“Julia,” Becky huffed, twisting a necklace around her finger nervously. “You have a guest.”
Looking up from the cutting block where she was making sandwiches, Julia smiled. “Who is it?”
Jerking her head toward the living room twice, her expression a little frantic, Becky didn’t reply, just motioned for Julia to follow her.
Curious, Julia grabbed up the dishtowel and wiped her hands as she headed toward the front of the house.
Becky hurried toward the front door. “I’m just gonna grab that—thing—from the car…” she stuttered before escaping onto the porch, tossing a nervous glance over her shoulder.
Julia scowled in confusion, then shrugged, turned to the woman, and smiled shyly. “Can I help you?” she asked, admiring the woman’s long, glossy red hair.
The twenty-something girl stood and stepped hesitantly forward. “I brought cards for your shop—but I don’t know if you’ll want them.”
A little taken back by the woman’s demeanor, Julia smiled with what she hoped was a reassuring expression. “Let’s take a look, shall we?” She motioned toward the display case.
The girl stepped to the counter and cautiously spread out her cards for Julia to inspect, her gaze darting back and forth between the cards and Julia.
“These are wonderful,” Julia whispered in awe as she lifted an artfully created card with a bird motif and ribbon. “I hear it’s fun to make these, but I don’t think I could ever make something like this.”
The woman smiled weakly, shrugged one shoulder and twisted her hands in front of her, her long red nails clicking. “Oh, I’m sure you could.”
Hoping the girl would relax, Julia smiled and extended her hand. “I don’t think we’ve met, I’m Julia.”
The woman bobbed her head and placed her cool palm in Julia’s for a handshake. “I’m Gloria.”
Shock jolted through Julia as she stared into the girl’s deep green eyes. Understanding, and maybe even a challenge, flashed in her expression.
A pink blush spread up Gloria’s neck and under the sprinkle of freckles on her cheeks as she withdrew her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Well, I’ll be going now,” she announced, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder. “Good luck with the shop.”
Julia nodded, unable to find her voice until Gloria was nearly out the door. “Come again, and bring more cards,” she called.
Gloria just lifted a hand in farewell and ducked out the front door.
Moments later, Becky creaked open the screen and poked her head around the doorjamb to gaze at Julia. “You okay?” she questioned, her eyes large.
Julia snorted and tucked the box of cards in the display case. “Yeah, no thanks to you.” She straightened and plopped one hand on her hip. “I can’t believe you jumped ship at the first sign of pirates.”
Adjusting her necklaces, Becky laughed. “I figured you didn’t need my help, but I did stand on the porch and listen.” She grinned, her eyes twinkling.
“Oh, and I appreciate that.” Julia laughed, reclaiming the dishtowel and turning toward the kitchen.
“No problem, Captain,” Becky chuckled, returning to the tea table.
* * *
By the end of the week, the display case was filled with one-of-a-kind, handmade items and the porch was brimming with flowers and houseplants, in colorful, cast-off pots of all kinds, rusted buckets, jars, and crocks, and other various vintage containers. Chad’s bucket stands stood in the yard under the shade tree, ready for buckets of flowers.
Becky tacked a frame containing the shop’s business license to the wall over the cash register and brushed her hands down her flowered caftan, happy that Tara and Winnie’s connections at the courthouse had pushed through the license without a hitch.
Tugging a pen from her lopsided bun, she marked the license off her checklist, then tucked the clipboard under her arm. She sauntered to the kitchen humming a tune, then paused in the doorway and sighed happily. “Oh Julia, this room is just like I dreamed it would be.”
Julia turned from arranging decorated tea tins on an antique wood tray and smiled. “I love it. I’m so glad you showed me that picture in the magazine.”
“When did you get the fridge?” Becky asked. “It wasn’t here last time.”
Lifting the tray and heading for the living room, Julia laughed. Justin saw it at a yard sale for $30 and picked it up for me. Don’t you love the pump handle?”
