The Keeneston Roses (11 page)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Keeneston, 37 years, 99 marriages, and 246 babies later . . .

Miss Lily sat on the front porch swing at her bed-and-breakfast and gave a disgruntled sigh. She looked down at the notebook in her hand, her fortieth, and stuck her tongue out at it. Darn that Morgan Hamilton for coming back to town and messing everything up. How can the town’s reverend have a pair of daughters that differed so much? Pam was an angel; Morgan was not. Written at the top of the page was the name
Miles Davies
. It was about time Marcy and Jake’s oldest son found love.

Flipping back through the notebook, Lily's smile returned as she stared at her accomplishments. Little Will had grown into a strapping young man who played in the NFL for years before coming back to Keeneston to take over his parents’ horse farm. He’d even bred and raced a Kentucky Derby winner. He also fell in line and got married to McKenna Mason, or Kenna as she was commonly known. She was a bright lawyer from New York City . . . bless her Yankee heart.

After that, Kenna’s best friend, Danielle, or Dani as she insisted on being called, followed her from New York. It just went to show that she too had good sense. Lily smiled as she looked at the earlier pages in her notebook. She ignored the fact that Kenna and Dani were on the run from dangerously powerful men. They had found their way home to Keeneston, and Dani had found love with a sheik. Mo was the prince of the island country of Rahmi and had come to Keeneston to raise racehorses.

And bless that sweet girl, Kenna had already given birth to a bouncing baby girl, Sienna. Some day, God willing, she’d find the perfect match for her like she had for her father. Lily turned the page and looked at Paige Davies’s name. She was Jake and Marcy’s only girl. Five boys and beautiful, talented Paige rounded out the Davies family. Paige had helped Kenna and Dani and, in turn, found love with FBI Agent Cole Parker. She had just given birth over Christmas to a handsome baby boy, Ryan. Hmm, that gave Lily an idea for Sienna.

Turning another page in her notebook, she came to Cade Davies and DEA Agent Annie Blake. Annie had come to Keeneston as an undercover agent and with Cade’s help stopped a drug ring targeting teenagers. Annie had since left the DEA to work at the Keeneston sheriff’s office. She, too, had taken the long road home, but home was here now in Keeneston with Cade and their baby girl, Sophie.

Lily flipped to the next section and traced her fingers over the names of Marshall Davies and Katelyn Jacks. Katelyn’s grandparents, the Wyatts, had raised her in Keeneston, but she had gone off and had seen the world as a model. She had just recently come back to start a career as a veterinarian. Marshall had found peace as the new sheriff after coming back from Special Forces with his brothers, Miles and Cade. They had been a tricky match, and Lily and her sisters had to resort to giving Katelyn a glass too many . . . okay, three or four glasses too many . . . of their special drink. But it had worked out in the end, and they were now happily together.

In between the Davies pages, she smiled at she passed the deputy sheriffs’ pages—Noodle and Dr. Emma, Dinky and Chrystal. That led her to her current page.
Miles Davies and Julie Bryant.
Julie was from the next town over, was four years younger than Miles’s thirty-six years, and was as sweet as could be. She would have been perfect for Miles until the bad girl of Keeneston showed back up. Morgan Hamilton was darker than Miles, and Miles hid a lot of darkness from his time in Special Forces. That’s why he needed someone sweet like Julie. But no, Morgan drew him in with her violet eyes and a take-no-crap attitude.

The screen door opened and Daisy and Violet came out carrying glasses of iced tea and a plate of brownies. “How’s it coming?” Violet asked.

Lily blew out a breath and pushed back her now-white hair. “Not good. I just know that bad seed, Morgan Hamilton, has her claws in our Miles. This is my one hundredth match, and she’s going to ruin it just like she did my rose bushes when she was a teenager.”

Daisy handed her a glass of tea and took a seat. “Lil, for one night let’s just not worry about it. This has stressed you out so much, your muffins this morning were dry. Dry!”

Lily sneered at her sister and thought about sticking her tongue out, but Violet stopped her. “Tonight is Marshall and Katelyn’s wedding. Let’s just go and have a good time.”

“But if John beats me to this mystery, I don’t know what I’ll do.” Lily slammed her hand onto the swing’s cushion.

“Ever since Rhonda passed away, you two have been at it. For years now, we’ve watched you two play this gossip game. I think y’all are hot to trot for each other,” Violet said, taking a giant step away from the daggers Lily was shooting her.

“You think I like John Wolfe?” Lily cried out.

“I think so, too,” Daisy said softly before leaning back in her chair. Lily jumped to her feet and began to pace the verandah.

