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Riley’s mom’s eyes seek me out, so I rise.
“Thank you so much for getting the house ready for me. It was so thoughtful, Mrs. Savage, I-”
She throws her arms around me and squeezes me tight. “I’m so sorry I was rude. I just…”
“It’s okay,” I whisper into her fragrant blonde hair.
“What you’ve been through. You… you poor thing.” She hugs me tighter. “Call me Mom if you want. When you’re ready. Or… Lucy. Whatever you’re comfortable with. No pressure. What can I do to help here? I brought potato salad.” She pulls back and looks at me with affection shining in her eyes. And then she cups my face with further affection and my heart feels like it might burst.
I see my man over at the grill with his eyes on us, a big smile on his gorgeous face.
“Give her here. Share a little, woman!” Riley’s father scoops me up into a hug. “Nice to meet you, Erica. I’m Dad. Pop. Or Atticus. Friends also call me Ace. Whatever you’re comfortable with. Welcome to the family.” He sets me on my feet and kisses my forehead.
“Hi,” I rasp. “Good to meet you, too. I don’t need any help, Mrs… Lucy-Mom.” I giggle. So does she. “Just have a seat and let me get you both something to drink.”
“Sit with Lucy, Erica, I’ll go put those in water for you and grab drinks. Long island iced teas?” Cicely offers.
“Ooh. Sounds good.” Lucy rubs her palms together.
“Whiskey and ginger if you’ve got ginger ale,” Riley’s dad requests, handing her the bottle of booze. “If not-”
“Brought a couple mixes from the store and ginger ale was one of ‘em,” Cicley says. “I knew you’d be here.”
“Good girl,” Riley’s dad says, ruffling Cicely’s hair.
“Thank you, Cicely. Beautiful flowers, Lucy-Mom. Thank you so much,” I say.
“My son says you like flowers. I do, too.”
“You’ve done a lovely job here with the flowerbeds. Riley told me they’re leftover from when you had the house.”
She nods. “I would’ve cleaned those up before you came, but heard you’re a green thumb so thought you might like to do it instead.”
“You thought right. I can hardly wait to dig in and play.”
“I love gardening,” Lucy goes on. “Got a smaller yard at our house, our new house, which is just at the start of Chariot Lake Drive. Come over whenever you want; I’ll show you. Have you seen Carrie Blackwood’s place? Me and Carrie are green thumb buddies, and we have similar landscapes.”
“Oh yeah, her garden is gorgeous! I’d love to join that green thumb club.”
“You’re in!” she exclaims, clasping my hand. “Right Carrie?”
“Absolutely!” Bailey’s mom replies from the other end of the table. “There was a lovely garden center just outside The Hollow, but the owner passed away and now it’s empty. We have to go almost an hour to the next one.”
“An empty garden center?” I ask. And then I bite my lip before adding, “Is it for sale or for lease?”
Lucy smiles wide. “I bet it is.”
“It is,” Atticus says. “There’s a for lease sign with a phone number on it outside. Drove by it yesterday.”
I get a shiver. “I could run a business like that.”
“You sure could,” Vivica puts in.
“Oh my God! I could help you! Or just invest and be a silent partner and help you part-time. I’m a teacher, so I have summers off. Or…” Her face drops, “I mean… I don’t want to horn in on your idea. Sorry…I got excited.”
“Horn in, Lucy-Mom! Let’s do it!” I exclaim. “We could sell some of the wares from Aunt Mimi’s boutique, too. I used to go to a garden center that had a housewares section, an indoor furniture section, and a clothing and jewelry boutique in it, too. It was amazing. I could even sell fruits and vegetables, too.”
Her eyes are lit up. “This empty garden center is huge. It’d work. It’s on around ten acres so you could grow loads there. We could use more shopping choices close to home.”
“Hey Mom. Dad.” Riley comes over and kisses his mom’s head, then hugs his father.
“Me and Erica are going into business together. I’m gonna call that realtor about the Green Grove Garden Center.”
Riley looks at me and I can tell he’s checking to see if I’m on board with this. I hope my smile tells him that I am one hundred per cent down for this.
Cicely comes over with two big beverages with lemon wedges on the corner. Bailey hands Atticus his mixed drink.
“Cheers,” I lift my glass.
Lucy lifts hers and taps mine, then speaks loudly. “Cheers to our new daughter, everyone’s new friend, and new pack-member, Erica.”
Everyone raises glasses. Bailey passes Riley a beer.
“And I wanna toast my mate’s family, the Youngs,” Riley says. “Welcome.”
“Hear, hear,” Amelia calls out. She and Ivy clink their glasses of boozeless fruit punch.
