Page 9

CASE

“Look who’s here,” Birdie calls out as Isla and her mom make their way toward us. Isla’s mom wears a smile so wide I swear her face might split in two, while Isla’s expression is a mix of surprise and a little embarrassment. All I can do is stare, still in awe that she’s standing in front of me.

“Hey,” Isla’s mother greets us as they both come to a stop in front of us. “I’m guessin’ you must be the famous Case Cooper.”

I rub the back of my neck with an uncomfortable chuckle, wondering what she’s heard and whether being ‘famous’ is a good thing or a bad thing. I hope it’s the former.

“That’d be me. It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Murray.”

The Murray matriarch grins. “While I appreciate the manners. Please call me Jessica. Mrs. Murray was my mother, may she rest in peace.”

“Jessica,” I say, reaching out for her trembling hand and covering it with my own. “It’s a pleasure.”

She blushes, looking from Birdie then to her daughter. “Handsome and a gentleman This one’s a keeper, Lala.”

My eyes lift at the nickname, loving the way Isla’s cheeks blush a pretty shade of pink.

“Hi,” I say, letting go of Jessica and taking a step toward Isla, gently resting my hand on her arm before softly kissing her cheek, my heart spiking and her breath catching when there's a zap the moment we touch.

The breathy “hi” I get in response has me biting back a satisfied grin. We both stand there staring at each other, oblivious to anyone and anything around us.

Birdie had thankfully waited until this morning’s breakfast to interrogate me about my intentions with her best friend.

That was when I told her my recollection of the night I first met her friend and the connection that was forged.

One that last night proved was still strong.

One that I wanted Birdie’s OK to explore–out of respect for her and my brother’s relationship as well as her friendship with Isla.

Thankfully she seemed almost more excited about the prospect than I am, and after an excited hug and a quick ‘you hurt her, I’ll hurt you’ speech that had me and my brothers laughing, she gave me her blessing.

That was when Isla called asking if she could bring her mom for a visit.

“Case was with me when you called and volunteered to come along,” Birdie says, knocking me out of my haze.

Jessica beams. “Isn’t that a fortunate happenstance?

My darlin’ daughter here knows the way to my heart is with flowers and when she saw I was havin’ a down day and bein’ the wonderful woman she is, she decided to bring me out here and cheer me up.

” She glances fondly over at Isla. “Even if she is a little transparent. I’m a florist, you see— was one, anyway.

” Her face falls and I’m immediately compelled to lift the mood again.

“Well now,” I reply, looking out toward the meadow in front of us. “I might stick with you then. You’ll be able to tell me all about the different varieties of wildflowers we’ve got. I’m tryin’ to turn my fingers a shade of green myself these days.”

“Good. It’ll give me a chance to learn all about you and why Lala calls you Curious.”

I laugh at the realization that I just unwittingly offered myself up for my second interrogation of the day. “Did you hear that Birdie and my brother got engaged last night?”

Jessica nods. “I did.”

“I was thinkin’ they deserve some expertly picked flowers to commemorate it. And who better to help me than Timber Falls finest.”

“Smooth,” Birdie murmurs under her breath. I sneak a peek at Isla to find her lips twitching with a wry smile and her gaze full of appreciation.

I shrug. “My intentions are pure, I swear.”

“Yeah, yeah. I believe you, Curious. Many wouldn’t,” Isla muses.

I arch a brow which makes her grin widen. The things I’d do to see that smile every day.

“Do you mind? I never meant to intrude on your time together.”

“Do I mind that you’re willingly offerin’ yourself up to be interrogated by my mother ?” She shakes her head with a laugh. “Not at all. I think it’s brave. But be warned, she’s harangued social security numbers out of far lesser men before.

Jessica gasps as the best friends giggle. “Isla Murray, you take that back. I have never done anythin’ of the sort. You’ll have this lovely man runnin’ scared.”

“The way I see it, if Case hasn’t either run back up the mountain or hightailed it back to North Cali by the time you’re done with him, then he’ll have proven he’s the same man I remember him to be,” Isla replies.

My gaze jerks toward her way. Suddenly my unintentional offer to go with Jessica morphs into something else entirely.

And it’s a chance I’m not going to let slip away from me.

There isn’t anything more important in the world right now than this …

here … and making sure my beautiful stranger knows that I’m in this. All in.

