Love in Bloom (38 page)

“We love you, Millie,” Amber murmured. “We always will.”

“Look,” said Hope, pointing to the zinnias. There sat a swallowtail butterfly, gently fanning its wings. It left the flowers and swooped past them, then off and away.

“Good-bye, Millie,” Hope whispered. “See you in heaven.”

Back at their cars, Amber asked, “How about coming with me to the parade on the Fourth? I promised Seth we'd go and Ty has to man the Family Inn booth. I'd sure like the company.”

Hope didn't feel like being by herself, either, but she wasn't exactly pumped about milling around at a big, noisy community event. WWMD? (What would Millie do?) She'd go, of course. “Okay.”

Amber hugged her. “Thanks. We can do the craft booths before and even have a cotton candy in honor of Millie.”

Hope got back to the apartment to find a flower on her doorstep. The little primrose wasn't from her shop—too plainly packaged to have come from Changing Seasons. She picked it up and the envelope that had been lying under it. What on earth?

Inside the apartment, she found a note on the table from Bobbi.
Out with Duke. See you later
. There was a surprise. Maybe that
would just work out. And maybe there was nothing wrong with an August wedding. Like Millie said, life was short.

And speaking of notes. She opened the mystery envelope that had come with her flower and pulled out a small sheet of paper. The writing was blocky and careless, definitely male. She read, “It's from the competition, but it said what needs to be said. Since you know what flowers mean, you should get the message.” It was signed with the letter
J. Jason
.

Primroses said, “I can't live without you.”

So he thought. Still, she'd take this offering and treasure it, especially the note. She set the little pot on her kitchen windowsill to remind her that, even in desert times, a girl could always find flowers.

 

THE NEXT DAY
at the shop was quiet, with only a couple of arrangements to make for Fourth of July parties. “Let's close up early,” Bobbi suggested. “We can get drinks at Organix and go to the city park and sit on the dock.”

Hope wasn't in much of a mood to work anyway. “Good idea.”

They were just getting ready to leave when the phone rang. “Oh, for Pete's sake,” grumbled Bobbi as Hope snagged it.

The female voice on the other end was subdued. “I'd like to order some flowers. Could you possibly send them today?”

“If it's local,” Hope said, and slipped her purse off her shoulder.

“It is. I need something special and I hear you do flowers that have special messages.”

“I can,” said Hope. “What would you like to say?”

The woman's voice caught on a sob. “Sorry.”

“That's okay. Take your time.”

“No, that's what I want to say.”

“Well, purple hyacinths say ‘I'm sorry,' but they're not in season right now. All I have at the moment are silk ones.' ”

“Oh.” The woman didn't sound excited by artificial flowers. “I
need it to be special. I haven't been very nice to someone,” she added, her voice quavering.

“Maybe you want something that signifies a new start,” Hope suggested. “Pink roses can stand for friendship.”

“Do you have real ones?” the woman asked, her voice picking up.

“I do.”

“That will work.”

“Okay. What would you like the card to say?”

“Um.”

“Maybe something like, ‘Let's start again'?”

“Please.”

“Okay.”

“No, I mean add Please.”

“No problem,” said Hope.

“And you'll tell him what the flowers mean?”

“Of course. Who is this going to?”

“Altheus Hornby.”

Altheus? “How would you like to sign it?”

“Just, I don't know. Sign it
Debra
.”

Hope nearly dropped the phone. Amber would never believe this. Millie had to be up in heaven, doing the happy dance. “Would you like to add
Your daughter-in-law
?” she asked.

“Oh. How did you know? Have we met?”

Maybe they didn't want to go there. “Briefly, at the funeral. Your mother was a friend of mine. She was quite a woman.”

“Yes, she was. I miss her so much.”

“She'd be glad to know you're letting new people into your life,” Hope said. “I'll get those roses out right away.”

She took Debra's charge-card information, then hung up.

Bobbi had been leaning on the counter, listening. “So, Millie's daughter is sending flowers to the guy she was mad at?”

“That about sums it up,” Hope said with a smile. “I guess she can be taught. Life is short. What's the sense in wasting it?”

“Yeah. What's the sense?” Bobbi echoed, giving her a meaningful stare.

A picture of the primrose on the windowsill danced into her mind and echoed, “Yeah. What's the sense?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

T
HE FOURTH OF
July was a scorcher, but that didn't stop Heart Lake residents from celebrating. Downtown Lake Way was packed with throngs of people. Hope and Amber jostled the crowd, looking for the perfect curbside seat to view the parade. Hope was ready to sit. They'd spent the last hour walking around the booths in sizzling heat.

“Millie would have loved this,” said Amber.

“Yes, she would,” Hope said, not because she agreed that Millie would have loved this human zoo and the heat, but because it made them both feel better to talk about their friend. This is hot enough to fry my buns, she thought as she settled on the hot sidewalk and let her legs stretch out onto the street. She found herself wishing she'd gotten another drink before they moved to the parade route.

“Water?” asked a male voice.

She knew that voice. She turned to see Jason squatting behind
her. He was wearing flip-flops, shorts, and a red Hawaiian print shirt, which hung open over his bare chest. His well-muscled, tanned, bare chest. She grabbed the bottled water he held out. It was even hotter out here than she'd realized.

“Hi.” Amber was all calculating stares. “Haven't I seen you at the bakery?”

