They’d agreed to keep something of a Christmas theme through the cabins all year round because those were their best memories of this place—Christmases where they gathered and played and ate and found joy in being together.
Rose had selected various rustic accents to remind visitors that they were in the mountains—the moose sign, of course, but also a plaid red and black fleece blanket hanging over the back of the sofa, aspen wood candle holders, beautiful paintings of the peaks outside that were purchased from a local artist. “I wouldn’t mind moving in here myself.” The house she and the children were renting in town was nice enough, but she hadn’t found any time to personalize it or make it theirs.
“I would totally let you if the Cleary family hadn’t booked every single cabin.” Rose walked around giving everything they’d set up a critical eye. “I’m so sorry there’s no other place for Mom to stay.”
“It’s fine. Having you take her to Denver for two nights really helped give us all a break.” The children loved their Gigi, but they didn’t appreciate the way she constantly tried to improve their appearance, telling them to stand up straighter or comb their hair or change out of that shirt because it clashed with their shorts. Dahlia had grown up with the nitpicking, and she’d made a conscious effort not to be that mom. So what if Ollie wanted to wear a red shirt with orange shorts? She tried not to let her son’s individual sense of style bother her.
“Hopefully Grumpy’s coffee shop is still standing when you go pick her up.” Rose stashed the hammer and nails back in her hot-pink toolbox.
“There’s no guarantee on that.” When her mother had told her she wanted to work on her DAR newsletter at the coffee shop, Dahlia had almost refused to drive her there, given what had happened earlier that week. “I wish I could’ve seen Grumpy’s face when she walked in.”
“It would’ve looked something like this.” Rose narrowed her eyes into slits and scrunched up her mouth. “Well, look who it is…” she said in her best Grumpy impression. “The almond milk lady.”
They both broke out into laughter.
“The woman never backs down from a fight.” In some ways, Dahlia wished she’d inherited that fire. Then maybe she wouldn’t have let her ex-husband get away with treating her the way he did for so long.
“The woman can be mighty persistent,” her sister agreed. “Has she stopped bugging you about Ike yet?”
“Not in the slightest.” According to Lillian, Dahlia and Ike should already be married by now. “She thinks I shouldn’t coddle Maya.” She started to collect the discarded wrappings they’d strewn around unpacking the boxes. “She said the kids need to get used to the idea that I have a life too.”
“The woman does have a point.” Rose retrieved two bottles of water from the refrigerator and handed one to her.
“I know.” Dahlia plopped herself onto the stool at the kitchen island. “But that’s my problem. Since they were born, Maya and Ollie have been my life. They’ve been my whole focus. I don’t know any other way. Having kids can be tough on a marriage.”
There was no justifying the way Jeff had cheated on her, she knew that. And yet…she also took responsibility for not being fully present in her relationship with her husband. The kids simply made it easier to hide their problems and divert their attention. “Jeff and I were so busy focusing on the kids, we grew apart. What if that happens again, Rosie? The kids need me. I’ve always been the one who nurtures them, who makes them feel safe.”
Jeff had been the quintessential Disneyland dad—fun but not very useful when they were sick or doing their homework or crying about something one of their friends said to them at school.
Rose joined her at the island, leaning into the counter across from Dahlia. Rose looked her in the eyes, and Dahlia let her see everything—the insecurity, the fear, the doubts she harbored about her future.
“I know it’s scary to think about giving away your heart,” her sister said gently. “But Dally…Ike is so hot.”
“Ha!” Rose might be the only person who could take her from being on the verge of tears to hysterical laughter in the matter of a few seconds. “Here I thought you had some sincere words of wisdom for me. Some groundbreaking advice.”
Rose giggled too. “Clearly I am not qualified to be giving out relationship advice. I almost married a total snob, and now I’m falling for Colt, just in time for him to leave the state. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me relationships are messy.” And she was sure glad she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t seem to get her love life together. “So you’re admitting that you’re falling for—”
Her phone rang, letting her sister off the hook. For the moment. Dahlia pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s Maya and Ollie’s day camp.” This couldn’t be good news. She stood and brought the phone to her ear, already looking for her purse. “Hello?”
“Hi there, this is Misty, the director of the Juniper Springs Elementary day camp. Just wanted to let you know Maya had a fall during our time on the obstacle course a little while ago.”
“Okay.” Dahlia’s heart clutched, but she’d learned to temper the panic until she had all the facts.
“It seems she twisted her ankle,” the woman went on calmly. “There is some definite bruising. We’re icing it now, but I thought maybe you would want to come pick her up and take her to have it looked at. I’ve talked with Ollie. He would still like to stay for the day if that’s all right with you.”
“Yes. Of course.” She let out the breath she’d been holding. She’d dealt with plenty of twisted ankles. “Thank you. Ollie can stay. I’ll be right there to pick up Maya.” She hung up the phone and turned to see her sister already standing at the door. “What is it? Maya or Ollie? Are they okay? Do I need to drive you to the ER?”
“It’s Maya’s ankle.” Dahlia grinned at her sister. “Probably just a sprain, but I appreciate the panic.”
“Oh.” Rose sighed. “A sprain. Okay. We can handle a sprain.”
