She chuckled and then bit her lip. “Hmmm. I don’t know how my boss would feel about the shop being involved, but I’ll ask. Anyway, I guess I can help with advice. No matter what.” She nodded. “And the money for that will be going into Ben’s fund?”
“Of course.”
“Absolutely. I want to be a part of it then. He’s very close to my heart. And to April’s. I’d do anything for both of them.” She played with the napkin in her lap and covered the necklace. “But can you do me a favor?” She looked across the room at April as she was signing up volunteers for the donor testing for Ben. “Don’t tell April just yet. I want to surprise her. She’s working really hard on getting over all the motorcycle stuff because of what happened when we were young. I don’t want to put too much on her plate to deal with.” She placed the napkin on the table. “And surprises are always nice—especially when they’re good ones.”
“I know how to keep secrets.” He touched the back of his hair.
They both laughed.
“I can tell. A secret’s okay as long as it involves a gift or a birthday or holiday. In those instances, I call it a surprise. I can’t wait to see April’s face when we hand her the money for Ben when we finish.” Good. He had her hooked.
But why wasn’t she putting on the necklace he’d given her? In his experience, girls like her loved jewelry, didn’t they? At least, that had been his experience. And they always seemed more…amiable when they got a rock or something that sparkled. He needed Jenna to be amiable.
But she seemed to be avoiding even looking at the necklace. Did she not like pendants? Or perhaps gold? Or maybe fireflies? That couldn’t be, though. Everyone loved lightning bugs. They were magic and summer nights all rolled into flickers of bioluminescence—cool heat and enchantment.
And Jenna had him enchanted, even though he was just getting to know her.
There was still one more place she’d fit in nicely in his life; however, it was too soon to talk to her about that. Though it wasn’t her fault, Savannah could ruin everything. He was really good at keeping secrets, so he’d keep Savannah a secret from Jenna. For now.
Chapter Seven
“The earth, the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our fore fathers but on loan from our children. So we have to handover to them at least as it was handed over to us.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Jenna’s phone rang as she was printing some homework for Ben. And thinking about Hogan. Which she was trying hard not to do because she had a full day ahead.
“Hi, Mrs. Legare. Did you need something?” she asked as she pulled the last page from the printer.
“Um. I think you might want to come in to work early today.”
“Why? I was planning to stop by the hospital this morning to take some lessons to Ben. I wasn’t able to instruct him last time I stopped by to see him.” She checked the time on her cell.
“No. I think you need to come here first.”
Jenna took a deep breath. “I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”
Worry nagged Jenna. Mrs. Legare had never called her in early before. In fact, they had a very loose agreement that Jenna would come whenever she wanted to order the merchandise, organize the store, decorate the windows, and put in her twenty-ish hours. Most of the time. It worked well for Jenna because she didn’t need the money. At least not yet. She needed the outlet. She’d feng shui-ed her carriage house to within an inch of its life. And her mom had put a stop to her organizing the main house years ago. Oh, and April said that she’d witch slap her if she rearranged one more decorative pillow in her townhouse. It was this whole OCD thing that she worked hard at keeping under control. But she needed…outlets. The dress shop really helped.
She pulled through the plantation’s gates, drove the short distance to Summerbrook, and parked on the town square. She tried to keep her anxiety in check, but the closer she got to the shop, the more she was concerned. She was nearly running as she passed Mr. Slither’s office, and when she finally reached Enjoliver, she exhaled.
She immediately saw three tremendous vases of yellow tulips on the center table just inside the door.
“Where did these come from?” she asked.
“Well, your name is on the envelope, but when the third arrived just before I called you, I looked. It’s signed ‘Hog.’ Is that a joke or something…sinister?” Mrs. Legare took the card off one of the vases and handed it to Jenna.
Jenna smiled and then burst out laughing. “They’re from Hogan Thorpe…who has a very unfortunate nickname.”
