Dress Me in Wildflowers (10 page)

It didn’t matter now anyway. Those ladies and that more genteel time were gone. All that remained was a little, forgotten town on the road to nowhere.

Even so, it was a pretty town. She stopped as she emerged from the historic district at the edge of downtown. The courthouse had survived the Civil War intact, not something many of the surrounding counties could boast. The brick buildings lining the square had the year they were built etched in stone at the roofline — 1826, 1840, 1862. Along with the courthouse, they’d survived mainly because this area of the state had sided with the Union during the Civil War.

As she walked along the courtsquare, she returned two phone calls. When she ended the second call, she glanced at her watch and picked up her pace.

She rounded the corner onto Main Street and headed for the drugstore. Just past the courthouse, she paused again, this time in front of the old Ivy Springs Inn. Her heart squeezed. She couldn’t believe how alone and neglected the two-story Federal style building looked now. When she’d been young, it had captured her imagination.

Farrin hadn’t been inside since she was five, but she’d dreamed of those endless rooms, filled with antiques and a feeling of Revolutionary times. During her childhood, her grandparents had operated it as a hotel. After their deaths, three months apart, the struggling hotel had gone through several ownership changes. Now, it sat with a tattered “For Sale” sign tacked to the front door.

Farrin crossed the street and read the asking price. She ran her hand over the familiar carved ivy on the door, marveling at the simplistic but beautiful design. Kind of like her dresses.

She looked down the street, at the residents coming in and out of the courthouse, an older woman leaving the Merchants Bank with a scarf tied under her chin. The town wasn’t only old, it felt old. There wasn’t much youth or vitality. No wonder no one wanted to stay in a hotel here. Other than hiking in the mountains, what was there to do or see? Sadness washed over her. How many towns were there like this, ones hanging on by their fingernails before the winds of change blew them off the map?

And why did she care?

Because despite her bitter feelings toward people like Janie and her parents, some good people like Faye and Opal had called Oak Valley home their entire lives.

She returned her attention to the building. And before she and her mother had moved to Oak Valley, this had seemed like a magical place where her grandma baked her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and her grandpa let her “help” around the inn. She smiled at the memory of checking in a guest when she hadn’t even been as tall as the counter.

She walked to the edge of the inn and looked over the low brick wall into what had once been the immaculate courtyard. Now it looked dead and forgotten with overgrown flowerbeds and iron furniture that needed new paint. People had even used the area as their personal trash can. Three bags from fast food restaurants lay next to the far wall where the wind had blown them.

Farrin wished she could pack up the building and take it with her. She imagined how displays of her work would look in the rooms, how weddings could be held in the restored courtyard.

With a sigh, Farrin moved away from the wall and resumed her trek toward the drugstore. Her stomach growled as she pulled open the store’s front door and heard the tinkle of the little silver bell that still announced the arrival of customers. She spotted Tammie in one of the three red vinyl booths below the giant Coca-Cola mirror.

“How did it go?” Tammie asked as Farrin slid into the booth opposite her.

“Fine, better than I expected.”

“Did you think the bluehairs were going to attack?”

Farrin laughed. “Not exactly. It’s just . . . been a long time since I’ve been here.”

“And you were worried that everything would be the same as it always was before.”

“Something like that.” Farrin looked around the drugstore. It had been spiffed up, but the feeling and atmosphere remained. The black-and-white checked floor and red stools at the counter now co-existed with an expresso machine and a low-carb menu. “It does feel like a bit of a time warp here.”

“Things change, even if they don’t look like it at first glance.”

“I guess.” She looked back at Tammie, who’d tamed her bed head since she’d seen her a few hours ago. “Listen, I owe you an apology for not staying in touch better. I’ve been so incredibly busy, I can’t see straight.”

“Is that really the reason, Farrin? That you’re too busy?”

Farrin looked into Tammie’s eyes and knew that not only was she lying to her friend, she was lying to herself. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Tammie sighed. “You know, I can understand wanting to leave some things in the past, but you don’t have to forget everything. Not everything or everyone was awful.”

“I know that.” She did, really. But somehow everything associated with Oak Valley, even the good things, had become wrapped up in one tight ball she’d wanted to forget. She spun the sweaty glass of water in front of her.

A waitress came to the table and took their orders. Farrin tacked on a large chocolate milkshake in one of the frosty mugs to her chicken sandwich.

“I’ve got to get back to New York before I gain twenty pounds.”

“They got you eating tofu and sprouts? You’re so skinny.”

“Hardly.”

“No really, you look like you’re not taking care of yourself.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re as beautiful as ever, but you look tired and overworked.”

“That’s just the way things are.”

“They don’t have to be. You’re a successful woman. You can stand to take a break.”

Farrin sighed. “It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve got bills to pay. Can you up and leave your business anytime you want to?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“It’s not the same.” Tammie’s employees knew how to bake her signature cakes. Justine wasn’t going to be sketching fantail gowns anytime soon.

“Why?” Suspicion laced Tammie’s question.

“It’s not because my business is more important than yours, so get that thought right out of your head.”

“Did I say anything?”

“You didn’t have to. You got those lines on your forehead.”

“I don’t have lines on my forehead,” Tammie said as the lines disappeared.

Farrin stifled a smile. “You do know I can read your emotions like a paperback novel, don’t you? Even if I have been a crappy friend and not seen you in forever.”

Tammie exhaled in mock disgust. “Yes, you’re very annoying.”

