Every Yesterday (Boot Creek) (10 page)

“Really?”

“Yeah. Why not? Wouldn’t it be fun?”

“Actually. Yes. It would be. I’d love to be part of this surprise. Billy is the best kid.”

“Great. Well, the guys are priming and painting today. I’m putting the bed together. Why don’t we get together tomorrow? Can you swing some time in your schedule?” He walked to the door.

“Totally.”

“Where’s your phone?”

She turned to the old church pew behind her and took her phone out of the top of her purse. “Here.”

He typed in his number. “Text me. And if you want to sketch. I can try to paint in some of the big spots to help get it done quicker, if that will help.” He handed her the phone back.

She stuck her hand out to shake his. Because it was awkward to be exchanging phone numbers with him. It wasn’t like a date, but still a little weird.

He shook her hand then tugged her in and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Deal.”

“Deal,” she uttered.

He walked out the door, leaving her still reeling over that tender little kiss. Not a sexy one, but damn if there wasn’t something hot about it.

She leaned forward, watching his long stride as he headed for the truck.

Or maybe it was just him.

Chapter Eight

Megan stood there, watching Noah pull away. She raised her hand and waved. What had just happened?

It was nothing. He was just being nice. Maybe that’s what California boys do. It was a kiss on the cheek for heaven’s sake.

She went back to the worktable and put the boxes of candles on her work cart and wheeled them out to her car.

Loading the boxes of candles into her car to take them over to Katy and Derek’s for the reception, she kept thinking about Noah’s short visit.

She put the cart up and locked the door. Just across the bridge that rose above the creek, she peered over the side. The water was low again today. No surprise. With little rain and record heat, water was at an all-time low. She put on her blinker and slowed a little. The right turn onto Blackwater Draw Road always came up quicker than she expected. She still had misgivings about this stupid road.

Even after all of these years.

When she was a teen, guys loved to scare the girls by driving down this dark twisty road and turning the lights out. She’d been in the car with a group of friends after a football game when her boyfriend thought it would be funny to try it. She’d screamed, begging him to turn on the lights. Only, when he flipped the lights back on, the surprise was on him, because a deer was right in front of them. He’d slammed on the brakes, sending her reeling across the car, and banging them both up pretty good. It was a stupid thing to do, but fortunately no one was seriously injured. She’d never forgotten it, though.

The trees hung over the road, heavy with summer leaves, like a tent. It was the heavy foliage that made this road so dark at night.

Once she made the elbow curve, Piney Creek Lane was on her right. Only now, there was also a sign for the retreat. There had never been a sign at the end of the lane for the inn before. It had been a well-kept secret. Now, that Derek and Katy would be catering to folks from all over the nation, they were making changes. Like this sign. Simple. Elegant.

L
ONESOME
P
INES
I
NN

~ A H
EALING
R
ETREAT
~

Fashioned in the same tradition as all of the business signs in Boot Creek, it was black with bold lettering. The pop of color against the chalkboard-like black background mimicked the look of those art pieces where you covered every square inch of a paper with the most vivid colors in your crayon box, then covered it in black paint. Once it dried, scratching the black paint revealed the surprising rainbow of random colors. It was Naomi who had started that tradition in this town. She’d once been well known for her art in that media. Megan had a feeling those signs were one thing that would probably never change in Boot Creek. It was part of the charm of the town.

She’d heard that Katy had commissioned someone from back in Atlanta to make the sign as a gift to Derek.

Things are probably feeling real for them now.

Derek’s dream was coming true. It wouldn’t be long before they were fully operational. A good thing for everyone in town.

The last time Megan had driven down this lane, it had been a potholed, mucky mess. Today the road was level as her car crunched through a fresh layer of gravel—dust wafting up behind her.

She parked her car in front of the door. It was hard to think of Lonesome Pines as anything but Naomi Laumann’s home. It was a landmark—part of Boot Creek history. The fame of Naomi’s late husband’s brother, Dillon Laumann, and all the stars he and her husband, Marshall, used to bring to their tiny little map-dot of a town had made this place a big deal.

Things were changing in Boot Creek. It made her a little sad. But Lonesome Pines had never looked better. Katy and Derek’s personal touch showed on the porch, which now flaunted huge hanging baskets of bright blue petunias.

Katy came out front. “Can I help you carry something?”

“Yes. That’d be great. The place is looking great.” Megan pushed her sunglasses on top of her head, and took one of the boxes out of the trunk and handed it to Katy. “Think you can carry two?”

