“Kristen brought it home with her. She said it would help me sleep.” Ellen frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that? You said you’d been encouraging her to try your diffusion teas.”
“Ellen, this isn’t from the diffusion line. It’s Erma Tingle’s misbehaving tea. I should have destroyed it along with the other two, but I forgot they were in the storage cabinet.”
“Whatever it is, I want more.”
“No. I’ve got to destroy the rest of this. It’s unstable, and I can’t let you—”
“No!” Ellen snatched the tea back, cradling it against her, looking genuinely horrified. “You’re not destroying this tea! It works perfectly.”
Ava’s gaze moved from Ellen’s face to the canister, then back. What she saw there made her eyes widen. “Oh my God… you spoke to Julie.”
Dylan, who’d been wrapping up a long orange extension cord, shot a surprised look at them.
Ellen flushed. “Maybe.”
Ava pointed at the canister. “This tea let Erma talk to her dead uncle.”
“Wow,” Dylan said. “That’s—”
“I need more,” Ellen said sharply, ignoring Dylan completely. “I’ll take two—no, make it a half dozen canisters.” When Ava didn’t answer, Ellen added, “Of course, I’ll pay you for them. Whatever you want, too.”
Ava shook her head slowly. “Ellen… I can’t.”
“Of course you can!” Ellen’s voice grew shrill. “You make teas. I want some of your tea. This tea.” She dropped the canister inside her purse, then pulled out her checkbook and a pen. “How much? A thousand? Two thousand? Ten? Just name your price.”
“Ellen, it’s not that I won’t. It’s that I can’t. That tea was made from a very special plant that was suffering. It’s healthy now. If I made tea from it, it wouldn’t be the same.”
“Whatever you have to do, make it happen.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“You have to!” Tears were visible in the older woman’s brown eyes. “I only have enough for one more cup and then—” Her voice broke. She dropped her pen and checkbook on the counter and pressed her hand to her trembling mouth as two fat tears rolled down her cheeks. After an agonized moment, she reached past Ava and pulled a napkin from a holder. “Please,” she said in a desperate tone as she dried her eyes. “Don’t tell me you can’t do it. Please don’t tell me that.”
Ava’s heart ached. “If I could, I would.”
Ellen looked drained. She sunk onto the barstool and wiped a final tear from her eyes. “You’re sure you can’t make more?”
“I’m positive. There’s no way.”
Ellen picked up her purse and hugged it to her chest. “One more visit. That’s all I’ll get.”
Dylan sent Ava a sympathetic look, and then he started folding the last tarp, turning his back to the two women to give them some privacy.
Ava pulled some more napkins from the holder and handed them to Ellen. “I’m so sorry.”
Keeping her purse close, Ellen took the napkins and dabbed at her eyes. “I was so foolish. I thought you’d make me some more, and then I could see Julie whenever I wanted…” Ellen gave a deep sigh, her shoulders sinking. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“When Kristen comes in, I’ll ask her why she took that tea home with her. She shouldn’t have.”
“No, please, don’t say anything. She’s got a lot going on right now. I’ll ask her later. I’m sure she was just trying to help.”
Ava remembered what Blake had told her about Kristen. “What’s going on with Kristen? She’s been super preoccupied. Yesterday, I caught her filling the saltshakers with sugar. That’s not like her.”
“She’s looking for her father. He lives here in Dove Pond, but she doesn’t know who he is. Julie never told her. Kristen won’t discuss it with me, but until a few days ago, she thought Mr. Lind might be her father. He’s not, of course.”
Wow! That explained a lot. “No wonder she’s been so distracted.”
Ellen nodded absently. “She’s hoping that if she can locate him, he’ll let her live with him until she graduates.”
“Will he?”
“If she finds him, it’s possible she might be able to talk him into it.”
Ava narrowed her gaze. “You know who her father is.”
Ellen nodded.
“Oh wow. That’s— Are you going to tell her?”
“If she asks, yes.” Ellen hugged her purse a little tighter, her gaze moving restlessly past Ava to the tearoom. “I see you got everything finished on time.”
