Getting Lucky (24 page)

“I didn’t have any specific plans for the day,” Hope said honestly. This summer was about going with the flow, so she’d avoided making plans and schedules. She had intended to explore more of TJ’s land…and more of TJ. But she supposed that could wait.

She really did want to make this cream for Kathy’s hands. She also wanted to win Hailey over with her massage technique for her arches and she wanted to help Lauren feel less fatigued and even bitchy, if Lauren was truly concerned about that. Some relaxation techniques and aromatherapy could help her a lot.

“I’d love to stay,” she finally said. “Are you sure it’s not a problem to use the restaurant’s kitchen?”

“Not at all.” Adrianne waved away her concern. “We’ve got today’s baking done and Peyton can watch the counter and wait on anyone who comes in.”

“Peyton?” Hope perked up.

Adrianne pointed at the girl in the apron Hope hadn’t been introduced to. “My new employee.”

Hope turned to find Peyton unloading a tray of cupcakes into the display case.

Peyton.

Of course, Peyton was a common name. There had to be more than one, even in a little town like this. But Adrianne’s employee was about the right age to be Hope’s half-sister.

Hope felt her heart kick at that thought and frowned. Strange. She really wasn’t here looking for a long-lost family. Especially a sister she hadn’t even known about.

Still, she couldn’t deny the urge to go to Peyton and talk with her, look into her eyes, to confirm that they shared a father.

Hope put a hand over her heart. Wow, that was a lot all of a sudden.

“So we can use the kitchen all afternoon,” Adrianne said, sliding her chair back and standing. “I’ll make some chicken salad for lunch.”

“Oh, Hope’s a vegetarian,” Delaney said as everyone stood and started moving the tables and chairs back where they belonged.

Everyone paused at that. Lauren was the first to speak. “You’re a vegetarian?”

Hope nodded. “Most of my life. And actually, I’m vegan.” She’d had a brief love affair with bacon in college and she did eat fish on occasion, but she’d never developed a taste for other pork products and couldn’t do beef.

The vegetarian thing was no problem for her. The vegan and gluten-free thing definitely was. She hadn’t always been vegan, but her mother had been for the past ten years and had said over and over how wonderful it was.

The hardest thing was the Oreos.

She’d been shocked to find that TJ kept Oreos on hand at all times. The man was practically perfect.

Except that she was trying not to eat Oreos.

“Oh my gosh, Hope, I’m so sorry,” Adrianne said. “Here I was pushing sweets at you all morning and now the chicken salad. I guess I don’t know any vegans anymore and it didn’t even occur to me.”

Hope smiled at her. “No worries. I’m a big girl. I just say no to the things I don’t eat.” She’d passed on all of the baked goods that morning, sticking with the green tea that had turned out to be delicious. Maybe not as delicious as the bold-roast coffee Adrianne had poured for several others, but good all the same.

“I had some friends in Chicago who were vegan,” Adrianne said as they all started for the kitchen. “But you don’t run into many in the middle of Nebraska.”

Hope laughed. “I don’t suppose. But I’m fine, really. I always have staples with me.”

“Staples like what?”

“Dried beans, quinoa, dried fruit, things like that.”

Adrianne stopped her by the door to the kitchen. “Show me how to make some amazing vegetarian thing for lunch.”

Hope glanced at everyone else. “Really? You want to eat quinoa?”

“Why not?” Adrianne asked, looking at the other women. “We’re adventurous.”

“I really like quinoa,” Kate said. “I’ve had it a lot.”

“I’ve had it too,” Lauren said. “I’m game.”

“Never had it,” Phoebe told her. “But if I hate it, there are plenty of cupcakes here to cleanse my palate.”

Hope laughed and shrugged. “Okay. I know an easy recipe for quinoa and veggies with peanut sauce.”

“Perfect,” Adrianne said. She gestured toward the kitchen. “Let’s get going.”

