Page 5 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

WREN

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Atticus Thompson: Whose cow is this?

Comments:

Kerry Winsor: @Mollie Wilson , is it one of y’all’s?

Mollie Wilson : Oh SHIT. THAT’S MOOSLEY.

Atticus Thompson: Your Moosley pooped on my porch.

Mollie Wilson: Use it for whoever pisses you off next. Trust me, it works.

Kerry Winsor: Are you speaking from experience?? How did that happen?

Mollie Wilson : It was Cain’s doing, you’ll have to ask him about it.

Kerry Winsor: We’re just now getting along!!! Do you really think I can text him about POOP?

There are the yellow irises.

Kerry was still talking in my ear, but I was too busy trying to find the flowers. The first one was near a plaque that had information on the town. And now I wanted to read it.

But she was dragging me to the diner and I had to focus on looking as normal as possible. Thankfully, Kerry seemed to be as deep as a puddle of water. All she could talk about was the show, and she hadn’t looked twice at me to parse out how I was feeling.

The diner was a short walk from the store, and I let my eyes take in more of the town square.

I’d come here to fix the flickering light bulb in Mollie’s bathroom.

She’d been busy working in the fields, and I tore off to town before she could get on my case about relaxing.

I thought I could figure out something to bide my time, but Henry was right. Mollie would kill me if I kept at it.

I just needed something else to do.

Once I finished this meal with Kerry, I would find the rest of the irises. That would keep me busy for maybe an hour.

Kerry opened the door to the diner, pulling me inside.

I was met with pink walls and checkered tile—a pinnacle small-town diner.

Madison had wanted us to find a place like this in Nashville to do some of our filming.

We’d made it work, but most of the old-time establishments had closed down in favor of newer, flashier restaurants.

Places in the city were forced to grow or close.

It was nice seeing something stay the same.

A woman with dyed blonde hair and a name tag that read Dakota turned around. She took a look at Kerry and me and put her hands on her hips.

“Now who did you find?” she asked. “Please tell me you haven’t started kidnapping people to fill your time.”

Kerry scoffed. “I only need to because you’re so rude. This is Wren. You’ve heard of her.”

Dakota hummed and looked at me. Then she paused, eyes widening when she realized who I was.

“Here I am,” I said, hoping my laugh didn’t sound awkward.

“Can you believe we have a star here?” Kerry asked. I resisted the urge to run again. “I can’t believe Mollie knew her the entire time.”

A star ? Is that what I wanted to be? Sure, being a Nashville local legend had its perks, but stardom?

“Don’t put the poor woman on a pedestal before you even get to know her.” Dakota rolled her eyes. “Nice to meet you, kid. I’m Tammy.”

“Tammy?” I asked, blinking. “But your name tag says Dakota.”

She laughed. “Gotcha! I always wear the wrong one. Keeps things fresh.”

“Her last name isn’t even on the Facebook group,” Kerry added. “It’s all her husband. He’s secretive.”

“Ron likes his privacy, and I do too. Though I like watching Kerry freak out about deer too.”

“Hey! My Brussels sprouts deserved better!”

Tammy let out a full-bellied laugh before looking at me. “You want a table by yourself?”

“What?” Kerry asked. “I invited her here!”

“And if you make her feel weird, she’ll never like it here either.”

Tammy had just met me, but the fact that she was so determined to make me feel welcome was so sweet. Just like Henry had been when he made sure I could get into town okay.

Slowly, a little of the ice in my chest melted. Minutes ago, I’d thought it was a good thing Kerry hadn’t looked twice at me to figure out how I was feeling. I’d been wrong.

“I’m okay, but thank you. A kind doctor told me to get to know the people here, so I will.”

“A kind doctor? You mean Henry?” Tammy asked.

“She was talking to him in Food ‘n’ Things when I walked in,” Kerry said. “He’s a sweet guy. Keeps to himself, though.”

“Mostly,” Tammy added. “He does warn us about health hazards .”

They both turned to look at an old man who was sipping coffee in the corner. Kerry shuddered and leaned over to me. “ Don’t shake his hand.”

“Why not?”

“Just trust me on this one.”

Tammy grabbed menus and led us to a booth. I sat across from Kerry, but then Tammy sat right beside me.

