Chapter 37
MIRANDA
Miranda woke the next morning to a soft knock on her door. She rolled over to check her bedside clock.
Seven a.m.
Who knocks at seven?
Pete?
She sat up taller and massaged her temples. She’d never had a chance to speak with him last night. He’d left with Lacy before she could catch up to him.
“Coming,” she called, reaching for her robe.
It was a Scotch flannel with a cozy soft fleece interior.
She tied it tight and put on her matching green slippers before padding to the front.
There was no one at the door. She peered out the framed glass window only to see the rising sun kissing the top of the trees on her street.
Odd.
Had she dreamt the knock?
She had been awake much of the night, her thoughts consumed with the kiss and Jim. Maybe she had dozed off and not realized she was dreaming.
She was about to head to the kitchen and brew a pot of coffee when she noticed something on her porch.
Were those flowers?
She opened the door a crack.
Sure enough, a ceramic vase rested on her porch. It was filled with daisies, lilies, sunflowers, and stalks of eucalyptus.
There was a note.
To Miranda,
Thanks for a magical evening. Half Moon Bay has me under its spell. That’s because of you. Looking forward to spending another evening beneath the harvest moon with you.
XO,
Jim
Miranda clutched the note to her chest. That didn’t sound like a business note.
No, much more like a love note. She wasn’t reading into things.
He’d brought her flowers at the crack of dawn.
Come to think of it, where had he even found flowers at this early hour?
Most of the shops downtown weren’t open yet.
She brought the flowers inside and set them next to the bouquet of sunflowers he’d brought last night.
At this rate, she could open a flower shop.
She went through her morning routine of making a pot of coffee and toasting a slice of sourdough.
She enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee and her toast with handspun honey at the kitchen island.
It had been a long time since a man had sent her flowers.
Jim had given her flowers—twice!
She plucked a dainty, pale yellow daisy from the vase and ran it under her nose, breathing in the flower as if she were breathing in Jim. And not a basic bouquet. He’d put thought into these and gone out of his way to find them.
She sipped her coffee and opened her phone. Shelby had given her highly detailed, specific instructions about when and how to respond to comments and engage online. Miranda hadn’t seen the post since last night. She’d been too caught up in dinner and dancing with Jim.
The hushpuppy picture had over eight thousand comments. Miranda laughed out loud and nearly snorted her coffee up her nose as she read through some of them.
Oh, hey, hushpuppy, where ya at?
Hush… I don’t see a puppy.
People were too clever.
She liked several of her favorite comments and replied.
Although none of her responses were as witty as some of the posts.
Then she reviewed the schedule for the day.
She would open the store as usual. Her first “assignment” was to cover the pumpkin-weighing contest. That was at noon, so she had plenty of time to get ready and prep the Green Grocer for another busy day.
Would Jim drop by this morning?
She hoped so, but there was the lingering issue of Pete.
She needed to talk to him first. She trusted him implicitly.
If he had concerns about Jim, she would take them to heart.
He had been visibly upset by their kiss last night.
She needed to check in with her son and repair any damage she might have done.
With that in mind, she decided there was no time like the present.
Pete was an early riser. Hopefully, she could catch him now and clear the air before the whirlwind that this day would surely become.
She cleaned up the kitchen and went through the back door.
The sun was already warming her garden beds.
A handful of pumpkins waited on their shared deck.
Elise had bought them to carve, but none of them had had an extra minute to spare between preparing for the Fall Harvest Fest and Voyager.
She made a mental note to put a date on the calendar for one night next week. She would make a pot of her famous turkey chili and honey cornbread, and the three of them could watch campy Halloween movies and carve pumpkins.
It would be nice if Jim could stay for that.
Don’t go there.
He’s leaving tomorrow.
She felt a twinge of sadness at the idea as she knocked on Elise and Pete’s door. The kitchen lights were on, which meant at least one of them was up.
She waited for a minute until Elise came to the door.
“Morning, Aunt Mimi. Come in, you want a coffee?” Elise was still in her cozy cat-print pajamas. Her hair was tousled from sleep, and her eyes were barely open.
“Is Pete up? I wanted to have a quick chat with him before I prep the store.” Miranda peered around her niece.
“No.” Elise yawned and stretched her neck in little circles. “I don’t know where he is. He made coffee and left a note asking if I could cover at the store this morning and that he’d catch me later at the pumpkin weigh-off.”
“Oh, okay.” Miranda was slightly disappointed. She didn’t want there to be lingering or unspoken tension with Pete.
“Do you think he really hit it off with Lacy last night?” Elise made a clicking sound and gave Miranda a cheeky wink. “I mean, sorry, not to get too racy, he’s your son, but maybe he had an overnight guest that he escorted home.”
“Did Lacy stay over?” Miranda didn’t care.
She wasn’t a prude, but she hadn’t gotten the sense that Pete was thrilled with the idea of being set up either.
Every time she’d looked over in his direction last night, he had seemed stiff and uptight.
Maybe she had read the situation wrong. Maybe his rigid body language had been because of her.
“No clue.” Elise brushed sleepy dust from her eyes and yawned again. “I went out with some friends since Lacy gave him a ride home. I never saw him last night, but I got home late, so maybe.”
“Well, I’ll chat with him later then.” Miranda tried to sound upbeat.
“I need like a gallon of caffeine and a shower. We went dancing and closed the pub down.” Elise winced, shielding her eyes from the sun. “I’m going to pay for it today, but I’ll be at the store shortly to help you.”
“Take your time.” Miranda blew her a kiss. “I’ll see you when I see you.”
She returned to her cottage to shower, putting on a little extra makeup and curling her hair into soft waves.
She couldn’t ignore the buzzy energy pulsing through her body, thinking about the day ahead.
She just hoped she and Pete could grab a minute sometime today.
She was genuinely interested in Jim, but she wouldn’t pursue it if Pete didn’t approve.