Chapter 3
Juniper
“You should fuck him.”
“Mikayla!”
“What? You should. He definitely wants to bang you. Plus, he’s hot. Way hotter than I remember him being, actually.”
He was definitely hot and there was definitely something about him that pulled at Juniper.
But there was also something that repelled her; that smooth operator vibe that she just didn’t go for.
She had been there, done that, and had no intention of going back for more.
Juniper walked around the large workbench, placing plain ceramic bowls at each stool.
“Tie your hair back if you want to join the class,” was all she said by way of reply.
“Okay, Mum.” With a cheeky grin, her soft brown eyes twinkling, Mikayla pulled a tie out of her pocket and piled her long, auburn hair into a messy top knot. “Better?”
“You’ll do. Can you throw together the snack plate?” She went to the fridge and grabbed a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and some wine glasses from the shelf next to the fridge.
“Sure. Don’t think you can distract me though.”
Juniper sighed, but was saved by the buzzer at the front door to the shop. “Grab that, will you?” she said, taking over the assembly of the food platter.
“Sure.”
Placing the wine and snacks in the middle of the workbench, Juniper moved to the back door, calling out to Billy.
“Baby, I’m gonna start the class now if you want to come in.
” He immediately jumped off the swing and ran towards her.
Her heart swelled, as it always did in these little moments.
She swept him up as he reached her. “What are you going to paint today?” She asked, moving inside and settling him at a stool.
“A turtle. It can play with Mr. Frog.”
“Great idea. Here you go.” She went to the shelf that lined the back wall of her small workroom and grabbed a pottery turtle she’d premade and placed it on the workbench in front of him.
With the speed only a mother of toddlers possesses, she whipped his smock off the hook near the bench and jammed it over his head before he had a chance to reach for the paints.
She glanced up as Mikayla came back through the beaded curtain that covered the archway, smiling at the woman who followed her. “Hi. You must be Leah.”
She was short, no more than five foot three, slim with brunette hair tied back in a low ponytail and soft grey/green eyes. She smiled uncertainly. “Yes. You must be Juniper.”
“That’s me. Thanks for coming. Have a seat.” She smiled encouragingly.
“You can sit with me,” Billy piped up.
Leah smiled. “Sure, that’d be great.”
Juniper handed her an apron, “Pop this on, you don’t want to get paint on your lovely dress.
We’re using acrylics, which are very hard to get out of clothes.
” Juniper waited for Leah to sit down on the stool next to Billy, before continuing.
“Okay, it’s only you two today, so we’ll get started.
Just to clarify, we’re painting pottery today, not making it. Have you done this before, Leah?”
“A little, but I’ll probably be really bad at it.”
“Don’t stress. You couldn’t be worse than Mikayla.”
Mikayla grinned at the jibe as she removed the lids from her paint pots. “She’s not wrong. No matter how much I practice, it’s like I’ve got two thumbs when it comes to art.”
“Um, most people have two thumbs?”
Juniper had to laugh at the uncertainty in Leah’s voice as Mikayla cracked up laughing. “I meant all thumbs! Although hang on, would that work in my favor?”
Leah laughed. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
“I’ve got two thumbs!” Billy piped up, showing them both to Leah.
“Hey, me too,” she replied, giving him the two thumbs up sign back, much to his delight.
“Mummy, can we paint now?”
“Yeah, let’s go. Billy, just open one paint pot at a time.
Leah and Mikayla, as long as I can trust you to mix your colors on your palette without turning everything brown, you can go ahead.
” She focused her attention on Leah as they both got started, knowing that Mikayla was going to be a disaster no matter how much guidance Juniper gave her.
She was pretty much there for the company, wine and snacks and never pretended otherwise.
Leah carefully squirted the different colors on her palette.
“That’s it. We’re going to paint flowers, starting with the leaves.
You want to mix your two greens like this, then take your flat brush and press out one half of the leaf.
Yep, exactly like that. Now do the other half.
Perfect. You’re going to keep doing that, strategically around the plate, then when you think you’ve done enough, we’ll start on the flowers. ”
“This is not good.”
Juniper glanced over at Mikayla’s first few leaves. “Maybe just have some wine.” She poured out a glass and slid it across the table. “What about you, Leah? Wine or juice? I might have some soft drink in the other fridge if you’d prefer.”
“Wine would be lovely, thanks.”
Juniper poured the drinks, getting a juice for Billy before turning her attention back to Leah’s plate. She had a sure and steady hand, laying out each leaf with precision.
“You’ve done this before!” Mikayla exclaimed.
