Read Online Sunflower Lane by Jill Gregory - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jill Gregory
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grandmother, Ava Louise Todd, seated at a table at the back of the room. Annabelle had been so excited to see Charlotte’s ring after her last dance class ended that she hadn’t even noticed anyone else in the place, but there were about a half dozen other customers at various tables and booths, enjoying fresh coffee, baked goods, salads, and sandwiches. Now she realized that across from Ava Louise Todd sat Ava’s daughter, Diana.
Wes’s mother.
Her stomach lurched. Then her glance shifted to another table.
Marissa Fields and Darby Kenton sat there, nibbling on salads.
Marissa had been Wes’s eighth-grade girlfriend at Lonesome Way Middle School. Though their “relationship” had lasted only a few weeks, typical for a couple of thirteen-year-old kids, Marissa had later dated Wes in high school for the last five months of senior year.
And back then, five months had been a record for Wes McPhee to be with just one girl.
He and Marissa had even gone to prom together.
Both Darby and Marissa were paying no attention at all to their untouched glasses of iced tea and had apparently been listening to every word.
“Mom, please . . .” Diana spoke quietly to her mother, but Ava Louise Todd seemed not to have heard.
“You could do worse than our Wes, you know,” the tiny white-haired woman called out to Annabelle, her soft but commanding voice carrying through the bakery. Her arm was in a cast at her side, and a wedge of blueberry pie sat on the plate before her—forgotten.
Her expression was as imperious as if she were the Queen of England.
She raised her voice. “I believe my grandson is staying in the cabin on your property, isn’t he, Annabelle? That’s what he told Sophie when he stopped by at lunchtime. He’s a fine-looking man; don’t you agree?”
“Gran. Stop, please.” Sophie’s expression was stern as she darted from the kitchen carrying plates of lemon meringue pie. She set them down in front of two women drinking coffee at a booth, then whirled back to her grandmother. “Please, Gran. Not another word.”
“Well, why not?” Ava dimpled. “Aside from your Rafe and those good-looking Tanner brothers of his, our Wes is the handsomest cowboy in this town. In any town, come to think of it. Don’t you girls agree? Tess, Charlotte, Annabelle, be honest. You must have noticed, my dears.”
“Wes is . . . very handsome,” Annabelle managed to squeak out.
“Of course he is. And sexy to boot!”
“But some of us are already taken, Mrs. Todd.” Tess intervened quickly as Annabelle sat frozen, fighting the temptation to slide beneath the table. “And”—Tess glanced at Annabelle curiously—“some of us didn’t even know that Wes was back in town.”
“Not to mention staying at your cabin,” Charlotte murmured, her expressive eyes pinned to Annabelle’s face. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I . . . didn’t have a chance. Besides, it’s no big deal. He needed someplace to stay—”
“Because he wants to be here while I’m recovering,” Ava announced proudly. “He promised me he’d stay until the Fourth of July. So it occurred to me that perhaps one of our lovely young single ladies in this town might draw his eye and convince him to stay on permanently.”
She peered carefully around the bakery, her gaze pausing momentarily on Darby and Marissa.
“That’s what I’m
hoping
, at least. And if anyone can convince him to stay here, I’d be in their debt.”
Then her twinkling eyes shifted to Annabelle once more. And softened.
“Did you hear what I said, Annabelle?”
“Please don’t look at me, Mrs. Todd. I have my hands full and I’m definitely not in the market for a man.”
“Even one as handsome and smart and wonderful as my grandson?”
“Gran!” Sophie choked out the word, then drew a breath. “Wes will take off like a shot if he hears you talking like this. We’ll never see him again.”
“But he’s not here, dear. This is just girl
Wes’s mother.
Her stomach lurched. Then her glance shifted to another table.
Marissa Fields and Darby Kenton sat there, nibbling on salads.
Marissa had been Wes’s eighth-grade girlfriend at Lonesome Way Middle School. Though their “relationship” had lasted only a few weeks, typical for a couple of thirteen-year-old kids, Marissa had later dated Wes in high school for the last five months of senior year.
And back then, five months had been a record for Wes McPhee to be with just one girl.
He and Marissa had even gone to prom together.
Both Darby and Marissa were paying no attention at all to their untouched glasses of iced tea and had apparently been listening to every word.
“Mom, please . . .” Diana spoke quietly to her mother, but Ava Louise Todd seemed not to have heard.
“You could do worse than our Wes, you know,” the tiny white-haired woman called out to Annabelle, her soft but commanding voice carrying through the bakery. Her arm was in a cast at her side, and a wedge of blueberry pie sat on the plate before her—forgotten.
Her expression was as imperious as if she were the Queen of England.
She raised her voice. “I believe my grandson is staying in the cabin on your property, isn’t he, Annabelle? That’s what he told Sophie when he stopped by at lunchtime. He’s a fine-looking man; don’t you agree?”
“Gran. Stop, please.” Sophie’s expression was stern as she darted from the kitchen carrying plates of lemon meringue pie. She set them down in front of two women drinking coffee at a booth, then whirled back to her grandmother. “Please, Gran. Not another word.”
“Well, why not?” Ava dimpled. “Aside from your Rafe and those good-looking Tanner brothers of his, our Wes is the handsomest cowboy in this town. In any town, come to think of it. Don’t you girls agree? Tess, Charlotte, Annabelle, be honest. You must have noticed, my dears.”
“Wes is . . . very handsome,” Annabelle managed to squeak out.
“Of course he is. And sexy to boot!”
“But some of us are already taken, Mrs. Todd.” Tess intervened quickly as Annabelle sat frozen, fighting the temptation to slide beneath the table. “And”—Tess glanced at Annabelle curiously—“some of us didn’t even know that Wes was back in town.”
“Not to mention staying at your cabin,” Charlotte murmured, her expressive eyes pinned to Annabelle’s face. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I . . . didn’t have a chance. Besides, it’s no big deal. He needed someplace to stay—”
“Because he wants to be here while I’m recovering,” Ava announced proudly. “He promised me he’d stay until the Fourth of July. So it occurred to me that perhaps one of our lovely young single ladies in this town might draw his eye and convince him to stay on permanently.”
She peered carefully around the bakery, her gaze pausing momentarily on Darby and Marissa.
“That’s what I’m
hoping
, at least. And if anyone can convince him to stay here, I’d be in their debt.”
Then her twinkling eyes shifted to Annabelle once more. And softened.
“Did you hear what I said, Annabelle?”
“Please don’t look at me, Mrs. Todd. I have my hands full and I’m definitely not in the market for a man.”
“Even one as handsome and smart and wonderful as my grandson?”
“Gran!” Sophie choked out the word, then drew a breath. “Wes will take off like a shot if he hears you talking like this. We’ll never see him again.”
“But he’s not here, dear. This is just girl
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