“Thank you.”
“Everything went well at the reception center. I collected the rest of your money.” He set something on the nightstand before retreating to the wall near the open door and sliding down it. She couldn’t fully see him, but the way he took care of her was so endearing she couldn’t help how much she liked him.
“What’s on the menu for tomorrow’s lunch?” she asked, settling back into her pillows.
“Salad and sub sandwiches from the Spring Fling. The firemen make their famous cranberry almond punch.”
“Mm.” Gretchen loved Carmen’s catering company, and she couldn’t wait to try the food. She felt drowsy, but surely the pills couldn’t have kicked in already. “Why’d you choose to be a paramedic?”
“I like helping people.” A short, almost bitter laugh filled the night. “Not that I do much of that. Hawthorn Harbor is really a quiet town for its size.”
“Is that why you left three years ago?” She couldn’t believe the question had burst out of her mouth like that. She really shouldn’t have such personal conversations while so tired—or medicated.
“Partly,” he said. “Medina was definitely busier, even on the EMT side of things. I was a firefighter there, and it just wasn’t a good fit.”
“What was the other part of why you left?” She liked talking to him in the dark. It was easier to ask questions, easier to give answers. She couldn’t see him, and he couldn’t see her and she almost felt anonymous.
“Yvonne,” he said after a few seconds of silence.
“Ex-girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Must’ve been bad to force you to leave the town you grew up in.”
“It wasn’t pleasant.”
“I’m sorry.” Gretchen wanted to know more, but her eyes felt so heavy, her brain so thick.
“She broke up with me, and I made the move to Medina.” His voice had a soothing quality that lulled her further toward unconsciousness. “She left town after I did, and it took me a while to rebuild my heart, and to admit I didn’t like Medina as much as I’d hoped I would.”
“So you came back.”
“Yes, I came back.”
“I’m glad you came back,” she said, her brain non-operational now and the effect of the drugs in her system taking root. “I really like you, Drew.”
She woke with the sun pouring through the window, her bedroom door closed, and Drew nowhere in sight. She wasn’t sure if his response had been real or part of her dreams.
I really like you too, Gretchen.
Donna drove them all to the Safety Fair in a big, old SUV, and there were so many cars already there, she could only find a parking spot two blocks away. So she backtracked to firehouse three and pulled up to the curb. “You get out here, Gretchen. We’ll go park and come find you.”
Joel got out to help Gretchen to the sidewalk while Dixie said something to Donna. An Asian man who looked somewhat familiar approached them, a smile on his face. “Gretchen Samuels.” He pulled her into a hug, and she giggled nervously as her ride and support system drove off to find a parking spot.
“It’s so good to see you again.” The man pulled back and held her at arm’s length, a fond expression on his face.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I can’t remember your name.”
“Peter Chee,” he said without missing beat. “I’m the EMT supervisor now. But I was on the bus when Drew delivered your baby.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” Gretchen gave him a warm smile and glanced around to find Drew.
“He’s working the lunch line,” Peter said. “He said to keep an eye out for you. I’ll radio him.”
Before Gretchen could stop him, Peter whipped a radio from his hip and spoke into it. Thirty seconds later, Drew appeared, wearing his paramedic uniform with an apron tied around his waist. She felt underdressed in cutoff shorts and a coral tank top, but she couldn’t go home and change now.
“Hey, beautiful.” He grinned at her and slipped his arms around her in a quick embrace. “Where’s everyone else?”
“They went to park the car,” she said. Peter seemed to have disappeared, and Gretchen started moving slowly toward the three big tents that had been set up alongside the firehouse. A truck sat under one, with kids climbing in and out. The food was inside the firehouse, and a line of people waited for a four-inch section of a sandwich and salad from one of three bowls. She’d wait too, because Carmen made some seriously great food.
Gretchen looked around for the woman who had first welcomed her back to Hawthorn Harbor, who’d helped her find the first apartment she and Dixie had lived in, and who had told her about The Painted Daisy being up for sale.
