Summer in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance Anthologies Book 2)

by Cindy Roland Anderson

His father shrugged. “I could teach you.”

  At this, Michael shook his head. “I’m happy in L.A. That’s where my business is.”

  The side of his father’s lip tugged up. He placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder.

  Michael looked at the hand, not sure if he wanted it there or not.

  “Son, let me give you a piece of advice. If I could change anything, it would be to make sure I had an occupation that involved staying in the same town as my family.”

  Michael’s heart picked up speed. To say that his father’s admission struck a chord inside of him, would be like saying the Grand Canyon was a cute little hole in the ground. He took a step away from his father and then sat back down at the table. “So tell me why are they selling it?”

  His father sighed. “I’d reckon to pay the hospital bills.”

  He looked at his father in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  His father shrugged his shoulders and moved into the kitchen, plucking his cowboy hat off a peg on the wall by the door. “Cancer doesn’t pay for itself.”

  Michael’s heart raced. Cancer. Cancer. Cancer. Instinctively he knew, but he had to ask anyway. “Who had cancer?”

  His father frowned then rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry, son. I thought you knew. Janet fought cancer and beat it.” He shook his head. “She was in a bad way. Everyone thought it was over. Then they found a new therapy. It cost a fortune, but there’s nothing that can compare to the cost of someone’s life.”

  Michael felt overwhelmed with emotions so tangled he couldn’t name them all.

  Tears gathered in his father’s eyes.

  Michael blinked and looked away.

  “I wish I could buy it, but I can’t.”

  Michael couldn’t believe Janet hadn’t told him. He thought about the other day when she had grilled him about what he would do if she coughed. He thought back to the hike and how she’d said she was out of breath. She had known he didn’t know. Anger untangled itself and took the lead.

  His father patted his shoulder unaware of the turmoil his words had created. “See ya later.”

  Michael watched his father walk out the kitchen door, go to his truck, start it up, and lumber down the dirt road.

  A trembling took hold of him, and confusion overtook the anger. On autopilot he cleaned up his dishes and put the food away. His mind whirled. Why had he not known she had cancer? Why hadn’t she told him? They told each other everything. At least they used to. Clearly everything wasn’t the same as it had been, and Michael didn’t know as much as he thought he did about Janet.

  He did know one thing for sure though. Today, he was going to get some answers.

  Chapter 13

  Janet had let herself sleep in until seven-thirty, which truly was sleeping in for her. Then she’d gotten up and remembered Adam would be opening at work this morning. Technically, she hadn’t planned to work today. She’d told her employees when they’d first agreed to work at the flower shop that the week around the Fourth of July was her vacation with Lacy. She’d never changed the schedule back because she had been so busy helping with Kevin’s wedding. Now, however, she thought going into work might be the best thing to keep her occupied.

  She checked her texts, hoping she might get another one from Lacy. Kurt had allowed her to talk to Lacy the night before, but they hadn’t talked long when Kurt had insisted she go and watch the fireworks with him and Tina.

  Janet frowned. Lacy had sounded happy, and that was a good thing. But why did it not feel like a good thing? Last night, after Michael had left, Janet had lain in bed and wished so badly Lacy could have gone with her and Michael to the springs. She had wished Lacy could have watched fireworks with them. But if Lacy had been home, Janet knew she wouldn’t have been with Michael. She wouldn’t have kissed him after the wedding, and she wouldn’t have gone with him all day yesterday. Knowing that only reinforced the feeling that she needed to nip this thing with Michael in the bud. She was a single mother raising her daughter in a small town. She had a responsibility to protect Lacy. A whirlwind romance with a boy from her past wasn’t something she should be doing.

  Plus, Michael was leaving. He would be gone soon, and she couldn’t fool herself into believing she didn’t care about that. A nervous flutter went through her. Before she could change her mind, she opened up her laptop and allowed herself to do something she had refused to do after she’d married Kurt. She searched for Michael Hamilton on Facebook.

  Okay, she wasn’t a stalker, but once she got to his page and viewed some of his photos, she admitted Facebook had its uses. It didn’t say much other than he’d graduated from UC Davis. There were several pictures that he’d been tagged in with other football players and… she clicked on one picture of him and an overly made-up girl. “The cheerleader,” she muttered, sizing her up. The Cheerleader had long, satin-looking black hair with chopped bangs, white teeth, and tight clothes. Her smile was so fake. Michael never said the reason things didn’t work out with Little Miss Push-Up Bra, but— Okay, she had to stop, catty wasn’t in her nature, and that’s what she was being. Janet closed the computer and stood.

  A hundred questions raced through her mind: How long had they been together? What was she like? Where was she from? “Ugh.” She could not do this! It didn’t matter anyway. In a few days he would go back to his life, and she would go back to hers. That’s how it had to be. No complications.

  After brushing her teeth and throwing on a light t-shirt and shorts, she went to her garden. It was one of the only places where she really felt all was right in the world.

