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The sunrises here take my breath away. They come early, around 5:30 a.m., but I’ve been up to see the sun peek over the hills several times. I’m walking the paths between the farm buildings this morning, breathing in the fresh, cool morning air and thinking about the video call I’m doing after lunch.
The idea for the gardening club came to me completely spontaneously while talking with Torin and then we’d shared it with Linnea before I’d really thought it through. I’m going to be on a video meeting with Linnea, and a local artist named Bridget. Any kid—truly any person—can use the link that Linnea’s posted everywhere to join. They’ll be able to see and hear me, Linnea, and Bridget while we talk about gardening and make paper tomato plants that we’re going to “plant” in coffee mugs. The craft project is supposed to be simple and use materials that everyone should have pretty readily available.
It's going to be our first online “gardening club”.
And I’m going to be on camera live.
I press my hand to my stomach and walk toward the fifth farm building. It’s one of our empty ones, but I’ve been thinking more about the idea of having an in-person gardening day with me once a month. Kids could come with their parents. We could run buses to and from the farm. We could provide all the supplies. Everyone could take fresh produce home after we complete the activities. But it could be a fun way to get people out here to the farm and a great way to get kids excited about farming.
It seems surreal to me, but I’m starting to actually understand that, simply by having the title ‘princess’ in front of my name, people want to meet me and will show up to events where I’ll be. We have nearly two hundred people signed up for today’s online garden club. So, if it will get kids interested in gardening then yeah, I could host a little in-person club too, I suppose.
I push against the glass door to building five and step inside. It’s the smallest of our buildings, but surely it’s big enough to…
I freeze as I take in the sight before me.
The building is not empty.
In fact, there are lots of plants here.
They’re all planted on one level, filling the space from ten feet beyond the doorway to the back wall. And they all look like they’re the same type of plant.
I move closer and it takes me a second to register what I’m seeing. Not because I don’t recognize the five-inch seedlings filling this entire building…but because I do.
But why is there an entire building full of lavender?
Of course, I know the answer instantly.
Torin planted these for me.
My husband planted an entire lavender field, indoors, for me.
My hand covers my mouth and my eyes fill with tears. I don’t know how to feel exactly.
I’m stunned. And touched. And I admit something that’s been niggling at the corners of my conscious mind but that I haven’t let in.
I do now.
I could fall in love with him. Easily.
That’s such a huge problem.
I’m leaving in a year. That was the agreement.
I would be a terrible queen. I haven’t even left this ranch since I arrived as the princess. Haven’t wanted to. I’m so happy just concentrating on the things I do well and not having to worry about the things I don’t.
How would I ever handle being queen?
Besides Torin deserves to know that he can be the king on his own. He doesn’t need a queen. He can love and lead Cara on his own.
But he’s making it very hard to remember that we’re just…
Friends?
We’re at least that. I like him. So much. I admire him. I enjoy his company. I believe in him.
And I love the way he makes me feel about myself.
He gets me.
