Also by Leanne Stanfield
Dedication
For Dave, Jenna, Robbie, and Rebecca
with thanks and love.
Chapter One
The purple dawn sky was just fading to orange when Kara Sullivan unlocked and swung open the gate to the garden center’s driveway. After hooking the padlock on the fencepost, she jumped back into the cab of her rusty red Jeep Wrangler and continued down the long and rutted driveway toward the main building.
Glancing in her rearview mirror, she pushed a dark curl off her forehead and checked on Maeve, who had fallen asleep in her car seat. Her daughter was held upright only by her straining seat belt. The thumb she had been sucking was dropped by her side, and her head was cushioned by a stuffed pink pig as she slumped against the window.
“Sorry, baby,” Kara whispered, pushing harder on the sticky gear shifter to force it into place. “I wish I could have left you at home, snug as a bug in your own bed, but I need to be here early today.”
As they sped by the large neon-colored SALE sign staked into a mound of mulch bags at the far side of the garden center entranceway, Kara sent a silent prayer up to the shopping gods. Business at the garden center had been slow recently, and she needed to figure out exactly how to change that and get things back on track or soon there wouldn’t be enough money left to pay the rent for the bed that she wished she could have left her daughter in.
Pulling into her usual parking spot at the back of the garden center, Kara frowned and watched in her rearview mirror as a beautiful full-size black Mercedes turned up the long garden center driveway and headed toward her. Climbing out of her truck, she started to wave and motion that the nursery wasn’t open for business yet, but quickly thought better of it. Traffic, even this early, could mean sales, and she couldn’t afford to turn away customers. Plastering what she hoped was a welcoming look on her face, she ran a hand over her ponytail and turned her wave from one of dismissal into one of welcome.
The man driving the impressive car gave her a quick salute in return before pulling into a parking space close to the store’s front entrance. Kara glanced down at her watch and saw that it was exactly six. She sighed and watched the man stretch and then climb out of the driver’s seat.
What type of person would think we’d be open for business this early?
“Hi there,” she greeted him with a smile, taking a step toward him and leaving the truck’s door open so she’d hear Maeve if she woke up.
“Hello, I didn’t think anyone would be here at this time of the morning, but when I saw you pulling in and opening the gates, I thought I might as well come in and look around.”
Kara nodded. “I’m glad you did,” she replied. “We’re not always open for business this early, but we’re always happy to help if we are. Is there anything in particular I can help you find?” she asked while turning to unlock the door behind her. Stepping to one side, she motioned he should enter the garden center. “I’ll be glad to show you around, but I just need one minute to get myself sorted,” she added. Glancing behind her, she saw with relief that Maeve had not woken up. Kara’s shoulders relaxed, and she gave the man a smile. “Can I just leave you to look around on your own for a moment while I fetch something from my truck? I only need a minute.”
Kara barely waited for the man’s nod of agreement before she ran back into the parking lot, unclipped Maeve’s seat belt, and scooped the sleeping child from her booster seat. Cradling the girl gently against her shoulder, Kara hurriedly unlocked the side wooden door that led into the garden center’s small office and gently laid Maeve down on the lumpy old couch shoved against the back wall. After covering her with a soft, colorful blanket that was kept there especially for her use, she watched her daughter cuddle deeper into the sofa pillows and let out a sigh of contentment as she settled back down to sleep again. Maeve had been napping in the corner of this office since she was an infant. The crib she’d once used had been swapped out almost a year ago for this ancient but comfortable couch, and now the place was as familiar to the little girl as her own bed at home.
“Thank you, baby,” Kara whispered, knowing that her daughter could have woken up, disoriented and distraught. Grabbing her keys and the small receiver for the baby monitor, she slipped both into the pocket of a pretty, oversized apron that was embroidered with the garden center’s name and hastily tied up the back before stifling a yawn and making her way out of the office to find her first customer of the day.
Hurrying through the garden center, Kara couldn’t help but admire how pretty everything looked. She had recently spent several long weekends repainting the light green walls and reorganizing the store’s stock. After purging some of the merchandise that had been hanging around unsold a bit too long, she was thrilled with the fresh, uncluttered look and hoped that her changes would help improve sales.
When Kara finally found her customer, he was standing in front of two large outdoor planters, circling each with a furrowed brow and a serious look on his face. Kara knew from experience that when customers studied her creations for this long, it usually meant they’d walk away with a purchase. At least, she hoped this man would. It would be nice to make a big sale to start the day.
