plan right now. And I guess we should get Eleanor’s car unstuck before the snow buries it.”