“Don’t mind me joining you. I’m here to make sure Kerry doesn’t run you off.”

“Hey, I’m very nice.”

“And so am I. But I know when to close my mouth.”

“My big mouth has done things for this town. You just want to get to know Wren too.”

“I do.” Tammy turned to me and my stomach flipped.

“I’m not as interesting as I appear on TV,” I warned.

“I don’t care about who you are on TV. I know everyone’s order in town, and now I can’t say that I do. I wanna know what you like .”

“And if it’s French toast, you’re boring,” Kerry said.

“Cain will hate you again if he hears you say that,” Tammy scolded.

“Mollie loves French toast too,” I added.

“They’re two peas in a pod,” Tammy replied. “But don’t dodge the question. My life’s easier when I know everyone.”

I glanced down at the menu. “Probably an omelet with some toast.”

“Protein heavy,” Tammy said. “Is that how you got so tall?”

“That was all genetics, I’m afraid. My dad was six foot five.”

“Was?” Kerry asked. “Ow!”

“‘Was’ hints at something you don’t ask a near stranger about,” Tammy hissed.

“Did you just kick me?”

“It got your attention, didn’t it? Should’ve done that a lot sooner.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “My dad passed a few years ago because of a heart attack. I miss him, but I can talk about it.”

“I’m so sorry, though,” Kerry said. “If it makes you feel any better, we’re all like a family here.”

“One big, gross, dysfunctional family,” Tammy added, looking at Hugh.

“Don’t make me think about Hugh while I’m also thinking of food. I’ll never be able to look at him the same way after what he posted in the Facebook group.”

“I’d show you, but you’d leave and never come back,” Tammy said to me. “Now, what’s gonna be your usual? First meal is on the house.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked.

“You didn’t do that for me,” Kerry protested with a frown.

“You were a kid when you first came here. And I was a teenager.”

Kerry sniffed. “You could have pulled some strings.”

“Well, you weren’t as cute as she is. I mean, look at her! She and Mollie could break hearts!”

“Ooh, I bet they did.”

Both women giggled.

I looked down at my outfit. My long hair was braided and I wore overalls. Most of the time, when people looked at me, they told me I could be cuter if I dressed up.

Madison had. I was sure she was going to angle to give me some glow-up in season two.

A warmth spread through me, making me feel a little more like myself.

“Thanks,” I said quietly. “I needed to hear that.”

“Any time, kid.” Tammy patted my shoulder and stood. “Now, tell me what you’re drinking and what to put on that omelet, and then I’ll come back and chat some more.”

I told her my toppings and drink just before a loud voice interrupted us.

“Tammy!” Hugh called. “I need a refill.”

Her smile fell in the blink of an eye.

She turned to Hugh. “That’s the fourth one! I’m cutting you off!”

“Don’t make me leave a goggle review!”

“Once again, it’s called Google!” Tammy yelled over her shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen.

I’d left the diner with a full belly and a good mood much later than I intended.

Talking to both Kerry and Tammy took up most of the morning, and I spent the afternoon exploring the town square.

I thought finding all of the irises would take me a few minutes at most, but as I circled the whole square and then the surrounding roads, I was getting frustrated.

Henry seemed like a kind guy, but he’d sent me on a wild-goose chase, and I was pretty sure it was a damn prank.

It was nice to slow down and see the history of Strawberry Springs, but I was on a mission.

I’d found every one of the irises except for the dark purple ones, though he might have misspoken about those.

However, to be missing a color made my little scavenger hunt feel unsatisfying.

A lot of things had felt that way lately.

I figured the clinic closed at five, so I busied myself with weeding until late afternoon in hopes I could run into him and ask about the last irises.

“Wow,” a voice said. “You took what I said seriously.”

I pulled the last weed out of the ground next to the playground and turned to Henry. He had his hands behind his back and watched me with a small smile on his face. In the light of the late afternoon sun, he was cute.

Really cute.

I’d thought it the first time I’d met him too.

Ever since pursuing Jude, I’d put all of my attention on him. I hadn’t noticed a man ever since. At least I could notice someone else.

