by Ava Miles
“You’re kidding,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s gotta be the best news in… I don’t know. Since meeting you.”
She kissed him on the mouth, tasting the candy cane ice cream on his lips. “I figure we’re due for some good news. In the meantime, do you want to make some with me?”
Standing with the bowl of ice cream, she held out her other hand.
He rose quickly, grabbing it. “Connor is going to miss me. Maybe I should tell him good night so he won’t cry himself to sleep.”
That made her laugh.
She brought that joy into her heart as she let them into her room and made sweet, sweet love with him.
Chapter 34
June arrived as Flynn was coming down the stairs for breakfast the next morning.
Connor introduced himself, managing to come off as both polite and warm, and helped her with her coat. Flynn smiled as she touched her short white hair, appearing oddly at peace.
“Looks like you had quite a snowball fight,” she said as he gave in to the urge and hugged her.
She held on to him a little longer than was needed and patted his back, giving comfort in her own way. “Tom swung by Gertie’s early this morning and said Annie could use the lab again.”
Somehow Flynn’s suspicions remained. “Anything else?”
“He wants me back,” she said, stepping back from him with a long sigh. “I told him there was nothing he could do. We’ve been growing apart for a long while, and this broke things all the way. I won’t be a party to him hurting Annie or the girls, and I sure as heck won’t let my relationship with them be hurt when they’re all I have left. I told him he should think about that. He didn’t say much. Only left.”
“Why don’t you have some breakfast? I’ll go talk to Annie. I’m going to recommend I go to the lab and get what she needs.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” she said, patting his arm. “Emily’s mom called me. Emily’s coming home early—today, it sounds like—and they’re all gearing up to fight with us. That should boost Annie’s spirits. It did mine.”
He gave in to the urge to sweetly kiss her cheek. “Mine too. I owe her a whole bunch of champagne for kinda setting us up.” And he was looking forward to thanking her in person.
“June!” Aunt Clara exclaimed, coming out of the dining room. “I thought I heard your voice.”
“You go find Annie,” June told Flynn as she passed him and hugged Clara.
“They look like good friends,” Connor said. “If you don’t mind me saying, I think we should bring Trevor and J.T. over there so we can grab more stuff. In case Tom changes his mind.”
“Why would I mind you saying? It’s a great idea.” Flynn took his brother by the shoulders. “Also, I missed you last night. Did you miss me?”
Connor shoved him. “Go talk to Annie, nitwit. I’ll talk to Trevor and J.T. about finding some boxes. Annie could FaceTime us and tell us what she wants so we’re more efficient.”
“You’re just full of good ideas,” Flynn said, taking the stairs two at a time.
He met Iris and Eloise on the stairs coming out of the bathroom, their hair so freshly brushed it still had static. “You two look pretty today. I like the scarf arrangements.”
“Becca showed us how they do it in Ireland,” Iris said, touching the scarf Becca had knitted for her. “I told Mom maybe we should move there. It seems nice. Carrot could come too, for Amelia.”
“I’m still voting for New York City,” Eloise said. “We could go see Broadway shows anytime we want and go shopping. Surely Carrot could live somewhere close by.”
Even though Annie had told him about her conversation with the girls, hearing them talk about moving—and be excited about it—had a decided effect on the pressure in his chest. “Why not try out a few places? I mean, I love to travel, and so does your mom. Seems you guys have the bug too. We could have more than one house, if we want, but whatever we decide, we’ll make sure Carrot is able to stay with us and be happy.”
Iris’ eyes widened at that. “More than one place? That’s totally crazy.”
“It sounds awesome,” Eloise said, her face alight with an enthusiasm he hadn’t yet seen in her. “How about London then?”
“Your mother loves it.” He ran his tongue over his teeth as his mind exploded with possibilities. “My brother used to live in London—Quinn—who you haven’t met yet. And I know it like the back of my hand.”
“You should take Mom to London on your honeymoon once you get married,” Iris said, her mouth turning into a crooked smile.
