An hour later she parked her VW van outside the address Mari had given her, took an arrangement from the back, along with her salad, and followed the sound of voices around the side of the house to a leafy plant-filled back yard. A group of men stood around a barbeque on the back porch, cold beers in hand. Two toddlers squealed as they stumbled across the yard toward her, intent on a game of chase.
“April!” Her sister Bella waved a hand to get her attention. “Over here.” She stood with a group of people under a large shady tree and April walked over to greet her.
“Hi, sis. Isn’t this a lovely backyard? So green and cool.” She wrapped her arm around Bella keeping the arrangement and her salad bowl balanced in the other arm.
“It’s gorgeous, and so is that hostess offering you have. Good job, kiddo.”
“Thanks. I thought Susan might like it.” The vintage basket loaded with yellow roses and white daisies was pretty. “It was nice of her to invite me, considering she hardly knows me.”
“That’s what this town is like. You’d better get used to it.” Bella put her arm through that of the man standing next to her. “April, I want you to meet Jake. Jake, this is my little sister, April.”
“Well, hello. It’s nice to meet you at last.” She put the salad down on the lawn beside the base of the large shade tree and gave her sister the thumbs-up. “Good steal, sis.”
“Nice to meet you, too, April. Welcome to Cherry Lake. I hear you opened your new shop today. How’s it going?” He draped his arm around her sister’s shoulder, his other hand holding a can of beer.
“So far so good. I’ve had a fair bit of interest but I guess once people know I’m here things might speed up a bit.” She gazed around the garden. “You’re a fireman, aren’t you? Any hunky single males on your crew?”
Bella laughed and clapped her hand over her mouth. Jake merely smiled. “Sorry, we’re all spoken for.”
“Since when have you been interested in a relationship? I thought you were going to concentrate on your business ventures.” Bella sipped her wine. “Besides, I hear someone has already piqued your interest.”
“Your spies are wrong.”
“I highly doubt it. But you don’t really have time for love, do you? At least that’s what you were saying last time we spoke.”
“Yeah, I did but now I’m almost settled in I figure that it’s time to start looking. Heaven forbid I turn into an old maid. I’d hate to be that spinster sister that everyone hides from or constantly sets up on blind dates.”
Jake spied someone over her shoulder and April turned to look just as he spoke. “Target, heading this way. He could seriously use some help, April. If you’re dedicated to your task, there’s your man.”
David looked good in more casual attire than the clothing he wore to work. A stirring began in her belly and she appraised him with fresh eyes. “Sexy man. I think we’re too different but the thought had crossed my mind.” She winked at her sister. “He’s rather cute, isn’t he? And he’s been so nice to me.”
“David. Nice to see you. Do you know my sister, April? She’s just moved to town and opened her own business.” Bella gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“We’ve, ah, met a few times actually. April, nice to see you again. How’s the shop going? I noticed you were open today.”
“Really good, actually. You should’ve popped in and had a look.”
“I had Oscar with me. Took him for a walk along the lake.”
She shook her head. “Seriously, you’ve seen Hamish loping around the shop. I think I can handle one small dog as well.” April huffed a breath and glanced at her sister before looking back at David. “Men.”
David ignored her remark. “How’s your leg feeling now?”
Jake grabbed the arrangement as it teetered in her hand and put it down beside the salad.
“Well, look at you. The hunky fireman coming to my rescue already.” Laughter bubbled up her throat and she let it burst free, the stress of the last few weeks floating away now she was in this lovely environment with family and hopefully new friends.
“April, stop and tell me what the heck happened? David, perhaps you can shed some light on what my little sister has been up to since you apparently know about this already.”
He glanced at her, uncertainty in his eyes. “Uh, well, she got into trouble moving some old furniture around the shop.” He cleared his throat and April continued to appraise him. “I heard Hamish barking, rushed in, and found her with a bookcase pinning her leg. She was pretty banged up but nothing was broken.”
“Why didn’t you call me, April? I would have come over.”
She smiled at her sister. “David was there. He cleaned up my leg and made sure I was alright. Nothing you could have done, Bella.”
“And?” Bella waited with her mouth pressed into a firm line staring at David. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I dealt with it. I cleaned and dressed the wound, sorted out the bookcase and made sure she was fine before I left. I made a follow up call the next morning but she was hobbling around before I got to work. I didn’t think there was any reason to make a fuss when she wasn’t.” He jammed his hands into his pockets, uncomfortable with the scrutiny.
“And you didn’t think to call and tell me she’d been hurt anyway? I thought we were friends.”
He blushed and April almost swooned. He was so cute even when her sister was being bossy. “Actually, not something I usually get involved in as it’s patient doctor privilege.”
“Honey, don’t give David a hard time. Hardly his fault your sister’s the accident prone type. I heard about the coffee, too.” Jake grinned
