The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane (Life in Icicle Falls)

by Sheila Roberts

  “We can’t always be what our parents want us to be,” Bailey said. “Sometimes we can’t even be what we want to be,” she added, remembering her earlier failure. “But that’s okay, because things have a way of working out.” Now she sounded just like her mother, and the realization made her smile. If she could ever become half as wise, she’d be happy.

  “Anyway, everyone here in Icicle Falls thinks you’re great,” she said, determined to keep them both positive.

  “Probably not everyone,” he said with a shrug and a cynical smile.

  “The ones who count do. Like me. And Cecily,” she added hastily.

  She thought she saw something in his eyes. Had her mention of Cecily made him uncomfortable? Didn’t he want people to know they were together? Or maybe she’d just imagined what she saw.

  “I should get back to work,” he said. “I want to get this wall done today so I can start sanding the floors on Saturday.”

  “I need to get going anyway,” Bailey said. And the sooner, the better. Todd Black was more tempting than anything she could ever dream up in the kitchen.

  * * *

  Cecily knew Todd was working on the house on Lavender Lane. She decided she’d stop by with lunch. She picked up some chocolate seconds from the Sweet Dreams gift shop, then ducked into Safeway for some deli chicken, potato salad and wine coolers and went to see how the work was coming along.

  She was pulling into the street when she saw Bailey and Todd walk out on the front porch. Bailey looked fresh off the rack in a green top that showed off her curves and complemented her chestnut curls. Todd wore a paint-spattered T-shirt and equally spattered jeans. His dark hair was disheveled. Who’d been disheveling it?

  Bailey said something, and he laughed. No sarcastic smirk but an actual laugh. What had she said that was so funny? They talked for another minute, and then she left him and went down the front walk wearing a smile.

  Cecily frowned. Oh, no, she told herself, Bailey and Todd are not a match. He was too cynical. She was too naive. He’d tire of her in the blink of an eye. She’d never really understand him. All of that was beside the point anyway. Todd was already taken, and the one who’d taken him wasn’t about to give him up. Even if her little sister had said something to make him laugh.

  Cecily waited until Todd had gone back inside and Bailey had driven off down the street, and then she gathered her goodies and got out of her car.

  He was busy with his paintbrush when she walked in. “Hi. You just missed your sister,” he greeted her.

  The smile on his face erased her earlier insecurity. She held up her grocery bag. “I thought you might want some lunch.”

  “Can I have you for dessert?” he teased.

  Okay, she’d been imagining things. She caught sight of the plate with a couple of remaining cookies on it and couldn’t help frowning. “It looks like you already had dessert.”

  “You know what they say. Life’s uncertain. Eat dessert first. What’s in the bag?”

  “Just some stuff I picked up from the deli. Want to go sit on the porch and eat?”

  He nodded and followed her out, and they settled on the front step.

  It was a companionable enough lunch. He asked her how everything was going at the office. She asked if he and Bailey needed any help pulling the house together.

  “Nah. I think we’ve about got it covered. Once I’m done with the floors, we can start moving in the shelves and tables and chairs. We still have to paint the trim, but she can’t decide on the color.”

  He sounded like a husband talking about his wife’s decorating ideas and his honey-do list. “You sound so domesticated,” she joked. And her sister was the one domesticating him. It was all she could do to keep her smile in place.

  “Don’t worry. I’m still a wild man,” he said and gave her a kiss on the shoulder. Then he grabbed a piece of chicken. “So, you want to bring your sister over to the Cave Saturday night? We’ve got a darts tournament going. You can watch me in action.”

  Bring her sister? Hmm. And had she just seen him in action with Bailey? “That’ll be a thrill a minute,” she said, which he took for a yes.

  She wasn’t that hungry anymore. She didn’t stay much longer.

  “Leaving so soon?” he protested, but it seemed halfhearted.

  “I’ve got to get back to the office. I’ve got some things I need to do.”

  And one of them involved having a little talk with her sister....

  The little talk started out well enough that evening, with Cecily commenting during dinner on the progress Todd was making on the house.

  “It’s going to be so cute when we’re done,” Bailey said happily. “When were you by?”

  “I went over on my lunch break. I saw you leaving.”

  Bailey’s cheeks turned pink. “I took over some of the cookies I want to serve to see what he thought.”

  How very innocent. Except pink cheeks didn’t lie. “You’re blushing,” Cecily accused.

  “I am?” The pink grew deeper.

  “Is that the only reason you took cookies over?”

  “Of course! He’s my partner. I want him to know what I’m serving. Why else would I bring him cookies?”

  “You tell me.”

  Bailey shoved aside her half-finished plate of enchiladas. “You think I’m trying to steal your boyfriend?”

  “Aren’t you?” Cecily demanded.

  “No!”

  Cecily pointed a finger at her sister. “You’ve always done this. Every time you fall for a guy, you start baking for him.”

  “But this is different,” Bailey protested. “This is business.”

  “Well, see that you keep it business,” Cecily said. She sounded like a bitch. She knew it. But, darn it all, she was tired of losing men, and now that she’d finally given in to the crazy attraction she felt for Todd, she was not going to lose him. And she certainly wasn’t going to lose him to her sneaky little sister.