Ava decided to ignore the surprise in the older woman’s voice. “Yes, although I’m not even sure why I’m opening the tearoom right now. I’m a bit of a pariah here in Dove Pond.”
Ellen’s gaze softened. “Publicly scorned, are you?”
“And also publicly pitied, which is worse.”
“It there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that time forgives, or it does once you make amends.”
“I don’t think I can fix this one.”
“I didn’t say you had to,” Ellen said with a sharp glance. “We can’t always fix what we break. Sometimes we just have to accept the consequences and let time heal things as well as it can.” Ellen sighed and gave her purse another wistful look. “I should speak to Kristen’s father. It would be better if he had a little time to handle his own emotional reaction to discovering he has a daughter before he has to face her.”
“He doesn’t know?” Ava asked.
“Not yet.” Ellen put her purse on the bar and walked toward Julie’s paintings.
Ava followed.
“He is going to be surprised,” Ellen said over her shoulder. “He never had a relationship with Julie, not a physical one, anyway.”
That was odd. Ava, still following, almost ran into Ellen when, instead of continuing to the paintings, she came to a halt beside Dylan.
Ellen looked at the contractor.
He was taking off his tool belt, but he stopped when he realized she was standing there, looking at him. “Ms. Foster?”
Ellen folded her hands in front of her. “How do you feel about having a child?”
“What?” His eyes widened, and he took a step back. “Are you kidding?”
“I don’t kid,” Ellen said flatly.
Ava stared at Ellen. “Wait. I’m— You’re suggesting that Dylan is Kristen’s father?”
“That’s not possible,” he said firmly. “I barely knew Julie, and we never— No. I only saw her once after you all moved away, and we only talked.”
Ellen didn’t seem the least bit perturbed by his denial. “What did you talk about?”
He shrugged. “Nothing important. Dove Pond and how much we missed it, how hard it was to go to college when you didn’t know for sure what you wanted to be—that sort of stuff.”
“During that talk, you mentioned to her all the crazy things you’d done to make money to get through college.”
“I guess so. I don’t remember exactly what we talked about, but… Oh my God.” Dylan flushed. “She didn’t.”
Ellen nodded.
“I don’t understand,” Ava said.
Ellen’s gaze never left Dylan’s face. “To pay his way through college, Dylan was a frequent donor to a local sperm bank in Atlanta.”
His flush deepened, and he sent a self-conscious glance at Ava. “I wouldn’t say frequent.”
Ellen continued, “He told Julie about it, and when she decided she wanted to have a child, she went to a well-known sperm bank and, using the character sketches they provided, she located him and requested his donation.”
“Good God. I—” Dylan blindly groped for a chair, sinking into it as if his knees wouldn’t hold him up. “Kristen is my daughter?”
Ellen nodded. “She’s been looking for you. She wants to stay in Dove Pond, and she believes you’re her ticket.”
“I can’t…” He raked a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this. I never— Look, I�
��m working six, seven days a week and I don’t have time for a cat, much less a kid. I can’t—”
“You won’t have to,” Kristen said.
Ava gasped, and they all turned to find Kristen standing in the door, her mouth a stubborn line in her pale face.
Dylan stood, the chair scraping the floor. “Kristen! No, I didn’t mean—”
“I heard exactly what you said.” Her gaze was locked on Dylan, her lips trembling. “You don’t want a kid. Fine. I don’t want you for a father. I don’t need you, anyway.”
“Kristen, please.” Ellen held out a hand and stepped forward. “You’re not giving Dylan a chance to—”
“A chance to what? Lie? A chance to pretend he wants me when he doesn’t? No, thank you.”
“Hold on,” Ava said. “Listen to your grandmother. Don’t—”
“Grandma Ellen.” Kristen lifted her chin, her eyes shiny with anger and tears. “You win.”
“No, no, no. I don’t want to ‘win.’ I just want you to be—”
“I’ll go to Raleigh. I’ll go to whatever school you want me to. There’s nothing for me here in Dove Pond. There’s nothing for me anywhere.”
