Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Delaney
The front bell jingles as the door to The Perfect Petal swings open, a rush of summer air trailing in. I’m trimming stems at the counter, and two sets of eyes now stare back at me.
“Hi, Mommy,” Leia says, both she and Wren giggling.
Darla turns the corner and comes inside. I haven’t actually seen her since the news got out. She could very well be mad at me for making her miss seven years of her granddaughter’s life. Lord knows I would be.
“Day two of summer, and they’re already bored.” Darla groans and pats the girls on the back. “Go find something to do, I need to talk to Delaney.”
The scissors slip from my grasp, falling onto the counter with a thud. “Lottie brought over some cookies from Laurel’s. They’re in the breakroom,” I tell the girls.
They look at one another, squeal, and run off through the back doors.
“Is he here?” Darla asks, walking around the counter to join me.
Fear grips me. I’ve always loved Darla, but I’m not na?ve enough to think she’s not angry at me. “No, he’s at Blue Prairie. They don’t really need me now—”
Her hands land on my upper arms, and she pulls me toward her, hugging me in a tight grip. “Welcome to the family,” she whispers.
“But…”
She doesn’t let me go, so I hug her back. “You are. If he can’t get his head out of his ass, it doesn’t matter. You’re Leia’s mom, and that makes you family.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “Oh… well… you’re not mad?”
She draws back, but her hands stay on my upper arms. “No. I’m just glad you’re here now. Mother to mother, I want you to know, I love her. I would have loved her no matter what, but thank you for giving me another granddaughter to love.” She wraps me in a hug again.
“Okay, Mom, give her some air.” Lottie walks in with Poppy.
“You’re going to suffocate her, Aunt Darla,” Poppy says.
Both of them come over to the counter.
“Where are the little runts anyway?” Romy follows behind, a container of chicken salad in her palm and a box of crackers tucked under her arm.
How does she stay so thin?
“In the back. I bribed them with cookies,” I say.
“Cookies?” Romy’s eyes perk up.
“Jesus, do you have a tapeworm?” Lottie asks, sliding up on the counter.
Bennett’s entire female side of the family is here, and none of them are giving me the cold shoulder or blatantly pointing the finger at me.
“When does Operation Bennett Gets a Swift Kick in the Ass start?” Romy asks, dropping the chicken salad and crackers on the counter.
“Leave it to me,” Darla says.
I sigh. “You guys, it’s complicated. Maybe we just let whatever is going to happen work itself out with time.” I continue putting the flower arrangement together.
None of them say a word, and they’re all staring at me with different faces of confusion.
“If we wait for Bennett to get a clue, you’ll be on your death bed before he realizes what he’s missing out on,” Lottie says.
“Look who sounds so assured. Mom had to talk to you. Poor Brooks was like a dog behind a fence with a steak on the other side, panting to be let free.” Romy picks up one of the caramel candies we sell.
Poppy smacks her hand. “Are you paying for that?”
“She thinks everything around the ranch is hers for the taking.” Lottie raises her eyebrows. “Payback for throwing me under the bus. And you know how much I struggled with my feelings for Brooks.”
Poppy puts her arm around Lottie’s shoulder. “It’s all in the past now. You’re happily married.”
“That I am.” Lottie sticks her tongue out at Romy, but Romy only shrugs and searches the counter for something else to eat.
“Mom?” Leia runs out of the back room, Wren right behind her. She stops and stares at all the women, shrinking back into herself.
“Whoa, those eyes give her away,” Lottie says.
“So does the nose.” Romy points, then turns to Poppy. “How did you not see it?”
“Leave me alone, I didn’t know about…” Poppy lets her words trail off. “What’s up, girls?”
“Hi, Leia, I’m your Aunt Lottie, and the one with the mouth full of food is your Aunt Romy.” Lottie points at herself. “I’m the cooler one in case you were wondering.”
“Hi.” Leia lifts her hand, and she meets my gaze behind them all.
Wren comes up to her side. “We want to make flower arrangements.”
Lottie looks at Romy. “Us too. Get her hands busy so she can stop eating everything she sees.”
Wren is already rushing toward The Stem Bar. “Do we get to cut stuff?”
Leia steps closer, her voice softer. “Can we really make our own bouquets?”
I crouch down between them. “Absolutely. You’ll each pick out three flowers, then we’ll go over the next step.”
“You know, since Delaney started here, this little bar has been very popular,” Poppy says.
