Chapter 3
Fern stepped out of the bedroom and took a deep, appreciative sniff. “I need to sleep in more often.”
At their small kitchen table, Cody raised his mug at her. “It’s coffee break time for me, so you get rewarded for picking a husband who works odd hours.”
“I’ve been rewarded in so many ways by you. Coffee is like a bonus goodie.” Fern tucked her fingers under his chin, lifting his face so she could give him a sweet, lingering kiss. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Well, I had this wonderful wakeup call at four a.m. That got all the right endorphins firing.”
“That four a.m. adventure—which I also enjoyed very much—is why I’m getting up for the second time today at…” Fern peered at the clock. “Eight? Wow, that’s a lousy sleep-in. I need to try harder.”
“You can have a nap later. It’s your day off.”
Cody slid her chair out, and Fern settled next to him, filled coffee cup at the ready. “Which means I’m going to run around town and do all the things.”
He smiled at her, the soft, barely-there one that made a tug happen deep in her core. “You mean you’re going to go poke into your friends’ and sisters’ business and cause as much chaos as possible.”
“Would I do such a thing?” Fern pressed her fingers to her chest in mock dismay, considered, then grinned back. “Of course I would. Anyone you want me to torment for you?”
“You keep my brother on his toes at the art gallery on a regular basis, so he’s well taken care of.” Cody considered. “You could give your dad hell for a bit.”
Fern laughed. “What did he do?”
“This time?”
A sound that was nearly a cackle escaped before she could stop it. “Yes, this time.”
“Bought me a book.”
“Horrors. The cold-blooded inhumanity of it.” Fern eased closer and peered at Cody’s face. “What book?”
Cody raised a brow but kept his expression blank. “The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances.”
Ahh. Since mid-October, Cody’s new meds for Parkinson’s had made a marked improvement.
He’d also started all the other suggested helps for his condition, including running on a treadmill three times a week and taking up Tai Chi.
All their friends and family were on board to help encourage him as needed. Which explained the book.
“Is it boring?”
“It’s hysterical,” Cody admitted. “It’s a comic book.”
Fern mock gasped. “It includes funny pictures? My father is a cruel, cruel man.”
Cody leaned his elbows on the table. “I love you.”
As always, the words filled her to the brim with satisfaction. “I love you too.”
Another kiss, and another after that, until Cody groaned and escaped the table. “If I don’t go now, I’m going to do something I regret.”
“Make me bagels with cream cheese for breakfast?” Fern batted her lashes.
Heat simmered in his gaze. “There would be cream involved, but no bagels.”
“Dirty boy.”
They grinned at each other, and she rose to give him a proper farewell.
An hour later she rolled into the family bookstore. The gentle tinkle of the bell above the entrance to Fallen Books was still ringing as she hurriedly pulled the door closed to block out the icy air.
“Hey, I’m looking for the Qu–Sh volume of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. You have one laying around this joint?”
From the comfortable chairs arranged around a gas fireplace at the side of the room, a whole bevy of eyes turned her direction. Jackpot.
“That’ll set you back at least fifty bucks. One hundred if it’s in great shape.” Fern’s mom, Sophie, rounded from behind the desk, an oversized teapot in her hands. “Morning, sweetie. Are you ready for our new book club?”
“I think so, but I didn’t realize this would be a family affair.” Fern counted heads. All three of her older sisters were there plus her grandmother Sonora. “Are we reading The Shell Seekers?”
Her oldest sister laughed. Ivy pushed a strand of her white-blonde hair behind her ear then gestured Fern forward to the seat next to her. “Bonus points to you for being able to pull that reference out so quickly. Today we decide what to read for next month.”
“And then we spend the rest of the morning eating the very excellent treats I baked. And gossiping.” Tansy blinked innocently, the gold ring of her brown eyes reflecting the flames of the fireplace. “I mean, discussing the very important things happening in town.”
“And who the important things are happening to?” Rose suggested.
“Well, I was going to suggest we could gossip about our men, but there are some things I don’t need Grandma Sonora or Mom to share.” Tansy gave an exaggerated shiver.
“You’re lucky you adopted them all,” Grandma Sonora told Fern’s mom, Sophie, as she accepted a cup of tea. “Otherwise you’d have had to keep telling them you found them under cabbage leaves in the garden.”
“Why do you think we gave them the names we did? We had it all planned out.” Sophie settled in her own chair and sipped contentedly. “Our garden produced a lovely arrangement of girls.”
“Ah.” Fern nodded at her sister Rose sagely. “So that’s why you’re so prickly at times.”