“Sure.” Katy lowered her arms and Megan stacked another box on top.

Grabbing the other two, they headed for the porch.

“Last night was so much fun,” Katy said.

“I had a good time too. What’d you think of Jackson’s friends?”

“Nice guys. Very different. Kind of a weird combination of guys to have all been best friends. Wonder if they were always that different?”

Megan had wondered the same thing. She could picture Noah and Jackson teasing Ford as a thirteen-year-old boy, but then again it was hard to say. As confident as she was now, back in high school she’d been kind of a loner, preferring to spend her hours with a sketch pad rather than on center stage like Angie, but they’d still been besties.

Katy balanced her boxes against the house and her knee as she twisted the handle on the screen door and threw it open.

Megan caught it with her foot and held it open for Katy.

“Thanks.” Katy led the way in and down the hall to the left.

Megan stopped in her tracks. The foyer looked completely different. “Oh my gosh! I always knew this place was huge, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen it without all the stuff in it!”

“I had the same reaction. And Naomi didn’t even take all that much from here. But moving the antique desk and the boxes and boxes of memorabilia she had displayed really opened up the place. The fresh paint made a big difference too.”

“It looks great. Feels
very
different.”

“Yeah, I think it’s starting to take on its new purpose.”

“Where do you want these?” Megan asked.

“Let’s put them in this first room to the right there. I’ve been starting to line things up for Saturday in here. For a simple reception, it sure has a lot of components.”

“These things have a way of taking on a life of their own.”

“I don’t mind. It’s good practice for the festivities we’ll offer a few times through the year.”

Megan and Katy placed the boxes on a table near the door. On top of the bed, there were stacks of white tablecloths and boxes of napkins.

“Y’all having fun without me,” a voice came from down the hall.

Katy ran toward the door. “That’s Angie. She said she was going to come by this morning.”

“She probably doesn’t know what to do with herself since yesterday was officially her last day at Blue Skies Café. I don’t know what they are going to do without her.”

“Hey girl,” Katy called out as they walked toward Angie.

“I just brought the wedding favors over,” Megan said.

Angie’s lips formed a perfect
O
. “How’d they turn out?”

“Beautiful,” Katy said.

“Of course they did. I can’t believe in less than a week I’ll be Mrs. Jackson Washburn and on a plane to Tahiti.”

Megan snapped her fingers. “I knew I was forgetting something.” She pretended to write on an imaginary notepad. “Pick up coconut bra and sunscreen.” She dropped her hands. “’Cause you know it’s the maid of honor’s job to be sure the bride makes good fashion choices.”

“What would I do without you?”

“Beats me. But on a happy note, we’re only days away and the checklist is nearly complete. Not even one hitch in the plan so far.”

“Could y’all knock on some wood right now? I don’t want any hitches . . . not even one.”

All three girls knocked on the dark wood trim.

“That was loud enough to ward off all evil,” Katy said.

“Good,” Angie said. “The guys are all going to get their tuxes checked today so that Carla can do any last minute adjustments. Jackson says he’s got all of that under control, so I’m letting him go with it.”

“Great. I’ll check that off my list.”

“Well, maybe you could check in. You know, just to be sure they’re all taken care of.”

“You’ve got it. I had them on my list for Wednesday, so I’ll keep that on the schedule.”

“Perfect. Do you girls want to get together tonight? Jackson said he and the guys have plans.”

“Oh, great. ‘Guys on the town’ is always trouble.” Megan cocked her head. “Then again, at least if they’re determined to get into trouble, they’re doing it early in the week. We’ll have time to bail them out of jail.”

“They aren’t going to get into any trouble. Derek’s going to be with them. It’ll be fine,” Katy added.

“You think? I kind of got the impression Noah could cause some trouble,” Megan said, thinking about that feeling he’d stirred up in her earlier.

“But he’s cute,” Angie said. “And from what Jackson says, he makes a pretty good living. Turned his hobby into a big business. Must be nice to get paid to play.”

“Probably a
player
too,” Megan said. “I know his type.”

“Be nice, Megan,” Angie said. “One of these days you’re going to have to lighten up and give men a chance to show you who they are before you shove them in a category.”

“Not today—I’d thought we’d still be working on things for the big day, but we’re so caught up why don’t we do a girls night?”

