11. Juniper
11
JUNIPER
“ H ey, I met the woman who’s inheriting the Lilacs,” said Grayson when he came bounding into the kitchen where my mom and I were making dinner. His cell rang before either of us could respond, and he held up one finger.
“Sure. Of course. Right away, sir,” we heard him say.
My mom raised a brow in my direction, and I shrugged.
“Would you mind if my sister rides along? She can help get everything out and ready once we arrive,” we overheard him say next.
I put my hands on my hips when his call ended. “What did you just volunteer me for?”
“There’s a crew at the Lilacs installing a state-of-the-art security system. That was Beau Barrett. He’s the, uh, boyfriend of the new owner. Earlier, when I was helping load their vehicle, I told him our restaurant had great food, and after what he’d tipped me, I said I’d be happy to deliver pizza to them sometime, on me, of course.”
“What am I helping with, Gray?”
“This.” He held out the order he’d jotted on a piece of paper. “Oh, and Beau said he thought Samantha might appreciate having another female to chat with.”
“How many people are you serving?” I asked, reading over the list.
“He said fifteen.”
“I’ll call it in,” my mom offered. I handed her the paper, then went upstairs to change. There was no telling whether Cord was one of the fifteen or if I’d even see him. On the off chance I would, I took a quick shower, stuck my hair in a messy bun, then put on a fresh pair of jeans and a sweater.
“Juni, are you ready?” I heard Grayson shout from downstairs just as I finished putting on mascara and some blush.
“Coming,” I hollered back.
“You’re hoping to see him, aren’t you?” he asked once we were on our way to the restaurant to pick up the food.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
He nodded. “He seems like a good guy, sis. ”
Like my mom had to me, I raised a brow in his direction.
“Look, all I’m saying is, when he and I went to get popcorn the day we saw you two at the theater, he said some nice stuff about you.”
I shouldn’t ask. I did anyway. “What?”
“He said he couldn’t explain it, then asked if I’d ever met someone I felt I’d known for years even after only a few hours.”
“Couldn’t explain what?”
“Why he felt that way about you.”
It was the same way I felt about him, not that I’d tell Grayson. Last night, when he’d said he missed me, it was so hard for me not to say I’d missed him too.
“When did they install a gate?” I asked when we pulled up to the estate’s entrance after loading the car with enough food to feed three times as many people as he’d said would be eating.
Grayson shrugged. “I can’t remember the last time I was here.”
“Me either,” I said, turning my head away and wiping my tears.
“I’m not sure what to do here,” said Gray.
I looked beyond him. “Try pressing the button.”
As soon as he had, we heard rustling through a speaker. “Hello, Grayson. Give me a moment to figure out how to open the gate.”
“It’s opening now,” Gray told him, but I no longer heard any background noise.
“He’s English? Is she?”
Gray shook his head. “I think they’re from California. Oh, and they have a cat named Wanda.”
“That’s a cool name.”
“Right? Better than Buttons.”
“We were still in high school when we named her that.”
“I didn’t name the cat; you did. And if you recall, I protested the choice.”
I shrugged, remembering the day my dad had brought the kitten home as a surprise. “Mom was so mad at him,” I muttered.
Gray laughed. “She hates cats.”
“Hated. Past tense. She loves Buttons.”
“Right.”
When we pulled up near the house, the first person I saw was Cord. There were two other guys with him .
“Hey, Juni,” he said as he walked past me to help unload.
“Hey,” I said, following to help.
“Why don’t you get the door, and we’ll bring all this in?” he offered.
“Uh, sure.” I raced up the steps and had my hand on the latch to open it when it hit me that Miss Cena wouldn’t be inside. My eyes filled with tears I quickly brushed away.
“That’s all of it,” Gray said after the four men brought a second load in. “Let me introduce you,” he said, leading me over when a man came down the stairs.
“Mr. Barrett, this is my sister, Juniper.”
He walked over and shook my hand at the same time a woman who didn’t look much older than me came up behind him. “Both of you, please call me Beau. And this is Samantha,” he said.
“Sam,” she said, shaking my hand too.
“Most everyone calls me Juni.”
“What a great name,” she commented.
I looked around the kitchen. “I can’t remember the last time I was here. It has to have been at least a year. Sorry.” I waved my hand in front of my face when I teared up. “Miss Cena was such a lovely woman. I miss her.”
“How well did you know her?” Beau asked.
“Not that well. Once her eyesight got bad, I’d visit and read to her a few times a week.” Gray’s eyes met mine, and I shook my head. The other reason I spent time at the Lilacs wasn’t something I wanted to talk about—now or ever.
“Did she say much about her family?”
Gray and I both shuddered. “If you mean her nephews, Miss Cena didn’t like to think about them, let alone talk about them. Or one of them, anyway. Johnny was okay.”
“Who are the others?” Beau asked.
“Just one. James, but everyone calls him Jimmy.” I made a face. “Hard to believe twins could be so different.”
“James Rooker?” Sam asked.
I nodded. “That’s right.” When I glanced over at Cord, our eyes met, but he quickly looked away.
“Did you say his brother’s name is Johnny?” Beau asked.
“That’s right. He doesn’t live around here, though. ”
“Where does he live?” Sam asked.
“Now that you mention it, I think I remember hearing he went somewhere out west,” said Gray, looking over at me. “I can’t recall who said it, though. Do you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t.”
I glanced at Cord again, who was dishing more food on a plate.
“We should let you folks eat,” my brother said, nudging me.
“It would be great if you could join us for dinner. As you can see, I’m seriously outnumbered,” Sam said to me, motioning to all the men in the room.
