by Jade Kerrion
Eric chuckled. “He hit mountain goats?”
“He panicked, I think, and couldn’t stop in time. He’s lucky he didn’t go over the mountainside.”
“Was Darrell with him?”
“Of course. They were always together.”
Eric frowned faintly. His expression gentled. “And they left you out.”
Felicity sighed. It should not have hurt, not after so many years had passed, but it did. “I had my own friends,” she said. “And Darrell and I were still close.”
“Just not as close as you had been.”
“Cody was like a brother to him, although I never felt like I had two brothers. Cody and I never talked much even though we went through our teens together. He was always with Darrell, and I was always doing my own thing.” Her gaze fell on the decorative basket she had given to Darrell and Cody, and then taken back after Darrell passed away. She wondered if Cody had even noticed that it was missing. Probably not. Why would he pay any attention to flowers?
Thinking of flowers stirred her creative side; it was probably time to indulge herself again. “Is there a flower shop around here? I’d like to buy fresh flowers.”
“There are a couple on Pearl Street, or you could visit the farmers’ market. It’s open on weekends.”
Felicity sat up straight. Her smile flashed, bright and full. “A farmers’ market?”
~*~
Without complaint, Eric played “beast of burden” while Felicity shopped, spending her first paycheck on organic fruit and fresh flowers. She also stopped by a flower shop to purchase colored vases, floral foam, and other decorating supplies.
“That is a ton of flowers,” Eric said as he loaded all her purchases into his BMW.
“You have a big house.”
“You’re going to put these in the house?”
Felicity nodded. “Haven’t you noticed? The only live plant in the house is the overwatered cactus by the kitchen sink, and it won’t be alive for much longer. Flowers add seasonal color, and if you stick your face really close, gorgeous scents as well.”
She spent the rest of the day creating three large arrangements. The first, for the entryway, was tall and by design, stark, featuring three stalks of sunflowers, fringed by long decorative grasses. The second, destined for the large alcove beneath the spiral staircase, showcased tiger lilies in full bloom, accented by delicate branches spray-painted pale gold. The third, intended for the library, draped white and purple orchids from a flowerpot, held up by rattan twine.
“They’re gorgeous,” Eric said.
“You think so?” Felicity beamed. “I’ve always loved arranging flowers.”
“These look as stunning and professional as arrangements I’ve seen sell for hundreds of dollars. I’m surprised you didn’t choose to do it for a living.”
“It just seemed too frivolous.” She smiled. “I need a regular salary for peace of mind. I’m just not particularly exciting or adventurous that way.”
“No wonder you and Cody don’t get along.”
“Right.” She smiled, but wondered why she ached inside. “Now, will you help me get these into the house?”
Felicity’s flower arrangements were the topic of discussion over dinner, and by the end of the meal, Carolyn and Reed had given her a “flower” expense account, in addition to the “library” expense account, to manage.
Life was marvelous, Felicity thought as she returned to her cottage late that night. Scarcely a week earlier, she had been down to her last hundred dollars, but with a simple half-hour visit, Cody had transformed her life entirely. Like a fairy godfather.
A fairy godfather, who remained on nonspeaking terms with his family.
Frowning to herself, Felicity sat down and began a fourth flower arrangement in Darrell’s basket. The fragrant whiff of rosemary teased her as she arranged stalks of white rosemary flowers among colorful bursts of zinnias. The soft classical music playing from her computer lured her thoughts away from her inevitable anger with Cody and infused her emotions with gratitude.
Gratitude was a long way from forgiveness, but even the longest journey had to start with a step forward. Her deft fingers worked flower stalks into floral foam; with each firm push, she pushed more of the hate away from her. She couldn’t count on Cody to help her heal—not when he seemed determined not to be around.
The healing had to begin with her.
