First Crush

by Ashley Ludwig

  Eyes still closed, she wet her lips. “Someone saved me. A shack, by the lake.” She coughed, winced at the pain. “Can I have some more water?”

  He refilled her cup and helped her drink.

  Her words slurred from the morphine, but she continued, “Do y-you know who brought me here?”

  “He’s in the waiting room.” Hesitating, Dalton added, “You want me to send him in?”

  She nodded, touched her throat with a wince. “I saw his light. I didn’t think …”

  She wouldn’t be able to tell him more today. Pressing her was useless. Still, he had to try. In the doorframe, he turned back to the only living victim of the Slayer. “I don’t suppose you remember anything else.”

  She cracked open her one available eye, the other hidden behind a gauzy patch. “Dark. Damp and drippy. A cave I think.”

  A mewl of sob escaped her and a tear coursed down her cheek. A wave of compassion rolled through him.

  A cave.

  Dalton had lived his whole life in Long Valley. He had climbed and clawed his way around almost every hiking trail. Never saw a cave worth mentioning. Some overhangs by the creek, maybe ...

  “The cave wasn’t far away. I counted. Maybe five minutes by van from the lake.” Her words went slurry. “Rudy. His name. Rudy.”

  “He told you his name?”

  “Shirt. Work shirt.”

  Near the lake. Could the memory of a girl so horribly traumatized actually be intact? He needed a map. Now.

  He hurried to a nearby hallway where he remembered seeing a map of Long Valley painted on the wall. Fat, happy arrows marked wineries and hotels, and a big “You Are Here” sign marked the location of the hospital.

  Fed by a curl of a creek, Long Valley had a lake at one end. He zeroed in on the lake’s edge, right where it neared the creek.

  Only two areas matched Valery’s description: his folks’ plot of land and Natalie’s place.

  Suddenly, he knew exactly where to look.

  Nick browsed the flower case, glancing back at the cardboard-covered windowpane. It looked like after someone broke in, someone else had made a feeble attempt to fix the broken window.

  Inside Bloomers, there was no sign of Gia. No sign of Annie. “Hello?” he called, perusing a bucket of happy daisies. He selected a grower’s bunch, and gauging it a bit light, he added a second for good measure.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Annie leaned against the doorframe.

  Though she’d changed her hair to a short brunette bob, she was still the same bright-eyed, whip-tongued girl he’d kissed behind the bleachers in high school.

  “I keep missing you.”

  “Can’t take a hint, huh?”

  She walked toward him and he tried not to stare. She was as beautiful as he remembered.

  “I, uh—” Nick stumbled, flushing.

  “Just kidding,” she interrupted. “Aw, Nick. A girl’s got to keep her sense of mystery, and I haven’t had much of that in the past ten years.”

  By the size of the bump at her belt, her kid couldn’t have much longer to cook.

  “Didn’t your mama teach you not to stare?”

  “You’d know. You spent half of high school at my house.” He smiled, but sensed there was more going on here than just a shop owner having a down day. “Is everything all right?”

  “First, the cooler goes out. Limping it along, you know. Then, this morning. A break-in.”

  “Gia wasn’t here, was she?”

  “No, she’s fine.”

  “You call Dalton?”

  “Tried, but he’s homicide now. Doesn’t cover routine breaking and enterings. They sent over some bozo. Officer Matos or something. Officer Creep, if you ask me. One too many comments about my figure.” With a flick, she tossed the officer’s card in the trashcan.

  “Break-in, huh?” He wiped his neck, looking toward the sparsely filled cooler. “Anything missing?”

  She dug her hands in her hair and scrubbed her scalp. “Just a pitcher of white roses. That’s all I can tell so far.”

  “No money?”

  “That’s the same tone the cop used.” Her scolding tone warned him to back off, and his hands flew up in defense.

  “Sorry.”

  “No. It’s okay. I’m grateful, it’s just so stupid. Why would someone steal flowers? It’s not like they’re expensive. My prices are rock bottom.”

