Page 75 of The Last Lavender Sister

Brynn, with butterflies in her stomach, made her way up the walk. It was late morning, and Aster might actually still be asleep, given it was her day off and she now pulled later nights because of the restaurant. She didn’t want to disturb, so she left her note carefully on the door with a piece of Scotch tape she’d brought with her. As she walked back to her car, she looked up at the dark clouds swirling. They had not been part of her plan, and she gave them a hard, threatening look. “Don’t,” she said and gave her head a shake.

Late that afternoon, she argued with herself over which outfit to wear for the occasion and finally settled on her light denim jeans and lacy white cotton top that always seemed to pull compliments. Hair went partially up in a clip, leaving the rest down and flowing freely. A touch of cleavage. That would work. She chose a silver necklace with a small heart that hung not far from hers. Moral support. If she was about to put it all out there, she would need it. Brynn was confident this wasthe exact path she was destined to be on, but it didn’t make the journey to get there any less terrifying. She’d seen a door close in Aster’s eyes the other night, and now she had to see if there was hope.

She’d gone out of her way today to show Aster that she was serious, that she meant what she said, and that Aster could trust what they had. Was she prepared to fail? Yes. But she was also full of so much hope it almost bubbled out of her chest.

She scooped up Pickles, who stared into her eyes curiously. “It’s going to be a very telling day. Say a prayer for me?” Pickles tucked her head onto Brynn’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“Good call. Let’s snuggle here together and see what happens. Today is a big day.”

* * *

Aster had very little to do today, and it was a blessing and a curse. She needed a break from Marilyn’s to regroup and gather her energy to return the next night. In the meantime, she trusted Wesley to keep the place afloat and running with her vision intact. They already had a dream of a partnership. He truly understood the business and her own personal style.

So that meant the day was hers. Groceries were scarce, and she decided it was in her best interest to pick up a few things, so midafternoon she hopped in her car. As she backed out of her driveway, something pink on her front door snagged her attention. She frowned, hopped out of her car, and found a handwritten note:Can you come to our bench in the center of town at five tonight?It was signed with a scriptedB.

Aster paused, her everything disrupted. What was going on? Did Brynn want to relax with a book? Why send a handwritten note when a text was so much more efficient? And did she want to spend another few hours reading next to the woman she craved more than water? It sounded like another adventure in torture, and she promised to stop submitting herself to that. She pocketed the note, content to send an excuse. But as she went about her day, she just couldn’t seem to do it. The note had her interest piqued. And like any good action-adventure reader, she had to find out more.

At five, she found herself walking through town, hands in herpockets, as the storm clouds the weathercaster had warned them about assembled overhead. Did Brynn have on a hood, she wondered as she approached the bench from behind. She had her book tucked into her jacket in case the sky opened up, and Brynn had likely prepared as well.

She stopped a few feet from the bench. “This seat taken?” she asked.

Brynn turned, and Aster practically leapt out of her skin because it wasn’t Brynn looking back at her but Sage, wearing a green zip-up hoodie. “It’s not,” he said with a grin.

She pulled the hood off his head, leaving his blond hair standing straight up, and studied him. “Why are you here?” she asked, glancing around for evidence. Around them, the citizens of Homer’s Bluff dashed into shops before they closed or headed to Kip’s Diner for one of those greasy burgers that were so addictive. No clues.

“I’m merely the very handsome messenger.” He stood, unzipped his hoodie, and presented her with a rose and another pink note. “Have fun, killer.” He gave her shoulder a soft slug and jogged across the street to the diner.

Aster, still bewildered and now incredibly intrigued, took a seat.

“Hey, Aster,” Heather said as she closed up Bella Beautiful for the day. “I about died for your pork chop the other night. Bringing my friends next week.”

“Thank you. I look forward to that.” She still grinned each time someone used her name, a sign that things had certainly shifted for her in Homer’s Bluff. She held Brynn’s note to her chest as she watched Heather walk the other direction down the sidewalk, wanting to be alone before she read it. Finally, she unfolded the pink paper that, was she imagining, or did it smell so much like Brynn herself? She pressed the paper to her face and inhaled, affirmed in her suspicion, which made her stomach tighten.

On to the words, which appeared in handwriting she knew as well as her own.

Dearest Aster,

I’m well aware that I owe you some letters. Here’s one. My life changed forever on this bench. For the first time, I met someone I had no idea what to do with. I couldn’t decide whether to kiss you or spend the rest of my days learningeverything about you. Now I know it was meant to be both. I think about those early days a lot. Stealing glances at you while you read aliens and space wars, my skin tingling because you were so close. I want to go back there. I miss us.

Will you meet me at the kennel?

All my love,

B.

The swirlyBgot her every time. Aster closed her eyes and absorbed the words. She was shocked to see them, and at the same time she’d known them her entire life. Her heart longed to reach back, but she’d had happiness snatched away from her before. She knew one thing for certain. She was headed to the kennels. A clap of lightning hit as she stood, and that made sense. Today felt weighted, important, and boring weather would not have done it justice. “Bring it on,” she said to the sky as she turned and headed back to the town perimeter.

The veterinary clinic was only a few blocks away, and she made her way there quickly, needing to see Brynn’s face. She needed clarity, understanding, and maybe a little grounding. When she arrived at the clinic, Joan, still seated at her desk in the lobby, pointed down the hall to the kennels. Aster nodded and made her way there as memories flashed. When she entered the room lined with dog runs, two of the inhabitants greeted her with their own chorus of barks. No Brynn. In fact, there was no one in the room at all other than her, a cocker spaniel apparently named Tiger Shark with a shaved left paw, and a mixed breed with sweet eyes named Kevin.

“For you.”

Aster whirled around and found Tyler in a lab coat holding out a folded pink note. “Thank you. Is she here?”

Tyler pretended to consider the question with a whimsical back-and-forth at the ceiling. “No. But you’re to read that right here.”

Memory lane, this room. Every time I’m in here (and that’s daily), I remember the night we spent getting to know our dogs for the first time and truly learning about each other. It was also the first time I stayed up all night because of you, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last. I learned how compassionate you were over those scary hours, and justhow big your heart was. I love that about you. In fact, I love everything. Meet me at the playground?

Before dashing off, Aster took a moment in the space. She smiled at the run where Pickles had licked Dill’s little head until he finally picked it up all by himself. She looked back at the wall where she and Brynn had sat side by side, keeping vigil and growing closer. Emotion swelled.

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