~*~
The next day, Felicity borrowed Eric’s car and drove to Evergreen. Her first stop was the cemetery where Darrell was buried. She brought with her a spray of white daisies, which she twirled between her fingers as she made her way across the grass. It was her first visit to Darrell’s grave since he had been buried, and she had turned down Eric’s offer to accompany her.
She needed this moment alone with her brother.
The patch of grass around the white tombstone was well tended, and clear of gravel and weeds. Cody, no doubt, had been taking care of it. No flowers adorned her brother’s grave; not that she had expected it. Felicity set the daisies down and traced Darrell’s name. The summer breeze wrapped her in warmth, carrying with it the faint scent of flowers. The other visitors to the cemetery faded into the background, their voices washing into white noise.
“Hey, Darrell,” she said. Speaking aloud to her brother seemed perfectly natural in that moment. “I’m back in Colorado. Cody brought me home.” The heaviness in her chest dragged a sigh from her. Her lips twisted as she sniffed back tears. “I miss you.”
~*~
That was how Cody found her—a slim figure in a simple T-shirt and faded denim jeans. Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and even at that distance, he could see that her face was free of makeup. It was Felicity, stripped of the barriers she usually erected between them. She looked so terribly alone, leaning her head against the side of the headstone, as if trying to get close to her brother once more.
With a heavy heart, Cody kept his distance. He knew she would not welcome his presence. Even so, he had to fight the compulsion to be with her, holding her as she grieved for her brother. Only after she had left did he head over to Darrell’s grave. “Hey, buddy.” He looked over his shoulder. Felicity was no longer in sight; there was no need to hold his tongue or conceal the truth from the best friend to whom he had told everything. Almost everything, he amended.
“Did she tell you how much she hates me?” He slumped down by the tombstone. “I want to help her. I feel responsible for her, you know. Your parents are gone. You’re gone. It’s just Felicity now. She’s living with my parents, and if I know Eric, he’ll go after her pretty quick. She’s classy and smart, but easygoing; she’s just his type.”
And mine.
But Cody bit back the last comment. There were some things he could never tell his best friend. The fact that he had always been a little in love with Felicity had topped that list. Cody knew he was the last person Darrell would have picked for his beloved twin sister. Felicity was the steady sort, the kind who did not take crazy risks, the kind who valued the permanence of a loving home. Cody, teenage runaway and lifelong rebel, was simply not her kind of guy, and she had made it abundantly clear with her cool silence and arched eyebrows whenever she looked at him.
“She’s perfect for Eric.” Cody snorted.
In the silence of his heart, he ached.
When he returned to his apartment, he knew something was amiss the moment he stepped out of his Jeep. He stared at his front door, wondering why his instincts prickled a warning. If someone had broken in, he or she would not have found anything worth stealing.
Then it hit him.
A basket of flowers lay beside the front door—a mass of large and colorful blossoms softened by tiny wisps of white flowers. There was no card, no message, but he knew whom they were from—Felicity had stopped by and left him flowers. What he didn’t know was why.
Cody looked around, but there was no sign of Felicity. He wondered if she had even tried to ring the doo
rbell, or if she had just dropped off the flowers and quickly made her escape, no more eager to see him than he was to see her.
He sat down by the sloop of his front door and picked up the basket. The familiar scent of rosemary drifted up to him. His hands shook as he turned the basket around in his hands. It was the basket Felicity had given Darrell; the same basket she had taken with her after Darrell’s death.
Now, it was back with him.
He could not explain the feeling of relief or the lightening of the weight in his chest, but he grinned at the basket. “Welcome home.”
CHAPTER SIX
Over the following two weeks, a strange ritual played out with the basket of flowers outside his front door. Cody kept it watered through the week, but on Saturday, the entire basket vanished, only to reappear on Sunday with a fresh arrangement. It happened again the next week, so on the third week, on Friday night, Cody tucked a message among the fading blooms. All it said was, “Thank you.”
The basket disappeared on Saturday, and reappeared on Sunday with a note. “You’re welcome.”