Mrs. Legare grabbed her chest and let out a huge breath. “My goodness. For a while there, I thought I was going to have to call the police.” She grabbed one of the bouquets. “In that case—” She put one bunch of tulips in the window and then placed the other on the checkout counter. “You lucky girl, you. I haven’t been sent flowers from a man since… Well, I can’t remember when.”
Jenna put her nose to one of the buds and closed her eyes. What a sweet thing for Hogan to do. On top of giving her the firefly pendant. Which she thought was beautiful, but she still had issues with fireflies, and she hadn’t decided to put it around her neck. Yet. “Wonder what the yellow symbolizes?” So, Hogan was thoughtful and handsome.
Mrs. Legare stopped fussing with arranging the stems. “Cheerfulness.” She smiled. “And if you ever get white ones…forgiveness, and red ones, purest love.”
“When did you get to be such an expert on the symbolic meanings of flowers?”
Mrs. Legare leaned against a wood and glass case filled with evening clutches that sparkled like the sun. “Since the internet a few minutes ago. I wish I could say experience, but I was curious, too.”
They both laughed.
“Okay, now is as good a time as any, so I’m just going to ask.” Jenna inhaled. “Hogan is sponsoring a charity fundraiser for Ben called Leather and Lace. Per Lydia Stroble’s insistence. It’ll be a fashion show in his showroom at Thorpe’s Custom Cycles.” She paused. “That would be motorcycles. Not bicycles.” She stepped toward the classy lady dressed in a sophisticated French suit and reached for her fingers. “Now before you say no, let me explain.”
Mrs. Legare put up her hands to stop her. “Dear, I wasn’t about to say no. Ever since your friend April ended up on the front page of the Summerbrook Gazette in one of our lace dresses and that motorcycle jacket, we’ve had a run on Chaperal and Adrianna Pappell. And do you know what the number one accessory they want to purchase with the lacy frocks?”
“No. What?” She had Jenna mega curious.
“A leather jacket. The more rivets, the better, they say. I have a whole shipment on order as we speak. Even though they’re not French.” Mrs. Legare brushed her hand over the tops of the tulips by the cash register.
“Was that the order that I couldn’t make out the other day from that company…” Jenna thought for a moment. “Oh, I remember… Let Her Up?”
Mrs. Legare laughed. “Leather Up. My handwriting’s bad. That’s one of the reasons I usually let you do all the ordering. But I needed to seize the moment. Seems like April started a local fashion trend. And I like keeping the mayor happy. He’s got his hands full with that new young wife he’s married.”
“I’ll say. Did you see what color she painted his house?”
“No.”
“I believe she calls it ‘shrimp’.”
Mrs. Legare laughed as she fussed with the vase of flowers. “Do you know how much money we’ll make off the jackets? Oh, and I’ve decided to donate ten percent of the profits from them to the fund for Ben.”
Jenna smiled, put her hand over her mouth, and closed her eyes. Talk about cheerful thoughts. Hers were filled with them at the moment. And Hogan was at the center of them all.
⸙
Hogan knelt down in front of Savannah. “Honey…Uncle Colton’s gonna stay with you again today. Okay?”
His precious little angel stared at the unclothed Barbie doll in her
hands and stroked the messy blonde hair, not acknowledging anything he’d just said.
A light wind blew across the front porch of their family’s farmhouse.
He was used to Savannah’s reactions…or rather her non-reactions, but he just wasn’t going to accept her imprisonment. And that was where Jenna might be able to help him.
He picked up the five-year-old girl and kissed her on the cheek.
“Bro, what are you going to do about getting Savannah another teacher? You know I can’t keep babysitting. Things need to be done around here. This farm can’t run itself.” Colton said. “The combine needs new brakes, and I need to oversee the crop dusting. This isn’t an Old McDonald operation, you know.”
“I know. I know,” Hogan said. “Just give me some time. I’m working on it.”
“Like you did before? What’s she had? Like five teachers in the last two years?” Colton shook his head. “Bro, we’ve got to get someone good…someone who’s going to stay this time. You know I love that little girl like my own, and if I could, I’d spend all day with her.”