Becky nodded. “It was the final piece to complete the room. It’s perfect.”
Julia laughed as she passed Becky. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be collecting stuff for a while yet,” she said with a wink.
“It gets in your blood, doesn’t it?” Becky agreed as they moved down the hall.
Julia placed the tea tray on a side table where a hot water dispenser stood empty but ready. Stepping back to gaze around the room, she sighed. The place looked like a quaint boutique. Never had she dreamed it possible.
Becky waited at the front door, and both women stepped onto the porch where Winnie rested on a wicker chair with a kitten on her lap. “This little gal is purring like a motor boat,” the old lady crooned.
Julia and Becky dropped exhausted into wicker chairs, and Julia ran her hand through her curls and sighed. “Thank you so much, ladies. I could never have pulled this off without you.”
Becky laughed. “We would never have been able to stay away.”
Crickets chirped as the day wound down, the sky glowing pink and gold.
“Chad will be delivering the first batch of cut flowers early in the morning,” Julia said, rubbing one hand across her forehead. “I’m going to practice with them and see if I’m any good. You ladies are welcome to come by and offer your opinions.”
“Oh, nice!” Becky replied.
Winnie nodded and continued to pet the kitten. “I’d love to.”
“Fergus is on standby with more house plants and garden flowers if needed,” Julia said, mostly to reassure herself. “I think we’re almost ready.”
Becky sighed contentedly, and Winnie nodded again, her knobby fingers gently smoothing down the sleeping kitten. Quiet moments passed, filled with bird song and a gentle breeze.
“I don’t suppose you’d consider parting with this little gem,” the old woman asked Julia hopefully. “It’s been pretty quiet around the house since Tara moved up to the inn.”
Pain flooded Julia’s heart. She had known on some level that five cats would be a bit much, but she hadn’t allowed herself to think about letting any of the kittens go. Losing those she loved was still not something she could deal with. Willing her heart rate to slow, she watched Winnie snuggle with the kitten. Undoubtedly, the little thing would be adored and pampered.
Slowly, her fear of loss ebbed into a faint glow of pleasure at the thought of Winnie spending her evenings with the kitten curled on her lap.
“Well,” she started, her voice cracking, “She’s still too young—but, I haven’t named her yet.”
Becky absently arranged the multiple necklaces on her chest. “What did you name the others?”
Julia smiled shyly. “The tiger striped one is John and the black one is—”
Becky’s hand flew up. “Let me guess, Paul?”
Winnie laughed as Julia nodded. “How did you know?”
Lifting the kitten to her cheek, Winnie chuckled. “You do know that Paul is a girl, right?”
Julia laughed out loud. “Perfect.”
* * *
Julia lifted a hand in farewell to Winnie and Becky as they backed from the driveway. As she turned back to the living room, Ringo trotted up to stand beside her. Julia’s eyes roamed through the room and the little dog sat on her foot, evidently a little insecure from all the hustle and bustle.
She looked down at him and smiled. Bending to scoop him into her arms, Julia buried her face in his neck fur. “Sorry, I’ve been so busy, little man,” she crooned. Holding him up to gaze into his eyes, she tilted her head. “You
are doing okay with all this?”
Ringo panted and smiled, his tongue lolling. Julia laughed, tucked him under her arm, and wandered toward the kitchen.
George lay on the kitchen floor, watching her kittens scamper and chase dust motes. Julia let Ringo down and leaned on her elbows across the butcher-block island to watch.
Things were changing – she was changing.
The kittens tumbled and tussled, making her smile. Turning to wander to her bedroom door, she stopped to stare across the room and thought of Chad. He’d called a few times, mostly just to say hi and see how she was getting along. She’d been busy, she acknowledged, but she kind of missed having him pop in. Her brow rose in surprise and a slow grin spread across her face. That sneaky man was giving her the time to miss him.