  It had rained early in the morning, and the ground was slightly muddy. Without thinking, she removed her shoes and went barefoot, bending down to easily tug a carrot out. She hummed and walked to the hose and used the sprayer to clean the mud off of the carrot. Then she took a bite and relished the joy of eating something fresh from the ground. It was silly how much she loved food that she’d had some part in growing.

  Hunching down, she moved through her garden—weeding, tugging, and pulling. As she got to the rows of flowers, she lovingly smelled and pruned each one. Pride filled her as she surveyed them, assessing them to determine which she would cut and use in her shop. She enjoyed including homegrown flowers. Though she did import most of them.

  She was proud of what she had accomplished and grateful for her family’s support. Kevin and Molly had been so great at helping her grow her business. Molly had been a pro at showing her how to find clients throughout the western region and how to create a website that put customer and retailer in contact. In the end, the flower shop itself ended up being only one of her businesses, and managing her website became her other business. She had so much to be grateful for. Her health was better than ever. She had Lacy, her family, and a way to support herself and her daughter. At least Kurt lived close enough that he could be a part of Lacy’s life and far enough away that he wasn’t always in Janet’s life. So why was there this lingering feeling in her today that something was missing?

  The light changed around her and a shadow stood over her. She jumped and fell back into the flowers, mud spreading up her back and over her legs. “Oh my gosh, you scared me!”

  Then Michael’s warm hand was on her back, gently lifting her up and out of the mess, but mud was still all over her.

  His eyes were wide. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  A surge of flutters went through her. He stood there in khaki shorts and a pale blue shirt she just knew was dry clean only. His facial hair had grown out to that just right level of hotness. His dark brown hair was a little gelled but still messy looking. His normally tan skin was even more bronze now from laying out in the sun with her yesterday. The only thing that was wrong was he was just too perfect.

  Carrying out a completely, childishly fun idea, she giggled, took both of her mud-covered hands, and ran them down his shirt. “Don’t worry about it, Mr. Hamilton. I can get myself cleaned up ASAP.” As she admired her
muddy handy work, her giggles turned into full-bodied laughs. It seemed when he was around all she could do was think about how funny everything was.

  For a moment, he stared at what she’d done. Then, while she was still laughing he moved like the football player he used to be—quickly and purposefully. He took hold of her and tumbled to the ground, rolling on his back and holding her on top of him. “I was wondering how to get messy again with you today, Ms. Snow. I guess you just solved that problem for me.”

  The speed of her heart would likely exceed any limits recommended by the American Heart Association. All she could do at the moment was reach up and put her lips on his.

  This time the make out was soft and slow. She smiled while kissing him.

  “What?” He put his head back but kept his arms around her.

  She felt a little silly but decided to share her thought anyway. “I was just imagining lips might have memory. You know, like muscle memory where your body remembers how to do a particular motion. Maybe lips have lip memory, and they can remember how to kiss a particular person.” She was completely embarrassed. Had she really just said that? She pushed her hands down beside him in the mud and attempted to get up.

  He clamped down his hold on her and grinned. “Lip memory.” He swiped a kiss. “I like it.”

  After initiating another round of kissing, he finally allowed her to get up.

  Then he got up, too.

  She couldn’t stop laughing at how muddy they were. “You’re lucky you didn’t pull us down in my flowers, or I would have had to punish you.”

  He raised his eyebrows and looked around. “Even though I think I would have enjoyed the punishment, I will admit that what you have done is amazing, and I’m glad I didn’t mess it up.”

  Her eyes scanned over the garden. Satisfaction filled her. “It’s my passion.”

  “I can tell.” The simple way he stared at her and held her eyes made her blush.

  She motioned for the side of the yard with grass and picked up the hose. “We’re going to have to hose off before we go inside.”

  He scoffed. “You sure did a number on me.” He easily took the hose out of her hand and walked beside her comfortably.

  Janet stared at him, thinking how it had always been comfortable between them. His lips ended up being her focal point. She noted how soft and supple they were.

  He cleared his throat.

  Abruptly, she shook her head and walked faster toward the house. She had to talk to him. This was getting absurd.

  They got to the grass, and he sprayed off her feet and then basically held the water on her while she wiped the mud off. Again, all the silliness swept over her and she giggled.

  He grinned and held out the hose for her to spray him off. He gave her threatening looks as she occasionally sprayed him in the face and then erupted into laughter.

  Finally, he ended up taking the hose back and giving her a good blast.

  It ended with both of them in each other’s arms, again.

  This time Michael held back, simply staring down at her.

  It wasn’t lost on her that the sides of her cheeks hurt from smiling and giggling so much and the day had barely started. She stifled another smile at the realization of how happy she was.

  His eyes clouded. “You’re a mystery to me, Janet Snow.”

  The way he stared at her in this moment, like he might be almost angry, confused her, and she tried to pull away. “I’ve got to shower.”

  He let her move back until his arms were extended, but he refused to let her break his hands apart and free her completely. “I have a question for you.”

  Her heart stilled. “Okay.”

  But he didn’t speak, only stared at her.

  Panic filled her. “What’s wrong?” This was the most intense she’d seen in him in the last few days. Something didn’t feel right.

  He looked like he wanted to say something, but then sighed.

