Page 6 of The Last Lavender Sister

A faint smile hit. “I’m not kidding about that suitcase. I’ll make room.”

“Neither am I,” Aster said, admiring Tyler’s ambition and the adventure she had ahead of her. She longed for one. The days were beginning to blend to an alarming degree. She wondered if life was just going to pass her by like a freight train if she didn’t leap soon. “I guess this friend of yours will have a lot to live up to at the clinic. Does she know that?”

Tyler’s eyes lit up. “Brynn. I forgot. You have to meet her. You, Aster Lavender, are one of my VIPs.” She went up on tiptoe and motioned above the crowd, beckoning someone. Aster couldn’t get a good look, but she cringed internally. She wasn’t good at introductions. Even when she tried to be natural, easygoing, it was awkward city. She took a deep breath, determined to just get through this part. “Aster, meet Brynn Garrett, one of my very best friends from veterinary school.”

Aster took a breath, but the air refused to exit her lungs. Standing next to Tyler was a woman about three inches shorter than Aster, with a really great smile. That wasn’t all. She was also the most beautiful woman Aster had ever seen in her entire life. A little bit like a friendly looking movie star, but right here in person. Staring at her warmly. She wore dark jeans and a purple scoop-neck top under a really cool looking black jacket. Her blond hair was longish with those lazy curls that all those Instagram tutorials made look easy to achieve when they so weren’t. Not that Aster had tried. Okay, she had. And failed. A lot. That didn’t change how important this moment felt. She wasn’t used to moments announcing their weight so overtly. This one was.

“Aster? So nice to meet you,” the woman said and held out her hand. She had light eyes. Green? Yes. Big, beautiful green ones that actually sparkled. Aster always thought that description was a cliché. Not true. Eyes could sparkle. These did.

This would be the appropriate moment to extend her own hand and say hi like civilization called for. That’s what humans did, but Aster fell short when it came to behaving like one of those, and instead wasted time on self-analysis, like now. Dammit.Be present. “Hi,” she managed way too late for normalcy.

“Aster, you okay?” Tyler asked. “You look pale all of a sudden.”

“What?” Aster blinked.

“How about some water?” Brynn offered, turning in the direction of the bar. So she was thoughtful, too.

“No. I’m really, really good.” She looked around, attempting to play it off. “It just seems warm is all. Larry is probably still running the heat. March is tricky.” Tyler’s friend had finally dropped her offered hand altogether. Oh yeah, Aster had failed miserably. First impression with the new really pretty doctor was in the books, and it wasn’t a good one. Totally normal, though. Just another day at the office of awkward.

“Sorry about the handshake that I missed.”

Brynn smiled and raised an amused eyebrow. She knew how to sculpt them expertly. “No crime. It’s still available.”

Aster took the cue and extended her hand. Brynn reciprocated with a firm but not too firm handshake. Of course she was the perfect handshaker. Of course her hands were unbelievably soft. “So, you’ll be the new vet in town. All set?”Better. Breathe.

“Yes! I just got a look at the office today. Beautiful space. Tyler showed me everything. I even got to meet the staff, who are super warm. Looks like a fantastic place to work.”

“Why, thank you,” Tyler said. “I designed the remodel myself.” Prior to Tyler, the building had been an old insurance office and had sat empty for close to two years. With a loan from the bank, Tyler had snatched it up, knocked down some walls, put up others, until the place felt brand-new with top-of-the-line equipment, lime-green walls, and a friendly feel. She had a staff of three that kept the clinic and small kennel afloat. She ran a fantastic operation.

As they chatted, Aster doing her best to not be weird, she noticed a line of people forming to their right. She felt silly now for probably overstaying. “Hey, I think there are a few people who’d like to wish you well,” Aster said. “I’ll get out of here and let you say hi.” She nodded to Brynn.

“It was nice meeting you, Ashton.”

Oh no. Aster blinked, catching the mistake, but didn’t have it in her to correct Brynn. She’d happily live as Ashton for the rest of her life rather than suffer through another inelegant moment with a woman who made her entire mouth go dry. “Nice meeting you, too.” She added what she hoped was a confident smile. “I’m sure I’ll see you around. Small town and all.”

“Oh, you will,” Tyler added. “Brynn’s a sucker for baked goods. And it’s Aster,” she said quietly to Brynn who, if Aster wasn’t mistaken, blushed at the mistake.

“I’m sorry about that—Aster. It’s loud in here.”

“It’s okay. Not too many people get it right anyway.” She had a million other names.The youngest Lavender. The doughnut shop kid. Sage’s little sister. You know, the quiet one with the bike.

They didn’t have a chance to finish the conversation because Tyler turned to attend to her well-wishers, whisked away by adorationand love. Aster ordered a beer from Larry and watched from the bar as their neighbors gathered around Brynn equally, fawning over her, gathering information, and passing it around. A new person in town was an exciting event, and unless she broke some sort of unspoken small-town rule, like forgetting to say hello on the sidewalk, she would remain their collective best friend for a time. Aster smiled into her glass because Brynn would be double the entertainment for them. Not only was Brynn a smart doctor, she was unlike anyone else in town. Gorgeous, eons more sophisticated, and from what Aster had seen, incredibly warm. The clamoring went on for the next half hour as the town of Homer’s Bluff got to know her.

“Did you meet Brynn?” Aster asked as Sage drove her back home since it was so dark out. She’d pick up her bike the next day.

“Huh?” he asked, studying the road. His mind was clearly elsewhere.

“The woman stepping in for Tyler at the vet clinic.”

“Oh yeah. She seemed nice, right? Blond.” He was distracted. Troubled. He let most everything roll off his back like an unaffected duck. But the way his jaw moved as he drove told Aster that he wasn’t okay at all. She didn’t know what transpired between him and Tyler, but something had. “Yeah, I liked her. Good people. Blond.”

“Right. You said that.”

“Yeah.”

They drove in silence for a bit. She looked over at her brother, her heart hurting for him. “She’s coming back, you know. Tyler.”

“Totally,” he said energetically, faking nonchalance. “Just weird to imagine not seeing her face around every corner, even for a little while. That’s all. She can be pesky as hell, but she’s Tyler.”

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