Page 3 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

WREN

RWL Superfan Discussion Central

Carly Ware: Season two is INCOMING! Where do you think Wren and Jude will go next?

Comments:

Jamie McCullough: There’s the old school! Ooh, or the prison?

Neve Bullock : Why would she renovate a prison?

Jamie McCullough: She could make it a community center!

Neve Bullock: I’m all for reusing spaces, but that one should be left alone.

Jamie McCollough : As the person who called Wren and Jude before the show even started, I can tell you that I see what others don’t.

Neve Bullock: They were obvious from the START.

Kerry Winsor: I know someone who knows Wren! I should ask if she knows anything!!!

“Wow,” I muttered to myself as I pulled into the gravel driveway.

I wasn’t sure what I expected, but most of my day had been un expected.

From the second I woke up, I knew I needed to get away.

Then my tire blew and I was sure I’d made the wrong choice.

Then a cute stranger stopped and kept me company while I put the spare on my truck.

I was sure the small-town charm was only a thing in Hallmark movies.

Maybe I was wrong.

But then Mollie’s new home was different from what I had pictured. She’d told me that it was massive, but I didn’t expect ... this .

The driveway had a newer-looking addition of a gravel parking lot. The farm was closed, but there were still a few strawberries out in the fields. The house sat farther back, standing tall with white siding and a beautiful porch.

I’d told Mollie to keep this place from the second I knew she’d inherited it, but it was even better in person. Like a dream come to life.

The air smelled sweet as I shut the door, a stark difference from the fresh wood I was used to and the slightly burnt brake smell my truck had given off when I changed the tire.

It was nice. The perfect place for me to find something to do.

As the season finished wrapping, I was only given a week off, but even that felt like too much. After the way things were left with Jude, I needed the distraction, and I figured Mollie’s old farmhouse would need some help. If she would have me, that is.

I’d been bad about keeping up with her. As time went on and I grew busier and busier, our text chain had mostly been her telling me about the show and asking for updates about Jude.

I’d been having a hard time responding.

If she were mad, I would understand. I would have been if I were in her situation. Hell, I had been when she would go quiet while she was with her asshole ex, Trevor. I was so determined to keep her in my life, and I hated the man who had tried to take her from me.

Now, I’d fallen into bad habits. It was too easy to.

I took a deep breath before walking up to the door and knocking.

The man who opened it was my height, with brown hair and a hulking frame.

Hot farmer , my brain instantly said. When Mollie first met him, that was all I knew him as. Over time, she had started calling him by his name. Cain.

I missed the version of me who screamed over text with Mollie about this man. I was determined to get that version of me back.

“Uh, hi.” His voice was uncertain. “You must be Wren.”

“You know me?”

“Mollie makes me watch your TV show.”

Had I become that famous? The thought made me nauseous. The show had been a fun way to do bigger projects, but now I realized it came with more strings than I could deal with. Strings like fame. And Jude.

“Right ...” Come on. Get it together. This had been easier when it was a stranger on the side of the road.

I’d probably never see that man again, even if I wanted to.

But this was Mollie’s boyfriend. She really liked him.

I needed to try to be my usual self. “It’s nice to meet you, by the way. Hopefully you’re treating her right.”

“I’m trying to.”

Cain looked me over and I tensed. There was no way he could know I was off. I needed to get this in check before Mollie saw me.

“Hey, Mollie!” he called. “Come here a sec.”

Never mind.

“Is it pie-tasting time?”

Mollie smiled when she saw me and the tightness in my chest loosened. She’d cut her hair. I’d only ever seen her with it longer, but it looked incredible. “Oh my God ! You’re here.” She pulled me into a hug and I could have cried . She didn’t hate me. “I was worried about you!”

“No need to be worried,” I explained. “Just needed some time to get affairs in order.”

Technically, I needed to get affairs in order now. I’d be going back to Nashville soon to film season two of Renovating with Love , immediately followed by a complete remodel of an old house, both of which would keep me away from my best friend for months on end. So, I was making time to catch up.

Mollie immediately narrowed her eyes. “You’re sad.”

Dammit. Curse my beautiful, kind, smart best friend.

“No, I’m not.”

