“I do, but why work from one place when I can travel and see other places?” Taryn said. “I guess the go bug hit me when I was in the service. My job was constantly taking me to different bases for computer work, and I like to travel, so when I finished my enlistment, I went to work for an insurance company. I work from home so I can do what I do from anywhere. I don’t know that I’ll ever be ready to settle down to one place. You were in the military longer than I was, Clinton. Don’t you ever get the urge to pack up and go somewhere else?”
“Nope,” Clinton answered. “I like the roots I’m putting down in this area. Helping vets gives me a sense of accomplishment, and working in the flower shop brings me peace.”
Taryn glanced around the table at her two cousins and Clinton. “That’s great, but this would never be a peaceful place for me to put down roots if I ever decided to do something like that.” She thought about the turmoil she had suffered in the past, and always trying to make peace between her cousins surely was not something she would want to do on a permanent basis.
“Why?” Jorja asked. “It’s where we were born and grew up. The houses that we all lived in are still standing.”
“All three sets of your parents moved away. Was there any kind of reason behind it?” Clinton asked.
“My folks left because Mama had nurse training and Daddy was a pharmacist. Their dream had always been to go to Africa and help bring Jesus to the underprivileged, so that’s what they’re doing. They change countries there now and again,” Jorja answered.
“Daddy was still in the military, and without a kid at home, Mama could go wherever he was, but they decided I needed a permanent home, so she stayed here in Shamrock most of the time. Sometimes in the summer, we would go to wherever he was for several weeks. They were in England while Daddy finished up his career, and they loved it there, so they just stayed,” Taryn said.
“My dad was a long-distance truck driver, and Mama did the same as Taryn’s. She stayed around here so I would have roots. They’re in Canada now, living in a travel trailer.” Anna Rose shrugged. “I guess Daddy’s wandering ways got into my blood. My folks say they’re settling in Canada, but I figure they’ll get bitten by the go bug before they get around to building the cabin they’re talking about. And Goldie belongs to me, Taryn. There could be enough blood and broken bones to call Nana Irene about if you try to take her away from me.”
“Girl, if I ever get into a real fight with you, it will be over something more important than a cat,” Taryn said. “You can have her with my blessing, but you better ask Jorja about it first. You know how she pouts if we make decisions without her.”
“I do not pout,” Jorja protested. “And I am sitting right here!”
Clinton finished off his supper and helped himself to a piece of cake. “Looks to me like you were all born with one foot planted solid on the ground and one that longs to run away.”
“Which one wins the race?” Taryn muttered.
Clinton smiled over at her. “Whichever one you feed.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Taryn asked.
“My grandfather tells the old story about the two wolves in each of us. One is evil, and one is good. In your case, one wolf would be the one who roams the hills; the other is the one that builds a home andstays in one place. Whichever one you feed is the one that wins the race,” Clinton answered.
“There would have to be something spectacular to keep me in Shamrock,” Jorja said.
“Hey, we are working at the Lucky Shamrock,” Anna Rose declared. “Could be that this is our lucky summer, and we will find something that makes us want to stay.”
Yeah, right,Taryn thought.It would take more than a sign and a green shamrock on the door of the flower shop to make this a lucky place for me.
Chapter Five
Good grief!” Taryn groaned at all the orders that had been placed in the basket by noon on Thursday morning. “I’d forgotten that this was Memorial Day weekend, but it seems like everyone in the county remembered today.”
“I didn’t even think to question the delivery guy when he brought in so many red and white carnations. Thank goodness he did,” Jorja said as she took the ticket off the top and began making a small round wreath.
“Good morning, or maybe I should say afternoon,” Clinton said, backing into the shop with a baby carrier in his hand and a diaper bag thrown over his shoulder. “I’d like you all to meet Zoe. She will be joining us for the next six weeks.”
Taryn hadn’t been knocked speechless very many times in her life, but she was right then. A thousand questions ran through her mind, yet when she opened her mouth, words would not come out.
Clinton set the carrier in the middle of the worktable and slid the diaper bag off his shoulder with such ease that Taryn wondered if Zoe was his daughter. Was that why none of the women who had put up their money in the contest had a chance with him? Was he involved with Zoe’s mother?
“A baby?” Jorja frowned. “Where did that come from?”
“I could answer that question, but your face would go up in flames,” Anna Rose teased.
“And why do you have it?” Taryn asked. “Are those witches sending you babies instead of cakes now?” She peered into the carrier to see a fat-cheeked infant dressed in a pink onesie. She had dark hair, thick lashes, and looked like a little angel.
Clinton shook his head with a smile. “Zoe’s mother is one of the vets I’ve been counseling and helping use her VA benefits. She’s got PTSD, and the doctors think it’s best if she goes into a rehab facility for six weeks.”
“But—” Jorja started.
“How?” Anna Rose butted in.