Everyone filed in, Hope jotted down a quick list of ingredients she needed and Phoebe and Delaney headed out to get what Adrianne didn’t have from the grocery store. Adrianne had never had the need for soy sauce in her bakery. She did, however, make quiches, so she had broccoli and red bell peppers, along with every spice and plenty of peanut butter to work with.

Kate helped Hope retrieve her full apothecary box from the car along with her stash of quinoa. She was glad she hadn’t asked TJ to unhook the camper after all. She’d felt silly pulling it into town and parking it on one of the main streets around the square, but now she was happy she had it. She was impressed with the women wanting to learn new things and was feeling better about the togetherness they inspired.

They spent the afternoon whipping coconut oil into light, fluffy creams for everything from Kathy’s arthritic knuckles to Hailey’s tight arches. Hope made a lavender oil for Lauren to use on her pillowcase at night, showed Kate a couple of acupressure sites that would drive Levi crazy, gave them all a lesson in deep breathing and a five-minute meditation exercise she loved personally, and introduced them to homemade peanut sauce and quinoa.

She was at the sink helping with the dishes when she felt someone bump her arm.

“Oh, sorry.”

The soft apology made Hope turn. It was Peyton.

“Peyton, right?” Hope asked.

She nodded. “Right.”

Hope lowered her voice after glancing around. None of the other women were close enough to overhear. “What’s your last name?” she asked. No time to beat around the bush. If this was Dan’s daughter, Hope needed to know.

Peyton looked up from the bowl she was scrubbing. She met Hope’s gaze and Hope felt a jolt of recognition go through her. Which made no sense. She’d never met Peyton before that day.

But there was something so familiar about her eyes.

“Wells,” Peyton answered. “Why?”

Peyton Wells. Her half-sister. Hope worked to keep from reacting outwardly. “I, um, thought maybe you were also related to the Bennetts,” Hope said. “Seems everyone is somehow.”

Peyton smiled at that. “It does seem that way. Actually, most people are just friends. Like Kate and Levi,” she said, glancing over to where Kate was helping Lauren off the stool she’d been sitting on. “But friends are like family to the Bennetts. My dad and TJ’s dad are good friends.”

Dan’s daughter. For sure.

Hope blinked against the sudden stinging in her eyes. Holy crap, what was that?

But this was her sister. Some emotion was understandable. Of course, if she started crying, Peyton would want to know why. Or would think she was crazy.

Crazy. Right. She was supposed to be convincing these people that she was a little kooky and so obsessed with TJ that she’d driven all this way to take care of him while he was hurt.

Crazy could work in her favor. Not only did it give her a reason for being in Sapphire Falls, but it could give her a reason to do something that she suddenly really wanted to do.

She threw her arms around Peyton and hugged her tight.

“Any friend of TJ’s is a friend of mine,” she told Peyton, loud enough that the other women would hear and not be suspicious of the hug.

Peyton’s hands slowly came up, as if she wasn’t sure what was going on, and she patted Hope’s back. “Uh, thanks.”

Hope pulled back, schooling her features into an expression of pure excited happiness instead of the I’m-fighting-tears-because-I-have-a-little-sister that she was feeling. She had not been ready for those emotions. Until TJ had told her about Peyton, she’d had no idea she had a sibling. It wasn’t as if she’d felt a sense of emptiness in her life. She couldn’t remember even wishing for a baby brother or sister as a kid. But ever since TJ had told her the truth, there had been an ache in her chest. It made no sense.

Hope looked into Peyton’s eyes, this time more prepared for the impact. “Do you have allergies?” she asked, the red rimming Peyton’s eyes and the dark circles underneath an indication.

Peyton looked surprised. “I do.”

“Here.” Hope took Peyton’s hand and pulled her over to the apothecary box. “I have something great for that.” She uncapped a bottle of peppermint oil. “Hold out your hands.” She put a dab of oil on each of Peyton’s palms. “Rub them together.” Peyton did. “Now cup your hands over your mouth and nose and breath deep.” Hope demonstrated and Peyton copied her. Peyton’s eyes grew wide as she inhaled the aroma.

