by Delia Latham
“I’m sure you’re right, Russ.” Autumn’s quiet agreement came from a full heart. She stole a glance at the man at her side. “But I doubt a lot of folks ever take time to look at both ends of the rainbow. You’re a wise man, Russ Amundsen—wise, and good.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes I think I don’t have enough sense to keep out of the intellectual poorhouse.” The deep timbre of Russ’s hearty chuckle rumbled and rolled and vibrated all the way through Autumn’s heart...and beyond, to her very soul. “As for being good, well‒I’m a work in progress, Autumn. Sure am glad God never gives up. He just keeps on working on me.”
Autumn said nothing, but she scooched a little closer to his side. No matter what how much he denied it, she would never forget the day she stood in front of a ramshackle old house in Cambria, California, and listened to a wonderfully wise and unquestionably good man share a powerful truth.
~*~
Standing beneath a tall, silvery green pine, Autumn spun toward Ceci, who had uttered some kind of soft, delighted sound—half moan, half pure delight.
“What is it?”
Ceci gently touched a deep purple iris petal on a tall stem. “I’ve never seen a flower so perfect. This color is unbelievable, Autie. Look how it deepens from this gorgeous, rich purple to something awfully close to black.” Her gaze flitted to Autumn’s face and back again to the graceful, stunningly beautiful plant. “Why is it that all the plant life around here is so gorgeous? While we’ve been in Cambria, I’ve seen plants I’ve never seen before—not anywhere—and some that are familiar everywhere you go.” A little grin teased her full lips. “Including Bakersfield, where it’s so dry and hot I sometimes wonder how anything survives there. But even those familiar, grow-anywhere plants are bigger here on the coast—more colorful, and just astoundingly beautiful.”
Autumn stepped closer and slipped an arm around her friend’s waist. “I’ve noticed that too. And guess what? As beautiful as I think you are every day, anywhere, Cambria has that same effect on you. Standing here admiring that iris…well, you’re just—just…well, all I can say is ‘wow!’” She stepped away and pulled a camera from the roomy tote she’d brought along. “Don’t move a muscle, girlfriend. Gabe has to see this. He probably didn’t think you could be any more beautiful either.”
Ceci shook her head, but obligingly held the pose and smiled into the camera.
Satisfied she’d captured Ceci’s exotic beauty amongst the irises as effectively as possible for someone with limited photography skills, Autumn slipped the camera back into her tote and slid her arm through her friend’s.
They were on one of the paths meandering through extensive gardens behind an inn appropriately called Cottage Gardens Lodge. Acre upon acre of carefully maintained, world-class gardens and Monterey pine forest lay spread out around them.
Having learned that Autumn managed a nursery, Shay had insisted they “absolutely, positively, no doubt about it” could not leave Cambria without seeing this place, especially given the gardens were open even to visitors who weren’t registered guests.
Both women were entranced from the first step inside the wooden gate leading to the property. Gorgeous flora abounded, almost overloading their visual capacity to take it in. Tiny blooms grew close to the ground in thick, ground-covering masses. Alongside the ground cover—and sometimes right in the middle of it—huge plants grew taller than their heads.
Autumn spotted yuccas, elephant ears in every size and species, hollyhocks and a good many species that neither of them could name.
Lovely fountains lent a refreshing illusion of cooler air than August in California actually offered. Charming wooden benches tucked into corners and curves provided peaceful rest during the lengthy walk. A large gazebo held prominence in a clearing surrounded by colorful blooms, green ferns and at least a dozen other plants of endless variety.
Ceci tugged at Autumn’s arm and wandered toward the bright white structure. “Just look at this, Auti. It’s a perfect little haven. What an idyllic location for a wedding!”
“It sure is.” She pointed to a small wooden sign driven into the lawn. “Look. It can be reserved for special events.”
Ceci nibbled at her bottom lip. “Gabe wants to have our wedding on his family’s estate in Italy, and I’m all for doing that. But wouldn’t it be nice to have a pre-wedding gathering here, for close friends and family who can’t make it to Italy?”