Cody chuckled as he tucked the note, written in Felicity’s familiar handwriting, into his pocket. He had tried to catch her in the act, but it was impossible for him to be around all day—not with his erratic shifts with the Alpine Rescue Team—and he had missed her each and every time.
The flowers changed each time, no doubt reflecting what was in the market that day, but the small arrangement was always cheery. It offered more than color, and was repaid, each time, with a smile.
It also, uncomfortably, kept thoughts of Felicity close. How could he shove her to the back of his mind when each time he walked in and out of his house, he saw her basket of flowers? He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out the note. Should he have said more to her? How are you doing?
He snorted at the absurdity of it as he turned on the coffeemaker. Was this the adult equivalent of exchanging notes in class? In a world filled with e-mails and instant messaging, how had he and Felicity managed to pick the slowest possible way to communicate?
The shrill ringing of the phone yanked his thoughts off Felicity. He tugged his smartphone from his pocket. “Yeah?”
“’Morning, Cody.”
“Eric?” Cody stiffened. “Is Felicity all right?”
“Yes, of course.” A hint of laughter infused Eric’s voice. “If you visited as frequently as I do, you’d know for yourself.”
“You’re at the house?”
“I’ve moved back for the time being,” Eric said. “We’re spending lots of time together—dinner every night and breakfast every morning.”
And what about the time between dinner and breakfast? Were they sleeping together? Already? Cody ground his teeth. “That’s…good.” Wasn’t it?
“Yes, it is. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you’ll be joining us for dinner tomorrow night.”
Cody glanced at the calendar. He tensed and shoved away the image of Darrell’s face. “I have a late shift tomorrow.”
“So, is that a ‘no’? It’s Felicity’s birthday. We’re having a surprise party for her.”
Coldness clenched around Cody’s heart. He slumped against the wall. He had forgotten—he had wanted to forget—Darrell’s birthday, but he had also overlooked the fact that Darrell and Felicity were twins. Damn it. All he would have needed was a six-pack of beer and several shots of vodka to take the edge off his memories of Darrell, but now—“I’ll be there.”
“Seven p.m. Don’t be late.”
~*~
The next day, Cody drove into Denver to buy a gift for Felicity, but after an hour of aimless wandering through the 16th Street Mall, he decided to call his brother. Perhaps Eric would have workable ideas that did not involve perfume or jewelry—gifts that would certainly give Felicity the wrong idea.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hart is out to lunch,” Eric’s secretary said. “May I take a message?”
“This is Cody Hart—”
“Oh?” The tone held more than polite interest.
“I need to talk to him, and he’s not answering his cell phone. Do you know where he might have gone for lunch?”
“No, sir. I’m sorry, I don’t. He stepped out about five minutes ago and said he would be quick.”
Hartwell Financial Investment offices were in the high rise across the street. A quick lunch certainly narrowed down the options to a restaurant in the vicinity of the mall. Cody strode past several restaurants, but merest chance gave him a glimpse of Eric through the window of a bustling Irish pub. His brother was seated at a corner booth next to an attractive blond woman Cody did not recognize. Cody’s jaw dropped as he watched them talk and laugh, their heads leaning in so close to each other that their foreheads touched. Eric reached for the woman’s hand and brought it up to his lips to breathe a kiss upon her fingers.
Cody sucked his breath in. That expression on Eric’s face—so serious, so tender—that was love. God damn it! Eric had no right flirting with another woman. He had no right falling in love with another woman if he was sleeping with Felicity on the side.
Cody stalked out of the mall. His thoughts churned his temper into fury as he drove to Boulder. By the time he climbed out of his Jeep and stormed into his parents’ home, his temper had frayed to snapping. “Where’s Felicity?” he demanded of Mrs. Meredith, the housekeeper, who met him at the door.
“In the library, sir,” the woman said. Her eyes widened with alarm.
He brushed past her and strode into the library. “Felicity!”
“Cody?”
