A Week for Love to Bloom (21 page)

“He enrolled at UT in Knoxville. He told me he did it less than three weeks after meeting you. He was going to s
urprise you and tell you on the last date he planned.”

Lauren sobbed again and wondered how there were any tears left to shed
.

“
He’s at Andrew’s because he’s not speaking to his family over what they did to you, but that’s not your fault. It was their choices that caused it. This baby needs its parents under the same roof. I’m pleading with you to take him back.”

After telling Ashley goodbye,
Lauren went into her room and collapsed on the bed. It was still early in the day, but she was utterly exhausted from all the emotions she was carrying around with her. She drifted off to sleep, envisioning Justin holding their baby, elated to be a father.

***

“Lauren, wake up, wake up!” Claire yelled.

“What?
What’s wrong?”

“Look,” Claire said, h
olding up papers. “They’re from the court house.”

“What do they say?” It was now late afternoon.

“Your dad must’ve paid off the loan. We owe nothing, so they cancelled the auction. I assume Tom had his sleazy girlfriend get it. He knew you’d never speak to him if he didn’t.”

“
Oh, Mom.” Lauren stood up and hugged Claire hard. “You have no idea how bad I needed this news today.” Lauren showed the biggest smile she’d given in days. “I know we have to get financial advice on how to keep this place running with profit, but at least there’s hope for us.”

“After I close up,
let’s go out to eat to celebrate!” Claire said with excitement.

“That would be nice, M
om.”

Lauren slept little that night as she tried to decide if she should mend things with Justin. She was aching for his love, and now that he wasn’t leaving, she knew she needed to tell him about the baby sooner rather than later. She was fully aware that it would be next to impossible to resist him once he heard the news. She pictured him on the ground begging and saying the sweetest words.

The next morning Lauren was busy watering plants. The sweltering summer days ha
d taken a toll on them. She glanced at her watch and remembered she hadn’t made the deposit for the week. She found Claire in the first greenhouse.

“Mom,
I’m going to drive to the bank and make the deposit before they close.”

“
I’ll hold down the fort,” Claire said, smiling. Lauren could tell from her mother’s enthusiasm that she was still feeling euphoric over the great news they received.

Lauren spotted Ashley’s smile when she entered the bank
. “You couldn’t wait a couple more hours to see me?” she asked.

“I have some remarkable news,” Lauren s
aid with a huge grin and excitement in her eyes.

“Let me guess.
You’re back with Justin. Please tell me that’s the news.”

“Well, not yet, but w
e get to keep the nursery!”

“That’s so great!
What happened?” Ashley asked. Everyone in the bank lobby glanced at her due to her outburst.

“Dad paid
off the loan. We figured he borrowed it from
her
, but who cares. That’s his problem now. We got the papers from the court house yesterday.”

“
That’s awesome news. This is fate, Lauren. You have to see that. He’s staying here, and you get to keep your home and business. You know what you have to do, and I’ll be at the nursery shortly, so I can harass you about it.” Ashley tilted her head and grinned.

Lauren was walking out of the bank when she heard her name being called. Beth was standing by her office door.

“Lauren, could I speak to you for just a moment?”

She t
hought her heart stopped. She believed she already experienced enough drama to last a lifetime, but she reluctantly walked over. “Sure, what do you need?”

“Come in, and please have a seat.”

Lauren nervously stared across the desk at her.

“
I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that this is a gossiping town. I heard about your fall and wanted to make sure you’re doing OK.”

“
I’ve healed up nicely. Is that all you needed?”

“Actually, no. I also heard that you and Justin broke up.”

No fist fights Lauren, you’re carrying a baby.

“
Yes, but I’m not going to discuss that with you. I need to go.” Lauren started to get up.

“I like Justin, and I
—”

“Beth, I’m not having this conversation with you, and I can’t believe you’d tell me that.” Lauren closed in on the door.

“Please, let me finish.”

Lauren sighed and turned around.

“I don’t want to see him hurt. It’s definitely not my place to tell you this, but I need to be sure you know something.”

“Spill it.
I’m losing my patience.”

“Justin paid off the loan against your prope
rty,” Beth blurted out.

Lauren saw blackness.

“Wake up, Lauren. Wake up!” Ashley was patting Lauren’s face as she lay on the floor, her body half in and half out of Beth’s office.

She
felt something cold on her forehead as she came to. She opened her eyes to several people hovering over her before she reached up and felt the wet paper towel dripping on her cheek. “What happened?”

“You passed out ag
ain. Let me help you up,” Ashley said.

As Lauren
checked the back of her head to make sure it wasn’t bleeding, the words Beth had spoken flooded back to her. “Beth, please tell me that isn’t true.”

“
It’s true, and you’re one loved girl. I hope I find someone who’ll love me that much.”

“I have to get out of here. Thank you Beth for telling me.”

“Lauren, what’s going on?” Ashley asked.

“Justin’s
the one who paid off the loan.”

Ashley looked
shocked. “No wonder you passed out. So help me, Lauren, if you don’t get your head out of your ass and get over there …”

“
I know, I’m going,” Lauren said anxiously.

She
ran to the car, slowing down when she felt a pulsing in the back of her head. Lauren relived the same frantic feeling as when she desperately raced to get to Justin at the guest house the first time she hurt him.

***

Andrew opened the door.

“
Where’s Justin?” she asked breathlessly.

