Chapter 25
Taylor
When I left this morning, Conner was still sleeping. He’ll be annoyed that I didn’t wake him but oh well. He’s exhausted—mentally, physically, and emotionally. Sleep will do him good, and he knows where to find me when he’s ready.
A young woman walks by my canopy. “Good morning!”
“Good morning, how are you?” I’m still pouring bubbles into my machine while Grace sets out little samples of herbal teas.
She’s helping me today, which is awesome.
Not that I need the help, but I do need the company.
I feel a little wonky. Like something is about to happen.
Will it be good or bad or both? I’m too jumbled up to tell.
Conner’s outburst yesterday gave me a lot to think about.
I want to wrap him up and hold him forever.
His need to provide and protect isn’t just a desire, it’s his survival mode from being used and abused when he was young.
His worth is directly tied to his output.
It wasn’t fair back then, and it isn’t true anymore.
Man, I could kill his parents for what they’ve done to him.
If I knew where they lived, I’d pay them a visit and give them a piece of my mind.
I don’t want his history to negatively impact our future and I’m going to do all I can to help him see that we’ll be fine.
Our kids will have a happy, safe home and plenty to eat.
I can even grow all our fruits and vegetables in my greenhouse.
No child of ours will ever be scared or starved like Conner was growing up.
Plucking an amethyst out of a bowl, I rub it with my thumb. Nope. Dropping it back in with the others, I don’t think crystals will solve this problem of mine. Especially since I don’t even know if it is a problem.
“You okay?”
Shooting Grace a smile, I nod. “Just tired.”
“I bet.” She waggles her eyebrows. “You’re probably getting zero sleep now that Conner’s your boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” he repeats from behind me.
I turn around and the instant I see him approach with a caddie of coffees and his baseball hat on backwards, a little of the chaos vibrating in me subsides. “Hey. I was hoping you would sleep in. What are you doing here this early?”
“No rest for the wicked.” He kisses my forehead then hands me a coffee. “Double espresso mocha for you.” Then gives one to Grace. “And a vanilla cappuccino for you.”
“I love you,” she sighs, taking a sip. “Oh god, that’s good.”
Conner studies our perfect set up. “Looks amazing. Do you need any help?”
“No, we’ve got everything set and ready.”
“Okay. I’ll leave you beauties to it then. Text if you need anything.”
He’s leaving already? Why? Maybe I should put him to work because he likes being useful. “Ummm. My bubble machine!”
Conner frowns. “Is it broken?”
“I don’t know.” Not a lie. Not the truth. I have no clue if it’s working because I haven’t used it in a while.
Conner squats down and turns it on. Bubbles fly out of it. He looks at me and winks. “Anything else?”
“No. I… there’s nothing else. Thanks.”
With a soft smile, he kisses me goodbye, and it’s weird.
Chill out, Taylor.
I’m reading into everything way too much. This is silly. Dramatic. Completely dumb. Shaking out of my weirdness, I get back to work.
Sunshine and rainbows. Project positivity. Namaste, everyone.
Conner leaves in the same direction he came from, but he doesn’t look sad or tired. He’s talking to people. Doing his own thing, just like always.
“Oh, you’re that shop I keep hearing about!” someone says, snapping me back into work mode.
“Hi. Good morning.”
“Mommy, look!” A little girl gawks at the stones I have in tiny baskets and bowls for sale. “Can I get some? Pleeeeaaasssee.”
“Do you like pretty rocks?” I ask her.
“Yeah.”
“How about wishes?”
She looks excited and confused. “Yeah. I like those too.”
“Ohhhh. Then come here.” Squatting down so I’m eye level with her, I dip my hands into a small bucket I’ve already filled with a soapy mixture. “Make a wish.”
She closes her eyes, and her little lips move fast. I pull a little something out of my dress pocket and when she opens her eyes again, I make a big bubble with my hands, let it float up, then pop it with my finger.
The second that happens, I open my hand and present her with a little tumbled jasper.
“Wow!” She takes it from me and rubs her fingers over it.
“Put it somewhere safe and tell it all your wishes.”
“Will they come true?”
“You’ll have to see!”
“Mommy! Look!”