“Come on. I know you. What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Wren . . .”

“I’m done with filming,” I said. “And that’s what’s important. I wanted to see the town you moved to and ... get away for a bit.”

“Get away from what?”

I thought of Jude. Of the cameras. Of the way my chest ached any time I thought of anything to do with Renovating with Love .

“Everything.” My voice came out dark. Mollie raised an eyebrow, expecting me to elaborate.

But this had broken open a part of me I’d buried a long time ago. Something that no one, not even my best friend, knew about.

“Okay,” Mollie said. “You’re welcome to stay with us. Right, Cain?”

“Yep. I can get the guest room ready.”

I gave them both a grateful smile and stepped inside. Cain disappeared up the stairs to get to the guest room, and I finally looked around. I’d been so focused on the two of them that I hadn’t seen the house.

It was just as incredible inside as it was on the outside. The floors were old hardwood, stained in the original warm-toned yellow. The walls were blue and welcoming and coupled with original wood trim. It was a little outdated, but very homey. Just the way I liked to start with projects.

This part of the house was more than likely exactly how it was built. I could imagine what it would look like with some work.

“Wow. This is so spacious.”

It would be even more so without a few of the walls.

“Thank you. I can’t take credit for the furniture. That was all Papa Bennie’s and Cain’s doing.”

My gaze traveled over the small couch and the different storage baskets. When I’d worked with Jude, he expected me to do all of the decorating. I wasn’t sure why men either refused to look at design or chose the most industrial, soulless things, but it infuriated me.

As did even the thought of him.

“You’re thinking pretty hard about something,” Mollie said. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Is the kitchen this way?” I asked, walking toward the back of the house.

I was greeted with an old tile floor. It was white and worn with age, as were the countertops, the tiles decorated with hand-painted leaves.

That would definitely be staying. “Wow. All original. Both here and the living room.”

“Yep. Just as Papa Bennie left it.”

“You know, this has room to put in an island. And I bet butcher block would look great with the original tile.” I could see it now. Modern comforts and space with the classics that Bennie left her. I could easily pull all-nighters to get it done.

But then I looked at Mollie, her arms crossed. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a break?”

I blinked. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help my best friend make the house of her dreams.”

Her gaze was downright calculating. “But I have the house of my dreams.”

“What? You don’t wanna change anything?”

She shook her head.

“Seriously?”

“I know it’s not perfect, but I can’t think of a single thing I’d change. This place is how he left it. And while it might not be magazine perfect, it feels like home. Isn’t that the most important thing?”

I blinked. I’d known she loved this place and wouldn’t want to change much, but surely there had to be something I could do. When I walked in, I’d seen a bunch of things I would have done if it were mine.

But it wasn’t mine. It was Mollie’s. Of course she’d want to keep the inside exactly as it was.

“Are you sure there’s nothing ? Not even outside? What about a fence? A new house for the animals?” I’d never tried anything like that before. I bet it would be a ton of work.

Exactly what I wanted.

“Wren.” Her voice was gentle. “You just got done renovating a whole mansion . Relax and take your break. You’ll need it for when you work on season two.”

“But—”

“Cain and I have a good handle on the farm. You need to take your break.”

Fuck. If she didn’t have anything for me to fix, then I’d have to do what I was supposed to be doing.

The director, Madison, had told me to use my break to find a new place to renovate in Nashville for the upcoming season.

We’d found a few options, but none were bigger and better than the mansion we’d just finished.

When time kept passing without us deciding on something, she’d grown more and more annoyed.

Now she wanted all hands on deck to get this figured out.

Even I had to chip in, despite everyone knowing I needed this week off.

So I came here anyway. It was petty, but the slight rebellion after letting her tell me what to do felt nice.

And what felt nice was catching up with Mollie and finding something to swing a hammer at.

“I’ll try to relax,” I said. “But you know me.”

“You love working,” she replied. “But you have a second season that’ll be keeping you busy soon, right?”

Too soon.

“ That can wait.”

“Really? They’re waiting? It’s so popular, even here. I bet half of the town has seen it by now, and they started it before I told them I knew you.”

My stomach rolled again. Seriously? Half the town knew me as Wren from Renovating with Love ? Fuck. They’d see me as the Wren who was with Jude. The one who flirted so hard it nearly killed her.