He crouched down. “I’m surrounded by people with good ideas this morning. You want to help me buy an engagement ring for her? Maybe Emily will be here in time to help.”
“We’d love to,” Iris said after sharing one of those twin looks with Eloise.
He wanted to hug them, but he held back, worried it was too soon. “Great. It’s a date. Grandma June is downstairs, by the way.”
“She is?” Eloise said. “Come on, Iris, let’s go see her.”
They both smiled at him, and he stood by himself for a moment, feeling a little off center. The twins were going engagement ring shopping with him. Talk about a victory! He strode down the hall to Annie’s room, feeling on top of the world. She was brushing Amelia’s hair as the little girl hummed on her bed.
“Grandma June is downstairs,” he exclaimed. “Hair almost done?”
“Mom, hurry up!” Amelia said, bouncing on the bed. “I want to go see everyone.”
Annie kissed the top of her head and helped her off the bed. “You’re done.”
“Yay!” The little girl ran out. “I’m coming!”
Shaking her head, Annie tossed him the brush. “You missed a spot on the top of your head.”
“That’s where you pulled it last night,” he volleyed back, catching the brush deftly and then mimicking John Travolta in Grease as he ran it through his hair.
“You’re terrible, but I love you,” she said with a wink. “How is June?”
“She says Tom came by this morning and said you could have access to the lab. Connor suggested we move out anything essential today in case—”
“He changes his mind,” Annie finished for him, her earlier radiance dimming.
“If you want to FaceTime us, the guys and I will handle the moving.” He crossed and took her in his arms. “There’s no need for you to put yourself through that.”
She squeezed him back. “You’re right. I need to focus right now on finishing the baskets. It’s Monday and we have to send everything out by Wednesday COB. Thank you for going to the lab for me. Please make sure you get my formula journal. Since I’m still testing, I don’t have them online like I do my final recipes.”
“Of course,” Flynn said, caressing her back. “We’ve got you.”
“I know that,” Annie said, stepping away from him. “All right, let’s get going. There’s a lot to do.”
“Arthur is going to take the girls to school with my mom,” he told her as they walked downstairs. “The rest of us are at your disposal.”
The dining room was packed with people eating breakfast, and he and Annie found a space at the end. Amelia sat on his lap while she shoveled in pancakes and he did his best to evade her sticky hands.
When he and his brothers left in two SUVs, they brought several of the boxes Caitlyn and the movers had used for his house furnishings. When they arrived at the farm, Tom was nowhere to be seen, so they quickly called Annie from the lab and set about filling the boxes with the items she deemed most essential.
“We have a visitor finally,” Connor said, inclining his chin toward the window as Flynn taped up another box.
Sure enough, Tom was storming toward them from across the snow-covered yard.
“We have the ingredients, but not her paperwork. I need to grab her formula journal,” Flynn said, raising his voice as he headed into the other half of the lab to look for it. “We may not be able to get back in here.”
&nbs
p; “Let’s get the boxes out to the car pronto,” J.T. said.
God, she was going to be so glad to see all of this, he knew.
“Flynn, you need to divert Tom a little,” Trevor said. “If he tries to stop us, you talk to him and we’ll keep walking with the boxes. Okay, guys?”
J.T. and Connor hefted up three boxes apiece in reply. “Yeah.”
“Okay, go,” Flynn said as they left the lab together, his brothers walking swiftly to the SUVs.
“Where’s Annie?” Tom asked. “She was supposed to be here, not you. Hey! Where are you taking those boxes?”
Flynn fisted his hands at his sides, wanting to tell the man in concise detail why Annie didn’t want anything to do with him. Instead, he said, “It didn’t seem like the best idea for Annie to come given what’s going on. We’re taking what she needs to work out of the portable or my place for now. Thank you for sending Carrot over to Amelia. That pony means the world to her.” It was hard to thank the man, but he was doing his part to keep anger and condemnation out of the conversation.