She found the raven-haired woman wearing black from head to toe, with a white apron cinched around her waist. She lifted her hand in a wave, and Carmen’s face bloomed with a smile. She glanced at the table where she had her food set up, said something to her assistant, and came toward Gretchen.
Laughing, she grabbed onto Gretchen and held her in a hug. “How are you?” She stepped back and swept her gaze from her cast foot to the bruises on her arms and face. “I’ve been meaning to call you, but we’ve been insanely busy this week.” She tossed a glance at Drew. “And you seem to be in good hands.”
“Hey, Carmen,” Drew said, keeping the distance between him and Gretchen. He wore a warm smile and added, “I’m okay to step out with Gretchen for a bit, right?”
“Oh, definitely. I got what I wanted from you.” She quirked a smile at him, and Gretchen watched the exchange with a bit of jealousy pulling through her.
“Always using me for my muscles,” he teased, and Carmen laughed. She glanced behind her to the tent. “I have to go. Good to see you two.” She left, and Gretchen wanted to hook her arm through Drew’s so everyone there would know they were together. But with the crutches, she couldn’t.
Drew nudged her toward the firehouse, and she went, her jealousy completely unfounded and ridiculous.
Behind the station, in the community park, several bounce houses had been set up, along with a fishpond and a face painting booth. Music filled the air and kids danced with three police officers in a roped-off area. People milled about, chatting and laughing, some of them with balloons on their wrists. Dixie would want one of those. And maybe the Hawthorn Harbor Police Department badge painted on her face.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Drew asked.
“So much better,” she said. “Weddings just take it right out of me, you know?”
“Why is that? You don’t work longer than you do on a normal day.” He strolled right next to her as she hobbled along, and more than a few people threw curious glances their way. Gretchen didn’t care. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. Drew had awakened her to how lonely she’d become. How isolated from everyone—except maybe Janey.
“More emotional, I guess,” she said, though she knew that was only part of it. The other part was that she really wanted to use those indigo daisies in her wedding bouquet. When she and Aaron had gotten married, there’d been no money for flowers. The bridesmaids bought their own corsages, and they hadn’t matched.
Her parents hadn’t helped at all, hadn’t even come to the wedding. Granddad had given her a little money and set up a huge trellis on the farm. And then they’d lived with him for a few years, scraping by while Aaron finished school.
Truth be told, there hadn’t been a lot of money until he’d landed the job at Pacific-Payne Enterprises in Seattle. And then they had money, but no time to spend together in order to enjoy it.
“Have I told you about a special breed of flower I’m trying to produce?” she asked.
“No.” He paused at the edge of the shaded tent and looked down into the park. She joined him, glad when he put his arms around her and held her close to his heart.
“It’s a daisy,” she said. “They’re my favorite flower. I love the bright orange ones, and the bright pink ones. And I want a really bright, really vib
rant purple one. You can get sort of a fuschia-colored one. And a darker, more eggplanty one. But I want indigo.”
For some reason, she’d always loved the color. She felt like it was overlooked in so many things. No one ever described a flower, a pair of pants, or the sky as indigo. Though it sat right in the rainbow, it was smashed between two more dominant colors.
“So I’ve been cross-breeding my pink daisies with red to make a more rosy color. Then I take that one and pair it with a blue daisy. I mix in some white from time to time, because they have such a unique center, and I’m trying to create it in my wedding flower.”
As soon as she’d spoken the last two words, she wondered if she’d said too much.
Drew couldn’t seem to do more than breathe and blink. “Wedding flower?” he finally managed to rasp out.
“Yeah.” Gretchen lifted her shoulders in a fast shrug. She felt free and strong, and she suddenly didn’t care if she’d revealed too much to Drew. “If I get married again, I want nothing but my indigo daisies on display.”