Ava could feel the despair coming from the teenager’s stiff form. “Kristen, Dylan wasn’t saying—”
“I want to leave right away. Tonight, if we can. I don’t want to stay in this town anymore. Not one second. I’ll—I’ll pack my things and give the dogs away—” Kristen’s voice broke. She whirled on her heel and ran out, the door closing behind her.
“Oh dear!” Ellen ran to the counter and grabbed her purse. “I’ve got to go after her. This is exactly what I wanted to prevent.”
“Lord help us…” Dylan rubbed his face as if he’d just woken up. “I’ve got a daughter. And look, I already pissed her off.”
Ellen pulled on her coat, sending him an impatient look. “I have to catch her. She shouldn’t drive while she’s so upset.” Ellen hurried out of the tearoom.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Dylan sunk back into his chair. “I can’t believe this. What was Julie thinking?”
“I don’t know,” Ava said. “Julie was her own person. She did things her way or not at all.”
The door flew open, and Ellen returned, looking deeply worried.
“You couldn’t catch her?” Ava asked.
Ellen shook her head. “I saw her face as she drove past, and she is so upset. She shouldn’t be alone. I’ll head home. Maybe she’s there. I’ll—”
“That’s not where she’ll be,” Ava said. “When her mother died, Kristen went to the greenhouse. She loves that place. It makes her feel safe. I’ll get my coat, and we can—”
“No.”
Ellen’s quiet voice made Ava pause.
“I need to talk to her alone. There are things I need to tell her.”
Ava couldn’t argue with the sincerity she saw on Ellen’s face. “Of course. You’ll call me if I can help, right?”
“I’ll let you know how things go.” Ellen headed for the door.
“Ms. Foster?” Dylan called.
She stopped and looked back.
He straightened his shoulders. “I’m coming with you.”
“Nonsense. She’s—”
“—my daughter.” He said it firmly, without hesitation.
Ellen didn’t look pleased, but her gaze flickered over his face as if measuring his intent. Whatever she saw must have reassured her, because she waved her hand. “Come along, then. But I’m driving.”
Dylan grabbed his coat and hurried toward the door Ellen had already disappeared out of, giving Ava a quick smile and a hurried thumbs-up as he left.
Ava watched as the door closed. Wow. Just wow. I never thought of Dylan as a dad sort of guy, but he was pretty determined to go after Kristen. That’s promising.
Still, Ava couldn’t help but remember Kristen’s expression. Poor Kristen. She’s had it rough. But maybe… maybe it wasn’t poor Kristen at all. Kristen didn’t yet know it, but two adults, both determined to make sure she was okay, were hurrying her way right now. Julie would be glad to know that.
As impulsive as Julie had been, when it came to Kristen, she’d always seemed to have a plan. Although Ellen and Dylan were complete opposites in some ways, they both had the same work ethic, believed in things being “done right,” and were good, decent people capable of caring deeply. Ava had seen Dylan’s compassionate side firsthand after her falling-out with Sarah. No one had been kinder to her. As for Ellen, Ava couldn’t question her capacity for love after watching her struggle to reach her granddaughter over the past few months.
If it came to pass that Ellen and Dylan teamed up to raise Kristen, they’d be a force to be reckoned with—one softer and more understanding, the other stricter but stronger. A perfect combination.
Whether Julie had planned it that way or not was a question for another day, but right now, Ava couldn’t help but be encouraged.
CHAPTER 22 Ellen
Ellen pulled into the long drive that led to Ava’s greenhouses, relieved to see Kristen’s car far up ahead, parked near the front door.
It was a good thing Ellen had brought Dylan with her. She’d only had the faintest idea where Ava’s greenhouses were, and his directions had saved her many precious minutes. Even though she was deeply distracted, she’d used the drive over to get to know him.
Although he seemed nice enough, Ellen thought Dylan was far from a perfect candidate for a father. He’d admitted without embarrassment that in college he’d changed his major seven times—seven!—before getting a general studies degree just so he could graduate. Ellen couldn’t fathom that level of indecisiveness.