“I damn well know that,” Tom said in a harsh tone. “I told June to tell Annie she could use the lab, and you brought moving boxes?” Tom asked, jerking his thumb at their SUVs. “I thought she would come back if I told her she could use the lab. She wasn’t supposed to move everything out!”
Flynn faced the man. “Tom, your lawyer has spoken with her already, and in these situations, speaking through lawyers is probably for the best. It’s not how Annie wanted it, but it’s how it is.”
“I can speak to her anytime I want without my lawyer,” Tom spat out. “She’s still my family.”
He had to bite his cheek to keep back the harsh reply. “With all of the potential legal issues right now, Annie isn’t going to talk to you. There’s too much at stake for her and the girls, Tom.”
“But Eric said the legal issues could take years to resolve,” Tom said. “I want to see my granddaughters now. I want them back here on my farm where they belong.”
“Actions speak louder than words. Sign over her company to her and maybe you can undo some of the damage you’ve done.”
“No. Get off my land. Now.”
With that, the older man stalked off, but Flynn had no doubt he’d be watching to make sure they left. He had a feeling no one would be getting back into Annie’s lab.
Her days on the farm really were over.
Chapter 35
Hearing about Tom’s stance at the lab was downright depressing, but they hadn’t come away empty, thank God.
Annie had her beloved formula journal and the stock needed to finish the holiday baskets. Still, the paperwork for her company was in the lab, along with the rest of her equipment and the like. She tried to remind herself they were lucky to have what they did.
In the meantime, her priority was making sure the girls were okay, and that this situation didn’t eclipse her happiness with Flynn.
“Once we finish these holiday baskets,” she told Flynn inside the portable, “I think we should plan to go somewhere for the holidays. I need to get the girls out of here for a while.” Perhaps forever. “Your dad’s offer to visit meant so much.”
Flynn hugged her gently. “The girls were talking to me about traveling this morning. How about we start in New York City and then maybe head to my parents’ place? Usually I run in the other direction of Rockefeller Center with its Christmas tree and ice skating and Santa Claus at Macy’s for the kids, but for them, I’ll make an exception.”
They could stay at his place, and it would be fun to be there. “I’ve always wanted to see New York City at Christmas too.”
“Anything you want,” Flynn said. “Now, what can I do?”
Turning to study her incredible array of volunteers in the portable, she took a moment of gratitude. They were all doing such a wonderful job helping her. “You can be my basket partner. How about that?”
He stroked her arm. “Nowhere I’d rather be than by your side.”
Everyone had a basket partner, something Hargreaves had recommended. One person would select the products for the basket from their organized inventory stacked against the back wall. The other person—usually the one with more artistry—would arrange them in the basket with the other spa accessories and then wrap it in plastic. Then Tilly and Hargreaves would finish it off with a red holiday bow. Becca, they’d discovered, was brilliant with the bows too, so she quickly joined their team.
Lunch came in the form of sandwiches from one of Nemo’s best-known shops, courtesy of J.T. Their music playlist continued to alternate as Flynn flipped a coin on what they’d play next. Frank Sinatra crooned and then afterward Eminem rapped, and the whole portable started to rock to “Lose Yourself,” Clara included, which all of the Merriams teased her about.
Her response was classic: “I’m ‘with it.’ Aren’t I, Hargreaves?”
“Yes, Madam,” the man said, not taking his eyes off his handiwork, which made everyone laugh out loud.
When Annie’s phone rang, she answered as soon as she checked the number. The girls’ school. They only called if something was wrong. “Yes?”
“Annie, this is Roland Urranbaker.”
The principal? Her heart lodged in her throat. “Did something happen?”
“We caught Iris and Eloise using a classmate’s phone to call their grandfather during lunch. They said it was an emergency, but as you know, phone use is not allowed in school.”
They’d called Tom? “Can I talk to them?”
“They’re back in class, but is there something the school should know? We take emergencies very seriously. Is there one?”
She wondered how much to share. “There are a few legal issues right now with their grandfather concerning our home and my business. Confidentially.”