“That’s a grand idea.” Autumn smiled through the stabbing pain that always accompanied any reminder of Ceci’s approaching move. “We’ll stop in at the office on the way out. Maybe they’ll have some brochures and detailed information. They’re bound to have a website that would give Gabe a peek into the gardens, possibly even this beautiful glade.”
Blinking rapidly, Ceci pulled Autumn into a quick hug. “Thank you, Autie.”
“You’re welcome, I guess. What are you thanking me for?”
“For taking a photo of me to send Gabe. For thinking of ways to help out with the wedding, and to share my ideas with him.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m just happy you’re playing nice, even though I know you still hate that I’m marrying Gabe.”
“What? I don’t hate that you’re marrying Gabe.”
Ceci arched one eyebrow.
“I don’t! I can’t say I like it, not if I’m being completely honest. But I don’t hate it—not anymore.” Autumn shrugged. “I can see that you love him. He makes you happy, and I guess…you know.” She cleared her throat. “I want you to be happy even more than I want you to stay close to me forever and always.”
“He does make me happy, Autie.” Ceci’s soft voice held a depth of feeling that filled Autumn with a weird longing she couldn’t even define. “Gabe is my happiness. Now that we’ve found each other, I can’t even imagine my life without him in it.” A soft shudder shook her frame. “I get shivers at just the thought of losing him.”
“I know. I see it in your eyes when you talk about him, Ceci. Even when you say nothing, I can tell when you’re thinking about Gabe. Your expression changes. It softens, and you…well, you kind of glow.” Autumn’s cheeks warmed and she laughed a little, self-conscious about such a mooshy-mushy subject. “It would be crazy and pointless to fight something that powerful.”
“I see.” Ceci narrowed her violet gaze and seemed almost to peer into Autumn’s soul. “I don’t suppose this change in perspective could also have something to do with the fact that you’re discovering for yourself what love is.”
“What?” The word came out in a high shriek. “Ceci, you’re so in love that you’re seeing it in everyone.”
Her friend chuckled. “Don’t play innocent, Autie. I know you too well for that. You already admitted as much, in case you’ve forgotten. At the time, you said you were “kind of, halfway” in love. I don’t think there’s anything halfway about it anymore.”
“Come on, Ceci. I’m not really ‘good little wife’ material, and seriously—do I look like a mommy to you?”
“Stop. Just stop, OK?” Ceci rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath, but the smile never quite left her lips. “Honey, I’m not exactly educated on the Bible, but I’m pretty sure one of the big no-nos is telling untruths.” She lifted her hand to stop the outraged denial Autumn was all set to give. “And I think that would apply even to the lies we tell ourselves.”
Autumn’s eyes went so wide it almost hurt. She stood silent for a moment, her gaze fixed on the perfect petals of a pink and yellow rose until at last, she let her stiff shoulders droop.“Fine. I am head over heels in love with the man and his daughter.” A groan slipped past her lips. “Oh, Ceci… I’m already in heart deep, and every day I fall deeper, faster, and harder.”
Her friend slipped a hand through Autumn’s elbow and gave her arm a little hug. “You sound as if there’s something wrong with that, and I don’t understand why. Honey, Russ is wonderful, and he’s crazy about you too. Why do you act as if this is a bad thing?”
“Because I…I mean he….” Frustrated that her tongue refused to cooperate, she hauled in a deep breath and let it out on a slow exhale. “What if it’s just me? What if it isn’t real? Maybe Russ isn’t all that into me, and I’ll wind up with my heart shattered into pieces no bigger than sand pebbles.”
“Hmmm.” Ceci nodded and her expression turned thoughtful. “Love can be a bit risky, I suppose. Only God really knows what’s in a person’s heart of hearts, but I will tell you this, my dear friend. When Russ looks at you, it makes my heart pound a little harder, and turns my insides to jelly. I’d say love, or something darn near like it, has a stranglehold on little Dalynn’s big, handsome daddy.”
