“Hello.”
Arissa turned at the greeting to see an older woman approaching her, dressed in pale blue cotton pants and white eyelet blouse. She was pushing a cart with a tray of peach begonias as she made a beeline to Arissa.
“Hello,” Arissa replied.
“You must be the young lady that bought the Meyer’s place.”
Arissa bit back the smile but she had a feeling even after a decade in Summerville, to the locals she would always be the woman who bought the Meyer’s place. “I am. Arissa Haywood,” she offered and held out her hand.
The older woman took it. “I’m Catherine Weathers, Hank’s mom.”
Surprise hit Arissa first because she’d just been thinking about Hank, but nerves followed because this was his mom and she liked Hank, a hell of a lot. She took a moment to study the woman responsible for raising a man like Hank because she’d done a hell of a job. And when she greeted her, she was sincere when she said, “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“And you,” Catherine said. “I understand you’ve met my son. A mishap at your house.”
Who would have thought a broken valve would bring the likes of Hank Weathers into her life. She’d intended to ream out her inspector and realtor, now she was thinking she needed to send them gift baskets and thank you notes. “Yes, Billie was playing darts, so the sheriff came to the rescue.”
Catherine smiled. “That’s my Hank. He loves this town, the people in it. He takes it very seriously. Sometimes too seriously.” She moved closer and dropped her voice. “Forgets that there is more to life than work.”
Being a recovering workaholic herself, Arissa understood how easy it was to get lost in work, but at least with Hank his work centered on helping people. To Arissa’s way of thinking, that wasn’t a terrible thing.
Catherine sized up Arissa. It was really the only way to describe the once over she gave her before Catherine said, “I have hopes, though, that he’ll be settling down soon.”
Had Arissa been holding something, she’d have dropped it. Tingles swept through her. Was it possible Catherine had already heard about Hank and her? Of course she had, this was Summerville. Besides, she was pretty sure her neighbor, Maureen, had a telescope directed at Arissa’s house to monitor all the comings and goings. And though Hank and she were just at the beginning, Arissa really liked hearing that Catherine approved.
Before she could reply, Catherine added, “Phoebe is such an amazing young woman.”
The tingles died, and her heart dropped. Phoebe…again? Arissa’s mouth felt like sandpaper when she asked, “Who’s Phoebe?”
Catherine touched her lips. “Oh dear, I’m sorry. He hasn’t mentioned her?” She said in almost a question. “Look at me running off my mouth.” She touched Arissa’s arm in comfort. “He’s a very private person.” Then as if she wanted to move the conversation off Hank and her slip about Phoebe she asked, “Do you have a beau?”
Arissa didn’t answer and instead asked, “Who is Phoebe?”
Catherine looked pained, as if she knew the impact her next words were going to have on Arissa when she said, “The love of his life.”
Those five words were like taking a hit from a careening ball. She and Hank were just getting to know each other, but she thought the interest went both ways, not just interest but something deeper. Had she been wrong about that?
“I’ve upset you,” Catherine said. “I’m sorry. I’ve just…” She paused, looked sympathetic before she added, “I’ve seen it so many times before. Hank goes through the motions, dates, even flirts and women think he’s falling for them, but I know my son. No one will ever be Phoebe. They met at the wrong time, but you know when two people belong together. They’ll find their way.”
Arissa looked away and tried to pull air into her lungs. How had she misread the situation so badly? And damn, but it hurt learning she had.
There was kindness and sympathy in Catherine’s expression when she said sincerely, “I’m sorry.” She touched Arissa’s arm. “It really was nice meeting you.”
“And you,” Arissa said even though the words were a lie. Her thoughts turned to Hank, the chemistry between them, the banter, the start of something that promised to be extraordinary but hearing he already had that with someone else, someone he still wanted, yeah, it fucking hurt. She walked out of the garden center without doing what she’d come for. She wasn’t in the mood to start putting down roots today. Maybe tomorrow.
Distracted with her thoughts, Arissa wasn’t paying attention as she walked to her car so when she walked into someone, it startled her. Sorry was on her lips until she saw it was the older woman from the other day, the one who nearly ran her off the road that first day.
“Might want to keep your head up when you’re walking,” she said, her voice gruff, but there was a teasing note to it. Before Arissa could reply, an arm went around her shoulders. Her head jerked to the owner. It was her neighbor.
“Hey, Sugar. How you doing?” Maureen asked, her eyes moving around the parking lot, her expression one of disappointment, like she was looking for someone. “How are you adjusting to our town?”
“We should go out for drinks?” the redhead offered.
Arissa felt like she’d been dropped into the middle of an ongoing conversation. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Maureen stepped back and with a flourish of her hands offered, “My friends, the Belles.”
“You must be Arissa. Maureen mentioned you,” the
