Page 45 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
“Bodyguards?” I asked, my voice low. “Isn’t that a bit excessive? Is Thomas safe at the building with Mojo?” I asked, spinning in the seat to face him. “We shouldn’t have left him alone!”
He nodded since he couldn’t take his hands off the hand controls on the truck. “He’s fine. There’s a team there now too. No one is going to get to him. As for being excessive? No, it’s not. We are within a month of completing the project, which makes it money well spent. After what happened to you last night, the motor sabotage, Mathias being run off the road, and the break-in, we aren’t taking any chances.”
My brow went up when he lined it up like that. “Do you think Honey was hurt by one of these goons and she just doesn’t want to say?” I asked, my voice low inside the truck. It was almost too horrifying to say aloud.
He shook his head. “No, she would have told Mathias instantly. They are tight, Charity. I mean tighter than tight.”
I held up my hands in defense. “Okay, I was just checking. I was worried it was more than coincidence that she broke her arm at the same time Mathias got hurt and when all of this is going on.”
He swung into a gravel parking lot, and I was surprised by the number of cars in the lot. “Good thought, but I know Honey and she would never not tell Mathias something like that. I swear to God, she tells him when she gets a hangnail, and then he kisses it and makes it all better.” He rolled his eyes and pretended to gag.
I couldn’t hold in my laughter and let the giggle out into the truck. “Duh, they’re in love with each other. Too bad they can’t figure that much out for themselves.” Gulliver parked the truck in a spot, and I faced the building head-on. “You’re taking me to a barn for my birthday?”
“It’s a barn, but it’s also a restaurant. The Apple Orchard’s the place to be here in Plentiful. They grill the most fantastic steak, which makes sense. It is a barn, after all.” He winked and climbed out of the truck while I gathered my purse and slipped it over my shoulder. His strong hands grasped my waist, and he gently lifted me down to the ground, holding me until I got my feet under me. “Are you steady enough after riding?” he asked, running a finger down my cheek until he got to my shoulder, where he flipped my hair back over it.
“I’m fine, but I should probably think before I drink too much tonight.”
Gulliver bopped my nose. “You deserve a birthday drink, but just one.”
I paused for a moment. “Do I hear music too?”
He grinned, his eyes crinkling in the corners when he did. “That’s the house band. They play all kinds of music from the ’50s and ’60s to country and pop. We’re late enough that people are already dancing, I’m sure. There are several tables on the patio on the other side of the barn to get away and enjoy some quiet, though.”
“Sounds like a fun place,” I agreed, meeting him at the door. “Let’s do this.”
He tugged the door open and motioned me in, but I held it for him to go through with his crutches. I didn’t want the heavy door to hit him and knock him down. When the door swung shut, I noticed the room had gone silent. When I spun around, there was a huge banner hanging from a rafter that saidHAPPY BIRTHDAYsplashed in red across white paper. The whole room broke into applause, and everyone yelled, “Happy birthday!”
I took a step back and ran into Gulliver’s hip. The band was playing the happy birthday song while the crowd sang and clapped. I recognized so many of the people who were clapping along, giant smiles on their faces as they sang. Lucy and Kevin, Honey and Mathias, and before I could say anything, another familiar figure ran through the crowd with her arms open wide.
“Happy birthday, Charity!” Laverne said as she hugged me tightly. “You didn’t think Plentiful was going to let your special day go by without a celebration, did you?”
“Uh, yeah?” I asked while she squeezed the breath out of me.
Laverne released me and checked me over the way a mother would, frowning when she found the goose egg on my temple. She glanced up at Gulliver. “You weren’t kidding. She did a number on herself. I’m glad you’re okay, darling. As for Plentiful ignoring your birthday, not a chance! We’re always happy to have a reason to party here. Don’t think you’re exempt just because you’re new. We have good food and sweet cake waiting. Are you hungry? Do you need a drink?” Laverne asked one question after the next until Gulliver’s hands wrapped around my shoulders.
“Why don’t you show us to our table, Laverne? We’ll let her catch her breath and gather herself before we order drinks and work the room.”
Laverne made finger guns and wiggled them at us. “You got it. Follow me,” she said, forcing the crowd to part as she led us to the back of the barn. It took three times longer than necessary since everyone stopped to wish me a happy birthday. By the time we made it to the patio, my head was spinning. “Take your time and come back in when you’re ready for a drink and some food,” she said, patted my shoulder, and disappeared through the door.
There was a table set for two with a vase of red roses in the middle. I caressed one of the petals and then inhaled the scent from the fragrant buds. “There must be two dozen here,” I whispered.
He wrapped his arms around my waist, his crutches leaning against the chair. “There are twenty-one,” he whispered in my ear. “One for every day you’ve been in my life.”
I twisted in his arms and laid my head against his belly. “Thank you. No one has ever given me flowers before. I’m overwhelmed. I apologize if I cry.”
He rubbed my back patiently while I kept my face buried in his shirt. His silky polo was cool and smooth against my face. His cologne was heady, though, and made me want to inhale deeply every time I was near him. “It’s okay to cry if you want to. I hope they’re happy tears, though, and not from the head injury,” he teased. “In my defense, I told Laverne we were coming in for your birthday dinner. I didn’t know she’d invite half the town.”
I laughed, deeply tickled by the whole idea. “It’s Laverne, Gulliver. Of course she invited half the town.”
He squeezed me tightly to ground me in the space with him. To remind me that no one else in the room mattered but us. “Laverne has a tendency to do things up right, but we can stay out here and avoid the crowd if you’d be more comfortable.”
“Happy birthday, Charity,” a voice said from the doorway, and we both turned. It was Lucy who was waiting with open arms for a hug. I willingly ran to her and held her tightly.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “It was so nice of you to come.”
Honey hugged me next. “We want to celebrate with you, but we also don’t want to overwhelm you because of your head injury. We know what that’s like. Enjoy a quiet dinner out here with Gulliver and then come inside for cake, okay? Everyone is already out dancing, so you can take your time. No pressure.”
I smiled up at her and Kevin, Lucy, and Mathias, who were all nodding. “I’m willing to do a little bit of mingling on the way to the buffet I see over there, but after that I’m stuffing my face before I do anything else!”
