Page 33 of All Inn Thyme
“I don’t know what to say.” I feel so loved right now. Overwhelmed, but loved.
“Let me love you,” Beth says in a deep voice.
I laugh. “You’resoweird.”
“And that’s why you love us.” Allie grins. “Okay, I’ve got to get to the bakery before the contractors this morning. You good to keep Caleb today, Mellie?”
“Margie has them for now, and then I’ll get them after work. I’m going to take them out to the gardens to play later.” I clear my glass and plate from the table. “Thanks, ladies. I love you, guys.”
“You bet, love you back,” Beth says as she hands the bags to me.
“We love you more,” Allie says as she blows me a kiss and I duck out back with all my new clothes, excited to try them on.
* * *
I get all my rooms clean and barely have enough time to swipe a bottle of water on my way out to the gardens when Sasha stops me. “Uh-uh. Freeze. Get back here, I have something for you.”
I step back into the kitchen. Sasha hands me a sandwich wrapped in a napkin. “You can eat this on your way.” Then she tosses me a bag of chips and a few baggies of carrots and cucumbers.
“Thank you,” I call out as I wave and head out to the back of the property, thankful she thought to make me a to-go lunch.
I park in front of the greenhouse and reach into my bag to pull out the map I drew of my garden. I’ve redrawn these plans dozens of times and color-coded them with markers. It’s been so fun to dream up what’s growing where, what color of flowers, what vegetables, what fruits, and adjust when I find another little piece of land to add to it.
I finish up my lunch and take a sip of water. I wave curiously at Evan as he pulls up next to me and parks.
“Hi, what are you doing here? I thought your mom was going to drop the boys off?”
“Hey, they’ll be out here in a bit, they’re finishing up something,” he says, walking over to me. “Let’s take a walk so you can show me what you’ve been up to.”
I’m excited to show him some of my plans for the gardens. Honestly, I always look forward to sharing this with anyone who is willing to let me garden-dump all over them.
We walk through the main section, and I unwrap my map to show him the layout. I don’t miss the way he smiles when he sees me with the map. I will admit it: yes, I am a garden geek. But to do what I want to do, I have to be organized and have a plan.
I smooth it out and say, “Okay, I’m thinking this is the main garden for our inn produce and our personal growing,” I say as I point to the spot on the map and motion to the space in front of us.
“Then over in the back, I have half of the lot set up for a lavender garden that we can harvest to sell for soaps, flower arrangements, teas, that kind of thing. I also think we can potentially sell to other harvesters, you know, down the road, and possibly turn a pretty good profit.”
Evan’s eyes widen and he nods, taking all of this in as I talk.
“Then back here is where I want to set up the giving garden.”
“What’s that?” he asks, running his hand over his beard.
“It’s a community garden that Freedom Valley residents can work on together. A place to bring people together. I have a blessing box I want to ask Pete to help me set up at the front of it where people can come and get free produce. Kind of like a food pantry for anyone that needs it. I’ve always dreamed of doing something like this, but I wasn’t ever in the position to do it before I moved here. There’s no way Bradley would have ever let me have that much contact with other people back in Mississippi. I’m excited to finally get to do this—to have plenty of food for the inn and still be able to make something special for our community.”
“I love that idea.” Evan nods enthusiastically. And I knew he would. Evan is big on giving back and uses the inn to help the community as much as he can. He’s shown me generosity and inspired me to do it for others, as well.
“I just figure that this place has been so good to me, I want to give good back, too. Maybe do workshops someday on gardening. Even a little camp for kids or something. I don’t know, I just have a lot of ideas on how to expand this and make it benefit others.”
“I had no idea you had so many plans. I’m on board with everything. Whatever you need, we’ll help you make it happen. We also have another housekeeper coming on part-time, so that will give you a lot more availability to work back here.”
My heart warms. Evan has given me more than he’ll ever know in the past year. He is the first man I have ever fully trusted, other than Mitch. He’s shown me a friendship that is kind, authentic, and encouraging. He says what he means and means what he says—no hidden agendas—so a compliment like this is everything coming from him. He’s been a big part of me being able to heal and finally trust anyone again.
He continues looking around in awe. “Seriously. Watching you plan this all out over the past year and seeing your hard work come to life is just amazing. You should be very proud of yourself. Honestly, there’s really nothing you can’t do, Mel.”
My mind wanders back to that night we rode in the back of Mitch’s semi all the way across the country to meet up with Evan and begin our new life. I was terrified, exhausted, and just hoped to catch a break. I barely had the courage to hope for something good to happen, yet it did. Sometimes it just takes time for good things to happen.
Some superheroes don’t wear capes. They’re ordinary guys like Evan and Mitch who are just good people. And if you find people like that? Hold them close and appreciate them with everything that you’ve got.