Her voice came from above him. He looked up. She was standing on the balcony of the second floor, obviously sorting through books. He frowned, confused by the delighted smile that appeared on her face for a brief moment. Didn’t she hate him?
A furrow of concern yanked her smile away. “Are you all right?” She set the books aside and hurried down the spiral staircase.
“Eric—”
“Is he okay?” Concern infused her voice.
“Are you dating him?”
“What?”
Was she deaf? Cody scowled. “I asked, are you dating him?”
Her eyes narrowed. “And what if I am? What is that to you?”
“Eric’s not the guy for you.”
“Oh? And why not?”
“He’s—” Cody shook his head. “Different from you. Different values. Different priorities.”
Felicity’s jaw tensed. Cody recognized the look of grim determination on her face. Darrell had had that streak of stubbornness too—the inability to quit even when the odds were set against the situation ever working out. Her quiet voice took on an edge. “Are you saying I’m not good enough for your brother?”
“Uh…” Cody stuttered. “No, I—” She slammed the palms of her hands into his chest. He stumbled back. She had not pushed hard, but she had managed to take him entirely by surprise. Where was the steady and easygoing woman he had always imagined her to be? “I just meant—”
“How dare you march in here after ignoring me for four whole weeks and dictating to me who is or isn’t good enough for me? You are not my brother. I will date who I choose.”
“I brought you here.”
“And you think that gives you some kind of power over me? Your misogynic alpha male tendencies won’t work on me.”
“I’m not a misogynist. As a matter of fact, I love women. Frequently.” Anger made him crude.
She blinked.
He sneered. “You didn’t think I’d know that word, did you? You always did think of me as a stupid punk kid.”
“I never thought of you as stupid, but you are a punk kid. You would have spent your entire teenage years grounded if you hadn’t sneaked out anyway to go to the pubs and bars. Do you think it was easy for me covering for you and Darrell? I lied to my parents to protect you, but you didn’t stop to think about yourself or others. It’s all about the fun and games. Well, the fun and games stopped when Darrell died.” Her hot glare cool
ed. “You know, I’d really hoped that you’d learn from it, but apparently not.” She tapped the bruises he had picked up on his knuckles from coming out second best in a training session with a rock-climbing wall. “Apparently, you’re still picking bar fights.” Her tone dripped scorn. “Was that hot chick you were fighting over worth more than that one night in your bed?”
“Three hours in my bed, but actually, yeah.” His smirk concealed the taunting lie.
She recoiled.
Cody swallowed hard. Had he appalled her or hurt her? He could live with the first, but not the second. Damn it. How had he gone so far astray from his original intent to warn her off his brother, the goddamned playboy? Cody knew how to handle women; he was slick with words, but apparently, not when Felicity was the woman in question. He sighed and spread his hands. “I just wanted to tell you about my brother—”
“I’ve been told enough. Now, get out of here. I have a job to do.”
Cody’s eyes narrowed. “This was my library long before it was yours.”
“You walked away from here, Cody, and if you want to come crawling back—”
“Over my dead body!”
“—you’re going to apologize to your parents and your brother.”
“What the hell for?”
“For breaking their hearts! Every night at dinner, your parents—your dad more so than your mom—pump me ever so gently for news about you. They’re hanging on to my every word, to every old story about you.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “This isn’t my job. Staring my parents in the face while lying to them…staring your parents in the face while telling them the truth, that’s not my job. It’s yours. When the hell are you going to stand up like a man and answer for what you’ve done?”
“What I’ve done?”
Her teeth clenched, and a muscle ticked in her cheek. Felicity said nothing, but he could almost see her unspoken words rising up like a tidal wave crashing over the shore. Like killing my brother.
She blinked back the tears that swarmed into her eyes. Her gaze, when it fixed on him, was cold. “You brought me out here to start my life over. You let me into your family. I’m not going to let you chase me away now just because you suddenly have second thoughts about my worthiness. I’m not going to let you take away the only friend I’ve got here, the way you took away my brother.”