Page 8 of The Last Lavender Sister

“I did not know that.” Brynn took a moment to follow the thread of the conversation until it dawned on her. Ray Dobbs, fake father to Sprinkles, had borrowed a dog to ask her out. “You are so thoughtful to invite me for beer and tractor viewing, truly. But I’m dedicating my free time to settling in. Getting the lay of the land.”

“Understood. Maybe once you’ve had time to do that. I could give you a ride on the tractor. It’s real red.” He said it like a soap opera actor, as if the color would turn her the hell on. How interesting the morning was turning out to be.

“Maybe. You never know. It’s nice to have friends, right?” She nodded, hoping he understood the thesis statement, but decided to make it a bit more clear. “I’m not really looking for more than that, though. I’m just here for a short time and all. Six months.”

“Yeah, I hear you.” He picked up Sprinkles. “You might change your mind. It’s been known to happen when women spend time with me.”

Oh? Was Ray Dobbs a sought-after fella? She tried not to cringe visibly at his statement, feeling that he meant well but was woefully overconfident. Should she tell him the last time she’d dated someone of the opposite sex she’d been fifteen and the results had been disastrous? Nah. She wasn’t even sure it would deter him.

“You let me know if Sprinkles has any more issues. Okay?”

“You got it. I’ll tell Mom.”

Brynn gave her head a shake, marveling at the entire appointment. Had he really just used his mom’s healthy dog to get him through the door? Who did that? She couldn’t wait to tell Tyler all about it.

* * *

It was a good thing she did wait. Because there was so much more to come.

The next three days were remarkably similar. Brynn, in mystification, saw one healthy pet after another while listening to overtures from three more single men, accepting baked goods from women who dropped by, not only to welcome her to town, but to meticulously take down her story, probably for passing around to their friends. Two older women who came in together with an equally elderly turtle just wanted to show him off and hear who Brynn’s parents were and where they lived. She smiled and obliged, but omitted the part about not having seen her father since she was small and that she and her mother didn’t talk much either. Brynn was apparently a hot topic, and people were lining up to learn every little detail they could. Where were the sick pets when you needed them?

She decided to take a walk on her lunch hour one day, her second week on the job, hoping to clear her head and get to see a little bit more of Homer’s Bluff up close. She’d yet to truly explore all it had to offer. She decided to start in the center of town where there were three very cool clothing shops in a row that, refreshingly, seemed to all be friends with each other. When she asked one of the shop owners about zip up hoodies, since the weather still had one foot in winter and one in spring, the owner, Tessa, happily referred her to the shop two doors down.

“I will tell you what, Bella Beautiful has a great selection of zip ups. Quality stuff, too. Tell Heather I said hello. We need to grab breakfast soon. I’m a big fan of country sausage. She likes omelets.”

“I will do that. I like omelets, too.” That seemed to delight Tessa.

“Oh, and Doctor…?”

“Garrett. But you can call me Brynn. In fact, please do.”

“Dr. Brynn, you should pop in to Tammy’s shop, too. Don’t want her to feel left out. Next door. She’s got the store between Heather and me. Tammy owns Spaghetti Straps, and it’s got the cutest skirts and tops. Not just for summer, either. I know the name of the shop sounds like it’s just a mess of summer clothes.” She shook her head as if it was the most unfortunate turn of events. “We all have noticed that part and just don’t say anything, because who wears spaghetti strapsin the winter? But really, it’s got year ’round clothing. I promise.” She punctuated her speech with about eight follow-up head nods.

Brynn’s brain buzzed with amusement as she sorted through the chaos. “I will definitely visit Spaghetti Straps as well as Bella Beautiful. What’s the name of your store again?” She looked around for a reminder.

“Yay Clothes!”

Brynn took a moment to decipher if Tessa was cheering on her merchandise or offering the name of her shop. She went with the latter. “Nice! Great name. Very direct.”

“Festive, too, right?” Tessa exclaimed, her eyes dancing.

“Really cheerful.” Brynn had to give her kudos on that. “I’ll definitely be back to Yay Clothes! as well.”

“You’ve just made my day, Dr. Brynn. I need to bring my goldendoodle in for an appointment. Jimmy John.”

“Oh yeah? What’s wrong with Jimmy John?”

“Nothing really, but you need to see him. Such a gorgeous curly coat.”

Brynn swallowed a smile, accepting the healthy pet visit as the culture of the entire town. “I look forward to it.”

Brynn continued her perusal of the businesses in the area. She didn’t have another appointment until after two, giving her time to enjoy the day. A quaint café. A coffee house. Ice cream shop. Diner. Dry cleaners. Convenience store. Farm supply. Three of those, actually. They had it all. Curvy streetlamps stood at the corner of every block, and every third or fourth business had a bench out front. At the end of the row of shops, Brynn recognized the person sitting on one. She’d met a lot of people at Tyler’s going away party, and most of them blended together. Not this one.

“Hey there,” she said pausing at the bench. “Aster, isn’t it?”

The young woman sitting on the bench had her nose in a book. At the sound of her name she looked up and blinked as if being ripped from the world of the book and thrust into the real one. “Right. Hi. That’s me.” She sat up tall as Brynn approached, rolled her lips in, and then smiled. She was really very pretty. Younger than Brynn. Maybe midtwenties. Soft brown eyes that matched her dark hair that fell past her shoulders. Full lips. A sweet smile.

Brynn touched her chest. “Brynn. Tyler’s friend.”

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