Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

by Susan Mallery

  Olivia studied her. “What?”

  “Oh, there’s this one guy, but I’m not sure he sees me as more than a friend.”

  “If he doesn’t, he’s stupid.”

  Helen laughed. “Thanks. I just don’t know what to do. Do I tell him and risk losing the friendship? Continue to pine? Get a cat?”

  “You should go for it,” Olivia told her. “Regretting not acting is the worst. You’re stuck with the could-have-beens. If it doesn’t work out, then at least you know you tried. Plus, you’ll know he’s an idiot and you can move on.”

  “You think?”

  “I’m totally and completely sure.”

  “I want your level of confidence one day.”

  Olivia grinned. “I’m mostly faking it.”

  “You’re doing a good job.”

  Conversation shifted to the upcoming auction and all the items that were being delivered. They brainstormed ways to bundle them together so the silent auction was more appealing, then tossed their trash and headed back to work. On the way a woman about her age stopped by Olivia. She was petite, with dark hair and green eyes.

  “Hi, Olivia. I’m Eliza. We went to high school together. Do you remember me?”

  Olivia had a vague recollection of a quiet, shy brainiac who always aced tests. “Sure, Eliza. It’s nice to see you.”

  “Thanks. I wasn’t sure you would. Remember me, I mean. We didn’t exactly hang out in the same circles. I was with the smart kids and—” Eliza slapped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t smart.”

  Olivia laughed. “I know. It’s okay. I’ll forgive you if you honestly tell me whether or not I mean-girled you in high school.”

  Eliza grinned. “Nope. You ignored me completely.”

  “Thank God. So you still live around here?”

  “I just moved back a few months ago. I graduated from Washington State University vet school and I got a job with the local vet here. It’s challenging but fun.”

  “Come along, ladies,” one of the volunteers called. “Work first, talk later.”

  “Maybe we can get lunch sometime and catch up,” Eliza said.

  An unexpected shot at friendship, Olivia thought. “I’d love that. Let’s plan on that for sure.”

  15

  The forklift carried bins of rooted tulips from the cooling rooms into the greenhouse. Kelly inspected the trays as they were shifted into place. Around her, a couple of guys worked the watering system. The tulips would be given a day to warm up to the greenhouse’s constant sixty-seven degrees, then the special water-nutrient mixture would be added to the trays. In exactly twenty-one days, they would be harvesting this batch of tulips.

  Olivia arrived and walked over to where Kelly was working. Kelly instantly felt dowdy in her green coveralls.

  “Hi,” Olivia said. “I saw all the cars in the parking lot and came to check it out. What’s going on?”

  Kelly motioned to the forklifts and the stacked trays ready to be put onto the tables. “Over the next two days, we’re going to start forcing about a hundred thousand bulbs.”

  Olivia laughed. “You’re kidding.” Her humor faded. “You’re not kidding. How is that possible and why?”

  “August weddings. These bulbs are already purchased by a big distributor on the West Coast. Pink, yellow and orange are very hot this year and we have the best color saturation.”

  “Wedding flowers? That’s so cool.” She eyed the trays of bulbs. “What if they flower late?”

  “They won’t. They will be ready in exactly twenty-one days, give or take twenty-four hours.”

  “How on earth do you pick that many so fast? You must need dozens of people.”

  “I do. We have some mechanization, but a lot of it is done by hand. I have a group of regulars who come in. Mostly stay-at-home mothers who work for me every couple of months. They’re long days, but I pay well enough that they make the schedule work.”

  Kelly was willing to offer the extra money in exchange for not having to employ full-time people. It was much cheaper for her.

  Olivia looked into one of the trays. “There’s a little stem already.”

  “I root them while they’re still cold. It speeds up the forcing time and allows me to know exactly when they’re going to be ready. Between now and when they bloom, they’ll live in a perfect sixty-seven degrees with plenty of light and nutrients.”

  “Do you grow more for Mother’s Day?”

  “We deliver about six hundred and fifty thousand stems.”

  “Don’t you worry about something going wrong?”

  “Every time I plant.”

  Olivia frowned. “And here I thought farming was boring.”

  “It’s a lot of things, but boring isn’t one of them.” The guys continued to put trays on tables. “I need to go back to my office and take care of a few things. You can stay and watch if you want.”

  She expected her sister to refuse, but instead Olivia nodded. “Thanks. I’m going to walk around for a while. I’ll stay out of their way.”

  “Have fun.”

  When Kelly was back in her office, she slipped off her coveralls. She checked her email, then opened her scheduling program to confirm she would have enough workers when the tulips began to bloom.

  Her dad walked in and took a chair across from hers.

  “How’s it going?” he asked. “I saw you’re moving the bulbs into the greenhouse.”

  “All hundred thousand. We’re on track for our deliveries.”

  “I’ll put out the word. Brides across the west will sleep easier.”

  “Somehow I think they have more to worry about than tulips.”