Farrin couldn’t hold in her laugh any longer. “It really is good to see you. And I really am sorry.”

Farrin expected Tammie to wave off the apology, to make light of it. That she didn’t told Farrin the relationship wasn’t totally mended. She would do better. Wasn’t that what cell phones and e-mail were for?

“You should come to New York soon. Have a girls’ weekend.”

“The next time the kids have me pulling my hair out, I might take you up on that. You know you’ll have to visit a dozen bakeries, don’t you?”

“Of course, I’m well aware of the arts of inspiration and imitation.”

“Yeah, I noticed a couple of your rivals doing a little bit of that.”

The first time it had happened, Farrin had been furious. That combination of fabric and neckline had been her idea, not the designer who debuted it in Europe. Now, it no longer surprised her to have elements of her designs show up in other lines. It was part of the business, and she wasn’t the only top designer who was copied by those hoping to capitalize on favorable comparisons to names such as Taylor, Wang and Herrera. As long as it wasn’t an exact copy bearing her name, there wasn’t any legal recourse.

“Constant innovation to stay ahead of the game, that’s the key to staying successful.”

As they ate their meal, Farrin discovered how hers and Tammie’s businesses were really not so different despite the sizes of their stages. She caught up on what was going on with Tammie’s two dynamos, Amie and Danielle, and Kurt’s latest promotion.

“You said you weren’t dating anyone,” Tammie said. “Surely you go out some.”

Farrin slurped the last of her milkshake before pushing the glass to the edge of the table and leaning back against the booth.

“I’m not good with relationships. I’m too busy for anything but an occasional dinner.”

“So maybe you should hook up with Drew while you’re here. He’s single.”

That surprised her.

“I’m only going to be here another hour or so.”

“You can do a lot in an hour.”

“Tammie! What has gotten into you? I don’t exactly have the best past with him.”

Tammie shrugged. “I’m teasing. And I’m sure he’s sorry about how he blew you off back then.”

Blew her off. That sounded so tame compared to how it had felt when Janie’s minion Amber Jamison had stolen Farrin’s letter confessing how she felt about Drew and given it to him right in front of her. He’d read maybe one paragraph before throwing it in the trash, much to the amusement of his jock friends and The Terrible Trio. After their laughter had faded down the hallway, she’d retrieved the letter. After getting home that afternoon, she’d burned the letter and sobbed until she thought her lungs would collapse.

“He’s probably like a lot of the women at that meeting this morning, wanting to rub elbows with someone who actually got out of this place.”

“Drew left. Lived and worked in D.C. for a while. But he came back.”

“Probably likes being the big fish in the little pond better than the little fish in the big pond.”

“He’s not like that. He’s a nice guy now.”

“I’m sure he’s marvelous.”

“He helped Mom with her garden.”

“I know. She told me. Why is he doing landscaping? Did he flunk out of law school?”

“No, he’s an attorney, but he piddles with the landscape stuff.”

“So if he’s so fabulous, why isn’t he married?”

Tammie raised her eyebrows. “You’ve lived here. One thing that hasn’t changed is the slim pickings in the dating pool.”

“Seems like a silly move for a single guy, then.” Maybe he’d grow old alone. Justice served.

“Maybe. Still, ironic that you’re both single.”

“You,” Farrin said as she pointed at Tammie, “are still an incurable romantic if you’re so desperate to fix someone up that you’re trying to push me and Drew together.”

“Well, you must have some romantic notions. You design wedding dresses, for crying out loud.”

“Moving on to other topics . . . ” The bell over the door tinkled.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Tammie said.

****

Farrin turned in time to see Janie Carlisle enter the door and head for the counter. She looked better this morning, but still drained of anything resembling color. As if to match her pallor, she wore a limp pantsuit in a very unbecoming shade of taupe.

“I saw her mother this morning,” Farrin said. “I’m guessing it was the first Homemakers Club meeting she’s ever attended.”

“Yeah, for some reason I just can’t picture her canning beans or crocheting baby blankets.”

“She actually asked me if I’d display some of my latest designs in the front window of her shop.”

“Get out.”

“It’s true. I nearly bit off my tongue.”

“See, I told you people would be sorry one day, that you were going to show everyone that where and how you grew up didn’t mean squat.”

Farrin smiled. “Yes, you did, and I owe you big time for that.”

“Oh good, then I’d like to collect. Call and postpone your flight home. I’m staying for a couple more days, and I really want you to stay, too.”

“Tammie—”

“Don’t you dare start making excuses. I know you finished the design for Cara Hutton’s dress, so you can stop stressing out and relax for a couple of days.”

“It’s not the only thing I’m working on. I have a stack of Oscar gown orders half an inch thick for regular customers. And that’s not counting the nominees we’re courting to dress for awards season.”

“Have your assistant fax them to you. And yes, we have fax machines here. You know, I bet Drew has one in his office.”

“Cut it out with the Drew stuff!”

“Excuse me.”

The interruption was so soft Farrin almost didn’t hear it. But when she turned, she saw Janie standing there looking like she might collapse at any moment. Did the woman not have an ounce of blood running through her veins?

“I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to thank you for helping me last night.”

“No problem,” Farrin said, wishing she and Tammie had left the drugstore sooner.

“I’m sorry I missed your speech. I heard from some of the homemakers that the one this morning was really good.”

Farrin forced a smile that felt like it was going to crack her face. How was she supposed to respond? “They were very nice.” She paused, wishing Janie would take a hint and leave. But Janie seemed rooted to the floor. “I saw your mother there.”