Yours, With Love: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (Finding Love Book 5)

by Delaney Cameron

  Ellen laid her hand on his arm. “It hurts me, too, Jase, but we can’t force him to do what we want. We can only support whatever decision he makes.”

  He put his hand over hers. “You’re more patient than I am.”

  “I’m not patient at all, but I’m trying to be for his sake. He means a lot to me.”

  “Are you in love with him?”

  “If I am, he’s the one who should hear it first.”

  Jase smiled. “Not only are you lovely, you’re wise, too.”

  She gave him a little push. “You better get going. He’ll wonder what’s keeping you.”

  Not long after Jase left, Isobel and Winnie walked over and the three of them piled into the car for the twenty minute drive to McHenry’s farm. After they received their buckets, they followed the dirt road running parallel to a pasture with several black and white cows. Winnie had never seen any up close. Ellen and Isobel laughed at her attempts to get their attention.

  “Why won’t they come over, Mommy?”

  “Because they’re eating breakfast.”

  Just beyond the field were several rows of shoulder-high bushes stretching for at least a mile.

  “It’s just how I remember it,” Ellen said. “It’s nice when things don’t change.”

  “You sound like me. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble filling our baskets. These bushes are overflowing with blueberries.”

  “Look, Mommy, I’ve already got five in my pail. Can I eat one?”

  “You can eat as many as you like, darling.”

  Mixed in with Winnie’s high-pitched chatter was the buzzing of bees and an occasional utterance from the occupants of the pasture. After the disappointment of what happened with Quinn and all the normal ups and downs of owning a business, this was what Ellen needed to unwind. Just before noon, they were on their way back to St. Marys.

  “Do you like picnics, Miss Ellen?” Winnie asked.

  “I certainly do.”

  “Goodie. I’m going to have one in the maze. Mommy said I could.”

  “That’s the perfect place for a picnic.”

  “Do you like ham and cheese sandwiches?”

  “I do.”

  “And grapes?”

  “I love grapes.”

  “What about oatmeal cookies?”

  “It wouldn’t be a picnic without oatmeal cookies.”

  “Can we have the picnic tomorrow, Mommy?”

  “No, darling. We’re going to visit Aunt Edna tomorrow. We’ll plan on next weekend unless something comes up.”

  When they reached Quinn’s house, Isobel helped a tired Winnie out of the car while Ellen retrieved her mail from the box at the end of the driveway. Once inside the cottage, she washed and dried the blueberries and then divided them into containers. An hour later she was walking through the back door of the shop.

  Frank came in right behind her with a bag of tacos and two drinks. “I took care of lunch.”

  “I’ll have some later. I went blueberry picking this morning. I must have eaten at least a pint of them. I brought you some to take home.”

  “Thanks, Ellen. It was nice of you to think of me.”

  “You’re never far from my thoughts, Frank. I couldn’t run this place without you.”

  His cheeks flushed. “Don’t give me too many compliments. I won’t be able to concentrate on my work.”

  Ellen laughed as she consulted the notes for this particular order. “I’ll just yell at you instead. Let’s see here. I need to finish the garland for the balustrade. Your suggestion to use magnolias was a great idea by the way. While I’m doing that, you can start on the arrangements for the bridesmaids. There’s only three to do. Then we can start packing boxes.”

  The rest of the day was nonstop. Dealing with brides and their sometimes overanxious mothers was never routine. There were always problems that cropped up at the last minute. Not until the final flower and ribbon was in place could Ellen allow any extraneous thoughts to enter her mind.

  By the time she finished at the church and returned to the shop to clean up, she was exhausted. She’d been on her feet virtually all day, and her legs were protesting. The sight of the Jaguar sitting in the garage brought a slight smile to her face. It wasn’t the same as seeing Quinn, but it was as close as she was likely to get. What would he say if she told him that his actions weren’t going to make any difference? She was already falling in love with him, and love doesn’t measure time in hours, days or even years. It will wait a lifetime if necessary for the one whose heart it seeks.

