18. Lilly
Chapter 18
Lilly
“ Y ou got our list, baby?” I turn to look at Nellie over my shoulder.
She holds up her notepad. “Got it.”
“We’re going to shop for clothes first and then go to the art store.”
“Can I get a new book, too?”
“We’ll have to see. They may not have any.” I open my door and walk around the car to help Nellie out.
“Or they won’t be appropriate for my age,” she says when we get onto the sidewalk.
“That, too.” I grin at her. We walk down the main street of Sonoma. With gorgeous storefronts boasting specialty wares, planter boxes overflowing with summer flowers, and black metal lampposts spaced out in even intervals, it’s about as idyllic as you could get.
I forgot how pretty this place was. In my teenage memories, it was simply a small town that barely had a grocery store. It didn’t seem special until this moment. Seeing people chatting on the sidewalk or busy running their errands, I’m reminded that this place holds a lot of special individuals. They’ll care about you if you let them. My parents never did. Mom and Dad kept themselves separate from everyone, believing they were better because they came from New York. Thankfully, the town never made me feel bad for that when I tried to become one of them. My parents were disappointed I meshed so well into our life here, but I reminded them that it was their fault we were here in the first place.
It isn’t any wonder why Mom and Dad did what they did to separate me and Noah. I would’ve been ecstatic to build a life in Sonoma with him. The thing I’ve never understood is why my parents moved here in the first place. They could’ve moved anywhere after Oliver’s death. It’s not like we were lacking in money. Unless… maybe we were, after all the hospital bills, and living here was the only way they could still afford the life they wanted. It still doesn’t answer how they even found this town.
I’ll never know the answer to any of these questions, but despite the grief and guilt that simmers in my heart every day, the one thing I am grateful for is that their death brought me home.
“Let’s try in here,” I tell Nellie when we reach Blossoms & Bows. This store has always had the best clothes. Even Mom liked to shop here when she was in the mood.
Walking in, I smile at how the store is still the same as when I was a kid, yet vastly different at the same time. Clothing racks line the middle of the store while shelves holding knickknacks and décor hang on the walls. In the middle of the room, a little off-center is a black spiral staircase leading to the second floor. For the life of me, I can’t remember what’s up there.
“Good afternoon ladies!” Trish, the owner, calls out to us from upstairs, her kinky curled head peeking over the railing. “Let me know if I can help you find anything. We just got a bunch of new stuff in yesterday, so you came at the best time.”
“Can we go up there?” Nellie asks, her eyes wide as she takes in the funky store.
“After we find some clothes down here.” The next twenty minutes go by in a flash. Nellie has no issues telling me how she feels about the clothes I pick out for her. Apparently, I have no idea what is in style right now. I swear she makes me feel as old as my mom sometimes.
Once we get a decent stack of stuff together, Nellie and I go upstairs to look around.
The second her head clears the top stair, Nellie gasps. “Jackpot!”
I chuckle in her wake, more than a little excited myself to find bookshelves surrounding the three outer walls of the space. They’re packed with books, and each shelving unit has a label at the top indicating the genre.
“Got ourselves a bookworm, do we?” Trish smiles over at us. She’s standing on one of those sliding ladders, putting books away on the top shelf.
Nellie heads straight for the bean bags by a shelf of kids’ books on the wall.
“She’s a voracious reader. It’s hard to keep up sometimes.” I search the rest of the shelves, noting books I love and ones that have been on my list for a while.
“Are you new in town or just visiting?” Trish asks, coming down from her ladder.
I wiggle my head back and forth. “Neither? Both?”
Trish makes a face, and I laugh. “How does that work?”
“I spent my teen years here, but I haven’t been back since I graduated high school. It feels like a totally different place now, yet just as familiar as before. We haven’t decided if we’re staying or not.”
“Your answer makes sense now. I hope you do stay. We could use some young blood in this town. Most of our kids want to move away to bigger and better things. Not many decide to come back.”
“The longer we’re here, the harder it will be to leave.”
Trish pats my arm. “Good. That means our small-town magic is working. Now, how about we ring up what you’ve picked out so far and maybe add a book or two to the pile?” She winks, heading down the spiral stairs.
After a glance at Nellie, I follow Trish down to register. We chat about her store and how it’s changed over the years. She used to sell handmade crafts from local artists, but since she opened the art shop with Quinn Jackson, the police chief’s wife, she’s focused on creating the reading space.