“You two are crazy. If anyone in this town understands why that is impossible, it should be you two.”

“Lil,” Violet started, “it’s been decades and decades since Frank. I’ve longed to move on—to find love again. But I know it’s not a probability for me. Look at us. We’re not twenty-five anymore.”

“Shoot, we’re not even fifty-five anymore,” Daisy said under her breath.

“And you have a shot at it. John has known you your whole life. He was the one who rescued you that night. He knows all about your secret pain. If he loves you, then why not give him a chance? You have always spoken so highly of him,” Violet took a deep breath, “and I think you love him, too.”

Lily gasped and Daisy raised the brownie plate to hide her face. “How dare you say that?”

Violet put her hands on her still curvaceous hips. “Because you do. Mark my word; this isn’t over yet. You will have to face your feelings someday, Lily Rae.”

“We’ll just see about that,” Lily stormed into the house. “I have a wedding to get ready for.”

Lily, Daisy, and Violet stood by the refreshments at Marshall and Katelyn’s reception. The wedding had been beautiful, and the couple was so in love. Lily’s heart was bursting with happiness.

“Butter my butt and call me a biscuit, Morgan Hamilton just walked in,” Daisy gasped.

“Well, that just cooks my goose,” Lily growled as she stomped her way toward the growing scene.

“Lily, give her a chance. Remember, Annie believes there’s a lot to the story we don’t know. Since she's a DEA agent, she knows more about bad seeds than you do,” Violet called out to Lily’s retreating back.

Fine, they wanted Lily to give her a chance? Then she’d give Morgan a chance—a chance to explain. “Morgan?”

The dark-haired beauty turned around, and in a split second looked fearful before her toughness fell back into place. In that one moment she looked eighteen and vulnerable, and that was all it took for Lily to change her mind about Morgan Hamilton.

“That night I caught you in my roses, what were you doing in my yard?”

Morgan took a deep breath and Lily listened to the young woman who had gone from being the town’s bad girl to a woman who orchestrated takeovers in the corporate world. Long ago, Lily had accused her of purposefully ruining her rose bushes. Afterward, Morgan had painted the water tower and split town. Now she was back and Miles Davies, the stern ever-so-serious businessman, had lost his heart to her. So Lily listened to it all and felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time—shame. She had been wrong. She’d been wrong for eighteen years about the young woman standing in front of her. How could she ever apologize?

Lily placed her hand on Morgan’s arm as Morgan defended herself to Miles’s sister, Paige. “I believe I—
we—
may have been too hard on you . . .”

“You ladies all look lovely tonight.” The deep voice behind Lily had her spinning around to see John Wolfe looking ever so handsome in a suit. Long ago he’d lost his six-pack abs and was now rather portly. He still had the same twinkle in his eyes and strong arms that would keep her warm at night. Lily blushed. Dang, her sisters had been right. It wasn’t as easy as it had been when she was younger. She was wiser now. She knew these feelings only opened her up to pain.

“Miss Lily, would you do me the honor of a dance?”

“I’d love to,” Lily put her hand on his arm and headed for the dance floor.

John held her tight as they danced. “Lily Rae, I’ve been your friend since the sixth grade. We’ve always had this fond regard for each other, but I’ve discovered deeper feelings this past year as we fought for the town's gossip. I’ve had fun. Have you?”

“Yes, I have,” Lily admitted reluctantly as John led her around the dance floor.

“Why don’t we have dinner together at the Blossom Café tomorrow night?” John asked.

Lily’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you kidding? That’s the same as publicly declaring we’re boinking!”

“Not that I’d mind boinking—it’s been a while, and I sure do miss it,” John grinned, “but I was thinking more like a date.”

“No, John. You more than anyone should know why I can’t.”

“Won’t or can’t? Don’t tell me you really loved Frank that much that you’re still hung up on him after what he did to you.”

“Of course not. It’s the pain I remember,” Lily admitted as the song came to an end, and she pulled away.

“Go ahead, Lily. Run away from another chance at love. I’m strong enough to follow. Just be prepared. I’m right about us just like I’m always right about what goes on around town,” John said smugly.

Lily gasped. “How dare you? You know I am better at sniffing out gossip than you’ll ever be.”

“And I’m also better at loving you than Frank ever was. I’ll give you all pleasure, with no pain, Lily Rae.”

“We’re not talking about love. We’re talking about gossip,” Lily huffed.

“You just keep telling yourself that,” John chuckled as he walked away.

That man! He just, he just . . . oh fiddlesticks. She was going to have to confront the pain from that night at some point. It just wasn’t going to be at that moment.

