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“It’s good for young people to be where the action is,” she agrees. “But yes, you’re always welcome here.”
“I know.”
She welcomed me with open arms five years ago when I left the life I hated in Missoula. And she helped me start the life I love now, here in Bitterroot Valley.
I always knew I belonged here.
Lily whines, and I know that it’s time that we go to bed.
“Thank you for everything. I’m going to head to bed. We’ve been so busy at the shop, and I’ll need to get an early start.”
“Okay, darlin’. I’m going to finish a sewing project I started earlier today, so if the light bothers you, just let me know.”
“It won’t.” I cross over and kiss Aunt Paula on the head. “Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Lily and I make our way back to our bedroom. The bed is made fresh for us, and Lily immediately hops up, turns in a circle, and lies down.
I take my time washing my face and getting into pajamas before sliding in next to her.
No, the light doesn’t bother us at all, and the rhythmic whirring of the sewing machine is the perfect white noise to send me off to sleep.
“Can we take another wedding in August?” Ida, with the phone held against her shoulder, asks me from across the shop.
“What date?” I ask as I arrange the last of the local lilacs I have in a vase. It’s always so sad to me when lilac season is over. They smell amazing.
“What date?” Ida asks the person on the line. “Okay, let me ask the boss. Hold, please.”
She presses the phone against her shoulder again and looks up at me.
“The fifteenth?”
“No, ma’am, that’s the Wild wedding, and I’ll need all hands on deck for that one.” I add some baby’s breath to the bouquet as Ida relays the bad news to the potential customer, and then she hangs up and walks over to resume working on her own bouquet.
“The calls just keep coming in, even though the website clearly states that we’re full for the season.” Ida huffs and reaches for a bucket of yellow roses for the bridesmaids’ bouquets for this Saturday.
“I guess they figure that if they call and ask, they can talk us into fitting them in,” Sharla, another of my employees, says.
“Aunt Paula always says, ‘It never hurts to ask.’ However, the calls are getting annoying.” I sigh and stare at the arrangement, wondering what it’s missing. “I think I’ll add a message before it rings through, reiterating that we’re not taking any more weddings until November. It’s really not a bad problem to have as a business owner, but the calls are taking up a lot of our time.”
“Not a bad problem at all,” Sharla agrees. “You know, some pink baby roses would look sweet in that.”
“Oh, you’re right.” I rush off to the cooler and pull some out and bring them back. “It adds just the right pop of color. Good idea, Shar.”
The bell above the door jingles cheerfully, pulling Lily out of a dead sleep in her bed in the corner.
“Well, hello, boys,” Ida says as Chase and Brady Wild saunter into the shop.
“Ma’am,” Brady says with a nod. “It always smells good in here.”
“Flowers.” I grin at him. “They always do the trick. How’s it going, guys?”
“Great,” Chase replies as he picks Lily up into his arms and is attacked with kisses. I think this could be the first time since I brought her home from the shelter that I feel a little jealous of my dog. “We got the cameras and the smart doorbell installed. We went ahead and put a camera on the back door and the garage door, too.”
“Good,” Ida says, giving me a stern eye. “Our girl is alone too much in that house, and sure, it’s a safe town, but we need to keep an eye on her. We can’t be too careful.”
“Too bad you’re not a guard dog,” Brady says as he takes his turn loving on Lily. “You’re just a lover, aren’t you?”