Grace has already given the woman one of our free tea samples, which she’s sipping on. “That’s amazing, sweetie!”
Another kid comes up after that.
Then another.
I turn into a bubble fairy, producing magic wishing rocks out of thin air for all of them. It’s a flurry of giggles and excitement for a while, but when it’s over, I catch Conner watching from a food truck. Waving at him feels like the greatest, simplest joy ever. Isn’t that wild?
“Your cell is ringing,” Grace says.
I don’t have time to talk to whoever it is. More and more people are arriving, and I need to be focused. “It’s probably just Carly.” Finally. Seriously, she has the worst timing when returning calls. “I’ll call her back later.”
A woman wearing a cute, crocheted bandana comes up to me. “Hi. Do you have any rose of Jericho?”
“Not with me, but I carry them in my shop.” I hand her a card with my address.
“Cool. Thanks.” She walks away.
Damn. I knew I should have packed some of those. Why didn’t I just load my entire store and bring it?
“Your cell is ringing again,” Grace says.
“Ugh.” I wave it off. “It’s fine. Just ignore it.”
Conner comes back with ice cream. “How’s it going?”
“Really well, but it’s early. I feel like the best business happens first thing at these kinds of festivals. Bet it dies down an hour before the big parade.”
He licks his cone and now that I know what his tongue can do, I’m a little flustered and jealous of the ice cream. Conner eats it until the ice cream flushes with the cone and then hands it over to me.
This is one of our many unspoken things. We share cones and I always get the bottom half because I like the waffle to ice cream ratio. He hates cones. Period.
While I devour it, he glances at my bubble machine. “Where’s the bottle to refill this thing?”
“Under the table.”
He refills it for me while Grace and I put out more succulents. “These are selling well,” she says.
That’s because they’re so happy. Each succulent is in an adorable pot that’s either an animal or has a funny saying on it like, “water me and tell me I’m pretty.”
Absolute crowd pleasers.
Another person comes up and this one I recognize. Sort of. “Taylor?”
“Ryan?”
“Yeah. Wow. Long time no see.” He looks around my booth like he’s actually going to buy something from me, the woo woo girl he dumped in high school. Not that I’m still salty about that, because I’m not. Honestly. “I didn’t realize you still lived here.”
I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean. “Yeah.”
“Can we help you find something?” Conner asks.
Because of course he’s going to assert dominance.
“Conner. Wow.” Ryan’s smile isn’t genuine. “Nah, I was just looking.”
Grace beams at him. “Can we interest you in some tea samples? Succulents? A stone or two?” She has no clue that there’s history between us. Bless. “Or a swift kick in the ass to go with your judgmental glare and receding hairline?”
Conner snorts. My eyes bulge.
Ryan’s smile remains tight as he shakes his head. “Nah. Like I said, I’m good.”
“Mmkay. Bye then.” Grace waves all cheery and looks half-psychotic.
When Ryan walks away, Conner busts out laughing. “Damn, Grace, I was not expecting that.”
“I can read a room, you know.” She hops up and starts rearranging the succulents again. “That dude looked like he needed to have his Mario coins knocked out of him.”
“Didn’t he move far away like six years ago?” Conner grumbles. “What the hell is he doing at the Blossom Festival?”
“I overheard Mom and Aunt Rachel talking about him a few months back. He’s getting divorced because he cheated on his wife and had to move back in with his parents.”
My cell goes off again and we all hear it ringing in my back under the table.
“You gonna answer that?” Conner asks.
“It’s probably Carly. I’ve been trying to get ahold of her and haven’t had any luck. She’ll have to wait now.”
Conner walks behind my table and pulls my cell out of my bag to check it. “It’s your mom.”
“Oh!” I bet she’s just calling to wish me good luck today. “Answer it.”
“Hey Corrine,” Conner says in a friendly tone. “Taylor’s…” His expression falls. Face pales. His gaze swings to me. “We’re on our way.”
My stomach drops. “What’s wrong?”
Conner’s movements are calm, sure, and direct. “Grace. Can you handle the booth?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“We gotta go, Taylor. Now.” Conner grabs my hand. “Your dad is in the ER with chest pain.”