Ainsley picked up the stack of papers again, then immediately put them down and took the picture out of the trash. After a slight bit of artistic alteration that added a pitchfork, enhanced his eyebrows and gave him some overgrown facial hair, she hung it up on her corkboard and focused on her other problem.
The deed to her building. The chances of her mother giving it up now were less than her dying her hair purple. When her mother realized Edward was now spoken for—by her rebel daughter, no less—she would be on the lookout for the next new man in Ainsley’s life and she’d need leverage.
Well. Coward must be tattooed on her forehead. Why else had she gone to Wyoming in the first place, instead of telling her mother no? And then to not confront Jewel and the other women about their lies and manipulations, and let Riley believe them instead of her? And not to tell him the depth of her feelings for him?
“Grow a backbone, Ainsley,” she muttered. Look what being the good girl had gotten her.
Next time. She wouldn’t keep silent when someone else tried to rule her life.
* * *
As the days passed, a strange sort of sadness overtook her. She wandered across the checkered floor of her store, taking stock of her surroundings. The familiar hum of the refrigerator pump no longer made the shop a homier place. The soft scent of lilies didn’t brighten her mood. And any time Tess tried to talk about her forced vacation or plans for Charleston Blooms, an empty ache overwhelmed her soul and she would mutter something about paperwork and retreat to her office. The store had been her haven for so long. What would she do now that it was no longer her sanctuary?
The bell above her door sounded. She fortified herself with a deep breath and grabbed a tissue before greeting her customer.
“I need some flowers,” the man announced. More nervous excitement than wariness filled his voice, and Ainsley read his tone and body cues to figure out it wasn’t for an apology. Good. Because if that were the case, she’d excuse herself and give this guy over to Tess.
“Excellent. What’s the occasion?”
“I’m meeting my girlfriend’s mother for the first time and I want to get her the perfect bouquet.”
Normally something like this would have Ainsley divining traits about the mother or daughter in order to create a spectacular arrangement for the occasion, but now she just shuffled to the display cases. The weight of Tess’s stare bore down on her and she tried to ignore her manager’s disbelief in her lack of enthusiasm. The joy had been sucked out of her job, and suggesting anything other than the most commonly enjoyed flowers took more effort than she could give. The end result of large yellow sunflowers was still beautiful, but it had no special oomph.
The man didn’t notice. He thanked her profusely as he paid for the flowers before rushing out the door. Disheartened at her own lack of interest, she wandered back to the work station, fingering plant stakes as if rubbing them would give her the answers she wanted.
“What’s going on with you?” Tess asked.
“What do you mean?” Like she didn’t know. She turned away from Tess and put the stakes away. “The bouquet was perfect. Just like he asked for.”
“Perfectly boring. Sure, it was gorgeous and colorful and the mother is going to love it. But it didn’t have the pizzazz of your normal arrangements. The special something that makes brides flock to our doors.” The store manager took Ainsley’s hands. “You’re my friend and I love you, but you’re not all here. I think more happened in Wyoming than you want to share. And that’s fine, Ains. I don’t need to hear it. But I want my friend back.”
Tess was right. Nothing was going to get solved sitting around feeling sorry for herself, and the flowers had ceased to give her their usual comfort and welcome. Stupid greenhouse with its memories and heated corners and budding flowers. Her throat closed and she choked out the words that had plagued her since she got back. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
“Do what? Flower arrangements? I can do the walk-ins if you want to focus on weddings for a while.”
“No, I mean…” She spread her arms, gesturing to the store she had bled for. Admitting this felt like she was kicking a one-eyed, three-legged orphaned puppy. “I’m so… unconnected. Don’t get me wrong. I still love the flowers and you and the smells and colors, but…”
“You’ve outgrown this.”
“Maybe?” Was it possible? This had been her dream and she had worked so hard for it. She shook her heard. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, honey.” Tess embraced her. “You fell hard, didn’t you?”
With a self-serving bastard who then broke her heart. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ainsley grabbed a towel while her heart danced in her ribs. Stray leaves and trimmed stems flew off the counter as she wiped it down. Some of them even landed in the trash can.
Tess put her hand on top of Ainsley’s. “Was it the cowboy?”
“There was nothing with the stupid cowboy.”
“One of the guys on the ranch, then? You can’t hide this from me, Ainsley. I know you too well.”
Ainsley sighed and threw the towel down. Tess wasn’t going to let up. “All this over a guy. How pitiful is that?”
“Not at all. What would have been pitiful is if you kept your heart to yourself and never let anyone get in.” She moved the towel away and put her hand on Ainsley’s arm, looking intently into her eyes. “It’s not that the flowers and the shop don’t hold any excitement for you anymore, Ainsley. It’s that after years of sheltering yourself and suppressing your feelings, you finally found the man who set you free.”
* * *
Ainsley hid in her office, tapping her pen against the papers on her desk. Tess’s words had haunted her all week. For all of Riley’s completely wrong assumptions and misinterpretations and using the awful women in his past to judge her, he had also unlocked the person she always longed to be. He had set her free.