  Bailey glared at her. “That wasn’t very nice. And don’t be bossing me around.”

  Shades of childhood. You’re not the boss of me.

  “I’m not bossing you around,” Cecily insisted. “I’m just expecting you to be a good sister. I’m starting something with Todd, and you should respect that.”

  “And I’m going into business with him and you should respect that,” Bailey shot back. “And I ought to be able to bring him a sample of something I want to serve without you having a pissy fit.”

  “I am not having a pissy fit,” Cecily said between clenched teeth.

  “Yes, you are, and you’re getting pissier by the minute, all because you’re afraid you can’t hang on to your man.”

  That came painfully close to the truth. Failure in love was even worse than failure in business, and Cecily had failed twice. Which made her twice as insecure about Todd as she would have been if she hadn’t been hurt so badly.

  Before Cecily could bare her wounded soul to her sister, Bailey said something that really made her mad. “And if you can’t hang on to him, it means he wasn’t the right one anyway.”

  Cecily had been in the business of matching people up, and her spoiled little sister had the nerve to lecture her on love? “Oh. Really?”

  Bailey’s chin lifted a notch. “Yes, really. You don’t have a ring on your finger, and you’ve only just started seeing him.”

  “How do you know that?” Cecily demanded. She might have been with Todd for a short time, but they’d been dancing toward being a couple for a long time. Now that they were, things were heating up fast.

  “He told me.”

  “Told you what?”

  “That you’d just started seeing each other.”

  “When?” Todd was talking to Bailey about their relationship?

>   “The other day,” Bailey replied vaguely. “I don’t remember.”

  They were spending so much time together, it was probably hard to keep all those cozy conversations straight. Why had he told Bailey that, to warn her off or to encourage her? Cecily suddenly felt as if she stood on an icy hill in tennis shoes.

  “Anyway, I’m not doing anything wrong, and here you are, accusing me,” Bailey said tearfully.

  Okay, she was being unreasonable, and after everything her sister had gone through, she should be ashamed.

  But before she could open her mouth to apologize, Bailey said, “I don’t know if I even want to stay here.”

  As if Bailey was doing her a favor rather than the other way around. The apology was aborted. “You little ingrate.”

  “I’m not an ingrate!” Bailey grabbed her plate and marched to the sink. “I just don’t want to be yelled at for nothing.”

  “Nothing! Oh, don’t go there.”

  Bailey scraped her unfinished food into the garbage. “Here I am, cooking for you every night.”

  “And not having to pay rent,” Cecily pointed out.

  Bailey whirled around, the picture of outrage. “You’d charge me rent? I’d never charge you rent!”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to. I know when I’m not wanted,” Bailey said and stomped out of the kitchen.

  Let her go, the little brat. Cecily ignored her half-finished meal, the enchilada sauce turning to acid in her stomach. Why did Bailey have to be such a drama queen?

  And why did she have to be such a stinker? She’d taken a small thing and blown it out of all proportion. With a sigh Cecily pushed away from the kitchen bar and went to the spare bedroom to make up.

  She got to the hallway and heard her sister’s tearful voice. “I didn’t deserve it, Sammy.”

  Now Bailey was tattling to Samantha?

  “I haven’t done anything wrong. And she shouldn’t be with Todd anyway. Deep down she knows it.”

  Bailey, the relationship expert. Cecily ground her teeth.

  There was a moment of silence as Bailey listened to whatever Samantha was saying. This was followed by, “No, but if she can’t keep his interest, that’s not my problem.”

  The little sneak! She was out to get Todd. Cecily strode into the room. “You brat!”

  Bailey jumped and let out a squeak and dropped the phone.

  “Bailey?” Samantha’s tinny voice said. “What in the name of Godiva is going on?”

  Cecily grabbed the phone. “Nothing. Except Bailey’s tired of staying here. Can she come over to your place?”

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” Samantha said in disgust.

  “That’s fine with me,” Bailey snapped and grabbed back her cell phone. “I’ll be right over,” she said and ended the call. “I sure don’t want to stay where I’m not wanted.”

  “Yeah, well, no traitors wanted here,” Cecily informed her and left the ingrate to pack. In the kitchen she shoved dishes into the dishwasher, ripped tin foil from the box and covered the remaining enchiladas. Then she threw the pan in the fridge and slammed the door shut after it.

  Ten minutes later the front door slammed, too, and Bailey was gone.

  Cecily stayed on her barstool. Good riddance. Let Sam deal with her.

  The condo seemed suddenly very quiet. This was ridiculous. She should call Bailey and apologize, ask her to come back. She picked up her cell phone and fingered the numbers.

  Or Bailey could call her and apologize. Bailey had been the one who’d escalated their conversation into a full-fledged fight. Bailey had been the one to pull in an ally. Cecily set the phone back down.

  But she’d acted like a little girl with her first crush. How pathetic was that? She picked up the phone again. It was wrong to be so suspicious of her sister. She sat there for a few minutes, trying to decide what to say.