Of course, she had, and she'd called Hope that very afternoon wanting the scoop on him. Hope had assured Amber he was just a friend, and then changed the subject quickly enough for Amber to get the message. But the way Amber was looking from Hope to Jason as Hope introduced them, it was clear she was getting a whole new message now.

“We're gonna see a parade,” Seth informed him.

“Cool. Can I sit with you?” Jason asked him.

“Sure,” said Seth, but before he could move to make space for Jason next to him, Amber scooted them both over, making room between her and Hope. Amber and Bobbi had to be twins separated at birth.

Jason plopped down on the curb, his leg grazing Hope's in the process and making her feel like someone had set off a sparkler inside her chest. “How're you doing? I hear you've had a rough time of it.”

From whom? Bobbi, of course. “I'm okay,” she said.

She'd gone to the community garden the night before and done some weeding in Millie's plot. Seeing all Millie's flowers blooming and healthy had been a comfort.

“I'm sorry about your friend,” he added.

“Me, too. I already miss her.”

He nodded and they sat in silence. She wanted to thank him for the primrose he'd left on her doorstep, but if she did, then they'd have to talk about what that flower symbolized, and things would really get awkward. So, she sat there like an ingrate while her buns burned and that sparkler inside her kept shooting sparks.

“You all going to watch the fireworks to night?” Jason asked, including Amber in the conversation.

“After we go home and have a nap,” Amber replied, ruffling her son's hair and making him giggle.

“How about you?” Jason asked Hope. “Hey, why don't you come with me? We can talk about flowers.”

Hope took a long swallow from her water bottle.

He took her hesitation for a yes. “Good. I'll pick you up around eight.”

And, if that wasn't bad enough, when the parade finished, Amber decided to play Cupid. “You know, I think Ty's going to need the car. Do you think you could find another ride home?”

“My truck's just around the corner,” Jason offered. “I can take you home.”

It was too far to walk. Hope resigned herself. “Okay.”

Once in the truck, Jason started the air conditioning going and she fell back thankfully against the seat. “Better?” he asked softly. “You were starting to look a little wilted there.”

“Yes, thanks,” she murmured.

“You mind if I make a quick stop?” he asked as they drove by the Gas 'N' Go.

She shook her head, figuring he needed gas. But instead of getting gas, he pulled up in front of the little grocery store and ducked in. He came out carrying a pack of wine coolers and a big bag of chips.

He stowed them in back of the truck, then got in. “So,” he said casually as they wound their way around the lake. “Want to talk about primroses?”

“Jason, I already told you,” she began.

“I know what you told me, but you left out some details, like the little one about you having had cancer.”

Her heart stopped for a moment. Then it began to run. Fast. She bit her lip and looked out the window at the fir and alder trees along the road. In between, she caught glimpses of the lake,
winking at her like a gigantic blue eye. Everything was so lush and green out here. In a place like Heart Lake, you could almost forget about ugly things like death and cancer.

“That's why you don't want to go out with me. Right?”

“It wouldn't be fair.”

“Maybe it's not fair to decide for someone whether or not you get to be together.” Instead of going on toward the apartment, he turned and the truck began bumping down a private road edged with woodsy tangle.

“Where are you going?” No detours. She just wanted to get home, so she could shut herself inside her apartment.

“I need to check on something at this site. You don't mind, do you?”

Actually, she did. “Do I have a choice?”

“Not really,” he said amiably.

They emerged from the woods to a view of the lake, sparkling in the afternoon sun and, off to the side, a framed-in house—a two-story monster with a huge deck. He turned off the engine, saying, “You look like you've got heat stroke. I think we should get in the lake and cool off.”

This was all slipping sideways. “I thought you had to check on something,” said Hope. Was she never going to get home?

“I can multitask.”

She pointed to her shorts and top. “I'm not dressed for swimming.”

“We can work around that,” he said easily, and opened his door. “Stay put. I'll open the door for you.”

She watched, heart racing, as he walked around the back of the truck and picked up the snacks he'd purchased, along with an old army blanket. She'd have to tell him everything. After a wine cooler, maybe she'd have the nerve.

“Is it okay to be here?” she asked, looking around them as they walked across the property.

“The owners won't care. They're in California. Won't be up here for another two months.”

He spread out the blanket on the porch, saying, “Make yourself at home.”

She sat down on it and tried to concentrate on the view instead of the man sitting on the blanket next to her. The other side of the lake was fringed with trees and dotted with houses, some with lawns running like green skirts to the lake's edge. Others sported rockeries and more natural landscaping. She wondered what the owners would do with this place. She hoped they wouldn't take out the water lilies. They were so lovely. Someone across the lake was playing Jordin Sparks. The words to “This Is My Now” drifted across the water to her.

“Beautiful here, isn't it?” he said. He sat down beside her, opened a strawberry daiquiri cooler, and passed it to her.

“Did my sister tell you this is my favorite drink?” she asked.

He shook his head and opened a bottle for himself. “Just a lucky guess.” He clinked bottles with her, then leaned back on an elbow and took a deep drink.

Hope watched the muscles in his throat work as he drank. Was there anything about this man that wasn't sexy?

He caught her watching him and smiled like he knew what she was thinking. “I don't know why I didn't see how perfect you were right from the start.”

It was way too hot out here. Hope took a long drink of her wine cooler. “You don't know me that well.”

“Yeah? I'd be willing to bet I know you better than you think. I've had a lot of chances to get to know you: when I was with you and your sister, when I've talked to you in the shop, when we went out to lunch, when I read what you wrote me in those cards and letters.”