* * *
The next day dawned bright with birdsong waking Julia. As she sat up and stretched, welcoming Ringo onto her lap, a gentle smile spread across her face. Normally,
new and unknown situations left her feeling awkward and tense, but today was all about her flowers and friends. She could do this.
Hurrying through her bath and getting dressed, Julia kept an ear open for Chad’s truck, but she had all the buckets lined up on the porch and half filled with cool water before he arrived.
Nearly dancing in place, she watched Chad and Bobby carry the coolers of flowers up the walk.
Chad put the first cooler down and laughed. “Could you look any happier?”
“I don’t think so!” Julia exclaimed as she bent to remove the lid. “Oh Chad, look at these!” Carefully she lifted an elegant bunch of red tulips from the cooler and held them to her face to inhale the smell. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
He grinned and motioned to Bobby to grab more coolers. “You sure are.”
Julia blushed, her eyes shining.
When the flowers were unloaded, Chad tugged off his gloves and stood beside Julia, watching her work magic with the flowers. Julia sensed his mood shift and warmth ran down her spine like warm water. She glanced up and he shuffled his feet. “I’m gonna get out of your way now,” he murmured. “You all set?”
Julia waved at Bobby as he climbed in the truck. “I think so,” she answered, gazing around her at the coolers and flowers as if she were a child in a toy store. Finally, she smiled up at Chad and he grinned back, lost for a moment before he shook himself and said good luck, then sauntered down the walk toward his truck.
* * *
Julia was still unpacking bundles of long-stem roses, daisies, carnations, and freesias when Winnie arrived.
“Thanks for coming,” Julia called over her shoulder as she arranged purple snapdragons in a bucket. “I’m not sure how I’m going to figure all this out.”
“No problem, dear,” Winnie commented. “Oh my lands! Just look at all this!”
Julia nodded, stepping back to take in the buckets of blooms displayed in the racks Chad had made, a rainbow of color and scent spilling from each. Her breath caught in her throat as Winnie’s arm clamped around her shoulders.
“It’s like a dream,” Julia whispered.
* * *
The day flew by with Julia and Winnie bustling around the house talking nonstop about complementary colors, flower arrangements, and packaging.
Julia’s favorite part of the day was combining selections of cut flowers, then laying them on colorful paper and wrapping them with a big lacey ribbon. By the end of the day she felt like a pro.
Becky came by in the afternoon, and all three women enjoyed themselves immensely as they had a sit-down session around the dining table to discuss the vases and planters Becky wanted to bring over from the boutique.
Bobby’s mother arrived, ending the meeting, her chest heaving and eyes bright in her red face. “You certainly know how to get people talking,” she huffed at Julia, her darting gaze missing nothing. “At least you finally got something for a body to sit on!”
Julia smiled and nodded, unsure if the woman was referring to people talking about her or the shop.
The large woman inspected the kittens one by one, and then spent almost an hour carefully scrutinizing each and every item that would be up for sale by the locals before she settled into a chair on the porch with a cup of tea.
Ringo spent the day trotting through the house sniffing around guests’ ankles and scurrying out of the way as the women tromped through the house talking and laughing.
As evening threatened, Julia tugged on the hose where she stood watering the flowers along the border of the yard. She was chatting with an inn guest who’d stopped by to ask about mums, when she noticed Fergus standing in the corner of the yard, his apron stiff with dried mud and his boots still laceless.
Excusing herself, Julia hurried to his side. “Hi Fergus,” she said, giving him a shy smile, “I’m so glad you came by, would you like some iced tea?”
The old man’s eyes glittered. “Nah, I just wanted to see how things was coming along.”
Looking back toward the groupings of flowers all along the yard and porch, Julia shook her head. “It’s surreal, isn’t it?
“Oh, not to me, young lady.” The old man beamed, gaps in his teeth showing. “I always knowed you was special.”
Unable to stop herself, Julia reached for Fergus and hugged him hard with both arms, leaving a tear mark on one of his wrinkled cheeks. “You were my first friend here, you know.”