And who was I now? Just Wren. Just a woman looking for something to fix.

“Wren, what happened on the show?” Mollie asked. “Was it not what you expected?”

“The show was great,” I said. “And I loved where the mansion ended up.”

“But?”

“There’s no but. It was just great.”

Mollie squinted at me. She knew I was hiding something, and I wouldn’t blame her for being mad at me for keeping it from her.

I couldn’t talk about it. At least not when I had to go back in a week and do it all over again.

“Fine,” she said. “I get what it’s like to have some bad things happen. Things you’re not ready to talk about.”

“Do you mean Trevor?”

“Yes,” she said. “And, you know, it took a while for me to open up about it. And it wasn’t easy, but when I did, I felt so much better.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It was kinda like magic.”

“Guest room’s ready!” a voice called, and both of us turned to see a short kid with dark hair and wide eyes.

“Hey, Eric. Meet my friend, Wren.”

Eric waved so hard that he almost fell over.

This was a very cute kid. But I had no idea why he was here.

“Oh!” Mollie said. “Did I tell you Cain was a dad?”

“You did not,” I said, turning back to Eric. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I thanked every god that my voice sounded somewhat normal. Because inside, I felt like melting into a puddle on the floor. I’d played off how much I’d missed Mollie, but the fact that she had been living with a kid this whole time and I didn’t know? Yeah, it stung.

I wasn’t angry with her. She couldn’t help that she’d had the adventure of a lifetime, that she’d gone out on a limb and found love and family out here. I’d never ask her to hold off for me to be free.

But I missed it. I missed all of this for a show that I wasn’t even thrilled with. For the opportunity that tried to break me.

“Are you okay?” Eric asked, tilting his head to the side.

Oh God. The kid noticed I was sad? Fuck. I had to get it together.

“Just a little tired.” I laughed and shook my head. “But once I’m over it, I have to get to know you.”

“I’m sorry,” Mollie said. “I should have mentioned it in my texts.”

“No, don’t be. You had a lot going on.”

“We both did. And trust me, you’ll know everything that happened here.”

Sure, I’d know. But I didn’t get to see it.

“Eric, did you tell Wren what I told you to?” Cain asked.

“Yes,” Eric said. “We were all having a moment.”

Cain walked into the room, took one look at me, and raised his hands innocently. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You’re being way more considerate of her than you were me.” Mollie crossed her arms. “Rude.”

“I’m trying this new thing where I don’t look like an a—” He stopped. “Butt.”

Eric snickered.

“That was you that almost let a curse word slip this time,” Mollie said.

“You’re a bad influence.”

“I’m a great influence. What about when I taught Eric how to hold a ladder?”

“That’s gonna be great until he climbs it and falls off a roof like you did.”

“At least you rescued me.”

I looked between them, jaw agape. Mollie had never been like this with Trevor. Here she was comfortable and happy.

And apparently fell off a roof.

I swallowed the cotton in my throat. “You guys will definitely have to tell me that story soon, but I think I need to go to bed.”

“Okay!” Mollie said. “Take all the time you need.”

Cain looked at the window, where sunlight was still streaming in, and then at me.

Mollie elbowed him.

“Yeah! Yep! You do that.”

“It’s still dayli—” Eric went to say, but both Mollie and Cain shushed him.

They were so cute. God, it was making things worse. I walked past them and up the stairs. I went to the only room with an open door. The room had a bed and a dresser. The walls were green and the lighting was low. I opened the closet to put my bags away and spotted a pile of scrapbooks on a shelf.

Pulling one down, a lot of them had Mollie as a kid, younger than even I knew her. I opened the rest of them, stopping when I got to a scrapbook that was brand new and hadn’t been filled yet.

I didn’t ever meet Papa Bennie, but I could feel his love even now. Mollie was incredibly lucky, even though he was gone.

Images of Mollie’s smile at Cain, this new side of her that I’d been absent for, filled my mind, making my sadness even worse.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I needed to find something to do in my week off. I needed to catch up with Mollie. Then I needed to go back to Jude and the show.

But how did I do that when I didn’t feel like myself?