I move next to her mom and hold my arm out to link with hers. “I’m up to the challenge if you are, Jessica.”

“Lead the way, Mr . Curious. Let me tell you about these flowers.”

After opening the gate in front of us, that’s exactly what I do. But not before looking over my shoulder at my smirking future sister-in-law and my soft-eyed beautiful stranger.

The sun shines down on us as we walk through the wildflowers. After quickly picking up on Jessica’s physical limitations, I offer to do all the bending in return for her telling me about every plant. It also helps delay her inevitable questioning.

“That purple flower is called Fireweed. Named because it’s known to be one of the first plants to reappear after wildfires,” she explains.

“It’s beautiful,” I say, gently cradling the head of the flower in my palm. “The color is amazin’.”

“You should see it at sunset. I swear the golden light hitting the meadow will take your breath away.”

I look over at her with a smile. “I bet.” I squat down to pick some more, not missing her suspicious expression as I straighten.

She cocks her head in a move reminiscent of her daughter. “You mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course. I’m not a man who says things I don’t mean. It’d be a waste of my time and yours if I was to stand here and give you platitudes.”

“Indeed,” she muses.

“It turns out I’m very much interested in these flowers and hearin’ you talk about them. I’ve got a project of my own up the mountain that might just include incorporatin’ some of these flowers amongst the trees.”

“A project?”

“We’re plantin’ a Christmas Tree Farm further up the slope,” I reply. “Though I’ve got to tell you, pickin’ these flowers is a lot easier than the hard slog of diggin’ holes and spreadin’ mulch.”

“I can imagine.” She looks over to another patch of flowers, these ones I recognize. “Can we pick some of those Forget-me-nots? They’re the state flower, don’t you know.”

“I did know that, actually.”

She shoots me a curious look as we make our way over to the patch she spotted. “Are you from here?”

“My family is, Gramps—I mean, Ridley—lived here since birth except for a spell down with us in Nebraska.”

“I know Ridley. He was a good man. I was sorry to hear of his passin’,” she says.

I dip my chin. “Thank you. My brothers and I used to visit every Summer until we were teenagers and Gramps made it his mission to teach us everythin’ he could about the land and the wilderness.”

“Riddles was good like that,” she replies fondly I make sure she’s steady before letting her go and picking the Forget-me-nots.

“His passin’ was a surprise to all of us.

Fortunately, it led my brothers and I back to the mountain and although I didn’t know how things would go with us all livin’ here together, I’m glad we did it. ”

“Bet seein’ my daughter last night was a surprise.”

I return her knowing smile. “A very welcome one, believe me. I never thought I’d find her again.”

Jessica’s gaze widens before crinkling at the corners. “You hadn’t forgotten about her either?”

“Even if I hadn’t discovered that she was not only Birdie’s best friend, but had also moved back to town here, there’s no way I could or would forget. She was a breath of fresh air when I didn’t realize I was strugglin’.”

“That’s beautiful, Cayson. I’m glad she could be that for you.

” She looks over her shoulder to where Birdie and Isla have their backs to us, looking down over the valley and the town.

“I don’t think I’m speakin’ out of turn when I tell you that I appreciate you bein’ there for her when she needed a friendly ear and a safe space too.

My diagnosis—although somewhat expected—has been hard on my girl. ”

“Hard for you too,” I acknowledge.

“Yes,” she says, wiping her now glassy eyes. “A mother never stops worryin’ about her child. I hazard a guess that yours still worries about all of you boys even knowin’ you’re here together.”

I smile at that. “You’re not wrong. She calls us every Sunday without fail. I do think she’s happy it’s only one call to reach all of us now though.”

“Now that I can agree with,” she chuckles before her expression morphs back to serious. “I ain’t goin’ to interfere in whatever happens between you and my girl, but I will say this. When my Isla cares, she does it fiercely, and when she lets you in, it is the best feelin’ in the world.”

“I realized that when I met her. There’s somethin’ about her that made me feel safe, even though we’d just met.

There’s this calmin’ influence about her that a man like me appreciates.

And I promise you, I’m not someone who’d ever take advantage of that or take it for granted.

I just want to explore the connection I have with her, and what she says she feels with me. ”

Jessica stares deep into my eyes, studying me. I meet her gaze without any hesitation. She is the most important person in Isla’s life, after all.