Walker chuckles as he pulls into the spot right in front of her. “Don’t you know? Cars stop in this town.”
I glare at him. “You’re acting weird. And what are all those people doing over there?” I ask, pointing to the human wall tightly packed in front of the bakery. I don’t take my eyes off the group of people, who I can now make out one by one. Rosie, Eli, Fletcher, the Liberty Ladies, Penny, my mother.
“Wait, what are my mom and Penny doing here? What’s going on, Walker?”
Somehow between the time we stopped and all my questions, I didn’t even realize Walker had gotten out of the truck, but now he’s at my side, door open and staring at me. “Do you really want to stay in Hope Harbor?”
I press my hand to his forehead. “Did you hit your head or something?”
“Just answer the question, Tally.”
I sigh. “Yes.”
“Well, we really wanted you to stay, too. We wanted you to feel like you had a place in this town, and turns out, so did your dad.”
“What?”
“The loan, Tally. Your mother finally told us what it was for.”
“I’m so confused.”
Walker motions for my mother and Penny to join us, and the four of us stand in a circle.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you girls the truth,” my mother says, reaching for Penny’s and my hands. Her eyes fall shut and I can see how exhausted the last few days have made her. When she opens her eyes, they’re filled with tears. “I just didn’t know what to do when we lost your father.” She blows out a breath, and I squeeze her hand. “I thought that if I pretended to be okay, if I pretended everything was okay, maybe it would be. And I didn’t want to pull the two of you down with me.”
“Mommy, no,” Penny murmurs, leaning her head against our mother’s shoulder. “We should have known. We should have tried harder.”
“I was determined to follow your father’s wishes,” Mom says, and a smile creeps over her face. “All your daddy and I ever wanted was for you two to be happy. For you to chase your dreams.” She sucks in a breath and straightens, looking at my sister. “Which is why he set aside money to help you open your store.”
Penny nods and then my mother turns to me. “And why he set aside money for you to chase your dreams, too.”
“I don’t need any money, Mom. I just want you to have the farm. I can take care of myself.”
My mother smiles knowingly. “He knew you’d say that, which is why I wasn’t supposed to tell you our plans.”
I hold my breath, waiting for the next words to come out of her mouth.
“His plan all along was to sell off some land, keep just the house and some of the small fields so I would always have my flowers, and then you and your sister would each be able to chase what you wanted.”
“I’m still lost. Are you saying there’s some money for me to fix up Mabel’s?” I ask, turning to the building in front of us.
Walker squeezes my hip. “Better than that. The town and I—”
“The town is not its own being, Cowboy,” I say with a grin in his direction.
“You sure about that? Because we had a whole meeting on this.”
“You attended a town meeting without me?”
“I’d do anything for you, Tally. Anything at all.” Then, like they’ve choreographed it, the crowd next to us opens up and Walker waves a hand toward the bakery. “Welcome to Whisk and Wildflowers Bakery.”
My hand goes to my mouth and I bite back a sob when I see the most beautiful pink sign, complete with a yellow whisk and a host of wildflowers in all different shades.
“It’s perfect,” I rasp.
“The town voted on the name, but if you want something else …,” Walker mumbles.
“Personally, I liked ‘Whipped and Wildflower’ better,” Babs says.