Dahlia moved out onto the porch. “I’ll take her to see Ike just to make sure it’s not something more serious.”
“Yeah, you will.” Rose winked, and Dahlia shook her head at her sister.
“He is a very good-looking man. You can’t deny that.”
“Why, thank you,” Tony called from Gingerbread Cabin’s porch next door. “Sorry, ladies. I’m happily married.”
“Damn. All the good ones are taken,” Rose called back, and the three of them got a good laugh.
“I guess we’ll have to become spinster sisters.” Dahlia could see it—she and Rose as two crazy old ladies living in the same house. Take about simple. There’d be none of those difficult relationship milestones—figuring out if you’re compatible, first fights, arguments over what to watch on TV. It would be all rom-coms all the time.
“That would be perfect.” Rose gasped excitedly. “We could be known as the Juniper Spinsters!”
“It’s a plan.” Dahlia hurried down the steps. “I’ll be back to help you finish up here as soon as I can.” She dug around her purse for her car keys. “Depending on how long this takes, I might need you to pick up Mom from Grumpy’s too.”
“I’d love nothing more,” Rose said sweetly.
Dahlia shot her a look of gratitude and waved goodbye before climbing into her car. On the drive over to the school, she tried to brace herself for her daughter’s wrath. Maya hadn’t wanted to go to the camp in the first place, and now she’d gotten hurt. Something told Dahlia this wouldn’t be a fun afternoon.
Every time she drove up to the elementary building, she could hardly believe her children got to go to school in such a beautiful location. Two mountain peaks provided the backdrop for the one-story brick building. And talk about a cool playground. The whole area had been built to look like a forest, with trees and logs to climb on, big rocks to explore, and the obstacle course where Maya had likely taken her spill.
Dahlia found her keycard and let h
erself into the building. She stopped to check in at the office.
Misty was sitting behind a desk while Maya sat in a chair on the other side. Her leg was propped up on another chair.
“Hey, sweetie.” Dahlia gave her a hug. “How’s the ankle?”
“It hurts really bad.” Her daughter still had fresh tear stains on her cheeks.
Dahlia noted the blue tinge on her daughter’s lips. “I bet that popsicle you had took the edge off, though.”
“Works every time.” Misty handed her an incident report. “She was doing awesome on that obstacle course.”
“But I lost my balance,” her daughter whimpered.
“So did some of the other kids,” Misty pointed out gently. “The important thing is that you tried and did your best.”
“Exactly,” Dahlia agreed. “I’m proud of you. We’ll take a quick trip to the doctor to make sure all is well, and then maybe we’ll see if the ice cream shop is open.”
That put the light back in her daughter’s eyes.
Dahlia thanked Misty and signed Maya out, then she helped her daughter limp to the car. At least it didn’t take long to get anywhere in Juniper Springs. Back in Minneapolis it would’ve taken them almost a half hour to drive to the doctor.
“I was so embarrassed when I fell,” Maya said as they pulled up into the medical building’s parking lot.
Dahlia cut the engine and turned to her daughter. “Did anyone laugh at you?”
“No. But they probably wanted to.” Her daughter’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know anyone here. It’s really hard.”
“I know it is.” She reached over to squeeze Maya’s hand. “But it’s good for us too, honey. Change makes us dig a little deeper inside of ourselves. Change makes us stronger and braver.” Dahlia could speak from experience. In the last two years she’d grown more as a person than she had in the ten years before that. “So I’m really proud of you for doing the obstacle course and taking a risk.”
Maya’s smile seemed to perk up. “I guess I’m a little proud of myself too. It was really hard. And kind of fun until I fell.”
“Well, I’m glad you tried something new.” Dahlia climbed out of the car and hurried to help her daughter stand. “How about if I give you a piggyback ride inside?”
“Yes!” Maya threw her arms around Dahlia’s neck and she crouched so her daughter could climb on.
Whoa. This had been a lot easier a few years ago. She straightened her legs, trying not to let her knees buckle, and moved one careful step at a time.
“This is awesome!”
“It sure is.” And a good reminder that she should join a gym as soon as possible.
They made it through the door, somehow knocking Maya’s ankle only once, and Dahlia lowered her daughter to a chair.
“Uh-oh.” Mrs. Miller stood up behind the reception counter. “Looks like we’ve got a big owie, huh?”
“I twisted my ankle,” Maya informed her gravely. “I can hardly even walk on it.”
“Poor thing.” Mrs. Miller opened a cabinet and found an icepack. “The doctors stepped out for lunch, but they should be back any minute now.”
“Oh.” Ike and Dr. Jolly had gone to lunch together? Sure they had. They were colleagues…probably discussing patients. It shouldn’t bother her.
Dally reached into her purse to find the incident report. “I’m sure you’ll want a copy of this.” She handed the paper to the receptionist.
“Yes. I’ll put it in her file.”
“There’s the doctors,” Maya said miserably. “They’ll probably have to touch it. This is gonna hurt isn’t it?”
Dahlia didn’t answer. She was too busy watching Ike and Dr. Jolly approach the entrance. They were laughing about something, and she was struck again by how vivacious Dr. Jolly seemed. In comparison, Dahlia felt frayed and tattered.