A hearty smile replaced the shock on his face. “And I’m sure you’ll have them.” He swiped a quick kiss across her check and stepped out of the embrace. He backed up as he said, “There’s everyone.”
So he didn’t want to display their budding relationship in front of his family, though she’d made it pretty clear to his mother last night. Or maybe Donna had just assumed Gretchen was really tired. Or perhaps Drew was worried about Dixie’s reaction to him holding Gretchen, not his parents.
He waved at his parents and Dixie as they approached. “Hey. Do you guys want something to eat?”
Dixie skipped forward and put her hand in Drew’s. “After we eat, can we go over to the face painting?”
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “I mean, if it’s okay with your mom.”
“Totally okay.” As she moved toward the food tables with Drew, Dixie, Donna, and Joel, Gretchen hadn’t felt this complete in years—probably since she and Aaron and Dixie had experienced their last Christmas together. Only the three of them, as Aaron’s parents had traveled to his sister’s for the holiday. Her parents and brother never came, and they never visited them, and Gretchen had made a ham, hot chocolate, and caramel popcorn. No pressure. No big mess to clean up afterward. They’d played board games and watched movies and fallen asleep in the same big bed.
She sighed as more happiness than she’d had in a long time settled into her bones. Sure, some of them might be broken, but she was still here, with a handsome man at her side and her adorable daughter scooping too much potato salad onto her plate.
After they finished eating, Harvey Carroll, the fire chief gestured them over to a spot under one of the tents with banners attached to the wall.
“Drew.” Harvey shook his hand. “Who are your special guests?”
Drew half-turned back to them. “This is Gretchen Samuels and her daughter, Dixie. I delivered Dixie on the Lavender Highway ten years ago.”
“Oh, that’s right.” The chief beamed down at Dixie. “I’ve heard that story many times. A miracle baby.”
Dixie watched him with wide, round eyes.
The chief tapped the camera he manned. “Can we get your picture? The three of you?”
“Sure.” Dixie bounded over to a spot in front of the banners, which read Hawthorn Harbor Fire Department across them in red letters.
“We might put it on our Facebook page,” the chief said. “Is that okay?”
Gretchen didn’t see why not. “That’s fine.” She tucked herself behind Dixie and handed her crutches off to Joel. Drew crowded in on the other side, slipping his hand along her back and holding onto her waist, providing an extra way for her to balance without her crutches. It was as if he knew exactly what she needed, and when, and he was there to provide it.
“Smile.” The chief stepped behind the expensive camera and took a picture. “Want me to take one with your phones?”
Gretchen handed hers to Drew, who passed over his and hers before repositioning himself in the group. More pictures were taken, more smiles exchanged, and Gretchen wasn’t sure a more perfect day could exist.
“Face painting!” Dixie announced, and Donna and Joel followed her as she ran down the steps and into the park.
“We’ll catch up,” Drew called after them. His mom waved to indicate she’d heard, and Gretchen was glad to be alone with Drew again. Though dozens of people were at the event, with more arriving every moment, she felt like there was just him and her.
“You should sit down,” he said. “There’re benches in the park. Do you think you can make it down the steps?”
“I’m great at steps now.” It took several minutes, but she navigated the steps successfully. The grass, however, was much harder. She finally balanced on her good foot and put her crutches together. “I’ll just hop.” She’d only taken two hops when Drew touched her arm.
“Let me.” He swept her off her feet in one fluid, strong moment. A cry of surprise—and delight, if Gretchen were being honest—flew from her mouth. She laughed as Drew carried her across the distance to an empty bench in the shade.
“There you go.” He set her down gently. She exhaled, breathless and giddy for reasons she could only imagine at this point in her life. After all, she wasn’t sixteen anymore. Or even twenty-six.
A man wearing a police uniform approached, and Gretchen vaguely recognized him as someone who’d come into the flower shop from time to time.
“Hey, Drew.”
“Trent, how are things going?” Drew pointed at the policeman. “This is Trent Baker. He joined the Hawthorn Harbor police force, what? Three years ago?”
