Page 93 of A Return For Ren

“There is your sister,” Zara said. “She’s waving to you at the door.”

Gretchen turned and he saw the hefty woman with her hand over her head flagging her sister down. “Yes, she is. I guess I better go. So good to see you both again. Enjoy your dinner.”

The minute Gretchen was gone he said, “Let me guess. The town gossip?”

“Pretty much. She owns a knickknack shop across from the Blossoms storefront and is always going over to be nosy and see if she can get the scoop on anyone in Mystic.”

“Which would explain how she knows my parents.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t know them as well as she is saying. She hears things because she asks all the time. I’m surprised she didn’t know we used to date years ago and bring that up.”

That was the last thing he wanted when things seemed to be going so well for them.

“She’ll ask anyone she can now to get information. I’m sure she’ll be at the shop next and tell the girls she saw me and we chatted.”

“They won’t believe it, will they?”

“God, no,” she said. “Rose sees her coming and runs to the back to hide. Lily and Poppy always have a smile on their face and get through, then curse her out behind her back.”

“I don’t see Lily doing that,” he said. From the first time he’d met Lily, he’d gotten the feeling she was straight to the point and moved on. She didn’t let what people said get to her or waste her energy on them.

“You’re right. Lily doesn’t care enough. Poppy though, she’s the emotional one of the group. She would never want Lily mad at her for putting a scene on in front of customers, but then she’d go to the back and curse and swear to get it out of her system.”

They moved back when their food was brought out. This dinner was turning into more than he wanted to deal with. More like he needed to shift it back to the two of them.

“And you,” he said. “You never get mad. That might be the first time I’ve seen you be sarcastic toward someone. Why?”

She laughed. “I don’t like the way she treats my family. Those girls are my family.”

“You wish you were closer to them and had what they do, don’t you?”

Zara started to eat and he figured she wouldn’t answer him. “Sometimes. I think the older I get the more I want what others have and it bothers me. I’ve never been that way in life and now I’m jealous of those closest to me.”

“You could have what they do,” he said. “We both can. We have to be open to it. Do you think their relationships just fell into bliss?”

She laughed. “No. Not at all. I know that deep down. I’m getting there, Ren. It’s hard. I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve had and yet in the back of my mind I hear the clock chiming to when the bird is going to pop out and fly away. I knew we had to have this conversation and it helps that we seem to be on the same page.”

“I feel like we are. That we’ve got a plan and now we can stop talking about it. Or at least stop tonight. My mother keeps asking me what is going on and I tell her it’s between us. We are working it out.”

“I’m getting the same from my mother. Even Lily and her sisters, but they understand because they’ve been through it lately too. We’re good, Ren. We really are.”

He believed her, yet at the same time knew she wasn’t ready for more than what they just talked about no matter how fast he wanted to pack his bags and put a for sale sign on his house.

30

Has Her Reasons

“Hey, Jasmine,” Zara said almost three weeks later. It was the first week of February and Lily had told her Jasmine would love to come in and talk to the kids and help them all plant something special for Valentine’s Day to bring home. She’d thought that was a great idea and made sure she had what was needed but wanted to follow up before Monday when Lily’s employee would come in.

“Zara,” Jasmine said, coming out from behind the counter. “I didn’t expect you in today.”

“Sorry I didn’t let you know ahead of time. It’s naptime and we don’t have as many kids. It was a perfect time for me to sneak out for some errands and I thought I’d come see if we were set for Monday. Lily said you were here.”

“I’m so excited. Lily also said we can do a field trip to the greenhouses in the spring,” Jasmine said.

“That would be wonderful. I try to do a few things like that, but it’s not always easy to organize. This will be, I believe. I feel bad using my sister-in-law and her business like this.”

“Nonsense,” Lily said from behind her. They were in the flower shop and she’d walked in the back to talk to Jasmine when Violet had told her where to find the manager. She was pretty sure Jasmine was more than the manager, as she ran all the greenhouses and Violet tended to handle more of the flower shop operations.