Just as they stepped through the door, she turned back around to the counter to complete the check-in paperwork.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Ike said behind her. He might as well have pulled her in closer and brushed a kiss on her neck for how her heart skipped. For only a second, she imagined herself walking over to him and greeting him the way she wanted to—with a hug, a hello kiss. What would it feel like to be free to walk into his arms in front of everyone? She might never know.
Dahlia let her daughter explain the injury and how it happened.
“I hurt my ankle when I was about your age too,” Dr. Jolly said. “But I was only running. Doing an obstacle course is way cooler.”
Dahlia handed the rest of the completed paperwork to Mrs. Miller and finally found the courage to turn around. When she did, Ike was looking at her. She couldn’t avoid softening her lips into a smile while she let her gaze linger on him. He looked especially handsome after coming in from the outdoors—his face tanned and his eyes bright.
Before turning to her daughter, Ike smiled back at her—a subtle quirk in the corners of his lips that she’d seen before he’d kissed her last Christmas.
“Don’t worry, Maya. We can get you fixed up, no problem.” She swore the man had the kindest manner she’d ever seen. “Why don’t you come on back right away?” He reached out his hand to help Maya up, but she didn’t take it.
“I want Dr. Jolly to look at my ankle.”
“Maya.” The word came out through a gasp of embarrassment. Not so much at the request, but at the way her daughter delivered it in a sullen, stubborn tone.
“That’s a great idea.” Ike didn’t even seem to flinch. “Dr. Jolly is very good with injuries. She’ll take great care of you.”
“Oh.” The woman hesitated and seemed to get silent reassurance from Ike before smiling. “Yes, I’d love to take a look. Do you think you can walk on it, or should we get a wheelchair?”
Maya scooted to the edge of her seat. “I can walk if you help me.”
“Not a problem.” Dr. Jolly helped Maya to her feet and encouraged her daughter to lean on her as she led her behind the counter and into the hallway.
“I’m right behind you.” Dahlia’s face still seemed to be radiating heat. She waited for Ike to come alongside her and then walked into the hallway with him. “I’m so sorry.” She still couldn’t believe how belligerent her daughter had sounded.
“You have nothing to be sorry about.” He laughed a little. “Maya has every right to choose her own medical provider. I’m not offended at all.”
Dahlia looked around, making sure they were alone. “She doesn’t want to share me with anyone.” That had to be why her daughter had turned on Ike so quickly. “I think she’s afraid of losing me the way she lost a part of her relationship with her father when he moved.”
“That’s understandable.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, and she wanted to lean into him. “You don’t have to worry about my feelings. Not when it comes to your kids. They’re first. That’s the way it should be.”
Then why did she feel so bad about it? Dahlia inched closer to him, wanting more. Needing more. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.” She’d forced herself to forget how often he’d filled her thoughts but when she stood this close to him that longing overpowered everything else.
“I could tell you how much I’ve missed you, but we would need a lot more time than a few minutes in the hallway.” His voice had dropped lower and deeper.
“Rose said she would babysit.” They could sneak away for a—
“Mom? Are you coming?” her daughter called from the end of the hallway.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Be right there.”
“It’s fine.” Ike brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “We’ll figure out something.”
When? How? A sense of hopelessness engulfed her.
“Mom?”
“Coming.” Before walking away, Dahlia found Ike’s hand and squeezed it. “You are the best man.”
“And you’re worth the wait.” He turned and continued down the hallway, taking her heart with hi
m.
Chapter Eleven
Sassy
If she had to look at one more spreadsheet column, Sassy might very well up and join an online dating website so she could find some motivation to skip town like Mayor Lund had.
“I’m printing out the final budget, then we have to get downstairs for the special council budget meeting.” Moe hustled to the other side of their cramped office to where the printer sat, tapping his foot while he waited for the ancient contraption to spit out one piece of paper at a time.
“Think anyone would care if I canceled the meeting?” She was only half joking. She and Moe had been stuck in this office all morning, trimming funds here and there to come up with a recommended budget that wouldn’t compromise any of the town’s critical operations.
She hadn’t even been able to get out for her meeting with Graham today. It was the first rose garden work session she’d missed all week. Though when she texted him to let him know, he’d asked if she could swing by after the council meeting.
The man’s text back still made her smile. I understand. Mayoral duties are of the utmost importance. In lieu of our morning meeting, perhaps you can stop by the rose garden after the budget approval? I would very much like to see you today.
The words were so formal—so Graham. She could imagine him laboring over them, since she’d come to learn over the last few days he had a difficult time articulating his personal thoughts. Ask him a geological question and the man could recite you an entire dissertation, but when it had come to talking about how he’d managed to pick up the pieces of his life after his wife’s death, he’d stumbled and paused and had tried to change the subject at least four times.
She’d kept on him though, asking questions, learning more about him. And she’d come to see Graham Wright through new eyes. She’d looked forward to their midmorning engagements. Though she’d still been getting the headaches regularly, spending time with her new friend had made them seem less pronounced, not so scary.
The Summer Sisters (Juniper Springs Book 2) Page 11