Leah straightened, assessing her work. “I used to paint a lot in high school, but honestly, I haven’t picked up a brush in more than ten years.”
“Well, I think you’ve missed your calling. She’s good, isn’t she, Juniper?”
“Yes, she is. Here, try a flower now.”
With no guidance, Leah mixed some blue and red paint to make a lovely, lush purple and laid out the flowers around the leaves.
“Purple’s my favorite color!”
Leah grinned at Billy. “Mine too! Do you want some purple for your turtle?”
“Yes please!”
“So where are you staying while you’re in town, Leah?” Mikayla asked, grabbing a cracker from the platter, and slathering it liberally with hummus.
“I’ve got a house up on Henderson’s Road.”
“Henderson’s Road? There aren’t any holiday homes up that way. The only house up there is Mr. Hend—. Wait, you don’t mean Mr. Henderson’s old shack? Don’t tell me someone’s bought that dump and is renting it out?”
“Someone has bought it, but it’s not being rented out.”
There was a long, confused silence before Mikayla spoke again. “You’ve bought it?”
Leah bent her head over her painting, looking a little self-conscious. “Yes,” she said softly.
“Oh. Oh, ah, I’m so sorry. It’s just that you don’t look the type.”
Leah frowned, perplexed. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean this in the best possible way. You are quite fancy, and that shack is a dump. Henderson’s been trying to sell it for the better part of a decade, and it hasn’t had as much as a lick of paint in all that time.”
“Oh, right. Well, thank you, I guess. It’s definitely a renovator’s delight.”
Mikayla snorted. “Renovator’s delight, my ar—”
“How are you going with those flowers, Leah?” Juniper hastily interrupted, sliding a warning glance towards Billy as she cut off Mikayla’s impending swear word.
“Okay, I think.” She put her brush down and reached for the wine. “You really think I’m fancy?” She asked, turning to Mikayla.
“Sure, you are. That gorgeous dress you’re wearing probably cost more than every dress I own, combined.”
Leah hesitated, seeming to wrestle with herself for a long moment.
“I’m recently divorced. My husband…ex-husband, is a wealthy real estate developer.
Nine years of marriage left me with an amazing wardrobe, an old bomb of a car and just enough money to buy Henderson’s shack.
Honestly, I’m not that fancy, but I do love clothes. ”
“That sucks. The husband bit I mean, not the clothes,” Mikayla said with a frown.
“It sure does. But I’ll be okay. I’m planning to do up the shack. I’ve got a bit of experience with that sort of thing, although I’ve never done it on a shoestring budget, but it’ll be fun.”
“Good on you!” Mikayla reached across and rubbed her hand on Leah’s shoulder.
“Thanks.”
Mikayla grabbed her wineglass and raising it in the air, grinned at them both. “Come on girls, a toast. You too, Billy.” Billy reached for his juice cup and held it high. “To Leah!”
“To Leah!”
“Oh, wow, thanks.” Leah smiled shyly before taking a sip of wine.
At that moment, the front door buzzed again. “I’ve got to go get that. Leah, keep going with those flowers. Mikayla…have a snack.”
“Right you are,” Mikayla responded, reaching for the cheese knife. “Cracker, Leah?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Juniper pushed the beaded curtain aside and stepped into the shop.
“William! Hi!”
“Hi.”
His presence seemed to suck up all the air in the room, leaving her breathless. “I, ah…”
“This is a great shop you’ve got here.”
“Oh, ah, thanks.” She couldn’t seem to gather her scattered wits enough to form a coherent sentence.
“I’m wondering if you can help me. I’m looking for a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes, for my mother.”
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, right. Okay.” She moved behind the counter, hoping to put some space between them, to calm her suddenly frazzled nerves. She felt warm all over, and her heart was stuttering uncomfortably.
He smiled at her, causing the stutter to turn into a heavy beat. His warm brown eyes surveyed her, with a glint of amusement lurking there. “You okay?”
“Me? Yeah, sure. Of course.” She was not okay. He was too gorgeous for words and he was taking up a lot of space in her small shop. “You’re welcome to take a look around.” She waved her hand, gesturing vaguely to the shelving that lined the side wall of the shop.
“Great. Thanks.” He moved to a display cabinet of ceramic bowls, picking up one in a deep sapphire blue and turning it in his hands. He studied it for what seemed to Juniper an unnecessarily long time. “You’re very good at this.”
His comment took her by surprise. She was good at it, had worked very hard to become so, but she hadn’t expected him to recognize that fact. “Yes.”
He looked up at her, assessing her for a moment. “It’s for her birthday.”
“Sorry?”
“The gift. For my mother. It’s for her birthday.”