Andrew stepped back away from t
he door, and Lauren ran in.

Justin was standing
right in front of her. Her eyes locked with his wells of ocean blue before she ran and threw her arms around his neck, stealing his mouth with hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her back passionately, and swallowing her thin frame inside his embrace.

“Umm
... I think I’ll leave for a while,” Andrew said with a chuckle.

Lauren pulled away. “I love you, Justin, and
I’m so sorry I pushed you away. Please forgive me. I don’t know what will happen between your family and me, but I promise we’ll get through it together. I’ll never leave you again. Please say it’s not too late.”

Justin closed his eyes for several seconds as Lauren stood frozen in fear.
He opened them slowly, and the relief piercing from his eyes said everything. He grabbed her and hugged her, cradling her head. Lauren couldn’t remember him ever holding her tighter.

“
I’m bound to you, Lauren. It could never be too late. I love you. I prayed every minute of every day that you’d come back to me. You shouldn’t apologize. I owe you one for my father and brother’s behavior. I’m ashamed.” They stood in that one spot for ten minutes as they hugged and cherished each other’s touch.

“Beth told me about the loan, and Ashley told me you didn’t leave. You shouldn’t have given up all that money.”

“That’s minuscule to know you have your home and the nursery. Please just swear you won’t ever put me through something like that again. Swear you won’t close another door on us.”

“I swear
.”

She
called her mother and told her the good news and told her she wouldn’t be back the rest of the day. She wasn’t letting go of Justin for one minute.

Lauren felt as if she was fading into him
as she lay in his arms. Her stomach fluttered when she thought of the news she would tell him. Feeling overwhelmed from the events of the day, she decided to wait. Instead, she rolled over onto him and kissed him passionately. He pulled out her ponytail and raked his fingers through her flowing hair. Just as they were getting lost in their desire, Lauren’s cell phone rang, bringing them out of their drunken with love stupor. She didn’t recognize the number but answered it.

“Lauren, this is Emily.”

“Hi, Emily.” She looked over at Justin.

“
I’m at Jeffrey and Susan’s. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind driving over for a few minutes. I’d really like to talk with you.”

“Umm
... I guess I can. I’ll be there shortly.”

“What does she want?” Justin asked protectively.

“She wants to talk to me about something, but at your parents’ house.”

“They would interrupt
when I was about to have my way with you,” he said, smiling. “Seriously, I’m going with you. If Emily is at my parents’, then this is a Garrison ambush.”

Emily answered the door.

“Hi, Lauren. Justin,
I’m glad you’re with her.”

Justin didn’t speak as he followed Lauren into the family room. Jeffrey, Susan, and
Jonathan were already waiting. Justin looked at Lauren and smirked. “I told you—ambush.”

Susan lit up when she saw Justin. “Son,
I’m glad you came.”

“Please, just c
ut to the chase. What do you all want with Lauren?” Justin asked.

Lauren noticed sweat beading on
Jonathan’s forehead. From what she knew of him, this was not a stroke to his ego but more like a strike. She didn’t doubt that the Garrison women were behind most of it.

Jeffrey spoke first. “Thank you, Lauren for coming. We want to talk to you about what happened at the office. After some reflection
, I realized I should’ve handled all of this differently. We couldn’t help that we were representing the bank before Justin met you, but we should’ve told you as soon as we heard you and Justin were, um, getting close. I do regret not telling you myself. You shouldn’t have had to find out from the papers being served.

“
We did have a lot to gain by a development going in. In our defense, this is our job, it’s what we do and how we make a living, but we meant you no harm personally, and I should’ve been much more empathetic when you came to see me.”

Jonathan
took over speaking. “Justin reminded us that no amount of money is worth hurting those we love or care for. We should’ve thought about how this would affect Justin and you. We also feel terrible if we contributed to your fall, so I hope you’ll forgive us. We truly aren’t evil men, and Justin, I hope you’ll forgive us and come back around.” Jonathan offered a hint of a smile and Lauren noticed him relaxing.

Susan
walked over to Lauren. She took her hand and patted the top of it. “Dear, I really hope you’ll give our family a chance. We’ve never known Justin to be in love, so we didn’t realize how serious it was. I hope you can forgive the men, they’re very driven, but they are also lovable if you get to know them.”

Jonathan
’s eyes went wide as he walked over and placed his hands on his mother’s shoulders. “OK, Mom that’s enough. I think we’ve covered everything.”

Lauren felt her heart racing. She knew how hard this had to be for Jeffrey and
Jonathan, and she didn’t want to say anything that would embarrass them further.

“Thank you both
for taking the time to talk to me about this.”

Lauren squeezed Justin’s hand. He brought hers to his
mouth to kiss. She knew he was showing his support.

“
It’s awkward to discuss, but I’m sure you weren’t happy to know that Justin paid the debt toward my family’s property. I had no idea he did it until earlier today, and I hope you’ll see over time that I’d never be after his money or your family’s money. I’ve always believed in working hard to earn my own. I accept your apologies, and I hope we can start over.”

“We know i
t was Justin’s decision, and he has a right to spend his money however he wishes. We’re happy that you get to keep the nursery, and I know my Emily is pleased,” Jonathan said as he glanced to Emily and smiled.

Everyone was at ease
at that point, and they all started making small talk. Justin never let go of Lauren’s hand and moved with her every step.