ISLA

April

I love my mom. I’d do anything for her–I have done. But ever since I moved back to Timber Falls to look after her, I’ve been feeling… I can’t explain it.

Stuck? No.

I can’t imagine not being here for Mom. She has been and always will be the most important person in my life.

Bored? Maybe.

Reflective? Definitely.

In the seven months since I’ve been back, I’ve settled into the small mountain town way of life again after years of studying, working, and living in Anchorage.

Maybe I’m just exhausted with life in general. Then again, I do have two jobs. One at the district hospital as a nurse as well as a few shifts a week at Falls Pan and Grill, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the state.

The extra money from waitressing helps pay for Mom’s physical therapy and medication. Anything left over goes into savings to renovate our family home in the future when her symptoms get worse–which, unfortunately, is inevitable.

My continuing to be a nurse is the one thing Mom wouldn’t budge on when I told her I was moving in with her again.

Despite being a headstrong independent woman, she knew she couldn’t fight me on that issue.

To me, it was never in question whether I’d help her adjust to her new normal following her diagnosis.

But being the woman who raised me, she straight-out refused to let me give up everything I’d ‘worked so hard for.’

For the past few months though I’ve been feeling antsy. Not anxious, more a sense that something is coming. It’s not even like it’s foreboding, it’s more like anticipation.

Then again, maybe it’s because my childhood best friend, Birdie, has found her soulmate and is head over heels in love.

And it’s with a city boy turned mountain man and new Timber Falls resident, Will Cooper.

He’s one of four brothers who moved to town a few months back to take over their grandfather’s ranch.

I haven’t met all of them, just Will and his youngest brother, Jude. I first met Will when he came into the restaurant one night trying to track Birdie down, and Jude when he had dinner at the Grill with the two of them.

I’m knocked from my thoughts by the sound of my alarm beeping, telling me I really do need to get up if I want to shower, get dressed for work, and make breakfast for Mom before I leave.

When I walk out into the kitchen, I spot Mom sitting at the dining table, the sound of country music playing softly on the radio.

She looks up with a smile, thankfully looking much brighter today than a few days ago when she was coming off a flare-up. “Hey, Lala. Sleep well?”

“I did, thanks.” I reach for the coffee pot and pour myself a cup. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the room, mixing with the scent of the wildflowers I bought home yesterday. Mom’s whole face lit up when she saw them and now they sit pride of place in a vase on the table.

Mom worked as the town’s florist when I was growing up.

Every morning she would leave at the crack of dawn to pick wildflowers from the mountain to sell in her shop in town.

That meant we always had her beautiful arrangements in the house as well as a thriving flower garden in the backyard.

That’s why the sight and smell of them is comforting to both of us.

When her health started declining, she had to hand over the shop to a manager we hired.

I still try to take her there a few times a week though, not wanting her to feel like her whole world has been upended.

I want to give her everything she wants and needs, and flowers and her business are the second love of her life, me being the first.

As I sip my coffee, Mom’s gaze lingers on me for a moment and I know she’s thinking about what she wants to say–or whether she should say it.

“Mom?”

“Just thinkin’. You’re so young, and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

“I do… And right now, that means livin’ here with you and bein’ back in Timber Falls. That’s where my life has taken me. I'm OK, Mom, I promise.” I cock my head, my brows bunching together. “Where’s this comin’ from?”

She sighs. “I just worry that you’re missin’ out on things, that’s all.”

I sit down next to her and cover her hand with mine. “I’m not missin’ out on anythin’. Look at me, I’m livin’ rent-free with my favorite person on the planet and doin’ what I was born to do which is take care of you. It’s not a hardship, Mom. It’s just–”

“An adjustment. I know. You keep tellin’ me that. But it’s my job to worry, I am your mother.”

A snort escapes me. “Yep. But my days of makin’ you worry about me are long gone. I’m a big girl now, remember?” I flash her a reassuring smile. “Besides, you need me here. And I need to be here. We’re a team. We can get through anythin’, remember?”

Her gaze softens and she nods, a small smile playing on her lips. “You always know how to make me feel better, Isla.”

“Just returnin’ the favor for all the times you’ve done the same for me,” I reply, giving her one last gentle squeeze.