  “Best little florist in Long Valley.” He cleared his throat. “Is this a bad time … to tell you I’m sorry?”

  “For what? You’re one of my best customers.” Her smile showed no grudge. None of the ill will that he’d been expecting.

  “Not about that.” Counter between them, he took her hand and squeezed it in apology. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe in you all those years ago. You dreamed of this place, worked so hard to make it happen, and I didn’t support your vision. I can’t apologize enough for that.” He paused. “Except to say, I never buy flowers from anyone else.”

  She laughed and cupped her pregnant belly with her free hand. “Is that why you send your mom so many flowers?”

  “I never knew how to tell you I was sorry, so I just showed it.”

  Annie took the daisies and rewrapped them in pretty paper, shimmying back and forth like a kid with a secret. “So who’s the girl?”

  “What girl?” Nick gripped the counter’s edge.

  “The one who fixed you?”

  “Fixed?”

  She laughed at his mock terror. “Not that kind of fixed. The one who made you see the light?”

  He inhaled a smile. “She’s a kick. A lot like you, actually. Smart. Sassy. Perfect. But as for the fixing? I think that was your department.”

  “Not sure I did anything except prove you wrong.”

  “Sometimes, that’s enough.”

  She nodded as if she knew it to be true. “And these are for her?”

  At his nod, she added extra greenery, amplifying the bouquet into a gorgeous presentation. “Well, when you two plan the wedding—”

  “We’re not—I mean, I’m not proposing. Yet.”

  “Well, when the time comes. I’m your florist, for better or worse. No ifs, ands, or buts.”

  At quarter past eleven, Natalie watched Nick walk toward her up the hill to where she waited by the fountain.

  Water splashed in a merry trickle while wind sprayed drops to the fountain’s edge.

  Shading the sun with her hand, she took in the view. A huge billowing cloud rose over the mountain, threatening to block the sunlight. A storm was coming. Corie would dig that.

  “Sorry I’m late.” Nick sauntered over, arms full of daisies. “These are for you.”

  “Well, then you’re forgiven.” Her smile betrayed her heart while she inhaled the scent of the white, happy blossoms. Still, sadness darkened the day like the bunching clouds overhead.

  “I’m so sorry about your grandmother.”

  She blew a stuttering breath. “I tried not to let the family part in, to keep it in a box, you know? Sometimes I even pretended that she was just someone to care for, someone to visit. But she was my grandmother. And now it’s just … over.”

  She accepted his hug of condolence and let herself get lost in the warmth of him. When they parted, he hooked hands with her and let time go still.

  “I tried to call Corie, to tell her about Marie, but she’s not answering.” Frowning at her cell phone, she pocketed it. “I hate it when she does that.”

  “Probably elbow deep in batter or something.” Nick sat alongside her, hand out to the spraying water. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “Yeah.” With a sigh, she turned her eyes heavenward. “Doesn’t stop the worry.”

  “You’re a little mama with her, aren’t you?”

  “Someone’s gotta keep an eye on her. Corie’s a free spirit.”

  “And Dalton’s her exact opposite.” Nick turned to her with a smile, and her knees went weak. “They’re perfect for each othe
r.”

  “Maybe.” Natalie kicked out her feet and crossed her ankles. “Corie gets distracted when a handsome guy’s around.”

  “Is that what you call it?” He laughed, looking off to the roiling clouds. “Distracted?”

  She nodded, examining her flowers. “She’s in love with love, Mom always says.”

  “And Dalton’s her type?”

  “He’s a guy, right?”

  Nick answered with a sideways grin. “Well, then he’s her type.” He waited a beat, skewing his mouth to the side. “But, it’s just, Dalton was hurt a long time ago by a girl who really mattered to him. She left him on their wedding day—awful stuff.”

  “That’s so sad.” She ached for Dalton, imagining what it would be like to be left at the altar.

  “It’s a small town. From what Mom says, they’ve made a sort of truce. They work together, so it has to be amicable.”

  “Sticky situation.”