“All colors, you said. And yet, there are no dark purple irises.” I sat back on my heels. “Am I a joke to you?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “To be fair, I didn’t know you’d get to work so quickly.”

“You gave me a task. I got it done. Up until you tricked me.” I pointed at him. “You seem to be a nice, friendly doctor. But you have another side of you, don’t you?”

His shoulders tensed for a second, and I wondered if I’d stuck my foot in my mouth. But then he was back to normal.

“The last one was a bit of a trick,” he replied. “But they are here.”

“If you tell me they’re in my soul, I might throw a dandelion at you.”

“Those are medicinal, you know.”

“Please tell me more about medicinal weeds after I find this dark purple iris.” I brushed off my hands after tossing the weed. I made to stand and he held out a hand. “You don’t have to treat me like I’m fragile.”

“I’m not offering you a hand because I think you’re fragile. I’m offering it to be polite.”

“My hands are a mess.”

“I can wash them. I’m no stranger to dirty hands.”

That made me blink. Just what did the buttoned-up doctor of Strawberry Springs get into? I took his offered hand, letting him pull me up.

This town was so ... friendly . And it was in a genuine way, not the fake smiles Madison would give me when she would catch me covered in dust after working overnight on the mansion.

“Follow me,” he said.

We crossed the street, and I quickly realized where we were heading.

“Are you taking me to that massive abandoned building that people seem to avoid? Is this where you tell me you’ve had a plan to kill me this entire time?”

“That would go against the Hippocratic oath,” he said. “And no. This is where I show you where those irises are, but if you’re uncomfortable?—”

“Me? Uncomfortable by being near a huge abandoned building?” I laughed. “This is my shit .” I ran ahead of him, taking in the tallest building in Strawberry Springs. Unlike the rest of the buildings, its paint was peeling, and I could barely see the word “library” on one of the signs.

“Oh, the stories you could tell.” I put my hand against a spot of peeling paint where I could see the original large bricks. Sometimes I wished walls could talk so I could hear about what they saw.

“Strawberry Springs is lucky in a lot of ways,” Henry said, hands in his pockets as he looked up. “We’ve stayed stable in some places, but when the economy went downhill a little over a decade ago, the state stopped funding the library.”

“Of course. Why would a small town need to read?” I asked sarcastically.

He sighed. “It went under before I moved here. It looked a lot like this, actually. But I bet it was the center of town when it was open.”

I let my eyes wander, trying to imagine what the paint would have looked like before age got to it. What the doors and windows would look like if they weren’t boarded up. Even in ruin, it was still beautiful, but I’m certain it was showstopping before. “I bet the people loved it.”

“Follow me.” He waved his hand and walked toward the side.

The building extended farther than I expected, but there was a small patch of green halfway down the massive building.

We approached an old iron fence. I turned to look inside. At first, all I saw was weeds. Then, near one of the corners, a hint of dark purple.

I latched onto the bars. “There it is! And it’s in the coolest spot in town!”

“Most people would consider it the former coolest spot in town.”

“I live for abandoned places.”

“For the show, you mean?”

I resisted the urge to groan. The last thing I wanted to be thinking of while looking at this beautiful place was Renovating with Love .

“So you did see it?”

“Still haven’t. I didn’t even have time to Google it today. Being a doctor keeps me busy.”

“There’s hardly anyone in this town. How many times could they be sick?”

“I branched out a few years ago to provide care out of town. You’d be surprised at how little competition there is for competent doctors this far away from the city.”

“Smart,” I replied and turned back to the library.

For the longest time, life felt like it had been drifting around me.

Every decision was made. And if it wasn’t, I had strict things I could and couldn’t do.

But now, I had something in front of me that I wanted to see.

Without cameras around to stop me. “And ... if you wanna continue being smart, you should probably walk away right about now.”

His brow pinched. “Why?”

My eyes traced every part of the fence. “Because I’m about to do something very illegal, and I’m giving you an out.”

“Do not deface this place.”

“What kind of woman do you take me for?” I finally turned to him, putting a hand on my heart.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m just a little protective of something with this much history.”

“Understandable. I promise I’ll be very respectful here in a few minutes when I do what I have to.”

Now Henry’s eyes narrowed. “And what are you planning on doing?”

“I’m gonna break in and see the inside of it.”