Still, he seemed content in his current job, which he was quite skilled at, and she had to admit that his determination to apologize to Kristen was touching. Ellen wondered if perhaps she was being too picky and realized that was exactly what Julie would tell her.
Ellen parked near Kristen’s car. Dylan hopped out while Ellen gathered her purse. She tucked it under her elbow, the feel of the canister through the pebbled leather reassuring. She only had enough tea for one more, very short visit with Julie.
Ellen’s throat tightened. It’s so unfair. There are so many things I need to tell her.
Dylan opened the greenhouse door and stood back to let Ellen enter.
She took several steps inside, then slowed to a surprised stop. She’d found the Garden of Eden. Row upon row of fragrant greenery met her astonished gaze. A heavy line of herbs, all clearly marked with small black signs bloomed green and fragrant down one aisle while in another, flowers grew among shiny green leaves, and in yet another, thick vines climbed up short trellises. The air was heavy with a mixture of rich, sweet, earthy scents.
A short, slender, dark-haired woman stood several rows over, a clipboard in her hand.
“Hi, Sofia,” Dylan said from where he’d stopped behind Ellen. “We’re looking for Kristen.”
“She’s with the peppermint plants. She looked pretty upset when she came in, so I left her alone.” Sofia’s dark eyes gleamed with sympathy. “Is she okay?”
Dylan’s cheeks grew faintly pink, but he said without flinching, “She found out who her father is in the worst way possible.”
Ellen waved her hand. “I wouldn’t say it was the worst way. Not one of the best, yes. But definitely not the worst.”
“It sure felt like it,” he said glumly.
Sofia eyed them curiously, and Ellen was glad Ava’s assistant didn’t ask more questions. “Could you point us in the right direction? I’m not sure where these peppermint plants are.”
“She’s right through there.” Sofia nodded toward a door in the back of the greenhouse. “Row two.”
Ellen thanked her and headed for the door, Dylan following.
She stepped over the threshold into an even larger greenhouse with yet more rows of steel tables, tall, thick greenery on each, making the greenhouse feel more like a jungle. Ellen called out,
“Kristen?”
A faint sniff answered her.
Dylan pointed to the right, and he and Ellen walked around the end of the row. There, about halfway up, sitting on the floor with her back against a table, her arm around a leafy plant, sat Kristen.
The teenager’s eyes were dry, although a definite tremor showed her struggle to keep the tears at bay. She glared at them now. “Go away!”
“I know you’d like to have a little time to yourself right now,” Ellen said. “I would want to be alone, too, if I’d overheard what you did, but I owe it to you and your mother to clarify some things.”
Kristen turned away. “There is nothing to clarify.”
“There’s a lot to clarify. A whole, whole lot.”
Dylan cleared his throat. “Kristen, I wasn’t saying I didn’t want you for a kid. I was saying I didn’t think I was ready. And I guess I’m not, seeing as how I’ve already hurt your feelings, which I never meant to do.”
Kristen kept her gaze locked on the plant.
Shifting from one foot to the other, he shoved his hands into his pockets, looking lost. “I’m sorry for saying what I did. I was just surprised, that’s all.”
Kristen’s lips thinned, but she didn’t speak.
Ellen sighed. “Dylan, would you give us a few minutes?”
He looked miserable, as if he both wanted to stay and also longed to leave.
“Please?” Ellen asked again, a little more impatiently this time.
He nodded. “I’ll be in the other room.” He started to turn away, but then stopped, his gaze on Kristen. “I don’t know much about being a parent, but I do know that you don’t walk out on your responsibilities.” He took a deep breath. “From now on, I’m here for you. I hope you know that.”
Kristen didn’t look up.
Dylan sighed and, with a grimace at Ellen, he left.
As soon as the sound of his footsteps faded, Ellen looked around the concrete floor for a clean place to sit. She finally gave up and accepted that her slacks would need dry cleaning and sat down on the concrete floor beside Kristen. “I hope this isn’t damp.” Settled, she tucked her purse in her lap and crossed her legs at the ankles.
Kristen scooched away a few inches.
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