The old man’s eyes overflowed. He sniffed and rubbed the back of his hand under his nose. “Eh, weren’t nothing. You’re easy to like.”
* * *
The next afternoon, Winnie rested on the porch with her soon-to-be kitten on her lap and Ringo at her feet, as Becky stood in the kitchen with Julia discussing teacups -- which patterns and styles should they use for the shop, how many would they need.
“I have a fabulous tea company that delivers tea right to the boutique,” Becky said, shifting her necklaces to one side and pulling her cell phone from her ample bra. “I’ll write down their contact info for you.”
Nodding and trying to hide her mixture of horror and amusement over Becky’s phone holster, Julia grinned. “I’ll also need lemons, teaspoons, and a million other little things.” Her thoughts drifted off into the room as she glanced around her for her notebook.
Becky looked up from her phone. “What did you decide about flower refrigerators?”
Motioning for Becky to follow her, Julia headed for the living room. “I found two good ones online, and they’ll be delivered next week.” She frowned and thumbed through her notebook to scribble on a page as she walked. “I should have Tara’s appliance guy check them over.”
“Good idea.” Becky agreed.
“I still have a million paperwork issues to sort out,” Julia worried, biting her lower lip. “I’ll have invoices for the flowers and delivery costs, taxes, accounting.”
Becky pointed to her notebook. “You just write them all down and I’ll help you,” she reassured.
Julia smiled weakly and nodded. Becky patted her on the shoulder as they stepped through the front door and onto the porch.
Chad’s truck rolled to a stop in the driveway. A happy thrill raced down Julia’s spine, and she cautiously allowed a tiny glow to settle in her heart as she tucked her notebook into her back pocket.
Chad joined them on the porch, leaning on the rail to survey the yard, as Julia and Becky settled into wicker chairs. Ringo got up and walked over to sit on Chad’s new boot, his chin pointed up to gaze at his favorite friend.
“I hear you had a record-breaking crowd here today,” Chad commented.
“And what record would that be?” Julia asked.
He shrugged. “The flower shop planning record of course.”
“Of course,” Julia agreed with a smile.
Winnie rose and tucked the kitten into the crook of her arm. “I should be getting home now. I’ll just put this little sweetheart in her room.” The old woman shuffled into the house.
Becky sniffe
d. “You seem to be fully recovered,” she said to Chad with a smirk. “That was quite the prank, grabbing a skunk right up off the ground.”
Chad tossed her a dirty look, and she hooted with laughter.
“Cost me a pair of good boots,” he muttered. “Couldn’t stand the smell of em.”
Winnie returned to the porch and Becky stood. Julia rose to hug each of the women, thanking them both over and over. Winnie kissed her on the cheek and then, with a wave, Becky led the old woman to her car.
Chad tucked his hands in his pockets and smiled down at Julia. “You have lipstick on your cheek.”
Julia’s fingers rose to her face, almost as if she cherished the remainder of the kiss. “Mhhm,” she muttered.
“You must be exhausted,” Chad said. “How about I buy you dinner?”
Julia flopped back into her chair and propped her feet on the porch rail. “I don’t think I can move.”
“Okay,” Chad tried again, “what if I grab us a sandwich while you soak in a tub?”
Julia rolled her head on the back of the chair to look up at him. “Don’t threaten me with heaven.”
He laughed. “What do you think about the shop? Will you be ready to open in a few weeks as planned?”
“I don’t know,” she moaned. “I’m just glad the shop will only be open three days a week. I don’t think I could handle more.”
Chad smiled. “Everyone will be curious at first, but things will settle down.”
“I sure hope so,” Julia replied, flopping her arm across her eyes. “The wedding rehearsal is in two days and then the wedding. I’m tired just thinking about it.”
“I know the wedding flowers are a special delivery run -- is all that set up for me?”
Hometown Series Box Set Page 51