“You really think so?” The hope in her own voice scared Autumn to the tips of her toes, but she could do nothing to change it.
“I really think so.” Ceci grinned, and her perfect eyebrows performed a little up-and-down wiggle-waggle. “I think it’d be a pretty safe wager to say your ‘rock man’ has a marshmallow center, where a certain little fire-haired Bakersfield beauty is concerned.” She tilted her head, and her violet eyes narrowed to slits. “Have you told him yet? About giving your heart to the Lord?”
“Uh uh.”
Ceci frowned. “Why not?”
“I want to. I’ve opened my mouth a dozen times to do exactly that, but somehow it just hasn’t felt right. Not yet. But I will. Maybe I’m just not ‘there’ yet, you know? My relationship with God is so new, and so deeply personal. I mean, yeah, I told you right away but we’ve always told each other everything.” She returned her friend’s warm smile, and then sighed. “Maybe I’m afraid sharing it with anyone else will make it less real, or personal, or fulfilling. I don’t know, just…less.” Autumn shook her head and blinked. “How did we get to this subject anyway? We were talking about you marrying Gabe, and that I don’t hate it.”
“Which led to a discussion as to why you’ve had that change of heart…which led to your obvious state of being head over heels in love yourself, which naturally led to Russ.” Ceci laughed. “Anyway, whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re accepting my situation, sweetie. As much as I love Gabe, my joy would be shadowed by tremendous pain if I thought marrying him meant losing you.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding, girlfriend. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Good.” Ceci nodded up the trail. “By the way, have you given any further thought to moving to Italy?”
Autumn laughed. “You’re kidding, right? As long as there’s the possibility of a future with Russ, I can’t think beyond that. Not even so far as returning to Bakersfield, which is definitely coming up way too fast.”
“As much as I’d love to have you there with me, my gut feeling is that you’ll never consider it seriously. I have a strong feeling you’ll be a California beach girl for the rest of your life—Moonstone Beach, to be exact. Now let’s move along, shall we?”
“Yep. Let’s check out this itty bitty garden.” Autumn glanced down at her hand. She’d tucked her thumb behind her palm, so only four fingers remained visible. A grin tugged at her lips. “Maybe I’ll grow a green thumb. Who knows?”
~*~
Late that evening, Autumn’s cell phone rang, eliciting a twin response from her and Ceci. They both screamed and tossed popcorn into the air, and then giggled like teen girls at a slumber party. They clearly weren’t as brave as they’d professed to be—not late at night, while watching a frightening movie that had just taken on a whole new level of ‘scary’ in both their minds.
“Good heavens, answer that and put an end to the abominable ringing in my ears!” Ceci set about fishing popcorn kernels from between the sofa cushions and off the rug.
Autumn’s answering giggle cut off abruptly when she glanced at the caller ID screen. Why in the world would Russ be calling at this hour? Possibilities rattled around in her mind like the unwanted jangle of chains in a spooky attic. She moistened dry, salty lips and pulled in a breath. “Russ?”
“What, not even a hello?” He chuckled. “At least you don’t sound drowsy. Dare I hope I didn’t wake you?”
“No, we were watching a movie.” She glanced at the large clock over the mantle, just to make sure it agreed with the one on her phone. “Do you know what time it is? Is everything OK?”
“Yes, all is well in the Amundsen house.” His voice went soft. “You sound a little anxious. Were you worried about me?”
“Dalynn. I was worried about Dalynn.”
He went silent, and Autumn hurried to fill the gap. “I didn’t mean—I mean, you know. You too.”
Russ heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Well, I suppose I can live with you being more concerned about my daughter than me. At least, for now.”
“OK, enough. Just stop.” Her cheeks burned hot enough to light up the night. “Why are you calling, Russ? Not that I don’t want to talk to you, but you’ve never called this late before. What’s going on?”
“Well, you see, it’s like this. I thought of something I’d like us to do tomorrow, but we need to get started early. Do you have plans for early o’clock in the morning?”
She laughed. “How early is early o’clock?”
