“If you need me to say it again, I will: I’m not here to take Stu away from you.”
“Oh, I know you’re not.”His bravado was painful to witness.I’d caused it.It was my fault he felt like he had to stand guard over his family, ever the noble knight.
“Brother, maybe you won’t believe me, but I love you, and I’m so fuckin’ grateful that you stepped up for Stu when I couldn’t, but I had no right to ask you to do that.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“But I’m not sorry I did because Stu has a father now.Agoodfather.A better one than I could’ve been to him.He has opportunities in life, and he won’t have to grow up lookin’ over his shoulder, dreadin’ poverty and hunger, pain or sorrow.
“And I’m not sorry because I look at you, at the life you’ve made for your family, and I’m so fuckin’ proud of you.”
Bax hung his head.He shook it.
“Fine.You can come to supper, but there are conditions.”
ChapterFifteen
Avery Jane
Fridays were easy.
At least lately they had been, but I hadn’t been sleeping well the last few weeks, and today I was so tired, I felt almost delirious.I’d already chugged one very large lavender London Fog from Coffee Shot and was planning to go back for another.
Usually, the end of the week was busy with bouquet creations for lovers to give one another over the weekend or center pieces to display at family dinners, but the last couple weeks had been slow, so instead I busied myself prepping recurring orders.
One large order would go to the Lee Family Inn, the new-ish and lavish B&B on the outskirts of town that Dixon’s family owned and operated.During the holidays, I’d make bouquets for the inn with fall-colored chrysanthemums and Christmas poinsettias, but throughout the more mundane parts of the year, I made arrangements for them with dahlias and daisies, tulips, and roses, with native Wyoming plants as fillers.
I delivered the table topper to Cade Ranch for Everlea, and she was pleased as punch with the plum-colored Asiatic lilies I’d chosen.But to rough them up a bit for the ranch setting, I’d used a rectangular, reclaimed wood box I’d picked up at a local farmers market, set low vases in the bottom, packed them in peat moss, and wove pincushion scabiosa pods and yellow billy buttons around the vases.A few black dahlias and white anemones finished the masculine look, and feathery wisps of dried pampas grass were the perfect finishing touch.
By the time I finished deliveries in town, it was noon, so I repacked my van and headed out to Lee Valley.The day was gloomy, rain had been forecasted, and the clouds certainly agreed.They’d been rolling toward Wisper since the morning.
I pulled up in front of the large cedar inn that had been built into the side of a mountain, and with its beautiful shingle-and-shake eaves, it was the picture of an expensive, rustic getaway.I was happy that I’d added the black dahlias to the bouquets for Lee Valley, too, because they would enhance the whole natural mountain vibe.
As I set about organizing the flowers by which floor of the inn they would go to, I slipped in my earbuds and jammed out to Madonna’sTrue Bluealbum.If “True Blue” was playing and I wasn’t happy, something was really wrong.And “Live to Tell” had been the song of my soul since I was twelve.
It was fitting that it popped up on my playlist now because the song had always reminded me of Dixon.All those stories he used to tell were his secret wishes and dreams wrapped up in dragons and queens and all their frocks and frills, and I used to be the keeper of those secrets.
Bopping along in my own little world, my whole body broke out in goosebumps when, without warning, someone plucked my right earbud out of my ear, and a deep voice cut through the music.
I yelped in surprise, and the arrangement I’d been holding slipped through my fingers, but before it splattered at my feet, big hands caught it and placed it back in the van with not a flower out of place.
“Sorry,” Dixon said.“Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Jeez, Dixon.”Hand to my heart, I breathed, “You scared the crap out of me.”He passed me the earbud.I took the other one out, tucked them into their box, and stowed them back in my pocket.I looked behind him and saw his car idling.“What’re you doin’ here?”
“I saw you drivin’ over here.I was headed to your shop to change the locks on your back door, but I figured that’d be pretty dumb if you weren’t there.”
“Thanks, but there’s nothin’ wrong with the back door.You don’t have to change the locks.”
“I know.I checked it the other day, but with the break-in at your house, I thought it’s probably a good idea to change it anyway.”
“I’ve never given anyone a key to the back door though.”
“Doesn’t meansomeonecouldn’t get ahold of your key and make a copy, especially if that someone has been snoopin’ around in your house.”
“Oh,” I said, a little taken aback at the thought.He was right, but the possibility had never even crossed my mind.
“It’s no problem,” he said.“Won’t take long.”
