Page 3 of Wishes on Wildflowers
“Why?” Basil stretched his long legs under the table and crossed his ankles. “It was so much more fun this way.”
Why had Nathan considered Jasmine’s older brother one of his keeper friends again? He’d known there was little love lost between that pair of siblings, which had seemed a good thing until now, or at least an okay thing. But Jasmine didn’t deserve to be treated like this. “I’ll find a different rental.” Where? Moving in with his dad, even temporarily, wasn’t an option. Nathan shoved the thought aside. “I’ll find plenty of work in freelance marketing, so don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
Peter shook his head. “Alex needs the suite rented out either way, plus we need someone experienced to help us figure out how to keep our numbers, not only in the black, but growing. It’s Alex’s name on the mortgage, and he’s doing our books. He’s given us our homework, but we need help with a plan to meet his projections.”
“Well, I say having Hamelin on board is more important than my sister.” Basil pulled to his feet. “We can get honey from any number of sources, and her herbs and stuff are no big deal. Anyone can pick them.”
Oh, boy. Good thing Jasmine couldn’t hear, or those glares would turn into fireworks worthy of the Fourth of July.
Peter shook his head, his mouth tight, as he tossed the keys from one hand to the other. “First things first. Let me show you the suite, Hamelin. We’ll give it a day or two and figure out what to do next.”
It wasn’t like Nathan had any other options for a place to sleep. Not tonight, anyway, but he’d better start looking. Being on the wrong side of Jasmine meant being on the wrong side of her grandmother, and that meant Bridgeview would be a mighty uncomfortable place to live.
Just what he needed.
2
Jasmine stompedinto her third-floor apartment, still seething as she kicked her boots into the corner and stripped off her raincoat. The nerve of Basil. The nerve of Nathan, to just show up in her life after eight years. All three guys had apologized. Like “sorry” meant anything. Not hardly, especially from her brother.
She reached for the teakettle and froze, her hand in mid-air as Linnea Ranta rose from the sofa across the small space, a worried frown on her face. “Jasmine, are you okay?”
Even worse, her roommate had company. Her brother’s live-in, Dixie, whom Jasmine had met only once. Since when were the two of them actually friends?
Jasmine looked between both sets of startled eyes. She needed to fix her foul mood, and soon. Like, instantly. She forced a chuckle. “Sorry about that. I’m so tired of all this rain. I guess it’s gotten to me.”
Not completely false. Spring in eastern Washington State tended to be soggy, but at least this year was a step up from a couple of years ago when it had snowed well into March. She was ready for warmer, drier weather, when she could get her Harley-Davidson Sportster out of Dad’s storage shed andpark her truck for the summer. When she could get out to the wild places and forage for fiddleheads and find her peace in nature.
Dixie gathered her largely pregnant body off the sofa and reached for her purse. “I need to get going. Mom can only watch the kids until four, so I’d better pick them up.”
Linnea swung back to Dixie. “Oh, you don’t have to go yet.”
“Yeah, I do. Thanks for tea.” She gave Linnea an awkward grimace and lumbered over to the entry. The coat she slipped on had no chance in the world of meeting over the faded floral top beneath it, and her rain boots looked like a leak waiting for a place to happen. She offered an exhausted smile before exiting and, with a click, the door shut behind her.
Jasmine shook her head as she filled the kettle. “I’m sorry I interrupted your visit.” Seemed like apologies were the order of the day.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve been trying to get together with her for a couple of months, but she’s understandably wary of my family. Dad treats her like a tramp.”
Which wasn’t completely uncalled for. Dixie’s two preschoolers had different fathers, and now she was expecting Linnea’s brother’s baby.
“Anyway, this was a good start. I just feel so sorry for her and Dan both.”
Jasmine’s eyebrows shot up. “You feelsorryfor them? They’ve made their choices. Now they get to live with the consequences.”
“Well, yes, but I think my brother really loves her. I’m afraid she’ll move on to some other guy in a few months or a year, and Dan won’t have access to his child.”
Jasmine zipped her mouth. Anyone who shacked up with a woman like Dixie should’ve thought of that before getting her pregnant. Thankfully Dan Ranta wasn’therbrother, or she’d also be stuck with their pompous oldest sibling, Dave Junior. Instead, she was stuck with Basil. Comparing him to her roommate’s brothers almost made Basil look good.
Almost, but not quite.
Linnea leaned against the peninsula. “You avoided my question. You were in a great mood when you went up to the guys’ house an hour ago. The rain wasn’t getting you down then. What happened?”
“My brother happened. Nathan Hamelin happened.”
“Which bro — never mind. It had to be Basil. Nathan? Isn’t that the guy who...?” She left the question dangling.
“The very one. Get this. Basil and Peter decided it was a fabulous idea to hire Nathan to do the marketing for Bridgeview Backyards.” Jasmine held up her hand to forestall the question she could see forming in her roommate’s eyes. “Not only that, they’re renting him their basement suite.”
“I didn’t know he lived in Spokane.”