“Well, Dalynn would say it isn’t really, really, really early. It’s after sunrise and everything. The princess and I will pick you up at 7 AM.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Russ…I’m not sure.” A smile tugged her lips upward. “Are the birds even awake at that hour? I’ve never seen the sky before at least two cups of strong French roast.”
“Ha ha. You game?”
“Maybe.” She injected a teasing note into her voice. “But, I’m giving you ample warning, sir. Whatever’s going on inside that mind of yours, it had better be something ‘really, really, really’ fun to get me out of bed this early.”
“As it happens, my daughter really, really, really loves to do what we’ll be doing.”
“Which is…?”
“You’ll see. Just wear something comfortable. I’ll be there at seven. And if you can drag Ceci out of her dreams, she’s welcome to come too.”
“You’re really not telling me what—”
“’Night, Autumn. Sleep tight.”
“Russ! Russ?”
Autumn stared at the phone.
He really did it. He’d hung up without telling her where they were going.
A smile teased at her lips as she set the phone aside and rejoined Ceci on the sofa. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and hiked a brow at her friend. “Want to join me for mystery morning tomorrow?”
Ceci slanted a puzzled glance her way. “Mystery morning?”
“Russ wants to pick us up at seven, but he wouldn’t say where we’re going. He just said to be ready, and to ‘wear something comfortable.’”
Ceci grinned, and interest fired a beautiful sparkle in her eyes. “Not a chance I’d turn down an invitation like that.” She pulled a light throw over both of them and pointed the remote toward the television. “We’d better finish this show and get to bed. You know I have to put on my face before I can go anywhere.”
Autumn laughed. “Right. Heaven forbid you subject the world to that face without a mask.”
“Right?” Ceci nodded her emphatic agreement and pushed a button.
A terrified scream filled the room.
Both women reached for the popcorn bowl, and focused their full attention on the TV screen.
~*~
Autumn leaned forward to peer through the windshield of Russ’s truck. No. Surely not.
She swiveled her head slowly toward him. How dare he sit there grinning as if he’d done something to be proud of? “You did not get us out of bed at ‘early o’clock’ for a yard sale?”
“Uh huh, Autumn. See, it’s a yard sale!” Tiny fingers grabbed her face and turned it toward the sign she’d already noted, printed in large black letters on bright yellow poster board. YARD SALE. “Come on, come on, let’s go. I want to see the man’s trash!”
Ceci spluttered out choked lau
ghter, while Autumn blinked her confusion. “Dalynn, honey, we are not looking through their garbage.”
“Daddy says ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ Huh, Daddy?”
“That’s right, princess.” Russ reached for the door handle, gray eyes warm with laughter he was all too clearly biting back in the face of Autumn’s indignation. “Come on, gang. Let’s go treasure hunting.”
Out on the street, Ceci grabbed Dalynn’s hand and ran ahead, both of them squealing laughter.
“I hope you’re not really mad. If it helps at all, this is only the beginning.” Russ slipped an arm around Autumn’s waist and pulled her close enough to drop a quick kiss on her cheek. “Next stop is an estate sale—the absolute king of the castoff genre.”
Autumn shook her head. “You’re incorrigible. No, I’m not mad, but…if you’d told me where we were going, I’d have turned you down flat.”
“Aww, come on.” He grinned and released her waist as they slowly moved up a long driveway lined with tables, shelves, and boxes filled with belongings someone no longer cared to have around. “You wouldn’t have come along just to be with me?”
“Welll….” For the first time in her adult memory, Autumn played coy—and discovered it was fun. “I don’t know, Russ. You’re good company, and your daughter, Dalynn, is downright delightful.” She giggled at her own impromptu alliteration, even as her fingers curled around a stuffed kitten with bright purple fur. “But I try not to subject the world to the ‘me’ I am before about 8:00 AM.” No way would she admit she’d have gotten up at any hour, for any reason—even a yard sale—to spend time with this man and his adorable munchkin. “I mean, seriously, you’re looking at a face no one sees between midnight and eight in the morning. Well, no one but me—and God, I guess.”