If You Cherish Me

by Ciara Knight

  Eleven

  Felicia checked on Nana, who was sound asleep in her bed. Good. She’d try to make it back before she woke, but just in case, she left a note that she’d bring breakfast home. She headed outside, shaking her head she closed the front door and walked toward Declan, who was standing by her truck.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She glanced up at him, noticing he’d already dressed and combed his hair, making him look more put together than earlier. Not that she minded his rushed-out-of-bed-in-boxers look. She felt heat rising up her neck, so she pushed the memory from her head and joined him. “Nothing. I hate leaving Nana alone all the time.”

  “I can stay with her if you wish.”

  Felicia checked her watch. “No, it’s okay. The home nurse should be here soon. I only worry because she has always been a grossly independent woman, and having a nurse help her dress makes her mad. She’s promised me she won’t try to do it on her own anymore, though. That’s how she fell and sprained her wrist and got a black eye six months ago.”

  He toed the ground. “You’re an amazing person, Felicia Hughes.”

  She didn’t know what provoked the compliment, but she savored it like one of Carissa’s homemade cinnamon buns on a cold winter morning.

  He brushed by her and headed for the front door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To stay here with your nana. There’s nothing more important than family, and you need to go be with your friends and work on Mayor Horton’s wedding flowers.”

  “But you had your heart set on going into town.” Felicia reached out for him, but he was just out of her reach—the way he’d been since arriving several weeks ago. She’d thought having him here would open a door between them, but he’d locked it shut.

  “There’ll be other opportunities.”

  “But you said you’d never be alone in the house. That you couldn’t chance it.”

  He shrugged. “I guess you and your grandmother are worth the risk this one time.” He winked and then strutted into the house, leaving Felicia reeling with more questions than answers about Declan.

  Her watch beeped with the announcement she had to leave now if she was going to make the meeting, so she’d have to revisit crazy-Declan-town later. Thankful he’d already loaded the floral arrangements into the truck, she hopped in and took off. Relief that her grandmother wasn’t alone flooded her. For the first time in weeks, she felt like she was catching up on work, while not leaving her nana alone. A solid-oak-sized weight lifted from her shoulders, and she found herself humming by the time she reached Maple Grounds.

  She pulled into a space out front and caught a glimpse of Carissa leaving her Sugar and Soul Bakery, giving a good-bye kiss to Drew Lancaster. The man had major OCD but had learned to deal with the quirky goings-on of Sugar Maple, all in the name of love for Carissa. Felicia had been concerned about Carissa after what happened with her fiancé running off with her best friend Judas Jackie over a decade ago, but any man who would tar and southernize himself to prove his love was good enough for her friend. Drew had won her over when he rescued and took in a kitten. The other Fabulous Five were more difficult, but in the end, they all accepted him.

  Hopefully, they’d accept Declan in town someday. Felicia smiled and opened the door to retrieve the box of bouquets. When she turned, she discovered that Carissa had met Jackie at the corner. Wow, that was progress after so many years of fiancé-stealing-stress had infiltrated their friendship. Now that Carissa had a new boyfriend, apparently all was forgiven. Well, almost all. Some wounds healed slower than others.

  Stella marched up to the truck, already dressed for work at the garage in her overalls. Good thing Knox Brevard liked Stella the way she was, a mesmerizing grease monkey, despite the doubts Felicia had in the beginning. Who knew an internet sensation could enjoy small-town living with a girl who was never designed to be shown off to the world on his arm.

  “Let me help you with that.” Stella reached into the car to retrieve the centerpiece. “These are beautiful. I think this is some of your best work.”

  “I think that boyfriend of yours is rubbing off on you.” Felicia used her hip to close the door once Stella moved out of the way.

  She harrumphed. “Why does everyone keep saying that? All you people need a life or smack upside the head to mind your own business.”

  “Ah, there’s the Sassy Stella we all know and love.” Felicia hotfooted it to Maple Grounds before Stella could retaliate, but she didn’t move fast enough.

  “You still housing the ex-con?” Stella’s words weren’t said in a bitter or harsh tone, but they were justified. How could Felicia ever show her that Declan wasn’t the man they all thought him to be?

  Carissa and Jackie made it to the door in time to open it for Felicia to carry in the flowers. Mary-Beth rushed from behind the counter, abandoning whatever mixture she was concocting, and pointed to the corner table. “Those are beautiful. Ms. Horton’s going to love them.”

  Felicia nodded but couldn’t leave it at that. “She could’ve come by to see them instead of us all meeting here. Is she going to pass up any opportunity to force the Fabulous Five to work together? I mean, we’re all friends again so we don’t need these games.”

  “Are we?” Jackie raised a brow. “Friendly and friends are two different things.”

  Felicia swept in to stop the dead-end conversation before anyone crashed and burned. “We’re all happy for Ms. Horton and working together. That’s what matters. I’d say that’s what the Fabulous Five has always been about.”

  “And our Negotiator Felicia is back,” Jackie said with sarcasm.

  Felicia set the box of bouquets down. “What do you mean?”