  He nodded. “Still, it’s the why she didn’t marry him that worries me. He’s obsessed over the Slayer. He just wants vengeance for Rebecca’s murder. He stopped believing in God and forgiveness a long time ago.”

  Natalie exhaled a long sigh. Corie had dated her share of oddballs from tattooed guitarists to straight-laced accountant types. But never, as far as Natalie knew, had she been interested in someone totally faithless.

  “Do you think it’s because of Rebecca?”

  At the press of Nick’s mouth, she knew the answer. Dalton preferred the thought of nothing to a God who would let his sister die. Rebecca’s death had once again left a vacancy in time, space, and soul.

  Natalie slid her hand into the fountain water. It was cool, clear, and refreshing. Water was life, and as baptismal water made everything new, she prayed that Dalton’s soul would heal someday. She spoke to Nick’s wavering reflection, not turning around.

  “It won’t help to worry about him, you know.” At his silence she continued. “Just because he doesn’t believe in God doesn’t mean God stopped believing in him.”

  Nick’s tone drifted from sad to amused. “I know, but … he’s my brother.”

  “Have some faith.” She breathed in the assurance of her God who didn’t abandon anyone, even in the eleventh hour. He was always there: the constant parent, the comforting counselor. He’d never leave them, and he’d given them a million Bible verses to prove it.

  “Some days it doesn’t feel as simple as that.” He scratched his neck, looking toward the flower shop down the street.

  A woman unloaded buckets of fat, cheery sunflowers from a delivery truck.

  “That’s your favorite flower shop, isn’t it?” Natalie wagged the crinkling bouquet. “Where these came from?”

  Nick nodded. “Bloomers. A girl from my high school started it.”

  By his tone she gathered it wasn’t just any girl. “Someone special?”

  He nodded. “Puppy love. First kiss. First … well, first everything.” He exhaled, letting the raw truth sink in before continuing.

  “Annie had all these big dreams. I didn’t believe in her—all but dared her to fail. She left me in her dust.”

  “And what about me? How do you feel about my dreams?”

  “I think you can do anything at all.” His voice thrummed sweet and truthful in her ears.

  She drank in his gaze. His eyes were twin oceans, ready and waiting for her to dive in. Sink or swim.

  Their time was now.

  Wetting her lips, she wondered at their future. Tested the waters with the truth that had stalled her so many times before.

  “You know about what happened to me in high school … But what you don’t know is that I’ve never … I haven’t …”

  He stared, and she wished she could read his thoughts. Was that shock or disappointment on his face?

  Instead of shying away from her as had happened so many times before, Nick drew her in. His mint-fresh breath heated her neck.

  “I don’t deserve someone like you, Natalie. I’ve made too many mistakes.”

  “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

  Flowers forgotten on the fountain’s edge, he cupped her face in his hands, voice strong and sure. “I love the way you battle with me over flooring. I love how you listen and how you see the world. I love that I can’t imagine my life without you in it. And I love kissing you good night in front of your door.”

  He kissed her again, to prove it, and then spoke into her hair as he held her tight. “I love you, Natalie. And that’s a first—a real first—for me. I’ve never said the words. Never felt them, not like this.”

  “That’s a good thing, Nick.” Tears welled, blurring her vision. She wiped them away with a joyful laugh. “Because I love you back.”

  Shaking, he drew her in for a long, sweet kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist. His mouth on hers, hearts warming, hands and lips, joined in a slow simmering passion. Somewhere, voices chatted. A bird called. She pulled back, tucked a blonde curl behind her ear with a free hand.

  Nick’s fingers remained locked in hers as he looked down the street. A woman outside the florist shop looked their way, shading her gaze. When she shot a thumbs-up his way, Nick waved back.

  Natalie stood, dizzy from his kiss, and saw the open, yet restrained desire in his eyes.

  At last, she trusted her voice. “Looks like you two made amends?”

  His laugh was husky in her ear, on her neck. “I promised to be a very good customer.”

  “And what did she say?”

