Page 34 of The Last Lavender Sister

“Good morning,” Brynn said, turning onto her back.

Micah’s short red hair stood straight up like it did every morning after a good sleep, and she held the sheet to her chest. “I slept like the dead. Hi.”

“Hi there.”

Micah placed a quick kiss on Brynn’s lips and fell onto her back. “I have three client meetings this morning and lunch with the partners.”Micah was a corporate attorney in Wichita, who had a love-hate thing happening with her job. Brynn didn’t mind being her escape but did feel bad that the time they spent together forced Micah to commute the eighty minutes into the city, sometimes round trip in one day if they had plans.

“I have a schnauzer, a kitten, a cockatiel, and a Shetland pony, if my memory serves correctly. All before noon.”

Micah stared at the wall. “Your day sounds so much more interesting.”

“Well, none of them are merging or acquiring anything, so I don’t know. They need to get it together.”

“They might surprise you.” Micah was up and out of bed, off to shower and hit the road. She really wasn’t one to snuggle or chat too much on those mornings after, which actually suited Brynn fine. In fact, it was probably better that way. It kept everything in the neat and orderly column Brynn very much needed. Micah liked to be at her desk by eight thirty, which was going to be a lofty task today, given their slight sleep-in.

Brynn watched her walk naked through the room. Micah was tall with small breasts and a willowy body. She also looked incredibly powerful in a business suit. Brynn wouldn’t want to mess with her in court, that was for damn sure. The two of them had been seeing each other for going on three months now. It was an easy relationship. Low on drama and conflict, and worked well with their schedules. They could enjoy each other’s company but were also great at retreating to their respective lives when they needed to. Micah had just recently started referring to Brynn as her girlfriend, and honestly, that part felt pretty good. Like she was back in the saddle at last. Albeit, a modified saddle, fitted to what Brynn needed. Simple. Low angst. No big overarching feelings. Micah didn’t make her feel vulnerable, heartsick, or love-drunk. She liked that very much. She liked Micah, too.

“I’ll make coffee. Want some for your drive?” Brynn called.

“Yes. Yes. Yes!” Micah called back over the already running shower. She always made herself at home, assuming what was Brynn’s was hers. And it was. Well, in a way. That kind of assumption was the reason their relationship had progressed at the pace it had. Micah had decided that it should, and when she decided something, it generally happened. Part of Brynn really liked that. Another part wished for moreof a partnership, and perhaps that was something they’d discuss at some point down the road. No relationship was perfect without work, right?

When Micah emerged exactly twenty-five minutes later with her red hair tamed, Brynn poured the coffee into two travel mugs and slid one to Micah. “That Autumn Harvest Festival is tonight. Do you remember me telling you about it?”

Micah closed her eyes, her hand going flat on her forehead. “Vaguely. You wanted to go? I’d need to drive back.”

“I did.” Brynn winced. “But I’ll cut you a rain check. Small towns have festivals for everything. You can catch the next one.” Though in her experience, the Autumn Harvest was the best one, hands down. They held it out at the old fairgrounds, a beautiful spot surrounded by dogwood trees. The festival hosted pumpkin carving, warm beverages of all kinds, a hay maze, and live music. Don’t even get her started on the vendors with all the artisan items for sale. Even that stale-doughnut lady impressed with her array of quilts, one of which Brynn now owned.

“I’ll take you up on it,” Micah said, downing a swallow of coffee that had to have burned her throat. She didn’t flinch. That was Micah. “Killer afternoon to get through, but I’ll call you after. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“I’m off. Knock ’em dead.” Micah kissed her quickly and was out the door in a typical Micah dash.

Brynn had a little time before heading into the clinic, less of a dasher. They’d agreed early on in their partnership that Tyler would handle the early mornings and she would pick up by nine and stay until six or whenever the last patient needed her to. Now that the clinic could accommodate more clientele and with the addition of Tyler’s dentistry certification, they were seeing more and more patients coming in from neighboring cities. The clinic was in great shape as a result. Plus, Brynn had helped streamline a few of their processes and procedures, saving them all money and operating more efficiently.

As for Brynn, she had fallen in love with the slower pace of small-town living, which was one of the reasons she’d opted to stay put and make Tyler the offer to go half in on the business. She’d slowly begun to make a life for herself in Homer’s Bluff and now felt like a true resident after close to two years. She knew most everyone’s name, was invited to the homes of her clients for dinner, made cookies for bakesales, and donated to the firefighters’ silent auction. She even applauded their shirtless pancake breakfasts because abs needed fanfare, too. She was happy these days. Well,happier,at least. Life was simple. Easy enough. She floated along.

“Brynn.”

It was like a loud scratch on a record player. She stood on the east side of the fairgrounds, frozen in place with the scarf from Ming Humphrey’s vendor table in her hand. She knew the voice. The Autumn Harvest Fest was in full and lively force all around. People everywhere. Conversations overlapping. Had she heard correctly? She turned, clutching the green and red plaid scarf she’d just been considering purchasing. And there, staring back at her, was none other than Aster Lavender. The world slowed down, and the action around her dimmed, leaving a spotlight on the woman she hadn’t seen or talked to in over a year now. After a moment of shock, happiness flooded. She grinned and returned the scarf to the portable rack immediately. “Aster. You’re here.” It was Aster all right, but there were changes. Her dark hair was longer and had layers. She looked super put together, wearing navy jeans and brown ankle boots with a matching brown sweater. Sophisticated and…wow. Fantastic. In the amount of time that she’d been away, the youthful version of Aster had been noticeably replaced. Brynn swallowed her surprise at the newer, hipper, more grown-up version of Aster and allowed her joy to come through instead. “It’s great to see you.” It really was. Once it got going, she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. It almost felt like a part of this town had gone missing and had now snapped back into place.

“You, too,” Aster said, moving to her without hesitation. She pulled Brynn to her for a warm hug, which she happily returned. “I wasn’t sure if I’d run into you tonight. I’m glad I did.” She exhaled, her eyes searching Brynn’s face like she was a sight for sore eyes. Aster sure was. She just wanted to drink in the sight of her. It had been too long.

“Are you here for a visit? Are you staying? What’s the story?”

She nodded. “We’re in the middle of fall break. Last year, I kept my nose to the grindstone and stayed in Boston working during my time off, but this year, well, I’m taking back a little of my own life.”

“Your family must be thrilled. I just had lunch with Violet yesterday.” It had become their new tradition. A newer friendship thatshe enjoyed. Maybe because through Violet she was reminded of Aster. She hadn’t analyzed it too much. “She should have told me.”

“It was kind of last-minute. I made the leap and booked the ticket just a few days ago. My parents knew. Not sure if Violet did.”

Brynn wondered distantly if Aster knew about Violet’s personal struggles but decided this was maybe not the time. “Have you seen them yet? Your siblings?”

Aster nodded. “I have. My sisters are just through there. They insisted we do the festival together. Sage is running around with his guy friends like middle school. But we’ll meet up with them later.”

“If I remember correctly, you were a huge fan of the large town gatherings.” A joke.

“I’m better at them now. When you give yourself a chance to miss something, you likely do. Speaking of long distance, Brynn, you should see Dill. I’m not kidding. He’s eighteen pounds of fun now. Loves Boston. Can’t eat enough hot dogs.” She slid her hands into her back pockets and something about that very casual gesture made Brynn’s middle section dip, which startled her. It had been a while, but Aster still managed to affect her in the physical sense, apparently. She found that interesting and, quite frankly, jarring. She wasn’t starved for physical affection the way she had been a year ago. Yet Aster still checked that box in a big way. “You have no idea how happy that makes me. He used to be all paws.”

---