  “What?”

  “I have a surprise for you today.”

  There was no way she was going to get excited about any type of surprise she told herself. “I’m working today.” She put the hose on the stand and turned it off. Distance was just the thing she needed from him. Lots of distance.

  He followed her around the side of the house. “Really?”

  She got to the door and gave him a challenging look. “Really. Hmm, let’s see, I might not own a big ‘company.’” She air quoted teasingly. “But I do have a shop to run.”

  Not showing any sign of being upset, Michael only lifted one eyebrow and then shook a finger at her. “You’re a bad liar.”

  Of course his tone only made her dig her heels in even more. After all, he didn’t know her schedule. Who did he think he was? “I’m sorry that we little people have to work, but that’s the way it is.”

  The look of certainty on his face only deepened. “No, you don’t.”

  “Do too!” she claimed, getting agitated.

  Retrieving a paper from his pocket, he unrolled what looked to be a work schedule. It was, in fact, the work schedule she had made.

  She snatched it out of his hand, noticing it was a copy. “Where did you get this?”

  He had the same cocky smile he’d always worn when he had teased her in the past. He shook his head. “You see, I have people everywhere.”

  Adam’s face popped into her head. “Did that college kid give you this? Giving out this kind of information is against the law, and he could get into big trouble.”

  “Oh no.” Michael put his hand up. “That boy didn’t want me to know anything about you or your schedule.” He shook his head, looking baffled. “If I didn’t know better I would say he was your boyfriend. He tried to make it clear that you were ‘off limits.’”

  At this, Janet laughed. That was Adam. “He’s just very protective of me. One time there was a creeper at the shop and he kept coming back, and believe me.” Janet grinned thinking about it. “Adam was ready to throw some punches.”

  Michael frowned. “A creeper?”

  Janet was still thinking about who had given him the schedule. “Sharon?”

  “Tell me about this creeper. Do you get lots of creepers at the flower shop?” He looked serious.

  Ignoring him, she held up the schedule, already knowing the truth. “Sharon gave this to you. She probably had it copied and in your hand before you could ask a second time.”

  Caught, Michael grinned. “I like her. She wanted me to tell you that this week you scheduled vacation and she needed the hours, so you better not come in.”

  The idea that Michael had caught her in her lie, a lie that he shouldn’t have been able to catch her in at all, didn’t sit well.

  A grin spread across his face. “So you, Ms. Snow, have no reason not to take me up on that surprise.” He backed up and began moving toward his truck.

  This confused her. “Hey, where are you going?”

  Getting to his truck, he opened the door and flung back. “I need new clothes. You shower, and I’ll be back in half hour.” He got into the truck.

  “Michael!”

  He held the door open. “Yes.”

  “I’ll go on one condition.”

  “Okay.”

  “You have to tell me why you ended things with the cheerleader.”

  If he had been flummoxed, he covered it well. He laughed as he got in the truck.

  “I mean it.” She ran to the side of the truck.

  He shrugged. “The way you say cheerleader makes it seem like you’ve forgotten you were a cheerleader.”

  This was ridiculous. She shook her head. “I was a cheerleader in high school. That’s not the same thing.”

  He scoffed. “You had a mini skirt, and you chanted.”

  Embarrassment filled her. She didn’t like being a cliché. “Look, I have nothing against high school cheerleaders.”

  “Oh, I see. You only have something against the ones good enough to go further?”

  Having her unrea
sonable hypocrisy pointed out ticked her off. “Never mind.” She crossed her arms.

  He laughed. “Why do you care so much?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “If you want me to go, you have to promise to tell me.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He laughed and shut the truck door.

  “Fine.”

  Chapter 14

  After driving back to the ranch, Michael took care to take his clothes off in the mudroom and start them in the washer. Heading into the house, he was relieved that his father was not home.

  He turned on the shower and let the hot water soothe him. He’d wanted to drill her with questions. He’d wanted to lambast her with the fact she’d lied to him. Well, she hadn’t so much as lied as edited out the most important part of her past.

  He scrubbed dried mud from under his fingernails and hated the desperation he’d felt when he’d seen her in the garden. She’d stood there smelling flowers, looking so frail in her t-shirts and shorts. Now he understood why she was so thin. It made sense why her previously long, blond hair was now short. He thought of what she must have looked like as a cancer patient and he dropped the soap.

  Every part of him shook with fear. It was the same kind of fear he’d felt as he’d watched his mother die in the hospital, her hand gripping his with her last breath.

  She was the only other person he’d ever truly loved and she had died.

  He put the soap back and let the water fall on him, through him. Even though he was angry at Janet…he was also desperate for her. He could close his eyes and instantly remember how she felt in his arms. He was so grateful she was alive.

  He had shut Janet out all those years ago. He’d been a child. He’d lost his mother. He’d been angry and shattered. His father had left him. He had felt like he had no one and nothing. He’d thought he had nothing to offer someone like her. He squeezed his eyes shut, thinking of the pain that had deluded him into letting her go.

  At that moment he made a vow to himself…he would not lose her again.

  ***