  “Have you seen that Bridezilla show?” He shuddered. “They worry about everything.”

  “When have you ever seen a show about Bridezillas? How do you even know what that word is?”

  “I hear things.”

  “You have a whole secret life, don’t you?”

  “Telling would mean it wasn’t a secret.”

  She laughed. “Olivia’s out there, watching the trays being put on the tables. She’s fascinated.”

  “It’s all new to her.” He looked at Kelly. “I like having her back.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Do you? I wasn’t sure at first.”

  Kelly sighed. “I was shocked when she showed up and more than a little resentful because I thought she would get in the way, but we’re all different now. I guess growing up has a way of changing a person.”

  “I hope so. If not, there’s a bigger problem.”

  She leaned toward him. “Does she remind you of Mom?”

  “Olivia? Not at all. Why?”

  “I just wondered. When we were kids she was with her all the time.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “Marilee and I screwed up as parents in every way possible. The fact that you two are the least bit functional is because of you, not us.”

  “You didn’t screw up.”

  “Sure, I did. We each had our favorite child. That was wrong. We were rarely a family—we were two teams. When Marilee left, Olivia had no one. I didn’t know how to relate to her at all. I should have been there for her as much as I was there for you.”

  Kelly understood his point, but what she wanted to say was if her dad had been more involved with Olivia, he would have been less involved with her and then she would have had no one. It wasn’t as if her mother would have picked up the slack. But that sounded petty and immature.

  “I don’t think we should have gotten married,” he admitted. “I never thought she’d say yes. I should have taken you myself and raised you as a single father.”

  “Then you wouldn’t have had Olivi
a.”

  “You’re right. It’s complicated. I know the divorce was hard on you. All the fighting, your mother doing what she did.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “You’re always so nice when you talk about her. You never call out her crap.”

  “Whatever I think of her is my problem. Marilee will always be your mother. I respect that.”

  “You’re a good man.”

  He grinned. “Thanks. Just don’t tell your mother you said that.”

  “As I haven’t spoken to her since I was fifteen, I don’t see that as a real problem.”

  * * *

  Olivia stopped running long enough to shrug out of her jacket and tie it around her waist. She checked for traffic, then crossed the street on her way to the park. Her breathing was steady, matching the rhythm of her stride. Her mind cleared of all the general crap, leaving her able to focus on what was important.

  Since the volunteer day, she’d received more calls and emails about items people wanted to donate. At this rate she was going to be using a lot more of Sven’s barn than she’d first thought. She was also going to have to figure out how to bundle various items so the number of bidding opportunities was manageable. If there were too many items, people wouldn’t be able to make a choice. Or they’d go bargain shopping and that wouldn’t help anyone. Fewer items that were more exclusive meant bidding wars.

  She had one more meeting with a caterer and then she would make her decision on the dinner menu. The tourism board had given her an advance to use as a deposit. As the event was being held at the craft mall, she wouldn’t need to pay for the space, but she did have to organize some burly help to move booths out of the way, opening up a large area for the silent auction.

  Tickets would go on sale at the end of the week. The city had an online site she was able to use for collecting the money. Two of the local high school teachers had offered students in need of their volunteer hours to graduate for her to use as free labor. While the project was still at the “Am I going to pull it off” stage, she was feeling relatively positive.

  A truck pulled up behind her. In that split second before she turned, she found herself smiling. Sven, she thought happily, hoping he would invite her back to his place. She could use a little mind-clearing sex, followed by great food. Honestly, his last girlfriend had been an idiot. Who wouldn’t want to be with a guy who was that good in bed and could cook? The walking around naked part was good, too. Dinner and a show.

  She was still grinning as she turned around and saw the driver wasn’t Sven at all. It was Ryan.

  She let the smile fade as she walked toward him. Technically Ryan was one of the main reasons she’d returned to Tulpen Crossing. She was supposed to get closure and he’d really hurt her feelings that first night she’d sought him out. Since then, she’d thought of him less and less. But as she got closer and she saw his familiar face, she wondered if she’d just been fooling herself. Ryan had always been the one. The dream guy.

  He rolled down the window and leaned toward her. “God, you’re beautiful.”

  She stopped a couple of feet away. “Hello, Ryan. Shouldn’t you be at work?”

  “I’m good. Besides, if I was at work, I wouldn’t be talking to you. How are you? I never see you around.” His expression turned serious. “I miss you, Olivia.”

  “Do you?”

  “Every minute of every day. I’ve been thinking about you a lot. About how we were, back in college. It was the best ever.”

  She’d thought so, too, until he’d been offered a spot on a farm team. He’d left within the hour, barely bothering to tell her where he was going. He’d promised to stay in touch, but he hadn’t. He’d just been gone.

  He reached out his hand to her. “I should have taken you with me when I left college.”

  “You probably should have.”

  “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “No doubt.”

  He smiled. “I respect that you’re making me work for it, babe. You’re worth it.” He nodded toward the passenger seat. “Want to spend the day together? We could drive to Seattle, walk on the waterfront. Check into a great hotel and get to know each other again.”