Katy brightened. “Y’all can come over here. We just set up the new media room. We can pop in one of our old faves or see what Hallmark Channel has on tonight.”

“Works for me. I’ll text Flynn.” She pulled out her phone and worked her fingers over the keys. “She’s in.”

“That’ll be good.” Angie bit down on her lower lip. “So, can I ask y’all about something?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Katy moved toward the living room. “Come on in and sit for a minute.”

“I don’t know if I should be worried or not, but I had the oddest conversation with Jackson this morning.”

Red flags snapped in Megan’s mind. “Odd how?”

“Well, you know the guys are moving all my stuff into Jackson’s house when he and I leave, right?” She sat down on the couch and pulled a throw pillow to her chest.

“Yes. Lucky for you. I hate moving,” Katy said. “Not having to do your own packing is the best gift ever. Do you know what a moving company charges to do that?”

“No idea.”

“It’s a lot. Of course, no telling where things will end up if they unpack the boxes for you.”

“I told them to put all the boxes in the garage, grouped by location. Since Jackson and I are combining households, no doubt there’ll be stuff we won’t need. I already donated quite a bit to the women’s shelter.”

“We’ll help you go through the rest of it when you get back.” Katy sat down next to Angie.

“What’s got you concerned?” Megan was determined to get them back on track. Red flags were nothing to ignore. Maybe she was the skeptic of the bunch, but someone had to be the voice of reason.

“Right.” Angie looked away for a moment. “Maybe it’s not really a concern. It seemed out of the blue. Just kind of hit me funny.”

“I’m sure both of you are going in about a million directions right now. Nothing like trying to play host, plan a wedding, get ready for a move and a honeymoon, and work, and raise a kid all at the same time.”

“Put it like that . . . I need a nap,” Angie said.

Megan folded her arms. “Me too, and I’m not doing any of those things. Probably ever! Are you stalling?”

“No. So he asked me if I’d ever consider moving.”

Megan straightened. “You mean, like, to another town?”

“Or another state,” Angie said. “We’d never really talked about that before and I have to admit I felt a bit cornered by it.”

“I would have too,” Megan said.

“I don’t really know why, though.” Angie leaned against the wall. A worry line appeared as she squinted. “There’s nothing tying me to Boot Creek. I mean all y’all are here, but we’d be best friends no matter where I lived. It surprised me that he just brought it up.”

Katy stepped closer. “Does he have a job offer in another place? I mean it’s not like he grew up here. He kind of just wandered into town, if I recall.”

“Right. No. He said he was curious.” Angie shrugged. “Should I be worried?”

Megan relaxed. “I wouldn’t sweat it one bit, Angie. I can tell you what I think this is.”

“What?”

“Those friends of his. They are trying to put doubts in his head. You heard Noah’s backhanded speech the other night at your going-away celebration.” Megan took a step back and raised an imaginary beer in the air. “
Skills he wouldn’t need if he stayed single
,”
she said impersonating him
with exaggerated swagger
.
“Please.”

Angie leaned forward in laughter. “He did not act that douchey.”

“It was in the subtext.”

“You like him.” Angie’s mouth dropped wide. “You think he’s hot.”

“I do not like him. He’s hot. No question there, but he’s one confidence point away from gold chains and an open shirt.”

“Oh, he is not. He’s super sweet.”

“He’s not that bad. I’m just teasing, but I’m not interested. You are mistaking me for Flynn. But seriously, what is it about men? It’s like there’s this unspoken pact to try to keep each other from making a commitment. Do y’all think they teach that in gym class while they are telling us about our periods?”

Katy dropped her face into her hands and groaned. “I hated that talk. I can still remember coming out of that classroom thinking all the boys were now thinking about us having periods. Why did I think they told us all the same thing?”

“Relax. I’d put my money on Noah stirring up trouble. That guy is the poster boy for being single. I don’t know what his problem is.” And as soon as it came out of her mouth, she wondered why she’d just said that. He’d been nice to her.

“Some girl probably broke his heart once.”

“Jackson told me that Noah had been engaged before. I bet she broke it off. Or left him at the altar.”

Katy pulled her hands to her heart. “Oh, my gosh. He’d be scarred for life.”

“He probably deserved it then.” Megan pushed her hair back over her shoulder.

“You sound bitter,” Katy said. “I thought I was the only one that had a recent past bad enough to make a person feel that way. But then Derek swept that stuff aside so fast I barely had time to pout about it. Something in your past I don’t know about?”