Dress Me in Wildflowers (12 page)

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Her plan to slip into the back of the meeting unnoticed lasted all of two seconds when first the mayor and then the five councilmen looked up and proceeded to stare. As a result, the other people in the room turned to see what was going on behind them. She offered a faltering smile in return. You’d think Julia Roberts had decided to make an appearance.

“We have several things on the agenda tonight, but first I would like to speak on behalf of the council in welcoming Farrin Taylor to the meeting.” The mayor, an older man she didn’t recognize, smiled at her.

She didn’t know if he expected her to stand and say something, but Farrin remained glued to her seat and smiled back at all the curious faces. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Did she really think she could change their minds about the inn?

In the midst of some sort of budget discussion that was threatening to put her to sleep, the door at the back of the room opened. She glanced over and saw Drew. Their gazes met, and he looked as surprised to see her as the council members had. He eased the door closed and headed for the empty seat beside her. Why hadn’t she taken Tammie up on her offer to come to the meeting with her?

Drew slid onto the folding chair next to her and leaned close. “I see you decided to stay.”

“Yeah.”

“So, why are you here?”

Prove he doesn’t affect you.
She leaned close to his ear. “Going to try to talk some sense into these people about the inn.”

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. “Good luck.”

That didn’t sound encouraging.

“Next item on the agenda is the purchase of the Ivy Springs Inn property. Is there any discussion before we go to a vote?” The tone of the mayor’s voice indicated he wasn’t expecting any.

Farrin stood. “I’d like to address this issue.”

Surprise rippled through the council and the small audience.

“Go ahead,” the mayor said.

“It’s my understanding that the city is planning to purchase the property only to tear down the building and put in a parking lot. This doesn’t seem like the best use of this historic inn. There are other alternatives.”

“Ms. Taylor, as I’m sure you’re aware, the property has been on the market quite some time with no buyers. During that time, the building and grounds have deteriorated.”

“It’s nothing irreparable. The building seems strong structurally, and it has lots of space to utilize for offices or shops.”

“The city is not in a position to take on the transformation of the building. Our budget is very tight, and clearing the land is the cheapest option.”

“But is it the smartest one? Historic structures can be a tourist draw. Combine that with businesses that cater to tourists, and you get more return on your investment.”

“Once again, we do not have the money or the inclination to take such a risk,” the mayor said.

“Successful business ventures require risk.”

“It’s also the responsibility of this council not to bankrupt the city.”

“But—”

The mayor’s eyes hardened. “Ms. Taylor, we appreciate your attendance and concern, but we are responsible to the taxpayers of this city.”

She heard the unspoken, “of which you are not one.” How did she argue with six men who evidently had their minds made up? She sank onto her seat, frustrated and angry at the same time. Why did it bother her so much? She wasn’t going to be here to see the deed done. Was it because the inn held happy memories? That it was the only tangible piece of her heritage left? Or what a shame it was that the inn would disappear rather than be reborn? She thought of those rooms filled with period furniture and imagined them all gleaming, pictured the gardens bright with color and natural perfumes again.

“Sorry.”

She looked over and saw genuine sorrow on Drew’s face. He kept surprising her. She shrugged. “It was worth a shot.” What she really wanted to do was stand up and scream at the council, to make the public rise up in protest. But she guessed the residents had more important things on their minds — like making a living and getting by in a town that gave few opportunities for risk or imagination. She’d left to find those things. Had she really thought they could have made an appearance here in the years since she’d been gone? If anything, they’d grown even more rare.

Farrin’s heart sank when the council voted to acquire the property pending the financing paperwork and final approval by the owners. She slipped her purse strap onto her shoulder.

“Would you like to grab some dinner?” Drew whispered to her.

“I’ve already eaten.” The last thing she wanted right now was to sit across the table from Drew. Once today was quite enough. She kept watching his face for that look of dismissal he’d shot her the day he’d tossed her letter in the trash, and was annoyed that it didn’t appear. She needed something to prove to her that Drew still wasn’t worth her time or thought.

The expression on his face said he wasn’t sure she was telling the truth.

Oh hell, she was running again. She half expected Tammie to read her mind and know it. “Is there anywhere to get dessert?”

The edge of his mouth crooked up. “If we hurry, we might get in the door at Thelma’s before she locks it.”

They hurried out the door and up the street toward the little diner that had to be the most successful business in Oak Valley. They made it with fifteen minutes to spare.

“You promise to eat fast?” Thelma Dupont asked them as they slid into a booth.

“Just having dessert,” Drew said.

Thelma didn’t even ask what they wanted. She brought Drew a slice of pecan pie, warm with vanilla ice cream on top. She slid a thick slice of lemon meringue pie in front of Farrin. “I seem to remember you liked this as a little girl.”

Farrin’s throat clogged and she fought tears. They hadn’t had much money growing up, but every year on her birthday, her mother would bring her into Thelma’s for a big slice of lemon meringue pie. And when they left, her mother would always buy the rest of the pie to take home.

“I can’t believe you remembered.”

“Honey, I’m like an elephant. I don’t forget anything.”

The pie was as wonderfully cool and tangy as she remembered. When she took the first bite, she closed her eyes and could almost hear her mother’s voice. Somehow, she’d always managed to have one of her good days on Farrin’s birthday. And Farrin had learned to be thankful for small favors.

“They don’t serve lemon meringue in New York?” Drew asked, smiling at her from the other side of the table. Why couldn’t he scowl or something?