  “That she’d skin me alive if we hired anyone else for our wedding flowers when the time comes.”

  “Our wedding? What—”

  He silenced her with a kiss and drew her close again. They stood heart-to-heart as the fountain splashed and a rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

  Was that a proposal? Should she ask? Did it matter? With arms draped around his neck, her head spun like a merry-go-round.

  She was still a little dazed when Nick led her back to her car and kissed her goodbye.

  Her thoughts were full of a future with Nick Hardaway. He loved her. She had found him in the midst of tragedy, but the days ahead looked bright. Her first real love promised a beautiful new beginning.

  Driving away, Natalie remembered the unopened card from the white roses at the hospital. At the next red light, she took it out and reviewed the message.

  His will be done.

  With a smile from her soul, she pressed the accelerator and headed home.

  His will, indeed.

  Nick frowned at a splash of liquid that appeared in Natalie’s parking space as she drove away. He bent down to touch the liquid and rubbed it between thumb and forefinger.

  Not water … That was brake fluid.

  Sprinting for his truck, Nick grabbed his cell from his pocket and dialed Nat, but he got the busy signal. The engine roared, and he smoked rubber as he drove after her toward wine country.

  Blasting a stoplight, he one-hand dialed Dalton. The call went straight to voicemail.

  No brakes. The narrow roads and steep hills of wine country curled before his mind’s eye as he tried her again.

  Natalie was in deep trouble.

  He just prayed he’d get to her in time.

  Chapter 31

  So much for calling Corie. Natalie’s phone was a dead brick again. With no car charger, she tossed her phone to the passenger seat.

  “Why do I even bother having a phone, anyway?”

  In her rearview, she caught sight of Nick in his sturdy truck. He’d been following her since Old Town. Now, just a few car lengths back, it was like he wanted to chase her down. She settled into their little race.

  “Last one to the house is a rotten egg.” She laughed, cruising through a yellow light. He got blocked in by a Sunday driver, and she left him in her wake.

  Mom and Dad hadn’t met Nick yet. They hadn’t even heard from her since she’d come up here.

  She’d veered off her well-ordered path and w
as in love, poised to spend the rest of her life with a man she barely knew—and couldn’t wait to learn everything about. She wanted to know how he liked his pancakes. If a loss by his favorite team ruined his whole day, like it did for her brother. Did he sing at church?

  Would she wear his wedding ring for the rest of her life?

  A thrill raced through her blood as his truck nearly caught her again.

  She was surprised he was racing her! He was usually so protective. Maybe he was finally realizing he couldn’t stand guard over her forever. Sooner or later, she’d go off to the mall alone. To the gas station. The grocery store. Would the Lakeview Slayer be waiting? Watching? Natalie hoped he was caught soon. But if he wasn’t … she wouldn’t live the rest of her life in fear.

  She guided the car through a roundabout, brakes spongy at her pressing foot. They’d been acting up since she left the hospital earlier today. Now, the car barely slowed when she pushed the pedal to the floor.

  Speeding through the groves of wine country, orange blossoms gave way to rows upon rows of grapes ready for harvest. She gassed it up the hill and coasted up behind an SUV full of partying women.

  The driver overcorrected from one side of the lane to the other. They’d stopped at one winery too many. Where was a cop when you needed one?

  She’d offer special deals for designated drivers, she decided. She could offer them room discounts, or maybe a free bottle of wine to enjoy when they returned to their rooms. Better yet, she could have a sampling bar out at the B&B. It would be convenient and safe for her guests; they wouldn’t have to worry about driving anywhere after an afternoon of wine tasting.

  Natalie kept a watchful eye on the car as it angled toward another tasting room. She glanced left through a grove of orange trees and spied the small slat-wood church of Wine Country Chapel. It was where Father Lon, the hospital chaplain, preached.

  He’d said her grandmother found peace at the end. Natalie wished she could have his certainty about her grandmother’s fate.

  Passing the building reminded her of her commitment to start attending church here in Long Valley. Maybe Nick would join her.