“Of course. I had heard you were staying with that man from New York City.”
This kind of small-town interest was part of the reason she wanted to leave. “I’d like to come and get my daughters right now. Is there a punishment being allotted?”
“I have taken away the classmate’s phone and given your daughters administrative detention. I might consider waiving the detention out of sympathy for your situation, but if it happens again, I will reinstate it. Usually Iris and Eloise aren’t troublemakers.”
“No, they’re good girls,” she said. “I’ll be there soon to sign them out.”
She told Flynn about the call and then headed out, wanting to talk to the twins alone. They hugged her when Roland took them out of class, which reassured her that nothing had changed between them. Not wanting to incite any more gossip, she waited to talk to them until they were all in the car. Once there, she turned to them. “Why ever would you call Grandpa from school like that? If you wanted to talk to him, you could have used my phone.” She wouldn’t have liked it, but she wouldn’t have gotten in their way—so long as Tom acted like a grandfather and not a legal adversary.
“Mom, we thought you’d be mad,” Eloise said from the back seat.
“We wanted to try and convince Grandpa to give you your company back,” Iris said.
“You did that? For me?” Her heart landed at her feet. She’d never been prouder of them.
Eloise leaned forward and grabbed her arm. “We thought it might help if he knew how upset we were. Mom, it’s not right. It’s your company.”
“And we told Grandpa that if Dad were still alive, he would have changed his mind.” Iris kicked the back of the passenger seat. “It’s not right what he and Daddy did, and we thought Grandpa should know it.”
“And what did he say?” Annie asked, thinking about Tom’s reaction to Flynn and his brothers.
“He got all gruff and angry at us,” Eloise said. “Like he did with Amelia. It was horrible. He’s being so awful. Grandpa said we need to be home—where we belong. Like he was the boss of us or something.”
“He so isn’t,” Iris echoed. “We were like, why would we want to do that when you’re being s
o mean to our mom?”
She clutched the steering wheel, tears burning at the corners of her eyes. In the midst of all their ups and downs, she realized she’d taught them to stand up for themselves and what they believed in. “I love you both so much.”
In the rearview mirror, she watched as they smiled at each other and sat back against the seats. “We love you too. Mom, and we think you should marry Flynn soon.”
The tears dried up then, and a warmth grew in her heart, radiating outward. “I think so too. How about going away for the holidays somewhere? Flynn’s dad offered to have us come out to California, which was so nice of him. Flynn mentioned maybe going to New York City too.”
“That would be awesome,” Iris said. “Flynn told us we have the travel bug like you do, Mom. Do you think we can start a treasure box like yours?”
Her precious box had housed the memories and dreams she’d thought lost. Little had she imagined that Flynn Merriam would show up on her doorstep one day, inspiring her to open that box again and step back into herself and the things that made her so happy and fed her soul. “I think everyone should have a treasure box. I’m going to drop you two off at Flynn’s house, and then I’m going to head back to the portable. Mr. Hale is there with Amelia. Okay?”
“Okay,” Iris said. “Maybe Eloise and I can make brownies for dessert tonight.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Annie said, knowing it was one of their favorites. “Maybe Aunt Emily will be here for dinner.” Goodness, she couldn’t wait to see her friend.
When they arrived at Flynn’s house, Arthur met them at the door. Amelia hugged her sisters, exclaiming about them being home from school, and Arthur pulled her aside. “I was just dialing your number. Tom’s lawyer dropped by an official-looking envelope. I thought you’d want to see it.”
She found the envelope on the side table in the entryway and slit it open, bracing herself for the worst.
Inside was a typed letter from Eric, which informed her of Tom’s intention to sign the proper paperwork giving up his rights and responsibilities as a shareholder in her company, returning back full ownership to her in addition to deeding her the land both her house and the lab sat on. Annie could expect it officially in the next few days. The letter ended with a note about Tom hoping Annie could forgive him and let him continue a relationship with his granddaughters, whom he dearly loved.