  “I’m sorry” would be good for starters.

  Bailey would be at Sam’s house by now. Cecily made the call.

  It rolled over to voice mail.

  So Bailey wasn’t even going to take her call? That was mature.

  Well, then. There was no point in leaving a message. She hit End and pushed the phone away.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You really should work things out with Cecily,” Samantha said once she and Bailey were settled at her kitchen table with mugs of chocolate mint tea.

  “How can I? She’s being completely unreasonable!”

  Samantha studied her baby sister. Bailey could be a bit of a drama queen. “That’s out of character for Cec.” Cecily usually assumed the role of peacemaker in the family. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “I already told you, Sammy. She just went ballistic on me, accused me of trying to steal Todd.”

  “Well, are you?”

  Bailey’s cheeks took on a guilty flush. “We’re in business together, for goodness’ sake.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Well, I shouldn’t have to,” Bailey said and frowned at her mug.

  “He is gorgeous,” Samantha said. And a ladies’ man. She’d seen him in action long before Cecily hit town. He had a gift for flirting, and she suspected he was a bit of a bad boy, which was probably why Bailey was attracted to him. Brandon Wallace all over again. If Samantha had known Bailey was going to fall for Todd, she would’ve done everything she could to discourage her from going into business with him. She should have known. Pregnancy was making her lose her mental edge.

  “And he’s really nice and really supportive. And I like being around him. But that doesn’t mean I’d deliberately steal him from my own sister.”

  The heck it didn’t. Women did crazy things when they were in love.

  “Anyway, I didn’t even know she was with Todd at first,” Bailey continued. “I thought she was with Luke.”

  So had Samantha. She shook her head. “What’s with you two? Todd Black is probably bad news for both of you.”

  “No, he’s not,” Bailey insisted, giving herself away. The fresh pink on her face showed that she realized it.

  “I have just two words for you,” Samantha said. “Brandon Wallace.”

  “He’s not like Brandon. He’s...more mature.”

  “An older Brandon,” Samantha said.

  “You’re the one who told me what a good businessman he is,” Bailey reminded her.

  “Yes, businessman. Not boyfriend. He’s a player.”

  “I don’t know why we’re having this conversation,” Bailey said crossly. “I’m not going to steal him from Cec.”

  “I believe you,” Samantha said. “But I’m warning you...just in case.”

  “The one you need to be warning is Cec. She’s the one who’s acting crazy.”

  “Why don’t you call her?” Samantha suggested.

  Bailey’s expression turned mulish. “No. I’m done talking to her.”

  “What? You’re not going to speak to her for the rest of your lives?”

  “No. I’m not going to speak to her until she stops acting crazy.”

  Cecily acting crazy was hard to imagine. But it was obviously true. Someone was going to have to pull her out of Looney Land, and it looked as though that someone would have to be Samantha.

  She put her plan into action later in the week, casually wandering into Cecily’s office, where she was busy working on a new Sweet Dreams ad campaign. “Are you past wanting to strangle our sister?”

  “For the moment,” Cecily said.

  “Good. I think the stress of you murdering Bailey would be bad for the baby.”

  That brought a reluctant smile to Cecily’s face.

  “How about coming over for dinner Friday night?”
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br />   Cecily made a face. “I said I was past strangling her. I didn’t say I wanted to eat with her. I need a Bailey break.”

  “So come and have dinner with Blake and me. I’ll send Bailey over to Mom’s.”

  “All right,” Cecily said, “on one condition. No lectures about how we need to make up.”

  Samantha held up both hands. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Sisterly mediation is your department.”

  If Cecily caught the irony of that remark, she didn’t let on. Anyway, Samantha wasn’t too worried. It wasn’t in Cecily’s nature to stay mad for long. Bailey’s, either. They’d work out this small hiccup after Samantha got Cecily on track with Luke again.

  Back in her office, she called down to his.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Dinner Friday at my place,” Samantha said. “I’m having an impromptu party.”

  “Sounds good. What do you want me to bring?”

  “Just yourself,” Samantha said. “Come on over around six-thirty.”

  And that took care of that, she thought as she returned to work. Once they got Cecily’s confused hormones sorted out, everything would be fine.

  * * *

  After her shift at the lodge, Bailey went to Lace and Lovelies to pick out curtains for her tearoom. It would be a little embarrassing to shop there after the job with Tina hadn’t worked out—but, hey, Bailey wasn’t going to hold a grudge. Anyway, it was good for business owners to support each other.

  The shop door chimed as Bailey entered, catching Tina in the middle of a conversation with Shelley Graves, who worked at Bavarian Brews. “If she doesn’t break all the china in that tea shop, it’ll be a...” Tina suddenly noticed Bailey and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

  Too late. Bailey had heard, and they both knew it. Awkward silence filled the shop, and Bailey could feel her whole face sizzling like a stove top. If she were Samantha, she would’ve walked on in as if she owned the world. If she were Cecily (well, the old pre–Todd Black Cecily), she’d have smiled and been diplomatic. But she was neither, and she was hurt and humiliated.