Page 59 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

Lily shrugged. “He buried his feelings for you, but I can tell you he very much loved you. Now…if you let him…” She waved her hand in a circle.

Mia blinked rapidly. Cody loved her? Was it possible?

Lily bumped her shoulder against Mia’s again. “What do ya think? Could you ever love him back?”

“No. Yes. Maybe?” Her thoughts tumbled as she tried to sort through them. “Lately…” She couldn’t complete the thought. Didn’t want to acknowledge that her feelings for Cody had been changing over the past weeks. And, yeah. She was scared to fall in love again. Scared to rely on someone else and then lose him.

She wrapped her hand tighter around the handle of the wagon. “I guess I’m just afraid of losing someone again.” Her voice was so low she wasn’t sure Lily heard her, but then Lily laid an arm across her shoulders and squeezed.

“I get that. Taking a risk is scary. But look at you. You’re already doing hard and scary things. Taking care of two children on your own…You’re brave, Mia. And isn’t love always worth the risk?” Lily squeezed again and then let her arm drop. “That’s all I’ll say for now. But promise you’ll think about it.”

“I will.”

Their walk took them out of the downtown loop and into the small west side neighborhood where Cody’s parents lived. The houses in the Driftwood Hills neighborhood were larger than hers on Lilac Lane, the owners all more well-to-do.

She pulled to a stop in front of the Hart home and said goodbye to Lily. Walking back downtown, she stopped in front of the old Sampson gallery and stared at it, eyes unfocused.

Could she be falling for Cody? She thought about how Evie had asked if she felt the same way about him as she felt about her brother. Nope. This was totally different then how she felt about Bash. But what was she going to do about it?

Twenty-four hours later and Cody still couldn’t get Pastor Arnie’s words out of his mind.If we seek the Lord, He will deliver us from all our fears.

Except his heart still raced when he thought about his time on the water with Liam yesterday. Maybe he needed time to let that truth grow in his heart.

He walked down Main Street, hoping to catch Lily on her way from the ferry. And, let’s face it, hoping to see Mia too. Talking to Mia this morning before running over to his parents’ had ignited a slow burn in his belly. He tried tossing the water of truth on the embers, but no amount of truth like “she’s not free” or “she’s your best friend’s girl” or “she’s got too much on her plate to consider a relationship right now” would douse the flames that had been springing up lately.

Was fear holding him back in that area of his life too? He was tired of feeling that way. It was time to take a step forward with Mia.

As though called by his thoughts, a familiar frame, ponytail swinging, came walking toward him. Mia. Could she hear his heart beating from a hundred paces away?

“You missed Lily,” Mia called to him as she approached. “I just dropped her off at your parents’ place.”

“Shoot! I was hoping to catch her before she got out there.” He wanted to talk to Lily about this new resolve to pursue Mia. But now that she was in front of him, he wouldn’t wait to spend more time with her. “I needed a second pair of hands to hang some shelves. I don’t suppose you have time to help me?” Cody hooked his thumbs on his jean pockets. Maybe that would stop his hands from constantly reaching for Mia.

She took a quick look at her cell phone. “No SOS message yet,” she said. “I can probably give you an hour or so. Evie has the kids this morning, and she planned to keep them until lunchtime.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” He led the way into a nearby building. The small, twenty-foot by twenty-foot interior formerly housed a shop selling anything related to butterflies.

“How about a trade?” Mia’s eyes sparkled. “Jemma Swanson, you know, the glassblower? Anyway, her application was accepted, and she’s already been assigned a house. She won’t be able to make it to the in-person meeting, but everyone liked her so much we fast tracked her approval. She’s having some equipment delivered in a few days, and I said I would take the delivery. But today, Jemma emailed me what to expect to receive and it’s several very large boxes.”

“Okay…” He led her through the storefront to where the shelves needed to be hung. He’d already refinished the wood floor, and a smell of linseed hung in the air. He didn’t know which business had been assigned here, but Dani had requested he hang shelves along the far wall. “And?”

Mia spun in a circle. “I cannot get over how you’ve made these businesses come to life again. You have a real talent. Anyway…” She turned to face him again. “Would you come and help me move the boxes? I don’t think I can do it alone.”

Moving without thought, he stuck his hand out. “It’s a deal.” When she took his hand to shake it, the zing racing up his arm landed solidly in his heart. Yep. He should’ve kept it to himself. “Uh, the stuff is over here.”

They walked to the wall, and he made sure to be a step away from her, avoiding contact.

“I’ve already marked where the boards will need to go.” He picked one up and held it in place. “If you hold it, I can put the hardware in.”

“Got it.” She placed her hands near his. “What did you do yesterday?” She moved closer to mirror his grasp on the board.

His hands shook, and he gripped the board more tightly to keep them from slipping. “I actually took my speedboat out.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“You got this?” She nodded and he let go of the board. “Fun is not the word I would use.” He kept his tone neutral.

“Oh? What then?”

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