As I finish my coffee, I glance at the clock. I really need to get ready for work. Standing up, I plant a kiss on Mom’s cheek. “I’ll make us some breakfast before I leave.”

“Thanks, sweetheart. I’m feelin’ a lot better today, but I’m not sure I have the spoons to get up right now.”

“It’s my pleasure. Besides, I need to fuel myself for a day of bedpans and sponge baths,” I add with a wink before turning to the kitchen.

“You do more than that. I know you do.”

I grin. “Yeah, but it’s more fun than tellin’ people about IV lures, takin’ medical histories and wound care.”

Mom rolls her eyes. “Don’t lessen the work you do, Isla. Nurses are just as important as the doctors they stand beside. I won’t hear anyone say any different.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears, Mom.” I walk around the counter and start making some oatmeal for both of us.

“Did I tell you I’m goin’ to the Lair tomorrow night?

Betty next door is goin’ to check in on you for me.

I’m not plannin’ on bein’ out late but it’s goin’ to be a special night for Birdie, so I want to be there. ”

Mom’s eyes light up. “A special night?”

“Oh yeah. Will came into the restaurant yesterday to ask if I’d meet them there. All he would tell me was that Birdie would want her best friend to be present.”

“He sounds like a good man. Betty has been keepin’ me updated with all the news about those Cooper Brothers.”

“Look at you with your finger on the pulse of Timber Falls’ gossip.” I laugh. “You don’t even need me to tell you things. You’ve got your own sources now.”

“Hush, now. I like to know the comin’s and goin’s, that’s all.”

“Mmm hmm…” I say teasingly.

“So,” I say, stirring the pot on the stove. “What have you heard? We should compare sources.”

Mom chuckles. “Your sources are overhearin’ Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Holden when they go to the Grill for their monthly ladies’ lunch.”

“Guilty as charged. I shoot her a grin over my shoulder. “I also get a lot of information straight from the horse’s mouth–or in this case–my best friend. Which means that yes, I can confirm that Will Cooper is a good man. He’s perfect for Birdie.

Protective but not overbearin’, and attentive.

He’s very much in tune with her just as she is with him. He definitely has my seal of approval.”

Mom falls quiet after that, her gaze soft on mine as I finish preparing a bowl for her and place it on the table. “I want that for you, Lala. I just hope you movin’ home to help me doesn’t stop you from findin’ it.”

As I’ve done many times over the past seven months, I think back to that night in Anchorage and the man who surprised me with his selflessness and care. Who didn’t want anything more from me than I wanted from him. Who was honest and open with me–more open than a stranger would normally be.

The man with the deep intense eyes that I swear saw straight into my soul and whose touch warmed me from the inside out. The man who I only know as Curious . The one I haven’t been able to forget, nor would I ever want to.

“Earth to Isla?” Mom muses, snapping me from my thoughts.

“You’re thinkin’ about him again, aren’t you?

” Yes, Mom knows about him. Birdie does too.

That doesn’t help anyone though because I didn’t get his name and he didn’t get mine.

To him, I was his beautiful stranger and to me, he was simply ‘Curious.’

I stupidly didn’t leave any way for him to contact me on the goodbye note I left before slinking out of his hotel room after he fell asleep. We may have only held hands and talked but that was more intimate, more meaningful than any physical act to me. It was everything I needed that night.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

Mom’s lips tip up into a knowing smile. “You’ll cross paths with him again, Lala. Connections like that aren’t just random. They’re meant to happen.”

I shrug, not wanting to let her know that seeing him again is something I hope for more than she could ever know. I don’t have time to dwell on that now. I have a job to get to and a mom to set up for the day.

“Do you need a coffee top-up before I go?”

Mom stares into my eyes for a spell before thankfully letting it go. “That’d be great, sweetheart. And I better get photos of Birdie’s ring,” she adds.

I whirl around on a gasp. “I didn’t say it was that kind of special night.”

Mom taps her nose. “You didn’t have to. A mother knows these things. A mother knows a lot of things and sees them too. You best remember that.”

“Yes, mom,” I reply with a laugh. Despite everything, Mom does see things. Even the things I don’t want her to see.

And I love her all the more for it.