“Fern,” her mother scolded.
The sisters all hid smiles. At least for a moment before Tansy outright snickered. “Glad someone other than me said it because I didn’t want to be the bad one today.”
“You brought orgasm bites. You’re never the bad sister when you bring those,” Fern assured her, picking up one of the chocolate doughnut holes and dipping it in the accompanying chocolate sauce.
This time Grandma Sonora was the one laughing under her breath. “At the risk of making you all break out into hives, Tansy brought what? And why don’t I have the recipe?”
It was like being wrapped up in a warm blanket in the family room.
The voices were the same as Fern had heard all her life, but now there was something extra to it.
And while they discussed books and shared plans for the coming months, the emotional connection was that much richer for now being a group of grown adult women instead of children and adults.
Her family, Fern decided once again, was like a garden. They all kept growing. In their own ways and on their own paths, but together they kept making their shared world a more beautiful place.
She hugged them all at the end, promising to bring Cody by Rose and Chance’s place for dinner that week. Then Fern stopped at Buns and Roses and picked up lunch to go.
She pulled into Silver Stone and made her way to the main office, waving at familiar faces en route.
“Make sure that delivery shows up on time this week. No, I don’t care that there’s a sale happening in two weeks, we want that order now, as promised.
If that’s an issue, I will discuss matters with a new supplier.
” Charity motioned Fern into the office, pointing to the headset and earpiece she wore.
“Well, if the order is here by Friday, we’ll be happy to stay with you. ”
Even as Fern settled into a chair, her friend’s annoyed expression brightened as if she’d won a battle.
“Thanks so much. Have a nice day.” Charity hung up with a hard poke to her keyboard. “Asshole.”
“You’ve got a mean streak, Ms. Gruzing. Listen to those peons sit up and take notice.” Fern shoved lunch across the desk to her.
Charity all but growled even as she dug into the bag of food. “They’ve tried this one too many times. That sale nonsense? I nearly fell for it before I realized they were doing the fancy raise the prices on the site and then offer a discount bullshit.”
“Cheeky.”
“Bad business.” Charity sat back in her chair. “Tell you a secret. The only reason they still got this order is we had some credit to use up, and trying to get it back would have been like squeezing blood from a stone.”
Fern raised her sandwich. “To good business.”
“To turkey on rye. This is excellent. Thanks for grabbing us lunch.”
“No prob.” Fern considered as she too enjoyed a few bites of her meal. “It feels a little odd to have food from my sisters’ restaurant that wasn’t made by them. I mean, it’s delicious, but them hiring more staff and working less hours themselves is another noticeable step in a new direction.”
“Speaking of steps, did you find shoes yet for my wedding?” Charity’s eyes danced. “I know you’re an old married lady and all, but I plan to enjoy every second of my wedding prep.”
“No shoes yet. Trip to Calgary to grab all the things we need?”
Charity nodded, checking the calendar on her computer screen. “I’m pretty open, so you let me know when, and we’ll go.”
“By ourselves, or do you want to torment the guys?”
“Let’s make it a girls’ trip. Any of your sisters who want to come. I’ll call my sister and see if Chelsea and Suz can drive down from Edmonton to join us.”
“Deal.”
A deep rumble broke into their chatter ten minutes later. “Charity, do you know— Oh. Excuse me.”
Frank Stone, uncle to the family, stood in the doorway, gaze bouncing between Charity and Fern. He frowned for a second before his expression brightened. “Fern, right?”
“Yes, sir.” Fern rose, wiping her right hand clean on the napkin she’d grabbed with her left prothesis. “Good to see you again.”
“Came for a visit,” he explained, glancing at Charity. “Tyler’s gone down for a nap, so I have a chance to explore a little. Know where I could find Dusty? I mean, Dustin.”
Charity grinned. “Don’t think he’s been called that in a long while. Let me look, Uncle Frank.” She turned to the computer and a moment later had the answer. “He’s in the south pasture. If you want to ride out to meet him, I’m sure he’d like that.”
Uncle Frank nodded. “Good idea. I’d like that, too. Seems appropriate. Yeah, seems like a plan.”
Distracted, he turned to the door. He was nearly out before he seemed to shake himself awake. He returned to the desk to offer Charity a hug. “Sorry. See you at supper?”
“We’ll be there,” Charity assured him.
He nodded again, muttering under his breath. He pushed his hat firmly on his head and was out the door, full-on marching toward the horse stalls.
Charity and Fern exchanged a look.
“Is he okay?” Fern asked.