Chapter Nineteen
Kenny Chessney’s dulcet tones echoed around the car. Tilly never would’ve picked Zach as liking country music. It wasn’t loud enough to hide the rumble of Tilly’s stomach as they drove down the driveway toward the house she’d grown up in.
“Did you not eat breakfast after I left?” Zach queried, his eyebrow rising in a sexy way that had her wishing they were at her place and not in the car.
“I had an apple, but then I started working and got lost in all things data entry.” Actually, she’d surprised herself at how she’d been able to focus on her to-do list. After Zach had left and she’d spent ten minutes staring at her door, she’d convinced herself that work would be impossible.
However, bills needed to be paid and quotas needed to be met, so she’d managed to drag herself to the shower and get ready.
Food had been the last thing on her mind until she’d gotten into the car and the aroma of Flo’s fried chicken hit her. Her stomach had then taken it upon itself to remind her, and let Zach know, that she hadn’t eaten anything of substance.
“You need to look after yourself. Not eating isn’t good for you.”
“I know,” she huffed out. “Let’s just say my mind was on other things before I started working.”
Zach’s grin grew wider. She knew he understood exactly where her mind had been. “If it’s any consolation, I stood staring at my bathroom door for thirty minutes before I actually got in there.”
“It does, actually.” Tilly quite liked the idea that she was as distracting to him as he was to her.
Conversation halted as they pulled into the large parking area that had been added in front of the newly painted workshop/retail space that Chrissy and Ryder had created.
Every second weekend, the farm was open to the public, who could come to buy flowers they picked from one of the greenhouses.
It had been another successful initiative Chrissy and Ryder had come up with after they’d gotten together.
“I would ask for a tour, but I think it might be safer to do that after you’ve eaten. I wouldn’t want the noise from your stomach to scare the flowers from growing.”
Tilly reached into her purse, pulled out a clean tissue, wadded it up, and threw it at him.
Zach deftly batted it away. She loved seeing this lighthearted side of him, and she liked to think that she was partly responsible for his happiness.
“That’s rude. I might just take all the drumsticks and leave you with nothing but the small wings. ”
Zach’s favorite part of a chicken was the drumsticks, another thing she’d learned about him during their text chats. “Oh, that’s cold, even for you, Tulip.”
She gave him a shrug and got out of the car. Zach followed, and once he’d collected the food from behind the seat of his pickup, he held out his hand. She slipped hers into his and they walked up to the house, hand in hand. The door opened the second they hit the top step.
“Hey, you two,” Chrissy said, a big smile on her face.
“Hey, Chrissy. Where’s Ryder?” Tilly asked, extracting herself from Zach’s hold to give her sister a hug.
“He’s checking on one of the cows. He’ll be back in a few minutes.” She lowered her voice and whispered in Tilly’s ear. “You look so happy, Tilly-Pilly.”
“I am,” she whispered back, pleased that Chrissy accepted the change in her and Zach’s relationship from event coordinators to more. Although Chrissy had probably heard about it through the town’s gossip vine.
“Good to see you, Zach. Just put the food on the kitchen table.”
The kitchen had been one of the first rooms to be remodeled and looked fresh and clean, but still had all the aspects of a working kitchen.
The farmhouse sink was tucked beneath the window.
The upper cabinets were a soft-green color and the bottoms were a bright white.
The countertop was white quartz with delicate flecks of gold.
“I always get blown away by how beautiful you made Mom’s kitchen,” Tilly said as she pulled some plates out of the cupboard. The outside may have changed, but the contents and location of all the plates, cups, glasses, and silverware remained the same.
“Yeah, it came out so well. Mom does love it, but she also loves the kitchen in her new place.”
“I can’t believe she’s talking about going to Disney.
I never would’ve thought that was a place she wanted to go.
” Tilly shook her head, aware that Zach had taken a seat at the table in the attached dining area and was watching as she and Chrissy got everything out.
He hadn’t sat with the expectation that they would do everything.
He’d done it because he knew the sisters needed to talk. Another thing she loved about him.
Another thing she loved about him.
The thought slammed into her, and she almost dropped the plates she was holding. She quickly placed them down and prayed that neither Chrissy nor Zach had seen her almost fumble.
Was she in love with Zach?
The answer was immediate and loud in her mind, and with the way her heart fluttered in her chest and bubbles of excitement swirled in her belly, there was no doubt.
She was in love with Zachary Langley.
Oh God. I love him.
“You good, Tulip?” Zach’s deep baritone filled the silence in their conversation.
She pasted a smile on her face and pushed her revelation to the back of her mind to deal with later on. “Yep.”
“Tulip?” Chrissy asked at the same time.
The back door opening saved Tilly from explaining why she was okay with Zach calling her the name she’d disliked being called for most of her life. And not having to explain what had her almost creating a calamity with smashed plates all over the floor.
