For so many years, he had been focused solely on his career. The idea of love, of sharing his life with someone, wasn’t something he had let himself consider. But as all three of thewomen’s gazes softened, eyes misty with a lifetime’s worth of stories, he wondered if he was missing something he hadn’t known to look for.
Ryan cleared his throat and smiled politely. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thank you for delivering them. Let me find my purse so I can tip you.”
“Not necessary,” he assured her. “It was entirely my pleasure. It was nice to meet you all.”
“Definitely.” Florence beamed at him. “I would love to introduce you to my husband but he’s not here right now—he’s working at our booth at the Christmas market. Come back, though. I know he would love to talk to you.”
“I’ll do that,” he said, meaning the words.
As Ryan drove back to Evergreen & Ivy, the quiet hum of the engine seemed to underscore his thoughts.
The wordcommunityhung in his mind, sparked by Florence’s words and the way her face softened when she spoke about love. He’d never given it much thought before—not consciously, anyway—but now he couldn’t ignore the weight of its absence in his life.
He definitely had a community of sorts with the other navy personnel he worked with. Nothing threw people together like a long deployment on an aircraft carrier. But it wasn’t quite the same as the warmth and welcome he found here in Shelter Springs.
Growing up, his family had been in constant motion, chasing his father’s next assignment from one air base to another. His mother had tried her best to make each house feel like home, putting up familiar curtains, setting out the same blue mug that held her coffee every morning. But it had never really been enough.
Ryan remembered the hesitant smile she wore when sheintroduced herself to yet another neighbor, and the way her laughter never quite reached her eyes at those base gatherings.
Kim had hated it even more. The tears, the slammed doors, the way she would throw herself into a new school year with a chip on her shoulder, knowing it wouldn’t last. She had longed for roots, for stability—and now, looking back, Ryan wondered if maybe she had been right to want those things.
Community mattered.
It wasn’t something he fully understood when he was younger. Back then, he’d been focused on getting by, on carving out a life for himself that wasn’t tied to anyone or anything. But now, as he thought about the people he had met in Shelter Springs and the way they seemed to lean on each other without hesitation, he felt the faintest pang of longing.
He was still thinking about the power of connectedness as he drove through the thriving downtown area. He found a parking spot not far from Evergreen & Ivy and pulled the cardboard boxes from the back seat of his truck.
When he walked into the store, he found Holly checking out a customer. He set the boxes in the back and lingered until she had finished.
When the store was empty again she turned her attention to him. “Thank you so much. Did you run into any problems?”
“None at all. The addresses were all easy to find and someone was home at each location to receive the delivery. Everyone was very nice and they were all thrilled to receive beautiful flowers. Except the mortuary, anyway. They were pretty matter-of-fact about it.”
“That tracks,” she said with a smile. “How is everyone feeling? I’m especially worried about Birdie Lovell. She would have been your final delivery of the day, if you followed the chart I gave you.”
“She was. Birdie was pretty unforgettable.”
“That is an understatement. I adore her. Her granddaughter Amanda is one of my closest friends and her grandson Griffin is married to my friend Natalie whom you met here in the store earlier.”
“She loved the flowers. It was very thoughtful of you to pick particularly fragrant blossoms for her bouquet. She said she’s feeling much better, though she didn’t have much of a voice.”
“She must be hating that. Birdie loves to talk.”
“I did receive that impression, yes. As do her friends Arlene and Florence.”
“Oh, they’re wonderful, too. I want to be just like them when I’m that age. Feisty and funny and unapologetic.”
He could imagine it perfectly and felt a weird little pang that he wouldn’t be around to know her when she was the age of the older ladies.
“I actually live in Birdie’s house,” Holly told him.
He blinked at the unexpected information. “Do you?”
“She lived in Rose Cottage for years, then Amanda lived there with her for awhile and stayed after Birdie moved to the Shelter Inn. I bought the house from Amanda after she married this summer and moved to her husband’s house with Rafe and his son. Rafe’s grandfather Paulo is Birdie’s beau, the one who sent her the flowers.”
Again, he thought about that community he had never really known, entangled lives and interconnected worlds.