Now, Pierce Davies, the youngest of Jake and Marcy’s kids, was looking rather tied-in-knots in love. What kind of good Samaritan would she be if she didn’t help him out? And if it took her mind off her own love life, then so much the better.

* * *

Lily felt the crack of the broom reverberate up her arms. She heard the collective gasp of everyone in the Blossom Café the second she crashed her broom over John’s head. But what was she to do? The man had kissed her in full view of the entire town after trying to out-gossip her! She had been the first to admit her mistake about Morgan, and now that sly fox was trying to claim it was him. On top of stealing her gossip, he kissed her to shut her up. Her first kiss in years, and he did it in front of everyone as if to prove a point. It didn’t matter that she liked it. It didn’t matter that her heart was pounding like she was once again a teenager. No, it didn’t matter because he was now smirking at her.

With a huff, she spun on her orthopedic shoes and marched out of the café. Lily walked back to her house and pulled out her notebook. She had crossed Julie off the top of Miles’s page and had written Morgan’s name instead. It would have been her one-hundredth match, but as much as she would like to claim it, she couldn’t. She was still in search of that special couple.

Lily walked out onto her porch and took a seat on her swinging bench. Her lips still tingled from the kiss at the café. John had kissed her, and she had liked it. Her heart took time to slow back to its steady beat as she closed her eyes and relived the kiss. When had it happened? When had she and John gone from friends to kissing?

Taking a deep breath, Lily opened the book. All these couples, all this love. Was she destined to end up like them after all these years? But as soon as her heart fluttered, she looked next door and felt the panic rise from the pit of her stomach and take hold of her.

No, it wasn’t meant to be. She would never find her happily-ever-after. But number one hundred could. Lily focused her attention on the book in front of her and pushed aside her own desires. She had to find her hundredth couple, and that would take her mind off what she couldn’t have. It would mend her heart. She thought back to the reception the previous night and had an idea about who was next. Tammy Fields, the assistant for the only two attorneys in town, Henry Rooney and Kenna Ashton. Tammy was a sweet girl who had made the best out of a hard life, bless her heart. It also wasn’t a secret she had a thing for Pierce Davies. Pierce just hadn’t woken up to the treasure right in front of him. Rubbing her hands together, Lily got to work. Sometimes all it took was a little competition to make a man realize his feelings.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lily sat smiling as her one-hundredth couple kissed at the altar and pronounced Pierce and Tammy Davies husband and wife. From behind her, a hand settled on her shoulder. She knew who it was without turning around. Only one person had a touch so gentle and reassuring that she wanted to melt into it.

“Congratulations, Lily Rae,” John whispered, his breath tickling her ear and sending shivers down her back.

“On what? Beating you again?”

“Don’t you ever stop?” John chuckled. “Is this some kind of foreplay for you? You know I am not going anywhere. I’m a little too big for you to move. But no, congratulations on arranging one hundred happy marriages. Now, don’t you think it’s time to focus on your happiness?”

Lily stiffened. “I
am
happy.”

“Liar,” John whispered so softly she wasn’t quite sure if he had said it or not.

Lily gulped and then stood and straightened her dress to follow the happy couple to the reception. She
was
happy. She had a full life. She helped others find happiness. Besides, she was too old to fall in love again. She was a senior citizen, for crying out loud.

“What did he say to you?” Daisy asked as soon as they were alone.

“Nothing,” Lily muttered, and she went to put her wedding gift on the table.

“It didn’t look like nothing to me,” Violet smirked. “You turned all red and were breathing so hard I thought you were going to pass out.”

“I said it’s nothing,” Lily spit out.

Her sisters stopped, and their hands went onto their hips in a way that reminded Lily of their mother. They weren’t buying it, and she didn’t want to talk about it.

“I think she loves him but is too much of a chicken to follow her own heart,” Violet said casually to Daisy.

“
Bawk, bawk, bawk
.” Daisy flapped her arms like a chicken, and Lily turned red with anger.

“Don’t you dare call me a chicken!”

“I’ll call you an old cow if I want. Look, there’s ol’ Bessie put out to pasture,” Violet challenged.

Lily gasped. “I don’t see you two opening your hearts to anyone. How dare you call me a chicken for not wanting to get hurt again?”

“Because we don’t have someone as wonderful as John Wolfe wanting to love us,” Daisy shot back.

“Lily, we are matchmaking professionals and your sisters. Trust us when we tell you that man is head over heels in love with you.”

Lily felt her throat tighten. She forced down a swallow as panic rushed back. Every time she thought she had moved on, she remembered the feeling of the door opening and the camera clicking. The pain and betrayal still had their claws securely hooked into her.

