“Maybe that would be overkill for these circumstances,” he said. “How about classy and romantic, instead?”
“I can definitely do classy and romantic.”
“Something uniquely for Jess?” he asked.
“So, this thing between you two is getting pretty serious,” Bree said.
“I hope so. Any objections?”
“None from me. I adore my sister. Jake’s a little concerned, though.”
“So he’s mentioned,” Will said. “I’ve told him to butt out.”
“Apparently there’s a lot of that going around lately. He’s beginning to feel useless.”
Will was lost. “Who besides me has told him to stay out of their business?”
“Connie. It seems she’s dating Thomas. Jake nearly went into cardiac arrest when he found out.”
“I can imagine,” Will said. “Thomas has to be, what, ten years older at least?”
“Something like that,” Bree said.
“No wonder she stopped accepting the dates I was setting up for her,” Will murmured. He pictured Connie and Thomas O’Brien together, and surprisingly, they fit. He’d seen evidence of it firsthand at the fall festival. He wondered if his computer system would see it the same way. “They could work. Connie needs a man who knows exactly who he is, who’s accomplished and settled and can offer her everything she deserves.”
“That’s the way I see it, too,” Bree said. “I’m just worried about what will happen when Dad gets wind of this. He lumps Connie in with all the rest of us kids because she’s Jake’s sister, even though she’s quite a bit older. He’s liable to accuse Thomas of robbing the cradle and then those two will be back to not speaking again.”
“They enjoy their battles,” Will said. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
“I just don’t want Dad to make Connie or Thomas feel uncomfortable.”
“Right now I think he has his hands full trying to manage me and Jess,” Will said wryly.
“Oh, believe me, he can juggle all of us. He was over here earlier today grumbling that the baby’s portable playpen should be up here in front where it would get more light. And he thought she needed a warmer sweater and that she should probably start on solid food. She looked too skinny to him.”
Will chuckled. “It may be exasperating, but at least Mick’s an involved parent and grandparent these days. I remember a time when you all complained about how often he was gone and how little he knew about your lives.”
Bree sighed heavily. “Yeah, I think this falls into the ‘be careful what you wish for’ category.”
“Look, I’ve got to run. I want to get to the hospital before my patient manages to check herself out. You’ll take care of the flowers?”
“Done,” Bree said. “And I’ll write a sappy note for you, too.”
“Maybe you should leave the sappy notes to me,” Will suggested. “Stick with ‘Love, Will.’”
“Trust me. You’re going to need more than that to keep Jess from getting ticked off because you’re missing a date.”
“We didn’t have a date. We had tentative plans.” He recalled how Jess had turned a similar situation into a rock-solid commitment just days ago. “Never mind. Go with sappy. Thanks, Bree.”
“Anytime.”
Will hoped there wouldn’t be all that many times when he needed to be bailed out of a jam, but given the sometimes unpredictable nature of his work, it was probably likely. He wondered if Jess would be able to accept that, and, if she couldn’t, what would happen to the future he wanted with her.
Tired of waiting around for a man who’d clearly forgotten that he’d promised to come by, Jess dragged herself up to the attic to take another stab at clearing out the last of the debris. Laila had promised to deal with the paperwork on the construction loan by the end of this week. After that, Mick could get started with the renovations.
Annoyed with Will, even though she knew she was probably being ridiculous, she tossed things into garbage bags with a vengeance, barely noticing whether they were worth keeping or not.
When she finally heard footsteps on the stairs, she scowled in the direction of the door, fully expecting it to be Will. Instead, it was her sister, carrying a small arrangement of lilies of the valley in an obviously expensive crystal vase.
“Why are you making such a racket up here?” Bree asked, then grinned. “Or need I ask? You’re upset because Will hasn’t stopped by.”
“What makes you think that?” Jess demanded irritably. “I don’t give two hoots about Will.”
“Really? Then what are you upset about?”
“Life. Men. I don’t know,” she said with a heavy sigh. She glanced again at the flowers. She’d always loved lilies of the valley. Her mother had lined a flagstone walkway at the house with them. After she’d gone, Jess had waited each spring for them to bloom, hoping that maybe they’d bring her mother back again since she’d loved them so much. “Where’d the flowers come from? It’s hard to get lilies of the valley this time of year.”
“But they’re your favorites,” Bree said. “And I happen to own a flower shop. So when a customer calls and requests something special for my little sister, I knew just what she’d like.”
Jess held her breath, then asked, “Who called?”
“Will, of course. Apparently he had a patient with some kind of crisis and he had to get to the hospital. He didn’t want you to think he’d forgotten he’d told you he’d see you today.” Bree studied her intently. “But, of course, that’s exactly what you thought, isn’t it?”
Jess nodded, reaching for the delicate flowers and burying her nose in them. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes.
“Hey, are you okay?” Bree asked worriedly. “Do you suddenly hate lilies of the valley for some reason?”
“No, it’s just that they always remind me of Mom. I used to pick them in the spring and bring them inside in case she came home.”
“Oh, sweetie, I didn’t realize they made you so sad. I’m sorry.”
“No, they don’t always make me sad. They brought me joy, too, made me feel more in touch with