As she’s ringing up the clothes Nellie picked out, the bell over the door chimes. My stomach drops the moment I see who walks into the store.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Every muscle in my body is screaming at me to run away. Why, of all people, did Noah’s mom have to walk into this store?
Behind her is Quinn, along with Quinn’s daughter, Charlotte, if I remember right. The two of them look even more alike than they used to. Charlotte has her dark hair pulled back into two strands of bubble braids, and her big, golden hazel eyes are surrounded by dark lashes made even longer by tasteful makeup. She’s grown into a gorgeous young woman.
Natalie’s eyes meet mine, and she gasps. “Oh, hi, Lilly.” She starts glancing around the store as if she’s looking for something. It dawns on me that she knows about Nellie and is trying to find her.
The courage to speak comes from out of nowhere. “She’s upstairs reading.”
Natalie’s face softens as she walks toward me. “Can I hug you?”
I nod, unable to respond verbally. Being taller than me, Natalie’s arms wrap around my shoulders. The second she pulls me in, I want to weep. She was a second mom to me growing up. I spent so much time at their house with Noah, even before we started dating. He was my best friend. I hadn’t realized how much I missed his family until this moment.
Pulling away, we wipe our eyes to clear the tears. I huff out a watery laugh when Natalie grins at me.
“Can I meet Noelle? Noah told me a little about her, so I understand if it’s not a good time, but I would like to if I can.”
“Yeah, I think it will be okay. Noah talked about you guys at dinner the other night and showed her your pictures. She might be a little shy, though.”
“That’s okay. I just want to see her. Plus, this way I can rub it in Tucker’s face that I got to meet her before he did.” A mischievous glint flashes in her emerald green eyes, and I laugh. I forgot how sassy Natalie could be.
Trish, Quinn, and Charlotte are pretending to look at the rack of clothes across the room. I have no doubt they are shamelessly watching me and Natalie, but I’m grateful they’re acting like they aren’t. It takes some of the embarrassment away.
I lead Natalie to the spiral stairs, hoping Nellie isn’t too deep into her book. It can be tough to get her out of the zone once she’s in it.
When I peek over the top stairs, I find her searching through the other shelves of the kids’ section. “Hey, Nellie, do you remember talking about your other grandma the other night?”
“Oh, Lord, that’s weird,” Natalie mutters behind me. I stifle a laugh.
Nellie finishes reading the titles in the row of books before she turns around. “I remember.”
“Well, she just happened to come into the store today, too.” I turn to the side so Noelle can see Natalie behind me on the stairs. Once we get to the landing, I step off to the side so the two of them can meet.
“Hey, beautiful girl.” Natalie’s voice is hushed as she squats down in front of Nellie. My heart warms a little when Natalie doesn’t reach out to try to hug her. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. Your dad has told me all about you.”
Nellie reaches out to run her fingers through Natalie’s hair. Even with a few streaks of silver running through it, it’s still the gorgeous red I remember. “I like your hair. It’s pretty.”
Natalie grins. “Thank you. I love your hair, too. You look just like your daddy when he was your age.”
“That’s what he told me, too. Do you like to read?”
“I love to read,” Natalie says, easily keeping up with Nellie’s subject change. “I actually run the library here in town. Would you like to stop by sometime to see it?”
Nellie’s eyes grow wide. “You work at the library?” She turns to me. “Mom, can we go see it?”
“Sure. Do you want to go there instead of to the art store?”
Nellie frowns. “Can we do both?”
“I’ve got tons of art stuff in our children’s section, if that helps you decide. My friend, Quinn, runs the art store and helps me stay stocked with all the best materials.”
“Okay. I want to make a card for my aunt Christine because it’s almost her birthday.”
“I think we can manage that. I have to finish up a couple of errands. Can we meet at the library in say… an hour?” Natalie looks at me for confirmation.
“That works perfectly. We can still stop by Quinn’s store.”
“Then I will see you both soon. Would it be okay if I invited your grandpa and uncle as well, or would you want it to be just us girls?”
Nellie twists her mouth to the side. “I think that would be okay. Dad showed me their pictures, too, so I know what they look like.”
“That’s good. And we can always kick them out if they start acting like stinky boys.”
Nellie giggles and nods her head.
“Then I will see you both in a little while.” Natalie stands with graceful movements. Her eyes are shiny with tears, and she squashes me in another hug.