“Wow,” she said a moment later, dropping her hands. “I can feel it clearing my sinuses.”

“Here.” Hope mixed the oil in with some carrier oil and poured it into a bottle. “Take this. You can dab it at the base of your neck or you can rub it on your chest at night. It should help.”

She pressed the vial into Peyton’s hand, stupidly desperate for Peyton to take it and use it and feel better.

It was the weirdest feeling she’d ever had. She was feeling protective toward this girl she’d known for five minutes.

Peyton’s hand curled around the glass bottle and she nodded. “I definitely will. Thank you.”

“And did you try the quinoa?” Hope asked, sounding even to her own ears as if she was talking too fast and like the pitch of her voice had risen.

Peyton shook her head. “I was working.”

“You have to eat lunch,” Hope said. She took Peyton’s hand again and moved toward the bowl of leftovers.

“I had a sandwich during my break,” Peyton said, following behind. As if she had a choice.

“But this is so good for you,” Hope said. “Lots of vegetables. And the quinoa is really high in protein.”

“I’m—” Peyton was clearly puzzled by Hope’s sudden attention to her eating habits. “I’m full, right now,” she finally said.

“Then you can take some home and eat it later.” Hope pulled in a huge breath, realizing that she was sounding and acting nuts. Fortunately, she wanted these women to think exactly that. She wasn’t quite as happy thinking it of herself though. What was going on? “You can share some with your dad,” she added. Then frowned. Where had that come from?

Peyton’s eyes were wide and she nodded slowly. Like someone would when faced with a real crazy person. Hope sighed.

“Okay. That sounds great,” Peyton said.

Her sudden and ridiculous urge to feed this girl overrode her urge to not scare Peyton off. She grabbed a plastic container with a lid from one of Adrianne’s shelves. She dished up a portion of the leftover quinoa and handed it to Peyton. “I hope you like it.”

And she really, really did hope that. Which was completely crazy.

Peyton took it and looked ready to turn away when she hesitated. “You’re really interesting,” she said to Hope, a wrinkle between her brows. “I’ve never met someone like you.”

“Someone with blue hair?” Hope asked with a smile, bothered by how much she liked Peyton thinking she was interesting.

Peyton smiled. “That too. Not too many people around here do stuff like that.”

“It’s temporary. Totally natural. Will wash out tonight,” Hope said. “It’s just something fun to do once in a while.”

“Well, I like it.”

“I could show you how to do it. It’s not much different from changing your belt or shoes. It’s just another accessory,” Hope said. Her mother had been against chemically treating hair, including permanent hair colors, but instead of telling Hope she couldn’t do it, she’d helped Hope find a natural way. Hope had been honest when she’d told TJ she didn’t typically color her hair. She’d done a lot of it as a teen, but as she’d gotten older, she’d grown out of some of that. But now, for some reason, this summer seemed like the right time to do it if the mood struck her.

“Really?” Peyton asked.

“Sure. If your mom wouldn’t care.” Hope almost bit her tongue off after the words came out. She hadn’t meant to get any deeper or more personal about Peyton’s family. Hope knew who Peyton was now, and that was enough. Or it was supposed to be enough. And now she was offering to see Peyton again to show her how to color her hair and asking, indirectly, about her mom?

Peyton’s expression changed instantly. “My mom probably won’t even notice.”

Okay
. Yeah, she did
not
want to get into all of this.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hope heard herself say.

Peyton shook her head. “It’s okay. Nothing new. I would love to try purple, is that an option?”

“I make my own hair chalks, so anything is an option,” Hope told her. “And I do have some purple. I can show you how to use it or even how to make your own, if you’d like.”

“You’d just give it to me?” Peyton asked.

“Sure. I can make more.”

And she could, of course. But she had to make it sound like no big deal so Peyton didn’t realize how much Hope wanted to give her stuff.

It made no sense to Hope, and it might go a bit beyond the delightfully kooky thing she’d been going for.

Peyton nodded. “Okay. I mean, I’d love to learn to make it. Actually. If you don’t mind.” She suddenly seemed shy.