“Just two.” Trent extended his hand and Gretchen shook it.
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled at him, her memories of him returning. “You have a little boy, don’t you?”
“Stockton, yeah.” Trent glanced over his shoulder. “He’s here with my sister…somewhere.”
“This is Gretchen Samuels,” Drew said. “She’s my—” His voice turned silent, and Gretchen swung her head toward him. His jaw worked, and his eyes held nothing but panic.
She giggled and swatted at his arm playfully. “We just started dating.”
Trent nodded, a smile touching his lips but not his eyes. Gretchen could see the pain in his expression, and she wondered what had happened to his wife. Empathy pulled at her heartstrings, especially when a cute, towheaded boy sprinted toward them, calling, “Dad!”
Trent scooped the child into his arms and laughed. “This is Stockton. You remember my friend, Drew? He’s a paramedic.”
Stockton squirmed and Trent set him down. He gave Drew high five and said, “Aunt Liza said we can play baseball later.”
“That’s great.” Drew beamed at the boy.
The boy tore off again, and Trent hooked his thumb after him. “I guess I better go. Nice to meet you, Gretchen. See you later, Drew.”
After he’d moved out of earshot, Gretchen snuggled a little closer to Drew. “What’s his story?”
“His wife was in a car accident too. Drunk driver.”
“He’s come into the shop before. He must date a little.”
“I think he’s had a bad experience here.” Drew’s mouth touched her temple. “Sorry about the awkward introduction. I didn’t know what to say.”
Gretchen watched as two paramedics spotted them. Peter Chee, who she’d met earlier, said something to the other man, and they changed course toward Drew. “Here comes some more of your friends. Better get it right this time.” She looked up at him and giggled. He tightened his grip on her shoulder and squeezed her closer.
“Hey, guys,” he said. “How’s the Safety Fair going?”
“Great,” Peter said. “Chief Carroll never overlooks a detail.” He looked at Gretchen and back at Drew pointedly.
“Hey, so this is Gretchen Samuels, my girlfriend.” He gazed down at her, and warmth filled Gretchen from head to toe. “I think you met Peter earlier.”
“I did, yes.” She glanced at the other man standing there, his eyebrows stretched so high she almost laughed.
“And that’s Russ,” Drew said. “He’s my bus partner. He drives. I ride shotgun. We go out on calls together.”
The African-American man extended his hand for her to shake, which she did. “So you have to deal with him at work.”
“It’s a rough job,” Russ said.
“Hey,” Drew protested. “I’m not difficult at all.”
“As long as we stop by Duality for some of those twice-fried potato skins.” Russ grinned good-naturedly at Drew, and Peter said, “Oh, I love those.”
“Duality is the best,” Drew said. His phone sounded and he leaned into Gretchen as he withdrew it from his back pocket. He frowned at the screen, his eyes growing dark with whatever the message was.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“What?” He flicked his eyes to her without really looking at her. “Oh, yeah. Fine.” He pushed the button on the side of his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. He spoke to his friends again, but Gretchen noticed his normal joviality was gone, and she wondered who had texted to steal that from him.
Chapter Fourteen
Drew had to do something about Yvonne. She’d texted him again, with Gretchen within eyeshot of his phone.
Just saw your picture on the Hawthorn Harbor Fire Department page. I can’t believe you delivered that baby ten years ago! Has it really been that long?
He didn’t know how to respond to that. Surely that picture had barely gone up in the last hour. Why was she taking an interest in the town—in him—now?
She was a Hammond, so she’d always been entrenched in the lavender traditions surrounding Hawthorn Harbor. But she’d chosen to leave town instead of having a grown-up conversation with him.
While Gretchen gushed over the unicorn Dixie had gotten painted on her face, Drew sent off a message to Yvonne. Why are you contacting me?
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he needed her to stop communicating with him.
Wanted to talk to you if possible.