“But he also broke your heart,” she muttered. The pen tapped harder.
The bell above the door to Blooms chimed, but Ainsley let Tess help the new patrons. She’d been doing more of that—letting her store manager use her easy banter with whoever came into the shop. The woman’s quick smile and natural grace shone through and made customers comfortable. Ainsley leaned over the arm of her chair so she could watch through the office door. An idea swirled in her mind like loose petals in a breeze and she smiled with genuine happiness for the first time in ages. Tess already did most of the books. She organized bridal arrangements, special occasion flowers, and window displays. She’d run the business when Ainsley hid from her mother in Wyoming. Her creative ideas had helped grow Charleston Blooms into a successful business.
Tess waved good-bye to the customer and Ainsley left the office and joined her at the workstation. “Why are you still working for me?” Ainsley asked. “You should have your own business by now. Do you want your own business? You’d be great at it.”
Tess’s face grew redder than a poinsettia and she avoided looking at her boss.
A spark of energy flicked in Ainsley’s stomach and hummed throughout her body. Perfect. “You’ve been looking into it, haven’t you? Oh, Tess, this is—”
“Please don’t be mad,” Tess interrupted. “I wouldn’t leave without making sure you’re okay, and I would find a place where we’re not in direct competition. I love working for you. You’re amazing and talented and you’ve been so good to me. I wouldn’t repay that by taking your customers.”
“Take them.” A sense of freedom enveloped her, like when she left her parents' house after a family dinner. Like closing Blooms at the end of Valentine's Day. Like being on horseback with nothing but open land in front of her.
Tess cocked her head. “What was that?”
“Take them. Take my customers. Take my shop.” Ainsley giggled, unable to hold back the giddiness. It couldn’t have been more perfect if she had planned it.
“Do you need to sit down?”
She shook
her head. “I feel great. This is the best I’ve felt in a month.” She picked up the bouquet display book and waved it around. “I don’t want to do this anymore. You were right about the cowboy. For all of his bullheaded stupidity, Riley showed there’s more to me than what the world sees. I never minded the work, but now it’s not fun for me. I wouldn’t think of leaving my shop in anyone’s care but yours, Tess, not after you helped me build it.” She handed the book to the other woman. “Say you’ll do it. Or at least think about it.”
Tess pursed her lips, then gave a quick exhale and shook her head. “I can’t afford it.”
Ainsley waved her hand, dismissing the protest. “We’ll work something out. We’ll go to the bank and see what it can do for you. For us. And then Charleston Blooms will be yours.”
The woman rubbed the back of her neck, her fingers brushing her short hair. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“As serious as the prospect of my mother threatening me with some new man.” Ainsley was afraid the surge of electricity flowing through her blood would burn before her manager answered.
Tess bit her lower lip. “Are you sure? I have to talk to Ross, but I'm in if you’re really, really sure.”
Ainsley put her hands on her friend’s arms and made sure the woman looked at her. “I have never been more sure of anything in my life.”
Tess studied Ainsley’s face, her eyes darting back and forth, until a huge grin split her mouth. “Okay. Okay! But know you’ll always have a job with me.”
Ainsley squealed and hugged her friend, feeling the weight of a thousand orchids slide to the ground. The two women jumped around the small work area in celebration.
“What are you going to do?” Tess asked when they had calmed down.
“Whatever I want. I’m free! Volunteer more. Use that trust fund I’ve been avoiding for so long. Travel and see new things. I want to do something for me. Not for my mother or sister. This time, it’s all about me.”
Chapter 13
Remember we have a meeting with the bank after the store closes today, and with a lawyer after that,” Tess said to Ainsley the next Monday morning. They sat in Ainsley’s soon-to-be-former office before opening Blooms for the day, double-checking the transfer of ownership and loan papers. Bright sun shone through the window, competing with Tess’s exuberance to light up the darkened store. “That was a brilliant idea you had, bringing Edward into this. I don’t think the bank would have looked at me twice, otherwise.”
“This is so exciting,” Ainsley said with an enthusiasm she didn’t feel. She just wanted to get this done. “I can’t wait for you to start this new part of your life.”
Tess gave her a hug. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing yet. I spent the weekend looking at European vacations.” Because Europe was far, far away from where she really wanted to go. “I have no plans and it feels really good.” If being lonely and heartbroken with nothing to do all day except think about it felt really good.
Tess opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the phone. “Charleston Blooms.” She listened for a moment, then held out the phone. “It’s for you. Meagan something.”
“Meagan!” Ainsley said. “How are you? Where are you?”
“I’m back in Savannah, getting ready to move. Cookie and I decided to get married in three weeks,” Meagan gushed.
“Three weeks? Wow, that’s—”
“Fast, I know. But when you’re ready to start a new life, you want that life to begin as soon as possible.”
Ainsley fought the tears. Until she started living her plans, she had no new life. She had no old life. She had a boring rut of nothingness.
“Anyway, I’m calling because the wedding is happening too fast to send invitations. And I want you to be there, Ainsley. Say you’ll come.”