“I know, bro.” Hogan kissed Savannah again on her cheek and set her down in one of the rocking chairs.
“I’m not going through another agency this time. I’m working on a more stable solution…a real person…not a resume.” He knelt in front of his little girl again. “Use the farm hands to get the work done. Hire more if we need to…until I get this resolved. I keep the books, so we’ve got the budget.” He pushed Savannah’s hair behind her ear. “Daddy has to go now, sweetie. I’ve made you a peanut butter sandwich and put it on the counter in the kitchen. Uncle Colton will pour you a glass of milk when you’re ready to eat it. Okay?” No matter how much she understood—or didn’t understand—he talked to her like she knew what he was saying. “Love you, baby.” He stood and kissed the top of her head. “Keep the doors locked from the inside and use the keypad.”
“I know the gig. I won’t let a repeat of last time happen again,” Colton said.
It was too bad they had to lock themselves in, but it was the only way to keep Savannah safe. She had a dangerous habit of taking a walk if she wasn’t locked in or supervised. The last time she’d almost made it to the highway in front of the farm. His whole life had been turned upside down by his precious little girl, and he’d do anything to prevent her from being harmed.
“Catch you later, bro,” Hogan said as he trotted down the steps. He cranked his SUV and headed toward town. The drive calmed him and helped resolve him. More than ever, he needed Jenna’s help. He’d never again expose his little girl to the kind of abandonment her mother had wrought in her life, so if he were to ever date again, she would have to be a woman who understood children, a woman who was protective by nature, a woman who’d be committed—to him and his Savannah. Jenna. A seed in his heart had begun to grow the night he’d met her and had learned of all those attributes in her.
He parked his black Land Rover on the town square and rested his head on his hands. He hoped that sending all the flowers to the shop this morning hadn’t scared Jenna. He’d done it on impulse. Three times. But history had shown that some of his impulses had landed him in a tank of hot water. His last impulse had ended in divorce three years ago. He should have known to stay away from blue-blooded, downtown Charleston debutantes. But he didn’t, and he was still paying the price. Would forever. But he still had a weakness for girly-girls, and Jenna was a super girly-girl. He had to play this correctly because he needed Jenna for more than just arm candy.
He couldn’t count all her positive qualities. She wasn’t from the downtown Charleston aristocracy—like Bentley. That was good. Jenna used her free time to tutor sick little boys and had the momma bear protection thing going on with the people she cared about—like her best friend April. And she even had experience with fashion shows because she worked at a dress shop. Who knew what else, and who knew what might eventually come of it all? Right now, however, he needed her help with Savannah and the fashion show. He simply had to charm her into helping him with both.
He arrived on the town square, and it sent him back years. Summerbrook was the big city to him when he was small and lived on his family’s farm. Every once in a while, his entire family would make the trip into town to buy clothes from Barshay’s, get their hair cut from Romey at Simmons Barber Shop, or to pick up some new shoes from Cochran’s Shoe Store. He also loved going to the Piggly Wiggly with his mother to buy the things their farm didn’t provide.
He often wondered how they’d all feel about how he and Colton had transformed the already large farm into the extremely prosperous commercial enterprise it was now—if they had still been around to see it—Colton taking care of the day-to-day operations and Hogan taking care of the commercial contracts and books. Which allowed him to indulge in his…motorcycle hobby all the more. Really, it was his escape when things were too much to bear. He didn’t ever want to leave the farm completely. His family’s legacy needed to continue. Who knew? One day Colton might have a son who’d want to run the farm. Or a daughter. It made him sad that Savannah would never be able to do it. Autism sucked.
The square had changed exponentially since back then—like everything else had. Now, the grass grew thick and green; the azaleas were neatly trimmed; the young oaks had grown tall, and the crape myrtles were perfectly manicured. Meandering brick paths wound through the square, and wrought iron benches dotted the way. But he wouldn’t enjoy it today because he didn’t have his daughter with him. And he had business to attend to.