* * *

“Come on now, Lily Rae. You know you want to.”

Lily clenched her jaw at the war raging inside her. She hadn’t been able to turn her back on John, but she hadn’t been able to open her heart to him either. Instead, she funneled her conflicting feelings into a race for gossip. It kept both her mind and her heart busy so she didn’t have to come to terms with the past. Maybe, just maybe, her sisters had been right to call her a coward.

For months John had called on her every day. He brought her flowers, her favorite sweets, or a book he thought she’d enjoy. And damn her luck for actually enjoying the book and looking forward to his daily visits. They would sit and talk for hours. They talked about the old days, about the young couples in town, and the babies being born. She knew they were essentially dating, but this was just too much.

“You want me to move in with you?” Lily practically shouted. “We aren’t even a real couple yet. And move in with you? Do I look like a milkman delivering free milk?” The rage that flowed through her had her wrapping her hand tightly around the broom handle.

The ol’ goat smirked. “I think that ship has sailed, Lily Rae . . .”

Thwack!
The broom crashed over his head before she even knew she had done it.

John shook his head to clear the cobwebs. “Now, Lily Rae, that wasn’t very nice, was it?”

“Well,” Lily sputtered, “that wasn’t very nice of you to bring up such a delicate subject.”

“You have to move past Frank and what he did to you. I know it was awful. I was there. But, Lily, for us to have a future you need to find closure.”

Shameful old memories flooded her mind. She felt her tears starting to prick her eyes. “Maybe I don’t want closure.”

John’s head hung, and he let out a deep breath. “Did you really love him that much? Does his memory keep you warm at night like I do . . . or did? If you can’t open your heart to me, Lily Rae, then what are we doing here?”

“That’s a good question. I guess the answer is leaving.” Lily opened the door and prayed he left before the first tear fell. Ever since the last of the Davies boys had been married off, she’d been a miserable mush of wild emotions. She hadn’t felt this confused since menopause. No, if she were honest, it started before then, but she also knew she wasn’t honest with herself.

“If that’s what you really want, Lily Rae. Goodbye.”

John walked out the door and Lily slammed it shut. She rested her back against the door and felt the tears start to fall. Golly, she needed something big to happen to take her mind off this, or she was going to fall to pieces.

* * *

“Lily Rae! Open the door at once.”

Lily blinked her bloodshot eyes. She was sitting on her couch trying not to think about John and the fact that the last time she saw him he was at a tableful of women. She wiped at her eyes and straightened her hair.

“Now, Lil!” She heard Violet yell as she continued to hammer on the door.

“Hold your horses. I’m comin’,” Lily shouted. She stood up and tried to straighten her dress. When she opened the door, her two sisters tumbled in.

Daisy sucked in air and Violet sighed. “So, it’s true. You broke up with John and then went out on a date with Roger Burns?” Violet asked.

“The ol’ goat wanted to move in with me. Can you imagine?” Lily asked and stuck her nose up in the air. “Well, I showed him.”

“Moving in with John sounds divine. Dating Roger sounds gross. I know we’re old, but we’re not
that
old! Why did you kick John out anyway? Whenever we ask, you refuse to answer. It’s time we talked about this,” Daisy said stubbornly.

“Why? Well, I . . . I . . . I’m not a hussy who just lives with a man. If he really loved me, he’d ask me to marry him.”

Violet snorted. “That’s what you’re going with?”

“Lily, you need to move on—” Daisy started to say before Lily cut her off.

“Would everyone stop saying that?”

“Excuse me.” Lily knew the sweet voice belonged to her best friend, who wasn’t actually all that sweet. “I hate to interrupt Lily’s much-deserved whiplashing, but have y’all heard the news?” Edna asked.

“Heard it? Shoot, Edna, I
am
the news,” Lily spat at her best friend.

Edna shook her head. “No, dear, you’re old news. I just got a phone call from John . . . Bridget has deployed to Rahmi to save Ahmed. That country is under attack, and Prince Mo is meeting with the president to ask for American help.”

The sisters gasped. Bridget Springer was Keeneston’s newest resident, and they already loved her as if she’d grown up here.

“Tell us everything,” Lily demanded.

“She and her police dog, what’s his name?” Edna asked.

“Marco,” the three sisters responded immediately. Bridget trained police and military dogs for a living. Marshall Davies, the sheriff of Keeneston, got one of the dogs, and Bridget just never left after training the handler. She had fallen in love with the biggest, hottest badass of Keeneston, Ahmed. He was the head of security for the Prince of Rahmi and was feared worldwide. But not by their Bridget. She saw past the hard exterior to the loyal and loving man underneath.