Apprehension gnawed a giant hole in her stomach and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. “I don’t know if I can go back there, Meagan. I just don’t know.”
“I know it’s asking a lot,” her friend said, compassion filling her voice. “And I’ll completely understand if you say no.”
Her body screamed at her to take the offered out and she paced around the display counter, twisting the phone cord between her shaky fingers. She stared at her hand and frowned. “Of course I’ll be there. And I’d be honored if you’ll let me provide your flowers.” No one was allowed to rule her life but her.
Meagan protested. “No, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. Please let me. You were the one bright spot in my whole trip out there.”
“All right,” Meagan agreed. They spent the next few minutes talking about different styles of flowers until everything was set, but Ainsley could tell there was something else her friend wanted to say.
“Riley’s Cookie’s best man,” Meagan ventured.
So there’d be no avoiding him, unless she hid in the foliage. “That’s so nice,” Ainsley said.
Meagan laughed. “Okay, I’m going to let you go. I have a lot of other calls to make. I’ll email you the wedding information and directions, okay?”
“Yes. I’m so happy for you, Meagan.”
“Me too. Good-bye.”
Ainsley put the phone back on the workstation and sighed. She certainly didn’t begrudge Meagan her happiness, but why couldn’t she have called after Ainsley had flown off to Paris?
She left her office and entered the dark store. Why hadn’t Tess opened?
“I saved something for you. Sort of a last good-bye.” Tess grinned and flicked the light switch. Two fluorescent bulbs flickered on while the others stayed off.
Shooting a smile at her manager, Ainsley went to the supply closet to wrest out the ladder. “Ah, Tess. You always know how to make me smile.”
“I’ll have to use you as a contractor to fix things up after I own this place.”
Tess could have changed the lights herself, but Ainsley enjoyed the physical labor. It was like leaving a part of her in the shop. She spent the rest of the day making sure everything in Blooms was ready for new ownership and when it was time to leave, she locked the door for the last time. Tears smarted behind her eyes, the emotion of giving up the business she had built up from nothing almost too much for her to contemplate. Knowing how unhappy she would be if she stayed solidified her resolve. “Let’s go.”
Edward and Ross met them at the bank, the two men a complete contrast to one another but comfortably standing together. As usual, Edward’s blond hair lay neatly in place and the knot in his tie was tight, but his normal ramrod-straight posture was more relaxed. Ross wore well-worn jeans and a clean t-shirt, dark hair framing wide cheeks covered in scruff. His eyes darted nervously to Tess and she greeted him with a kiss.
Using Edward and his knowledge of the financial community had made it easier for Tess and Ross to forge through the paperwork and prepare for the loan requests. All that was left was signing their lives away, and the business would be theirs.
The process took half an hour. Ainsley’s foot bounced nervously when she crossed her legs, and she half-hoped, half-dreaded something would go wrong. The tightness in her chest threatened to choke her until the couple signed the last of their papers. The loan officer rose, shaking hands with each and offering congratulations. The blood rushed back to her fingers and they tingled as she caught her breath.
The lawyer was next. Edward came along while Ainsley signed the forms that sold Charleston Blooms to Tess and Ross. Her hands shook but her signature was firm. She was ecstatic and free. And desolate and lost.
She declined the offer of a celebratory dinner, not wanting her conflicting emotions to dampen the mood. Edward squeezed her hand and she clung to the support while walking to his car. He dropped her off at home and she reveled in the idea of being alone with no one to disturb her. The answering machine blinked and she pressed the message button. Sophia requested her presence at dinner the next night. It would be a good time to tel
l her parents about selling the shop and her future plans to spend more time volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and wantonly spend the inheritance from her grandparents.
Dinner was promptly at seven. Ainsley pulled into the drive five minutes early and studied the unfamiliar maroon BMW in the long driveway. Grim foreboding settled in her belly. She turned the knob slowly and tiptoed into the house instead of announcing her arrival. She stopped at the entryway to the living room then risked a peek around the corner. An unfamiliar dark-haired man relaxed on the cream-colored sofa next to her father, both of them holding glasses of scotch.
“My daughter will be here any minute, Raymond.” Sophia’s voice floated to her and she had to stifle a snort. “I can’t wait for the two of you to get to know each other.”
Oh, for the love of orange soda. Her mother hadn’t even waited a month. Ainsley padded back to the door and closed it loudly, then approached the living room without the normal sense of trepidation that came with this kind of ambush. “Hello, Mother, Daddy,” she said, giving Sophia a kiss on the cheek.
“Ainsley, I’d like you to meet Raymond. He’s the son of one of my bridge partners, and moved to town to be closer to his parents. I thought you could show him around in the next few weeks.”
At least her mother had good taste in men. Raymond’s short and curly dark hair and friendly brown eyes might be appealing, but not to her. Apparently she preferred melting hazel eyes and a glowering attitude. He rose and she shook his hand. “I’m sorry you came to dinner tonight to meet a tour guide, Raymond. I won’t be able to help you much.”
“It’s nice to meet…” His voice trailed off and his gaze darted to Sophia.
Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy? Page 25