He hit the key fob to lock the car and sprinted toward the sign that read Enjoliver. In the window on a stand was one of the vases of flowers he’d sent. Uh, oh. Either Jenna really liked them and wanted to show them off, or she didn’t and was trying to find a place for them so she didn’t have to take them home.
Look at me. Getting all nervous like a school boy. Get a grip. But how could he get a grip—as it were—when so much was on the line?
The bell above him tinkled as he opened the door. The remnants of some kind of fancy French perfume hung in the air. He’d smelled that before, but he brushed the memories of it away. He looked around the shop for Jenna.
“May I help you?” an older woman asked in a slight French accent.
Just then he saw Jenna in the back, organizing a table of scarves. “No thank you. I’ve found what I came for.” He smiled and headed straight for the pretty blonde. “Jenna.”
She smiled back. Yep. She liked the flowers.
“So…I see you got the tulips,” he said. He was mesmerized when she moved because her champagne-colored hair grazed and kissed her slender shoulders, which he had some crazy, impossible desire to touch.
She smiled and nodded. “They are beautiful. And, yes, they filled me with cheerfulness and good thoughts.”
He ran his fingers through his hair and smiled back. “Speaking of thoughts…you give any more thought to working on the Leather and Lace Fashion Show?”
She glanced at the older lady behind the counter, reached out and grabbed his hand. “You’re not going to believe this, but Mrs. Legare actually wants me to help.” She explained about April’s photo in the lace dress and leather jacket in the paper.
He beamed inside like…a Harley speeding through a tunnel. “Well, great. When can you stop by the shop to check out the showroom and give me some ideas about where to start?”
She looked at her watch. “What about…now?”
“Are you kidding? That’s perfect.” Now was his chance to check out those delicate shoulders, so he reached out and touched one. He quickly drew back. Yep. They were as soft as they looked. “Thank you.”
“I guess I’ll have to follow you there. I need to head to the hospital to give Ben some homework later. I’ve got a couple of spelling lessons for him that go along with an art project he’s working on.”
He shuffled his feet, not knowing if he should be so bold. But he needed help with Savannah, too, and this would be the perfect tim
e to see Jenna in action. As a part of his hands-on philosophy about charity, he really wanted to meet Ben. He was doing all this work for the little boy. It would be great to tell people about him—from first-hand knowledge. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t I drive? We’ll run by the hospital together after we leave the shop.”
“Oh, I don’t want to impose. It’ll take an hour or two with Ben.”
He checked his watch. The situation at home was—at best—dicey, but Colton was staying with Savannah today, and this just might fix that whole situation. “I can do that.”
“Well, I guess you can if you own your own business.” She folded the last scarf and put her hands on her hips. He couldn’t take his eyes off where her hands had settled. Oh, he was in trouble.
He nodded and grinned. He could take the time off even if he didn’t own Thorpe’s Custom Cycles, but it was too early to go telling her about his other endeavors.
Right now, he just wanted to concentrate on charming Jenna. Without complications. Because those would come soon enough.
⸙
Jenna kept glancing up at Hogan as he drove them to his shop. He fit nicely behind the wheel of his Land Rover. She just couldn’t assimilate the haircut with the vehicle. With a motorcycle—yes. The hairstyle was not fashionable. At all. She understood the mullet challenge, and she knew he needed help with the Leather and Lace Fashion Show. Still, she had to keep reminding herself that it was all for charity. All for Ben. Because that dang mullet was so…distracting.
“So, how long have you and April been friends?”
She liked the way he started every other sentence with “So.” She actually liked a lot of things about him, even though nothing could ever come of it.
“April and I met in school—kindergarten, in fact. Something inside me connected to what an honest person she was—even back then.” She folded her hands in her lap. “And then after the accident, we became very close. April had completely stopped talking, and I wouldn’t. Eventually, she came out of it. I guess I must have pestered her to death.” She sort of turned in her seat a little. “I’ve never seen you before at any town functions. You just move here?”
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