As she approached him, he looked up and smiled. Kara’s breath caught for a moment as twin dimples flashed in his cheeks and soft lines crinkled attractively around his eyes. He was tall and his well-cut clothes nicely showed off his slim waist, wide shoulders, and muscular arms.
Wow.
Kara blinked and swallowed hard before blinking again. How had she missed how gorgeous this man was when she first saw him? Perhaps she really was too preoccupied with the store as Mark, her twin brother, was always accusing her of being?
Kara cleared her throat. “Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked and winced when she realized she sounded slightly breathless. “We do custom orders too, so if you don’t see anything you like here, I can easily have something made up exactly to your specifications,” she added.
Next to Kara’s five-foot-two petite frame, he towered over her. His blond hair was cut short, and although Kara had always admired men who wore their hair a little longer, this super short haircut on him worked nicely.
Very nicely.
“No,” he replied with a shrug. “These both look good to me. The problem is, I really don’t know what I’m looking for. My business partner told me we needed flowers outside our office door to spiff things up a bit, but honestly, I’m a little out of my league here. I need something I won’t kill and that’ll look nice under an awning, so if you could provide any guidance about which of these would work best for that, I’d appreciate the help.”
Kara smiled. “Well, if it’s an outside planter you’re looking for, you’re in the right spot, and if you’re looking for something this size and are trying to choose between these two, I would suggest going with the one on the left. It’s planted with shade flowers, which is perfect if the arrangement is going to be placed under an awning because it doesn’t need a lot of direct sunlight.”
His brow furrowed as he looked back at the containers. “Right. That makes sense. Okay, I guess I’ll take this one,” he said, gesturing to the planter on the left.
“Great, just let me write up a bill for you, then. Do you need it delivered too? We offer free delivery in town,” Kara said. “I can have one of our trucks drop it off later today if you like.”
The man shook his head. “No, that’s fine. I think it should fit in the back of my car. That way, I can have it placed in front of the door should Courtney come into the office today. That’ll really impress her.”
“Courtney Blackstone?”
He raised one eyebrow. “You know her?”
“I do. Since we were kids,” Kara replied and, reaching over, tugged the price tag off the arrangement. “She’s lovely,” she added before heading to the store's front counter and pressing a few keys to power up the register. She smiled at him. “Can I help you with anything else?” she asked. “We also design flower arrangements. Do you have a reception area that needs a welcoming plant or display? I’d be happy to put something together for you.”
He shook his head. “No, we’re just a small office, and the only receptionist we have so far is ourselves. But I’ll keep it in mind for when we expand. It would be nice to have something green out front.”
As Kara took the man’s credit card from him, she read the name—Scott Davidson. She liked it. It suited this handsome and well-dressed man.
After she had finished ringing up the sale, she handed the card back to him with a smile. “Well, thank you, Mr. Davidson. I’ll just grab some plastic sheets to line and protect the back of your car, and then I’ll give you a hand getting the planter loaded in.”
Scott nodded as she handed him his receipt, along with her business card.
“Just Scott is fine,” he replied, glancing at it. “And thank you, Kara. I appreciate your help.”
“No problem. Now, let me see if I can find a cart to help us move this out to your car for you.”
After Kara pushed the small dolly into position, Scott easily lifted the heavy urn onto it, and she couldn’t help but notice how impressively his biceps bulged under his button-down shirt. She felt a small pang of desire roll through her stomach, and heat flushed her cheeks.
Stop it.
Silently scolding herself while steadying the planter on the cart, Kara slowly wheeled the dolly to the garden center’s front door when suddenly, from the pocket of her apron, came a loud thud and then the muffled rustling of cloth—the unmistakable sound of a fall. Kara straightened.
Scott's eyes widened, and all the hairs on the back of Kara's neck stood on end as a high-pitched and pain-filled wail emanated from the baby monitor.
Maeve!
Kara shot Scott a startled look, dropped the handle to the dolly, and ran toward the sound of her daughter’s cries, with him following closely behind.
Chapter Two
“That’s weird,” Rachel muttered to herself as the line rang several times before it kicked over to voice mail. She disconnected the call without leaving a message. Biting down on her bottom lip, she scanned the almost empty parking lot around her and tried to decide what to do next.
