Dress Me in Wildflowers (24 page)

****

Zora Marshall called Farrin early the next morning, and after an hour on the phone the special program was a done deal. In a few weeks, Zora would arrive in Oak Valley under as much secrecy as she could muster so the local resident — and thus Katrina Wellington — didn’t get wind of it.

Deciding she needed time away from New York to plan for the interview, Farrin made the decision to stay in Oak Valley through Christmas. Justine rearranged her schedule, and she took care of most of her pressing business by phone. When not working on projects already in the pipeline, she sketched ideas for simpler wedding gowns, the twice-given suggestion taking root.

She’d resisted it at first, thinking it would cheapen her image and demand for her high-end gowns. But now she wondered if it might distinguish her in a positive way, the successful designer with a heart. Plus, it seemed the right thing to do. It would create jobs, put another business in place inside the inn and give local brides the opportunity to be truly elegant on their wedding days. Hadn’t that been what had drawn her to designing in the first place, the ability to make any woman look like royalty on her big day?

Despite working long hours on all the projects suddenly filling her life, Farrin often wondered how she would react to Drew the next time she saw him. But he kept his distance, and she wondered if she’d already blown any chance she might have had with him.

Well, it was for the best anyway. She was busier than ever, though now the work didn’t give her migraines or cause her brain to freeze. Whether she was talking to Faye about her idea of a new line of dresses or a local jewelry maker about displaying her wares in the gift shop, excitement filled the hours.

And still, that loneliness on which Janie had shined a spotlight hit her at the oddest moments. As she was taking Faye’s trash to the curb. As she made herself a cup of coffee. When she sat in her new little office at the inn and ate lunch alone on Fridays when Janie was gone to chemo.

When she experienced these little bouts of loneliness, she shook herself for being so selfish. She had everything going for her. What was a tinge of loneliness or the impending interview with Zora Marshall when Janie was facing life or death and trying to raise two children alone?

She lifted the latest sketches for the new line and held them out in front of her. Satisfaction curled its way through her. No longer would young brides have to resort to the overly frothy confections she’d spotted in the wedding photos in the
Herald
the day before. Someone needed to tell the bridal shops in the area that those designs had gone out with ‘80s big hair and parachute pants.

Her cell phone rang and she answered without taking her eyes from the sketches. “Farrin Taylor.”

“Hello, Farrin.”

She dropped the sketchpad. Mark. She hadn’t heard from him in so long, hadn’t even thought about him. Why was he calling?

“Hello. How have you been?” she asked.

“Fine. And you?”

“The same.”

“Well, not entirely the same, I hear.”

“Oh?”

“I ran into Katrina Wellington at a party at Ivan’s last night. She had some interesting things to say.”

Farrin clenched her fist. “I seriously doubt that.”

“Not a fan?”

“You could say that.”

“That will make it difficult to work with her.”

Farrin uttered a noncommittal sound.

“She wanted to know about us, and I told her there wasn’t an us. She seemed surprised.”

Farrin sank back against the chair and closed her eyes. “She’s slipping.”

“Is there someone down there in . . . Tennessee?” He pronounced the last word as if it were dirty somehow. She’d never heard this side of him, and she actually breathed a sigh of relief that she’d gotten no more involved with him than she had. He wasn’t the person to whom she could finally confess all her feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment about her past.

The image of Drew formed in her mind. He already knew some of that past. Was he the person she could spill those feelings to, finally letting them gain exposure to air and thus allow them to dissipate forever?

“Mark, this is where I grew up. I avoided it for a long time, but I still have friends here.”

“But you bought property. That speaks of a deeper commitment.”

“It was an investment, to protect a historic building.”

“When are you coming home? I thought we could try again.”

She almost said she was home, and that thought caused her to pause and wonder where that thought had materialized. She was here for a visit, nothing more.

“I don’t have definite plans yet.” She planned to return to New York right after Christmas, but she didn’t feel like sharing that with Mark. That told her all she needed to know. “Mark, I’m sorry if I led you to believe there was more between us than there was. As you know, I’m incredibly busy—”

“You don’t have to say it.”

“You really are a good man. I truly mean that. It’s just that . . . ” There was no spark, no gut jittery feeling like what she felt around Drew. “I don’t think I’m the right woman. You need someone who has more time.”

When she ended the call, Farrin stared out the window. Part of her felt like a heel, but she couldn’t pretend she cared more for Mark simply because he obviously wanted a more serious relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

“That what’s been keeping you so distant?”

Farrin yelped at the sound of Drew’s voice from the doorway. She straightened and tried to pretend he hadn’t scared her half to death. “For someone who says he likes me, you sure have a funny way of showing it.”

“Then how about letting me take you to dinner?”

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I’m supposed to let an eavesdropper take me to dinner? What do you take me for?”

“A beautiful woman who has been working all day and could use a nice dinner with a good-looking guy.”

“Think mighty highly of yourself, don’t you?”

“Deny it.”

She couldn’t. She was hungry, and he was most definitely good looking.

“If I agree, will you go away and let me get some work done?”

He smiled so wide he was in danger of straining cheek muscles. “I’ll pick you up at five.”

She’d swear under oath that he swaggered as he turned and headed toward the front door. Attempts to concentrate on her work proved fruitless after Drew’s departure, so she headed to the kitchen for a drink of water to quench her throat.