I look at her over my shoulder. “I’m sure it always was. It’s a great idea.”
“I think they like that you guide them and help.” Poppy smiles at me.
“I think you’re saying that so I’ll continue to work here.”
We had a conversation about me moving on a few days ago.
It’s too hard to be around Bennett and not actually be with him.
Neither of us can move into our new relationship roles when we’re together all day.
As it is, I’m not going up to Blue Prairie much.
Once a week maybe, to direct the workers and help solve any problems. I miss doing it myself, but I think it might be hard for Bennett to look me.
“Are you thinking about leaving?” Darla asks, settling into one of the armchairs nearby.
I show the girls how to strip the leaves off the stems and let them pick whatever colors they love. Wren pulls out every bright hue under the sun, whereas Leia, more careful, compares them to each other and pulls out more pastel ones.
“You have your daddy’s eye,” Poppy says to Leia, and she freezes, staring up at Poppy. “He’s just a very careful person, thinks things through. Not like our little Wren, who dives in and goes for what she wants and doesn’t second guess her decision.”
Poppy’s trying to make her comment better, and the frown she gives me suggests she regrets it.
“Both are great qualities,” I say.
“Does that mean I’m more like my mom?” Wren asks, her voice slightly shaky.
“It means you’re like me.” Darla raises her hand. “It’s not good or bad, just unique to you.”
Thank you, Darla.
“Did you know my mom was an artist?” Wren asks, positioning her flowers at different heights.
I hand her some greenery to fill it in. “I did. Have you ever seen her work?”
No one says anything, but whether I like it or not, Kristie is in my life. She’s Wren’s mother, and although I didn’t care for the woman, I’m going to make sure her daughter knows she can talk to me about her.
“In the basement. Daddy has it down there.”
No one says anything.
“It makes him sad to look at it, I think.”
I catch Lottie glancing at her mom, but I can’t see Darla’s reaction.
“It’s hard to lose someone. I’m sorry you never got to know her.” I put my arm around Wren and kiss the top of her head. “Maybe you should ask your daddy to tell you some more stories about her.”
The back door opens, but this time, there’s no bell. Just the faint creak of wood and the weight of a presence that hits me before I even turn around.
Bennett.
The air shifts, as if everyone in the room took a breath and forgot to exhale.
He doesn’t say anything right away. Just stands there, taking in the scene. He’s wearing jeans and a soft, worn T-shirt that clings to his shoulders. His hair is messy, and he looks sexy as hell.
His eyes aren’t on me though. They’re on Wren and Leia. On the way they’re sandwiching me. His jaw clenches as though he’s trying to bite back a thought that’s already halfway out.
“Hey,” I say softly.
He clears his throat. “Hey.”
Wren runs over to him. “Dad! Look what I made! Delaney helped me.”
He looks at her bouquet, a bright mess of marigolds and snapdragons and one big sunflower. “It’s beautiful.”
Leia walks over, slower, holding her bouquet as if it will fall apart if she moves too fast. “Look at mine.”
Bennett’s voice gentles. “Beautiful as well.” He looks between them. “You two are going to put me out of a job.”
They giggle and come back to the table, filling in pieces and adjusting the heights.
All the women concentrate on their own bouquets, except for Darla.
“We’ve got two natural designers on our hands.” I close my eyes when the words repeat in my head.
We.
Our.
As if we’re a couple.
God, Delaney.
He nods, and I meet his gaze. Something behind his eyes softens, but the hesitation, the flicker of pain or memory or maybe just plain fear, also lingers there. The part of him that still hasn’t forgiven me.
“Delaney, you good if I leave them here? I need Bennett’s help with something.” Darla abruptly stands.
“Now?” Bennett asks, his tone suggesting he does not want to go with her. “I just got back, and it was a long day in the sun.”
“Sorry, yes, it has to be now. Come on. Lottie, we’re taking the UTV.”
“And how do I get home?”
“Call your husband,” Darla says and walks out the front door.
Bennett steps alongside me. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” He goes to his office, drops his bags and comes back out with his cowboy hat, and heads out the front door.
“He’s about to get a talkin’ to,” Lottie says, laughing. “Hopefully, she comes up with something better than being a weed.”
The other two women laugh as if there’s more to what Lottie said.
I try to concentrate on the bouquets, unsure how Darla thinks she can get Bennett to forgive me. Then again, I know better than to question a mother’s tenacity when it comes to her child.