  * * * * *

  The car show in Valdosta had been one of the better ones, but Quinn hadn’t enjoyed it. He was frustrated and angry over the mess he’d made of everything. Those feelings only intensified when Jase mentioned that Ellen was going to pick blueberries. Why did it bother him that she went on her own? He was the one who’d ignored her for days; the one who’d lied to her.

  He didn’t notice the gift bag hanging from the handle of his back door until he mounted the stairs leading into the house. Thinking it was from one of Jase’s girlfriends, he carried it inside and sat it on the counter. When his brother joined him, he said, “Someone left that for you.”

  Jase peered into the bag. “The note has your name on it.”

  “Really?” He took the light blue paper from Jase and unfolded it. On it was written: It wasn’t the same without you. Ellen. He stared at the words so long his eyes started to water.

  “Who’s it from?” Jase asked.

  Quinn was too blind-sighted by Ellen’s act of kindness to resent the question. “Ellen.” He pulled out a clear plastic container. “She brought us some blueberries.”

  “That was nice.”

  “Yes, it was,” he answered automatically.

  “I’m off to take a shower. Shelby and I are going to a movie.”

  After Jase left, Quinn looked back at the note and sighed deeply. Why was she doing this? It was just making it harder on both of them. She needed to forget about him and find someone who had his act together; who wasn’t a mental and physical basket case.

  He spent the rest of the evening editing the pictures for his photography project. What should have only taken a few hours took him until well past midnight because he kept pausing to look at the picture of Ellen. Each time he did, he heard her voice in his head.

  You can’t deny there’s something between us. Whatever is under there doesn’t matter. You’re wrong about me, you and us.

  They were just words. Why did the fact that she said them make them so hard to forget? Was it because he wanted so badly to believe them?

  The next few days weren’t pleasant. Between Kelly making comments about Ellen at work, Jase asking about her at home, and his mother mentioning her on the phone, Quinn felt like a man under siege. How was he going to put all this behind him when he couldn’t go an hour without hearing her name?

  As he drove to Magnolia Manor on Wednesday evening to see his grandfather, he was looking forward to being with someone who knew nothing about Ellen. When he entered his grandfather’s apartment, the first thing he saw was a vase in the shape of Uga, the Georgia Bulldogs mascot, sitting on the bar in the kitchen. Sticking out of the top was some kind of plant with green and yellow leaves. Its presence there wasn’t anything unusual. His grandfather was an avid college football fan who’d been a season ticket holder for years. The suspicious thing about its sudden appearance was that Quinn had seen this particular item on each of his visits to Violets are Blue.

  There were several possible explanations for how it got here. The most obvious was that his mother had purchased it when she visited Ellen’s shop. Another possibility was Jase. He usually stopped by to see his grandfather a few times a week. The third option was too farfetched to even entertain.

  “Hey, Gramps. How are you doing today?” he asked as he took the outstretched hand of the man sitting on the couch.

  “Can’t complain, Quinney, can’t complain. When you’re my a
ge, you’re just happy to wake up in the morning. Have a seat and tell me what you’ve been up to.”

  Quinn hid a smile. Joe Phillips was seventy-five, and his only health issue was arthritis. After his wife died earlier in the year, he sold their condo on the beach and purchased a unit at Magnolia Manor, all without telling anyone. When asked why he’d done so, he admitted that he didn’t like living alone and hadn’t wanted to be a burden to anyone in his family. Quinn had offered his grandfather a home with him and been told somewhat testily, “When you marry, you won’t want an old man there.” His efforts to explain the unlikelihood of that ever being an issue had, as usual, failed.

  “Work keeps me busy. I went to Atlanta weekend before last for a conference on childhood diabetes. This past week, I met with an architect about possibly adding on to the clinic.”

  His grandfather waved a hand dismissively. “I don’t want to hear about work. What are you doing for fun?”