“Yes, well, she and Marco are going to jump out of a plane and into the fight,” Edna exclaimed.

“What should we do?” Daisy asked as she wrung her hands.

“I know what we should do,” Edna said matter-of-factly. She opened her purse and pulled out her gun. “When’s the next flight to Rahmi?”

“Oh, put that away Edna. We need to activate the phone tree. Casseroles, pies, blankets . . . they’ll need them all when they get back,” Violet told them, disappearing into the kitchen.

“I’ll start on my cheese log,” Edna said and put her gun back in her purse. “Although I still like my idea better.”

Lily watched her friend hurry across the street with a cell phone to her ear. The Keeneston grapevine had been activated. Soon the whole town would be together, stocking food and holding out hope for Bridget, Ahmed, and the whole island nation of Rahmi.

“Daisy,” Violet called out, “make a pitcher of our special iced tea. We need to take Lily to the woodshed while we’re cooking.”

Daisy smiled. Their dear sister had this coming. Although Lily sputtered her protest about needing to focus on the casserole for Bridget and Ahmed, she wasn't going to win that battle. Daisy pulled the bourbon out and went to work making a big pitcher. They would need every drop of it.

Lily sat at the kitchen table and poured her third drink. Her sisters had been at her since the first casserole, past the pies, and now onto the brownies.

“Lily Rae! Are you listening?” Violet asked as she poured herself another drink.

“I’m trying not to,” Lily grumbled.

“Just answer the question,” Daisy finally yelled. “Why are you messing up what could be the best thing of your life?”

“Because I’m scared,” Lily screamed back as she slammed her glass on the table. “I’m scared I’m going to open up my heart, and it will just be ripped from my chest again. I survived that once, but I don’t think I could survive it again.”

Lily angrily swiped at a tear rolling down her cheek. Her sisters sat across from her, stunned. Violet picked up her drink and downed it in one gulp. “Get over it, you pansy.”

Lily choked. “What?”

“You heard me. Get over it. Because you were a coward, the man you love is calling Edna. He’s calling your best friend instead of you. She was sitting at that table with him the other day, too, wasn’t she?”

Lily felt the blood drain from her face. “He wouldn’t.”

“And why not?” Daisy asked. “You’ve shut him down time and time again.”

Lily’s hands started to tremble. “Oh, no. I’ve made the biggest mistake.” She shoved back from the table and ran from the room.

“Where’s she going?” Daisy asked Violet.

“To get her man.” Violet grinned as the front door slammed shut.

“John!” Lily hammered her palm against his front door. “I know you’re in there. I hear your TV.”

A couple seconds later, the door opened, and John looked down at her. He seemed upset, but Lily didn’t care. She had finally decided to let herself love again, and she wasn’t going to lose him.

“Lily Rae. Now isn’t the best time . . .”

“It’s okay, John dear. I have to get back and make a second cheese log since you liked this one so much. Oh, hi, Lily.” Edna smiled at her from behind John’s back. “I’ll see you later, John.”

“Sure thing, Edna. And thanks for the cheese log. It was delicious.”

Lily watched in shocked silence as Edna walked off the little porch and headed back toward her house with a huge smile on her lips. Lily turned and looked at John. She felt her heart starting to break, but she was also stronger now. She wasn’t eighteen, and he wasn’t Frank. She had pushed him to take another woman’s cheese log when he should have been eating hers all along.

“John, we need to talk,” Lily said firmly, pushing her way into his house.

“What is it, Lily Rae?” John stood staring at her and put his hands in his pockets. “I’m trying to keep up to date on the Rahmi situation.”

“How can you find that stuff out?”

“I’ll never tell,” John smirked.

“Even to your girlfriend?”

John’s smirk faded. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Yes, you do, if you still want her. John, I’ve been a stubborn idiot. I was too scared of the past to grab my future. Please tell me you still love me.”

John let out a long breath and took the seat next to her on the couch. He lifted his arm, put it around her, pulled her against his chest, and placed his chin on her head. “Lily, I have loved you for years. And for months I have showed you how much you mean to me. I want to believe you . . .”

“Give me a week and I’ll prove it to you.”

“Lily Rae, you don’t have to prove it to me,” John whispered, and he tightened his arms around her.

“I need to prove it to myself. I need to put my heart out there again,” Lily said softly. She leaned back against him. And in one week she would prove to herself, John, her sisters, and the whole town of Keeneston that she had opened herself up to love once again.

“
Psst
. Is the coast clear?”