Ryder strode through the door and went straight up to Chrissy, giving her a kiss on the lips that was anything but chaste.
Her gaze connected with Zach’s, and they shared a moment of mutual understanding. She was sure that was how she and Zach had looked last night in the high school auditorium.
How was that only last night?
So much had happened between them in less than twenty-four hours. Their relationship had seemed to go from zero to sixty. It felt like it, but they’d been building to this moment over the last few weeks.
After a few seconds, the couple broke apart, and with his arm slung around his wife, Ryder spoke. “Tilly. Zach. Good of you to bring lunch.”
“Pleasure.” Zach stood and held out his hand, which Ryder took. “How are you?”
“Great. Flowers are growing, even in this cold weather. The cows are all nice and warm in a winter barn. I have a beautiful wife. Life is grand.”
Tilly stared at her brother-in-law, surprised at his open response.
“Life is grand, isn’t it?” Zach murmured. He hadn’t been looking at her sister or her sister’s new husband when he said it. He’d been looking directly at her, and she felt the words in her soul.
*
“I think we will need about thirty pots to go across the stage,” Tilly said as she lightly touched the petals of one of the poinsettia plants.
In addition to sprucing up the house and constructing buildings to accommodate ranching at Bloom Flower Farm, Chrissy and Ryder had built an additional two greenhouses, one of which they were standing in, surrounded by red and white plants.
“Do you have the exact measurements of the stage?” Chrissy asked. “That will help us work out whether thirty will be enough. You don’t want to have it looking too sparse.”
While she didn’t have the exact measurements, Tilly knew the stage wasn’t going to be huge.
“Tulip’s right. Thirty will be plenty,” Zach piped up in her defense, and she wanted to reach up and kiss him. Having his constant support was something she could get used to.
Chrissy watched them, apparently waiting for Tilly to say something about Zach using her given name. She’d avoided addressing it earlier, and she planned to keep avoiding talking about it. Tilly kept a serene look on her face. “Okay, thirty it is. Anything else you need?”
“We could put some roses out if you want them too,” Sunny suggested.
“Sunny!” Tilly rushed over and gave her other sister another hug. “I know how much you love them, but roses aren’t a Christmas flower. The poinsettias will be plenty.”
Sunny shrugged. “Yeah, you’re right. Just thought if we use white ones, it might add a good contrast.”
“It would, but if we wanted a contrast, I’d go for white poinsettias.”
“I can get white ones if you want to go down that route,” Ryder added.
Tilly laughed at his enthusiasm. “Thank you, but no, we’re good. If you want to expand your new poinsettia business, then go for it.”
Chrissy hooked her arm through her husband’s arm. “Slow your roll, cowboy.”
Ryder laughed and pressed a kiss to his wife’s forehead.
“Okay. Okay. This live-action Nativity play’s a really good idea, Tilly.
I’m glad Chrissy talked me into being involved.
” Ryder’s change of subject was abrupt, but Tilly went with it.
“Everyone’s so excited. We kind of wish Christmas Eve was tomorrow instead of a few days away. ”
Tilly blushed—she couldn’t help it—and quickly bent over to study one of the poinsettias in great, unnecessary, detail. She wasn’t used to receiving praise for an idea she had, because she’d never seen one through from beginning to end. “I do too,” she said quietly without looking up.
Her phone buzzed, and Tilly pulled it out, glad that she didn’t have to say anything else.
Relief swamped her when it was Rainey’s email address on her screen. As much as she wanted to open it, she didn’t want to do so in front of Chrissy in case she gave something away.
Because of her past track record, and the fact the application form said Kathryn Lancaster was going to be the narrator, Tilly wanted to announce Rainey Webster at the last moment so everyone involved in the play would be excited to meet her.
After the lack of communication from Rainey, her response eased some of Tilly’s worries. The email would be confirming her arrival time. It wouldn’t be anything else. Tilly wouldn’t allow it to be, even though her instincts were pinging that it wasn’t good news.
“All good?” Zach murmured in her ear.
“Yep. I’ll read it later.”
Zach looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead he gave a quick nod. If it was bad news from Rainey, Tilly would rather deal with it alone at her place rather than in front of Zach and her family.
“We’ve got the flowers settled and the rehearsals are going well. I’m so proud of everything you’ve done, Tilly-Pilly.” Chrissy came up and gave her a big hug. “You’re going to knock the socks off the town, as well as the judges, and you’re going to win the contest.”
Tilly had to blink rapidly. “Thank you, and honestly, if you and Ryder hadn’t agreed to be part of it, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Chrissy pulled back and smiled at her. “You would’ve worked it out. I know you would’ve.”
“Right? She’s amazing,” Zach agreed, his hand resting at the small of her back, a solid reminder that he’d always been there for her.
“We make a good team, don’t we?” She glanced up at him, their gazes connecting, and heat flared between them.
Suddenly she wished they were anywhere but at the family farm.