  “I play cards with a group of men who all cheat and think I don’t know it.”

  “We know you know it; we just don’t care. By the way, we approve of the replacement you sent to take your place last week.”

  Quinn sent his grandfather a puzzled glance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t send anyone.”

  “How can that be? She said she was a friend of yours.”

  Quinn’s glance slid back to the plant on the counter. Was it possible that the third explanation was the right one? “What was this friend’s name?”

  “Ellen, but we called her Ellie. It suits her better. Ellen seems so formal.”

  “Ellen is a lovely name,” Quinn responded without thinking.

  “Yes, well, she didn’t mind. She showed up just as we were getting started. Even brought her own bag of M&Ms; the dark chocolate peanut ones. She also brought me that plant on the counter. Said she heard I was a Bulldogs fan.” He slapped his leg. “You should have seen Earl’s face when Ellie won the first two hands. You know how he hates to lose.”

  Quinn nodded absently. Why would Ellen have come to see his grandfather?

  “We invited her to come back again.” He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt as if he was waiting for Quinn to say something.

  “I’m glad you had a nice time.”

  “How could we not have a nice time? It was a treat to spend the evening with a pretty girl who can actually make conversation and doesn’t wear so much makeup that you can’t see her face. Knows a little about football, too. Not a Georgia fan, but you can’t have it all. I thought she might be with you tonight.”

  Quinn hadn’t seen or spoken to Ellen in over a week. He’d proven beyond all doubt that he was a coward. With his decision to acknowledge receipt of the blueberries with a text message, he became a rude coward. At this point, she probably wouldn’t have walked to the end of the driveway with him let alone agreed to accompany him anywhere. “This is a busy time for her. She’s a florist.”

  “You don’t say? She kinda reminded me of a flower: a pale pink rose.” He stopped again and stared hard at Quinn. “I always did like a girl with blue eyes.”

  “Unless I’m losing my mind, which is certainly possible, Grandma had green eyes.”

  “I know that, Quinn. I was married to the woman for almost fifty-six years.”

  “Then I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

  His grandfather sighed loudly. “I’m trying to get you to say something. I can tell Ellie likes you. Why, her face lit up every time someone mentioned your name. What are you waiting for? Women like that don’t come along every day.”

  What was wrong with everyone in his family? Maybe he should strip down to his boxers and remind them why he could never have a girlfriend or a wife.

  “It’s not like that, Gramps.”

  “I’ll tell you something, Quinn. If Ellie don’t get your pulse racing and your heart pumping, you’ve got more to worry about than outgrowing your office space.”

  It was because she did those things that he had to stop seeing her. He couldn’t trust himself around her anymore. “We had this discussion when I turned thirteen. We don’t need to have it again.”

  “Glad to hear it. What’s this about Terry and Lucas going on a cruise to Mexico?”

  Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. “Terry has always wanted to go there, and their anniversary is coming up.”

  “Waste of time and money if you ask me. What’s Mexico got that Georgia doesn’t?”

  “The Aztec ruins, for one thing.”

  “Not worth going that far to see them. The Discovery Channel is good enough for me. Jase came by the other day and showed me his new car. Reminded me of the old Mustang your dad had; the one he used to take drag racing.”

  “I can remember lying in bed with my windows open on Saturday nights listening to the sounds coming from the St. Marys Raceway. It’s a parking garage now.”

  “Nothing stays the same, Quinn. Time marches on. You only get one chance at life. You can’t go back later and do things differently. All you can do is look back and wish you had.”

  “So if I still want to be the lead singer in a rock band, I better pack my bags and head for New York City.”

  The older man nodded. “That’s right. A life filled with regret is no life at all.”

  As much as he wanted to ignore them, his grandfather’s words danced around in his head all through the card game that followed. They accompanied him home, too, where they proceeded to keep him awake all night.