  Carissa dove between them with her sweet smile. “She only means that you’ve been distracted lately. Usually, you’re in the middle of any dispute in town, and well, you haven’t been for weeks. Not since Declan arrived in Sugar Maple.”

  “What disputes?” Felicia looked between them.

  Stella sat down and propped her work boots up on the table. Felicia wanted to tell her to move them so as not to upset Mary-Beth but held her tongue. “Knox had it out with Lori yesterday over creative differences. Melba and Ms. Gina argued outside the recreation center over their seats on the bus. And Davey…well…”

  “What happened with Davey?” Felicia couldn’t help but ask.

  Jackie slid into the chair across from Stella, crossing her legs with her high-fashion heels. “That’s the point. You don’t know.”

  Carissa tugged Felicia down next to her in the two open seats between Stella and Jackie. “We’re concerned because you’ve been away and not around town the last few days. Not to mention we heard you fired Lacey and put Declan in her place.”

  Felicia shot up a hand, done with this intervention. “First of all, Declan has nothing to do with this, except the fact that he saved me this morning from not getting these done for Ms. Horton.” She saw the raised brows and open-mouthed shocks of her friends. “Lacey never showed at the event the other day, and then she showed up hours late for work the next day—even after she and I talked and I was quite firm about it—and then this morning I asked Declan to help with the books because I may have to let her go since she’s been so unreliable since she hooked up with that boyfriend of hers.”

  “Since when does Felicia fire people?” Stella asked with an undertone of accusation.

  “When she’s tired of being used and she’s tired of working double to cover for an employee who isn’t working, but most of all she’s just plain tired.” Felicia hunched over, her glorious mood from this morning fading. All she wanted to do was return to the nursery and to Declan, who made her feel better than her own friends did.

  Mary-Beth delivered a steaming beverage to her, the aroma of lavender wafting from the cup. It was a London Fog made only the way Mary-Beth knew how.

  Felicia took a sip and allowed the warmth to sink all the way to her toes before she
faced her friends again. “Listen, I know you’re all only looking out for me, and I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I’m only trying to run a business while worrying about Nana being alone. And for the first morning in almost a year, I can sit here and not stress about her because Declan is with her. You guys have it all wrong. He’s not the man you think he is.”

  Mary-Beth sat at the only empty seat, pushing her bracelets up her arm so they wouldn’t clank against the table, and then twirled her earring. A tell sign that she was carefully choosing her next words. “Who’s Declan to you?”

  The words were like a priest asking for a confession after she’d committed an ultimate sin. “He’s kind, compassionate, strong, easygoing, helpful, and protective. Early this morning when I remembered the floral arrangements, I ran outside to cut the flowers and get to work. When I kicked a metal can across the sidewalk, he was out of bed and outside before he even dressed.”

  “Really, what does that beast of a man sleep in?” Jackie brushed her vibrant auburn hair behind her shoulder and quirked a devious smile.

  “That isn’t important.”

  “Apparently it is, since your cheeks match Jackie’s nail polish,” Carissa said in a soft but teasing tone.

  Jackie held up a fire-engine-red painted nail.

  “He had clothes on, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  “What kind of clothes?” Stella asked, apparently deciding this friendship circle of torture could be interesting.

  “Boxers.”

  “And?” Mary-Beth asked teasingly.

  “And…and that’s it. But only because he was rushing to protect me. That was the point of my story.” Felicia hid behind her drink, trying to cool her skin while drinking a hot beverage. Like this conversation, it was a no-win scenario, so she decided to bulldoze over the winks, smiles, and hair flips of judgment. “Then he worked with me all morning to get these ready for Ms. Horton.”

  “You mean while in his underwear?” Jackie said in a rated-R way.

  “No. He was dressed. Now stop.”

  “Oh no, we broke Felicia. She’s not trying to make us all happy.” Stella sat forward, taking Felicia’s hand with a pouty lip and mock-sentiment.

  Felicia wasn’t getting anywhere with them. That was the problem with lifelong friends… They always knew which buttons to push and how to twist your words. “Okay, enough. Believe me or don’t. But I don’t think you know him well enough to judge him.”

  “We don’t have to. The courts already did,” Stella grumbled.

  Okay, Felicia could give Stella her bitter words because the man had brought her father back to town, but the rest didn’t have a reason to hate Declan. “Because no one’s ever been falsely accused. Maybe perhaps for graffitiing?” She eyed Stella with the you-know-it’s-true look. “Not to mention the fact my own father was arrested for being at the wrong color at the wrong place at the wrong time. He’s innocent.”

  Stella rolled her eyes.

  “I don’t know how he was sent to jail or the circumstances surrounding his sentencing, but I know that the man who is at my house isn’t a criminal. Do you really think I’d leave him alone with my grandmother if I thought that?”

  “No,” Carissa said, her eyes softening along with her speech. “Listen, I didn’t realize how hard it’s been for you. I should have—we all should have. We’ll figure out a schedule to stop in to check on your grandmother daily. That way you can have a little relief in your day. You have real friends here who want to help. We’ve all been so caught up in the Knox Brevard show that we missed how badly you needed us. Well, we’re here now, so you don’t need anyone else to help.”

  “Yep, I can come over tonight after I close up the shop,” Mary-Beth offered.

