Chapter 19
Chelsea couldn’t prevent the stir of nerves in her stomach at the thought of leaving Lilydale to go plant shopping. Should she stay close to home until Johann was caught? Should she visit Darren with the team and demand answers?
She was tired of being targeted.
But she wasn’t a warrior. The strong rational side of her brain told her to leave it to the experts.
“Are we calling Lauren?” Mila asked.
Chelsea blinked, pushing aside the nerves. “Sure.” It would be great to do something with her two new friends. Chelsea rang Lauren. “Want to come to the nursery and buy plants?”
“You know how to sweet talk a girl.” Lauren chuckled. “I’d love to, but something came up this morning. Can I help you plant them later?” There was a hopeful, wistful tone to her question.
When this was over, she would sit down with her friend. Find out what was really going on in her life. “Of course. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.” She hung up and said to Mila, “She’s busy, but she’ll come around later.”
“Great. I hope Dobby finds a training area near here so we can see each other regularly.” Mila linked her arm through Chelsea’s. “I haven’t met many women since I moved to Perth and I’d love to spend more time together.”
“I’d like that.” She paused. It was definitely another tick in the column for staying in Honeybrook.
Ethan brought his four-wheel drive out of the barn, and Chelsea climbed into the front seat, Mila sitting behind her. The inside was clean and had the sweet smell of cherry blossoms.
Mila sniffed. “Nice scent.”
Ethan’s cheeks reddened. “It reminded me of Chelsea.”
Chelsea’s heart hitched as she glanced at him. “When did you get it?”
He smiled. “When I went grocery shopping the other day. I noticed the car smelled stale.”
He’d remembered. She’d had a cherry blossom moisturiser pack during their summer and had used the lotion and lip balm constantly.
It was still her favourite scent.
They drove out of town. Ethan tracked every car driving past, his hands tightening on the wheel when it was a dark-coloured car.
Surely they didn’t have to worry about someone coming towards them. If anything, they’d have a tail.
“How long’s your list?” Mila asked.
“Long.” She grinned. “We’ll just buy what we can fit in the back.” Which was a pretty decent space, and far bigger than her hire car boot.
“They might offer a delivery service,” Ethan said.
Good idea. Perhaps Aunt Maggie had been a regular customer since this nursery was the closest one to Honeybrook.
Maybe Chelsea should mention her aunt’s name.
Ethan pulled up in front of the nursery which had wide gates at the front and an entrance lined with pots overflowing with flowers and greenery.
Towering gums shaded the building on the side and as they walked through they were greeted with several different paths to take, all lined with rows and rows of plants.
“This is incredible,” Mila said as she took a trolley from nearby.
Chelsea smiled as she took her own trolley, remembering the day Aunt Maggie first brought her here, gave her a trolley and told her she could fill it with whatever plants she wanted for her own garden bed.
It had been thrilling and nerve-wracking, and though Aunt Maggie had given her advice on what plants would suit the soil and the amount of sun the bed received, in the end, Chelsea had been able to buy anything she wanted.
Her first choice had been a banana passionfruit.
With a sad wistfulness she wandered towards the native plants. They would work for the garden beds she wanted to establish with little fuss. Then on to the annuals for those where she needed a pop of colour immediately, and then she spotted the banana passionfruit vine.
Her steps slowed. It wasn’t on her list of plants to buy, but the photo of the ripe fruit on the accompanying tag made her mouth water.
Ethan grabbed two and put them in his trolley.
She glanced at him.
“You’ll replace them eventually,” he said. “Might as well be now.”
Her heart ached. He kept doing things to show how well he knew her. It made her love him more.
Mila looked at the plant. “I’ve never heard of banana passionfruit.”
“It’s amazing,” Chelsea said.
They continued around, buying a couple of hedge plants for areas where the hedge had died, and some sweet-smelling honeysuckle and jasmine for areas where people would sit for extended periods.
She’d done her research, making sure she bought plants that flowered at different times of the year, so the garden always had some kind of focal point.
“Are you landscapers?” the cashier asked as she rang up the purchases.
“No.” Chelsea smiled. “I’m restoring Lilydale Cottage in Honeybrook.”
“Maggie’s place?” the cashier asked.
“Yes. She was my great aunt.”
“Then you qualify for the same discount as she had.”
“Thank you.”
Despite the discount, Chelsea’s breath left her when the cashier rang up the total and Chelsea handed over her bank card. If more people stayed in her cottages, it would go a long way towards paying for the restoration. She doubted she’d see any money from Darren, despite his promises.