Gray shrugged when I turned to him. “Nowhere I need to be.”
“Me either, if you’re sure you don’t mind. I may be biased, since our family owns the place, but I love the Goat’s food.”
Cord’s head shot up. “The Goat?”
“Yeah, have you eaten there?” I asked.
He shook his head. “There’s a bar named the same thing in the town where I’m from.”
“Interesting. You said somewhere in Colorado, right?” Gray asked.
Cord nodded since he’d just taken a bite of pizza.
Sam and I loaded our plates, and she led me to the other side of the room, where it was quieter.
“I found a box upstairs with a bunch of photos in it. I was wondering if you’d mind taking a look to see if you know anyone in them,” she said.
My eyes opened wide. “I’d love to see them.”
She looked down at my empty plate. “Did you want to get more?”
I rubbed my stomach. “I’m stuffed. You?”
“Same.”
When I took her plate and mine and put them in the trash, I saw Cord talking with Beau. The two were head to head about something that appeared serious.
“Ready?” Sam asked.
“What are the two of you up to?” Beau asked as we passed by.
“I’m going to show Juni the box I found.”
“Good idea. I’ll be up in a bit.”
I couldn’t help myself from glancing in Cord’s direction. When I did, I couldn’t read his expression. If I had to guess, I’d say whatever he and Beau were talking about had upset him .
I gasped when I saw the piles of photographs laid out on the floor, and we sat down to look through them. “These are amazing.”
“Some of them aren’t labeled,” she said, pointing to the pile that had been set aside.
When Sam said something about how sad it was that Miss Cena had lost a daughter so young, I glanced at the photo she held in her hand.
“You look like her,” I commented.
“That’s what Beau said. I mean, I see it too. There are so many photos of her everywhere.”
“My mom used to tell me stories about Miss Cena’s life. She didn’t speak of it very often. I don’t think she ever got over losing her only daughter. I mean, how could she? Then losing her husband the way she did.”
“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking,” said Sam.
“Her brother, Jim, was driving Manley home from somewhere, and I guess he was drunk. There was an accident, and both men died. Her husband was only fifty-four when it happened.”
“So sad,” Sam murmured. The photo she held in her hand was of Manley and Cena when they were young. “It’s confusing, though, right? Jim, JD, Jimmy, then there’s Johnny. You said they’re twins, right?”
I nodded and watched as she ran her finger over the photo she held in her hand. Then she looked up at me. “Juni, do you know why Cena left everything to me?”
I reached over and put my hand on hers. “I wish I did. All I can say is there was no way she’d let Jimmy get his hands on it.”
“He’s that bad?”
“Worse. I don’t know him, but East Aurora isn’t a very big place. There are rumors.”
“What rumors?”
“You know, that he drinks too much. Which always leads to him being compared to his grandfather—the one Manley was riding with when he died. Somebody said he gambles. Bets on sports a lot too.”
“Do you know much about his dad?”
“From everything I’ve heard, he was a good guy.”
“How did he die?” she asked.
“Cancer.” I realized I’d been running at the mouth and most of what I’d said was based on rumors. “I’m sorry for gossiping so much.”
“Please don’t apologize. If you hadn’t come over tonight, there’s a lot I wouldn’t know. I have one more question if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
“I get that Cena didn’t want to leave Jimmy anything, but why didn’t she leave it to Johnny?”
“That, I don’t know. Like I said, she didn’t talk about her family very often.”
“What about Jimmy and Johnny’s mom?”
“Wait.” I looked around for a photo Sam had showed me a few minutes ago of Miss Cena and her son. There was a woman in the background who’d seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place her. “That’s who this is,” I said, picking it up. “JD’s wife, err, their mom.” I racked my brain, trying to recall what I’d heard about her. “She had an unusual name. From what I remember when Miss Cena said it, it sounded like a cartoon character. A recent one, though. All I can think of is Cruella and Maleficent, and I know it wasn’t one of those.”
“Juni, was it Ursula?”
“That’s it! Wait. Are you okay? You’re pale, all of a sudden. Did I say something wrong? ”
“How’s it going, ladies?” Beau asked, joining us in the bedroom. He went straight over to Sam as soon as he noticed her expression. “What happened?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. Just a coincidence.”
“What is?” He looked over at me, then back at her.
“Miss Cena’s nephew’s wife’s name was Ursula,” I responded.
“And?” Beau pressed.
“My grandmother had a sister named Ursula,” Sam explained.
I held up the photo. “This is her, but it’s kind of hard to see what she looked like.”
My brother joined us, and we sorted through more piles, but didn’t find any others of the woman. When I yawned twice in close succession, Sam noticed and said we should call it a night.
“Sorry. It’s been a long day,” I said, stifling another yawn.
“I shouldn’t have monopolized so much of your time,” she said, motioning to all the photos.
“I enjoyed it. I promise. And if you need more help, Beau knows how to reach my brother. ”
He offered to walk us downstairs, but I told him I knew the way. When Gray and I reached the bottom step, Cord came around the corner.
“Do you have a minute?” he asked.
I looked at Gray.
“Go ahead. I can wait outside,” he offered.
“I can give Juni a lift home if you need to leave,” said Cord.
My brother yawned. “I am pretty beat.”
I raised a brow. Grayson was a night owl, and it was only nine o’clock. There was no way he’d be in bed before midnight. He turned his head so Cord couldn’t see and winked.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” I said, looking up at Cord. Was it my imagination, or did his eyes blaze like they had in the movie theater?