“Not like this.”

“So, what’s it like being in Oak Valley after all this time?”

“Odd, kind of like I’m walking through someone else’s life.”

“I know the feeling. I’ve been back for five years, and sometimes it still feels weird, like if you go away at all and come back time has stood still while you were gone.”

Never in a million years would she have thought she and Drew Murphy would have had a similar outlook on anything.

“So why did you come back?”

“I didn’t like the pace of the city. I like to have more free time. Plus, my parents are getting older and it’ll be easier for me to help them out than my sister. Kristie lives in Oregon and has three little boys.”

“That’s one of the strangest things, realizing all my classmates have kids now, kids who are already in school.” Why was it so easy to talk to him? It didn’t make sense.

“I know.”

“I can’t imagine how they have time for them, especially when they have a business like Tammie.”

“I guess they make adjustments.”

Farrin shook her head. How in the world could you adjust your schedule to accommodate children when there was absolutely no wiggle room in the first place?

“Faye told me you helped her design her back yard. It’s lovely.”

“Yeah, I like to play in the dirt when I’m not doing something exciting like drawing up wills or sitting in court.”

She was judging from limited conversations, but it appeared that Tammie had been right. Drew Murphy had grown up. He no longer wore the cockiness teenage boys display when in public, trying to out-testosterone their buddies. He still appeared confident, but it wasn’t in an off-putting or belittling way. Why couldn’t he have been this person in high school?

Farrin reached into her purse for some money for her pie.

“I’ll get it.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I know you’re successful and all, but I think I can stretch my budget to cover a slice of pie.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Drew smiled at her. “I know. Don’t worry about it. I’m not that easily offended.”

Farrin sank back against the booth. “Good, because I feel like every time I open my mouth lately, I say the wrong thing. I’m either offending someone or I’m too bitchy for words.”

“I can’t imagine you bitchy.”

“Oh, little do you know.”

For some reason, Farrin relaxed as they chitchatted about their jobs and his family. When she glanced at the clock, they’d been there forty-five minutes. “Oh dear, Thelma is going to kill us.”

“Nah, it’s not good for business.”

Farrin smiled as the two of them slid out of the booth and Drew tossed the money with a generous tip on the table.

“Thanks, Thelma,” he yelled toward the kitchen.

“About time you two were leaving.”

Farrin chuckled. “Still the same old Thelma.”

“Who you calling old, missy?”

How had she heard that?

Once they were outside on the sidewalk, Farrin’s sense of awkwardness returned. A part of her mind half expected to see Janie Carlisle and her clique round the corner to put Farrin in her place. She stomped the brakes on that thought. She was not a teenager anymore. Janie Carlisle wasn’t the official say on who was cool. And Drew Murphy didn’t ignore her as if he might catch the unpopular disease.

“Thanks for the pie,” she said.

“No problem. Thanks for the company.”

“Well, I better go before Tammie sends out the search party.”

“This is Oak Valley. She likely already knows where you are.”

She gave Drew a half smile. “You’re probably right. It’s almost like they have webcams on every street corner.”

“Now there would be a waste of technology.”

The lights inside Thelma’s went out.

“Welcome to the hour when the only things left open in town are the IGA and the Shell station,” Drew said.

Farrin looked up the street toward the bright yellow Shell sign and shook her head. “I can’t believe I lived here for eighteen years and still managed to forget how dead downtown is at night. I can look out my window at three in the morning and see more activity.”

“Yeah, that’s both the good and bad part of Oak Valley.”

“Well, thanks again for the pie.”

“No problem. And Farrin . . . thanks for speaking up for the inn. It’s the most anyone has done. Sad that it takes someone who doesn’t live here anymore to see its value.”

“It’s a waste, but money — or lack thereof — talks. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

She took a few steps.

“Farrin?”

She turned around. “Yes?”

No hint of a smile graced his face now. “I’m really sorry.”

“For what?”

“For . . . ” He swallowed hard, an action visible despite the distance and poor lighting. “For that day back in high school.”

Farrin’s heart faltered. Did he honestly remember it? “What day?”

The probing look in his eyes told her he wasn’t buying her act. Damned lawyer.

“I shouldn’t have treated you that way,” he said. “I was a fool, and you didn’t deserve that.”

Farrin was shocked into silence. How should she respond? Continue her faulty memory act? Be flip? Angry? No. Honesty. She forced herself to meet his gaze. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” She actually saw the tension in his shoulders and torso lessen, and that improved her opinion of him even more. How many people apologized for a wrong that old — and without pressure or prompting? Maybe Tammie was right about him. Perhaps he had grown up to be a good guy.

“I feel a lot better now,” he said as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

She stared at him for a long moment. “Me, too.”

Farrin didn’t look back as she walked to her rental car although her curiosity begged her to. Only when she slipped into the driver’s seat did she glance at Drew. She found him still standing outside Thelma’s. When she started the car and waved to him, he returned the gesture then headed down the sidewalk, presumably toward his own vehicle.

She thought about the new Drew, the loss of the inn and the tangy taste of lemon meringue pie all the way back to Faye’s house. As soon as she walked in the front door, Faye and Tammie stopped talking in mid conversation. Guilt stole over Faye’s features while Tammie didn’t even try to hide her amusement.

“I see the Oak Valley grapevine has been in high gear,” Farrin said as she tossed her purse onto the coffee table then plopped into a chair.