“I need to take some photos of the plants for social media.”
Mila and Ethan moved aside so she could take the photos and then record a live video. People commented and liked it, saying they couldn’t wait to see the results.
It was all coming together. She hadn’t felt this excited about something since… well, she couldn’t remember being this excited ever. Not even when she got a new job.
“I’m just going to run to the bathroom,” she told Ethan when she was finished filming.
Ethan frowned and scanned the area. “I’ll come with you.”
“It’s not necessary. You can view the whole nursery from here. There’s only one entrance.”
“There’s another at the back,” Ethan said.
She hadn’t noticed. “Is it open?”
“No.”
“If you’re worried, I’ll go too.” Mila smiled. “You can start loading this lot and we’ll be home, surrounded by the team in no time.”
He scanned the area again. Chelsea kissed him. “I’ll be fine. I promise. Johann won’t kidnap me in broad daylight.” She glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “Is that Darren?”
Ethan spun around, putting himself between her and Mila. She peered around him as Darren walked towards them. What did he want?
Darren stopped a couple of metres away and eyed Ethan warily. “I’d like to speak to Chelsea.”
Chelsea shifted so she stood next to Ethan. “What do you want?”
“I can’t get the money for you. The bank won’t give me anything because I’m not working.”
Odd that he would come here. Had Noah and Rhys told him where they were going? It didn’t seem likely. “I’ll ask my mother what she wants to do about your breach of contract.”
“How did you know we were here?” Ethan demanded, his voice low and lethal.
Darren took a step back. “I, ah, followed you.”
“No, you didn’t,” Ethan said. “I watched for tails and no one was behind us.”
Darren’s face paled, and he looked around, as if searching for an answer.
Ethan stepped forward. “How did you know we were here?” Each word was slow and clear.
“Leyton told me.”
“Try again,” Ethan growled. “Leyton is in gaol.”
Darren swore. “It was Johann, all right. He said I needed to come and talk to you here.”
“Why?” Ethan’s gaze roamed the area.
“I don’t know.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
Ethan stepped even closer, and Darren held up his hands in surrender. “Honestly, I don’t! He just called and said I had to come here and tell Chelsea I didn’t have the money.”
“And if you refused to come?” Ethan asked.
Darren pressed his lips together.
“I’d answer him if I were you,” Mila said. “He looks pretty mad.”
Chelsea grinned and then her bladder reminded her she’d been heading to the bathroom. She scanned the other shoppers. No sign of Johann.
“He’d tell the police about something I did.”
“Like vandalise my cottages?” Chelsea asked.
Darren squeezed his eyes closed but said nothing.
She turned to Ethan. “I really need to use the bathroom. Can we continue this conversation in a minute?”
He nodded and clapped Darren on the shoulder. “You’re coming with us.”
They all walked over to the bathroom, and Ethan rang Josh.
Chelsea left them to it as she ducked into the small stall. What possible motive could Johann have to send Darren here? It could have waited until they got back to Lilydale.
Outside Ethan yelled something she didn’t quite hear, and then there were pounding footsteps across the loose gravel. “Ethan?”
No answer. Quickly she finished and dashed out of the bathroom. Across the nursery by the main gate, she spotted Ethan tackling Darren to the ground, Mila right behind them.
Darren must have run for it.
She stepped forward and a movement in her periphery caught her attention. Before she turned, pain exploded in her head.
Then everything went black.
***
It was immensely satisfying to tackle Darren to the ground, even though pain shot up Ethan’s body at the jolt. Darren’s body cushioned his fall, and Ethan brought Darren’s hands behind his back to stop him moving further.
“Get off me!” Darren yelled.
“When the police get here.” Ethan glanced up as Mila reached them, gasping for breath.
“What’s going on here?” a nursery worker demanded.
“Citizen’s arrest,” Ethan said. “This man is wanted for vandalism. The police are on their way.”
“Could you move him away from the entrance? You’re scaring away customers.”
Ethan scanned the area to find all eyes were on them. He smiled. “Sure.” He tossed his car keys to Mila. “I’ve got cable ties in the back. Can you grab them?”
He dragged Darren to his feet. What had he hoped to accomplish by running away? The police would have tracked him down at home.
He needed to get back to Chelsea, so she knew it was safe to come outside. He’d yelled at her to stay put when Darren ran.
A quick glance at the bathroom made him freeze. The door was wide open.
Where was Chelsea?
He scanned the nursery looking for her pink shirt, but there was no one who even vaguely resembled her.