  “I can cover tomorrow morning,” Carissa said.

  Stella let go of Felicia’s hand and sat up straight. “Yep, I got the next day.”

  A foot connected with Jackie’s shin, and she jumped. “Right, I’ll take the next. See. All good. Now you can settle down and fire that man.”

  Forcing her emotions to remain calm, Felicia set the beverage down on the table, scooted her chair back, and stood. “I can see now this has nothing to do with friendly love, but this is a staged friendervention. Where’s Ms. Horton?”

  They all looked at each other with the we’re-so-busted look. “She called Carissa last night and told her to post pone today. Something about a mayoral emergency.”

  “Well, thanks for adding more stress to my life. As for me being broken? Maybe I am, but if anyone broke me, it’s my friends, not Declan Mills.”

  Twelve

  It was a pleasant morning with Nana, a woman who refused to allow Declan to call her anything else. In the middle of playing cards, he realized where Felicia had inherited her quiet strength from. Although, by the fourth game of Canasta—a game he’d never played before—he realized Nana differed in one way from Felicia. She was ruthless. He didn’t mind, though. If only he could have a relationship like this with his mother.

  “You playing or daydreaming about my granddaughter?”

  He shot straight in his chair, causing the delicate backing to crack. “What? No… Why would you ask that?”

  Nana shifted her cards around the makeshift stand he’d created with a butcher block and a rubber band so she could play with one hand. “Because you’re smitten with her. It’s written all over your face, so don’t deny it to me.” A slight bit of spittle escaped from the drooping side of her lip, so he dabbed it with the handkerchief. This time, she didn’t pull away or look upset. They’d found a rhythm between them that worked.

  He took a moment to choose his words carefully, shifting the fifteen cards in his hands. There would be no denying his attraction to Felicia, not to Nana. She’d call him out and then challenge him until he confessed, so he stayed with the truth. With a deep breath, he abandoned his cards and looked her straight in the eyes. “No need to worry. I’d never pursue your granddaughter. She deserves much better.”

  “Hogwash.” She fisted her good hand and hit the table, causing a few cards to fall from the rubber band. “You think I’ll be around forever? Heck, I’ve got one leg, one arm, and half a face already in the grave.”

  “Don’t say that.” Declan shifted, causing more cracking noises in the chair.

  “Listen, son. I’ve lived my life. I’m good to go home to my good Lord. The only reason I’m sticking around is for Felicia. I’ve tried to find her a man, but she’s too obsessed with caring for me to allow herself to date. This morning was the best and only date she’s had in over a year.”

  “This morning wasn’t a date,” he quickly corrected her. “Work. We were working.”

  “By dim light, alone, snuggled together amongst beautiful flowers?” she said in a narrator of a romance movie kind of way. “Lacey likes to gossip.”

  “Work.” He huffed. “We going to play or talk all day?”

  She leaned back. “Talk. I’m old and crippled, so I get what I want.”

  “Ha, I see your MO now.” He didn’t lean back to match her posture, afraid the chair might snap in half.

  “Listen here, young man. When I’m gone, Felicia will be alone. I can’t rest until I know she has someone important in her life.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “That you brought Stella’s father here, that you’re an ex-con, that your own mother doesn’t want you to visit her?”

  Every muscle in his body stiffened. “How’d you—”

  “Know?” She chuckled, sending a little saliva spray over the table. “You don’t think I would’ve allowed you to stay here if I didn’t check you out, did you? I might be old, but I’m a town elder. I know more than you could imagine. Like why your mother is upset with you.”

  “Hates me.” He sighed, sending all the tension from his body, replaced by the weight of defeat.

  “She suffers from dementia. She’ll hate everyone. Trust me. I lost my best friend to the disease. In the end, she ca
lled me every name and accused me of stealing the man she loved away from her. Well, the last part had some truth, but we’d patched that up years ago.”

  He studied the soil in his nails, a sight that brought a feeling of accomplishment and hope to him. It represented an honest day’s work, living in the outside world, by Felicia’s side.

  “Unless your mama hates you for another reason.”

  He didn’t answer, knowing that lying wouldn’t be an option, and the truth brought up way too much that he’d buried long ago.

  “I see.” She winked the side of the cloudy silver eye. “No need to explain. Just tell me one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you regret it? Whatever your mother hates you for?”

  He thought about it for a moment, but no other path would’ve kept his mother safe and well. “No. Not even for a second.”

  Nana drew two cards. “I win again.”

  He didn’t have to look to know she had. The woman was a card shark. Good thing he wasn’t a betting man. That was his father’s trait, not his own. Too bad he’d bet all their lives and lost.

  “Can I offer one more piece of advice?”

  He smiled at Nana. “Do I have a choice?”

  “Nope.” She attempted a smile, but only one side lifted, filling out her cheek, while the other one remained low and unresponsive. But he saw something in that smile, a beauty that must’ve turned men’s heads in her day.

  “Then shoot.”

  “Try opening up to Felicia. Trust her with your truth. Even if only a little of it.”

  He thought about her words for a moment. “But if I do that, it would mean that we were connecting on more than a boss-employee level.”