“Obviously you’re too close to the situation to appreciate his beauty,” Lexie jokes with me.
They both stand up. “We’re headed over to the greenhouse. Do you want to go with us? We’re going to look at flowers.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I glance around, unsure of what to do.
“I’ll text Raffe for you, to let him know where you’re at,” Kelsie offers. “I know how crazy these men get when they don’t know where their ladies are.”
“Okay, sure, yeah. That sounds fun.”
I sit in the backseat as Lexie drives us over to the “junkyard.”
Lexie turns. “We’re here.”
Oh … it’s an actual junkyard.
A woman steps out of the house on the property. “You brought Jenny with you!” she yells, rushing forward. The minute I get out of the car, she gives me the warmest hug. I already like her.
“Come inside. I just baked a tray of pastries.”
She gives Kelsie a quick hug and then curls her arm through Lexie’s, walking beside her.
“JD and Elizabeth are like parents to Lex,” Kelsie whispers, falling into step beside me.
Walking inside her home is like walking into a warm hug. It’s so nice and cozy.
“The flowers are just going to be beautiful,” she says. “I’ve pulled a few combinations for you girls to see what you like.”
Lexie and Kelsie begin chatting to themselves, so Elizabeth pulls her chair close to mine. “I’m so excited to meet you. Daisy is my daughter. She’s told me so much about you.”
“I love Daisy. Ugh, and your little grandson, Jack? How cute is he?”
She laughs. “Brody said you pulled a gun on him. Is that true?”
“Oh. Oh, I wouldn’t have …”
She smiles, patting my hand. “We all know you wouldn’t have. Brody is a nice guy, and I’m sure it didn’t take you long to spot that in him.”
“No. Not long at all. He was very kind to me. I like to think that is why Rachel sent him to me first. He has a pure soul.”
The rest of our conversation flows effortlessly, and soon we find ourselves out in her greenhouse. “Do you recognize these?” she asks.
“They’re my rose bushes,” I say, squatting down to examine them. My gaze roams around her space, finding several plants I recognize.
“I thought they could come hang out here in my greenhouse until next spring, and then I’ll help you plant them at the warehouse. I’m propagating the things we couldn’t transport.” She points to several jars of water with slips of plants, tiny roots already forming down below.
“Elizabeth, I can’t tell you how much this means to me.” I look over at the girls. They’re trying to decide which colors of flowers they would like for their bouquets. “This is all still so new.”
She waves me over to two small chairs beside a record player. When she sees me eyeing it, she laughs. “I like to play music for my plants and for myself.”
We sit down, and she leans close to me. “I hid from the world too. For many years I remained in a nursing home … I just stopped responding to people. I did it to protect Daisy. Her father was insane.”
I take a deep breath because it’s nice to meet someone who might understand me.
“My heart ached for Jackson every day,” I tell her.
“And mine for Daisy.”
Just as the girls are figuring out the flowers, we hear a Harley pull up outside.