  Chapter Seven

  Ellen was glad for the hectic nature of her job. When she was at work, she could manage to forget about Quinn for a few hours at a time. It wasn’t so easy when she was home. She could hear his voice in the mornings when he greeted Max, and she could see his shadow moving around in the house when she came home at night. It was funny how those two things could be both thrilling and painful.

  In spite of the fact that she lived on his property, she didn’t run into him very often. Those rare meetings lasted just long enough to exchange the type of greetings one reserved for acquaintances. What they lacked in duration they more than made up in impact. It wasn’t easy to smile and act as if everything was fine when she was so miserable inside. And the worst part was she knew he wasn’t fine with it either. Jase had nailed it when he said Quinn looked as if he wasn’t sleeping.

  There were moments when she wanted to march over to his house and shake him until his teeth rattled, but she kept telling herself that forcing the issue would only make it worse. Quinn had to reach the point where he was willing to let go of his fear and trust her. No one could do that for him. All she could do was wait and hope that the small things she was doing behind the scenes were proof that she wasn’t giving up on him.

  On a surprisingly slow Friday afternoon almost a month after their last evening together, she was arranging containers of potted plants on a metal stand she’d found at a garage sale the previous weekend. Frank had left early to get ready for the always nerve-wracking first date with a girl he’d met at school. Ellen was sharing the solitude with Richard Marx. Listening to melancholy love songs probably wasn’t the best thing to do when she was already a little depressed, but the plants seemed to like it.

  When the door of the shop opened, she looked up expectantly. The young man who’d been forced to postpone his marriage proposal had called this morning. He and his girlfriend had worked things out, and he was ready to try again. Her ‘welcome to Violets are Blue’ had barely left her lips when she realized the man making his way toward her was Quinn. Clinging to his hand was Winnie, cowboy hat on her head and those adorable red boots on her feet, looking as excited as her companion looked perturbed.

  Shock rendered Ellen silent. She could only stare at him as he closed the distance between them.

  “Hey, Ellen. I’m sorry for barging in on you like this, but I’ve got a problem. I need to meet one of my patients at the emergency room, and I can’t take Winnie with me. Could you wat
ch her for a few hours?”

  “Sure.”

  Her one-syllable answer seemed to amuse him. He smiled faintly. “Incredible. No questions or comments; just the answer I needed. You truly are one in a million. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Take your time. We’ll be fine, won’t we, Winnie?” After the door closed behind him, she looked down at the little girl. “This is a nice surprise. What’s that in your hand?”

  “A lollipop. Dr. Phillips gave it to me. Mommy had to go see my grammy.”

  That answered one of the questions Quinn had been so surprised she hadn’t asked. She decided the plants would have to wait until another day. She couldn’t work with Winnie there. She did, however, have to stick around until her customer arrived. “Let’s go to my workroom. While you eat your lollipop, I’ll find us something to do.”

  “Do you have any toys?”

  Ellen laughed as she held out her hand. “No, but I do have paper and colored pencils.”

  After clearing a space on the floor, she retrieved Frank’s art box. She didn’t think he’d mind Winnie using his things. While the little girl was occupied drawing pictures, Ellen cleaned up the work area and took care of her nervous, but very excited customer. Then she turned the sign, locked the door, and sent Quinn a text telling him where to find them when he finished.

  The next two hours were spent listening to her companion’s entertaining perspective on life and playing ‘I Spy’ in Quinn’s garden. They were deciding what to have for dinner when he called.

  “I’m sorry, Ellen, but this is going to take longer than I thought. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get home.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just plan on Winnie spending the night with me.”

  “I didn’t mean to take up your entire evening.”

  Ellen smiled to herself. “I wasn’t going anywhere.”

  “I would have taken her to my mother or Terry, but Winnie doesn’t know either of them. I wanted her to be with someone familiar.”

  “You did the right thing. I’ve got a wedding at one tomorrow, so I’ll bring her over to you around nine, if that’s all right.”