  He was offering her everything she was supposed to want. There was only one slightly overweight catch. “Is Autumn coming with us?”

  He grimaced. “That’s over.”

  “You broke up with her?”

  “Yes. I swear.”

  I swear. Ryan’s favorite phrase.

  “I swear I’ll love you forever.”

  “I swear I’ll pull out before I come.”

  “I swear I’ll never leave you.”

  She had a long list of I swear broken promises.

  “Does she know you broke up with her?” she asked.

  His gaze flickered. She rolled her eyes.

  “See you,” she called as she turned and ran in the other direction.

  “Dammit, Olivia, why are you acting like this?” he yelled after her.

  She didn’t bother turning around or answering. He was a jerk. She knew he was a jerk. She wasn’t sure she even wanted him in her life. It was just that stupid nagging sense that they weren’t done. That he’d always been the one, and that she should try at least one more time to see if they could work it out.

  When she’d been alone and sad, Ryan was the guy she’d dreamed about. In college, he’d almost proposed. If he hadn’t been drafted or whatever it was called, he would have. They could be married now, with a kid. They could be happy. More important, she would belong. She’d never belonged—not since her mom had run off all those years ago. Ryan was the dream of finally having a place that was hers alone.

  The only problem with that seemed to be the man himself. Or maybe it was her. Maybe she was hanging on to the wrong thing, or learning the wrong lesson. Or maybe she just needed to give Ryan a chance.

  * * *

  Jeff held open the door to JML. Helen walked out into the early evening and breathed in the cool air. The stillness surrounded her, easing the tightness in her body. Her ears throbbed from both the volume and the horror of the evening session but that would fade with time and distance.

  “They were awful,” Jeff said with a sigh. “Possibly the worst band ever.”

  “I agree. No one should butcher country music that way without being prosecuted.” She shuddered. “I’m going to call Isaak tomorrow and tell him we can’t help them. They are, in fact, beyond help and should take up another hobby.”

  Not words she said lightly, but honest to God, there was no way she could survive another practice session.

  The clients were a father, mother and ten-year-old twin girls. None of them could play an instrument to save their souls and that lack of ability wasn’t even close to how awful they all sang. With years of instruction they might make it all the way to tone deaf, but even that would be a stretch.

  Jeff opened the trunk of her car and put her keyboard inside. It was something he always did, like holding open doors or paying the check if they went out. He was a polite man. Polite and kind and funny.

  They walked around to the driver’s side and he held open the door. “You’ll probably want to take an aspirin when you get home,” he told her.

  “There’s a thought.”

  She looked up at him, liking how he was taller. There were a few laugh lines by his eyes, but other than that, he wore his age well. He was a physically active, attractive man and she desperately loved him. While she didn’t think she was ready to confess that, it was long past time to say something.

  She sucked in a breath, felt herself flush and suddenly wanted to run away. Only she couldn’t. She’d been doing that for far too long.

  “Jeff,” she began.

  He stared at her expectantly.

 
She opened her mouth, then closed it. “I like how you play.”

  “You couldn’t hear me tonight.”

  “I know, but the rest of the time. I like how you play guitar.”

  Ack! Talk about lame. She had to get it together.

  “What I mean is you’re really nice and we’re friends and I’ve thought a lot about what you said about Seattle and finding a guy there, but it’s so not anything I could do. I want to be with someone I know and I like and who likes me back. I want to be friends with the guy I sleep with. I want that guy to be you.”

  Nothing about him changed. He continued to study her and for the life of her, she had no idea what he was thinking.

  “I wanted you to know that if you wanted to start something with me, I’m open to it. Anytime.”

  He still held his guitar in his left hand. He shifted it to his right, looked at the ground, back at her, drew in a breath and exhaled.

  She could hear the highway about a half mile away and the faint crash of a bowling ball smashing into pins. Her face burned and she knew she was beet red, but there was nothing to be done. She wasn’t going to call back the words. They had to be said.

  He finally looked back at her. “Thanks for telling me, Helen. Have a good night.”

  Then he turned and walked to his truck. He got in and drove away. Just like that.

  When she was alone in the parking lot, she blinked back tears before getting into her car.

  She wasn’t going to be sorry, she told herself firmly. Or apologize or feel bad. She had the right to feel how she felt and to want what she wanted. If he didn’t agree, then he was a fool. Which all made sense, only as she drove home she couldn’t helping thinking that the only fool right now was her.

  * * *

  “We just can’t wait,” Penny Kerr said with an excited smile. “This is going to be the perfect summer house for us. When my grandfather left us the lot on the lake, we had no idea how we were ever going to afford to build a house and after two years of camping all summer, let me tell you that gets old.”

  Her husband, Ben, nodded in agreement. “Once the twins came along last year, it was impossible. My job allows me to work from a remote location but a tent doesn’t cut it.”