The water helped a little, but only a little. What had she agreed to? And could she find a way to get out of it?

Janie walked into the room and came to stand by her at the sink. “Finally wore you down, huh?”

“We all have to eat.”

“Yes, but we don’t have to go out with hunky guys to do it.”

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in Drew.”

“Just because I don’t want to date him doesn’t mean I’m blind. Drew Murphy grew up into a mighty fine looking man.”

Yes, indeed.

****

Farrin took extra care with her hair and makeup in preparation for her dinner with Drew. She didn’t dare call it a date or she’d really freak out. Good grief, she hadn’t been this nervous about a date . . . uh, dinner, since her first one in college.

There was a light knock on the door, then Faye stuck her head inside. “Drew’s here, dear.”

What, already? She glanced at the clock. Had she taken half an hour on her hair alone? “I’ll be out in a minute.”

Instead of closing the door and leaving, however, Faye slipped into the room. “You look lovely. Stop worrying.”

“I’m not worrying.”

Faye raised her eyebrows. “You seem to forget that I’ve known you since you were nine years old.”

Farrin exhaled. “What is wrong with me? I feel like I’m regressing, like I’m a silly, awkward, unpopular teenager again.”

Faye stepped forward and wrapped her hands around Farrin’s. “We never really leave who we were totally behind, but you’re none of those things now. You’re a beautiful, intelligent, successful woman. And Drew Murphy is a handsome, intelligent, successful man. So, to my way of thinking, the two of you should get along just fine.” Faye squeezed Farrin’s hands in reassurance. “For tonight, try to forget that you ever liked him before or that he knew you way back when. Try to pretend that you’re just meeting and getting to know each other.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“Maybe not, but it’s worth a try.”

Farrin leaned over and placed a kiss on Faye’s wrinkled cheek. “I love you.”

Faye patted Farrin’s cheek in a gesture of affection. “I love you, too, dear. Now go out there and have a good time.”

When Faye left the room, Farrin took a look at herself in the full-length mirror. She hoped the loose black pants and turquoise sweater fit wherever they were going. It was a testament to how frazzled he made her that she hadn’t even asked. She’d wanted him to leave the inn and give her time to get her flustered self back together.

She took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out slowly through her mouth. As ready as she was ever going to be, she headed for the living room. He was wearing blue again. Dear Lord, she was a goner.

With Faye nowhere to be seen, Farrin faced Drew alone. “You look nice,” she said, wondering how she ever negotiated deals when the mere look at a man stopped all her brain function.

“I’d tell you the same, but it’d be an understatement.”

Heat flashed across her face, and she mumbled a “thanks” as she grabbed her coat. Drew stepped behind her to help, and the heat in her cheeks radiated outward.

Thank goodness the wind blew with an early winter chill. It helped cool her as they walked to Drew’s vehicle. Once they were both inside and he’d started the engine, she asked, “So, where are we going? I didn’t know how to dress.”

“I thought we’d go out to my house.”

His house? Where did he think this date . . . damn it, dinner was going?

“I thought with the unknown tattle about town, you might like to keep some things private.”

She looked over at him, at his face lit by the passing streetlights. “That was a nice gesture. Thank you.”

“No problem. And so you won’t be subjected to my cooking, I had my mom get takeout from Thelma’s.” He looked over at her. “Might even be some lemon meringue pie in it.”

She smiled, wide and unencumbered. “You, Mr. Murphy, are off to a very good start.”

He smiled back. “That’s my plan.”

Inexplicably, her nervousness lessened as they got closer to Drew’s house. And by the time they reached the front door, it had evaporated. When they crossed the threshold, she gasped. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

Farrin walked to the center of the room and spun in a slow circle, looking up at the exposed beams then down the wall to a large river rock fireplace at one end.

“It’s home.”

“Let’s see. You’re an attorney, you’re a phenomenal gardener, you have a lovely home overlooking the river. Tell me again why some woman hasn’t snatched you up.”

“You forgot the really good looking part.”

“I don’t want your head to swell too much.”

He laughed as he started pulling delicious smelling food from the large paper bag. She moved to help him.

“Mind buffet style?” he asked as he handed her a plate and indicated the containers of pork barbecue, corn, baked beans and steaming cornbread muffins.

“Not at all.”

As they ate, they talked about his sister’s family, Justine’s habit of changing hair colors with the seasons, his parents’ plans to visit Scotland, and the latest on her new line of dresses.

She finished off her second piece of pie with an appreciative “umm”. When she made eye contact with Drew, she wondered if it was a good idea. The nervousness came back like a blast from a furnace. His teasing had fallen away, and what remained was a man who looked like he had more than dinner on his mind.

“So, when do you think you’ll get started on the gardens at the inn again?” she asked.

He lowered his eyes and took a drink before answering. “Probably late February, early March, depending on the weather.”

“Sounds good.”

“Farrin?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t bite.”

She caught his gaze, noticed how it had a darker, more sultry look to it than when he’d been laughing over dinner. “I’m not entirely sure of that.”

“Not unless I’m asked to anyway.”

He rose and took their dirty dishes to the sink, letting her sit there imagining him nibbling on her neck and other places best left unthought.

“So, have you thought about how you’re going to structure the interview?” Drew asked.

There, that’s what she needed, the equivalent of a cold glass of water splashed on her sexually charged mind.

“Some. It makes me nauseated every time I do.”