Alan had planned to find a way home after he made sure Lindy got squared away at the hospital, but he found he couldn’t leave her just yet. He took a nap on the couch in the hotel room and grabbed a clean shirt at a nearby store. He needed to see the outcome of the surgery before he left.
Lindy and Joan held each other’s hands as the orderly wheeled Celeste’s bed from the room, then they all walked down to the waiting area together. They could have stayed in Celeste’s room, but the waiting area was closer to the OR, and somehow that seemed to make it just a little bit easier.
They got settled into their seats, and Joan grabbed the remote control and flipped off the TV. “I can’t handle a home renovation show right now,” she said. “All those open concepts and gray walls—I just can’t.”
Alan leaned over and whispered, “What’s wrong with open concepts and gray walls?”
“Nothing,” Lindy replied. “She’s just saying that life shouldn’t be going on as normal right now.”
That, Alan could understand.
An hour into the surgery, Lindy got a text. “It’s from Trix,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “She says that all the charges have been filed and processed, and her case is moving forward.”
“That’s great news,” Alan replied. “I know sometimes those things take forever.”
“Her brother’s very motivated to keep on it until this one’s pushed through.” Lindy looked over at her mother, who was standing by the window and staring out at probably nothing. “When my case went south the way it did, my parents were devastated. They wanted every form of revenge they could get, and when I was the one to lose my reputation and not him, it broke them. Trix needs justice.”
“Have you ever looked him up? Curious to see what became of him?”
Lindy shook her head. “Nope. Not at all. He doesn’t deserve my time. He already took a chunk of my life away—he doesn’t get more.”
“Amazing women must run in your family. I would say amazing men, too, but I haven’t met any of them yet.”
“We’re all pretty amazing, actually.” She grinned. “So, you want to meet the men in my family?”
“I want to meet every relative you’ve ever had or think you might possibly be related to in any way.” His tone was light, but his intent was serious—he wanted to be part of Lindy’s life. He’d spent just over a week with her, and in such a short amount of time, he knew this was where he was supposed to be—by her side.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I think you’re the one who’s amazing. Be right back. Ladies’ room.”
She disappeared down the hall, and Alan pulled out his phone. He studied the programmed numbers for a moment, then stepped outside and dialed. “Hey, Dara? Yeah, it’s me. Yes, I’m planning to come home for Thanksgiving.” He paused. “Do you have a minute? I want to talk to you about something.”
***
The surgery went longer than the specialist anticipated, and to add to the gloom, it started to rain. Lindy couldn’t sit there another moment—she had to get out.
“Mom, text me as soon as you know anything, all right? I’ve got to take a walk or something.”
Joan’s eyes flicked at Alan. “I’m coming too,” he said, pushing to his feet.
“Thank you,” Lindy said as they walked down the hall. “You’ve got to be exhausted.”
“Yes, but that’s what the couch in your hotel room is for, right?” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Celeste is going to be fine.”
“I know that, but I don’t know that.” Lindy pushed through the doors and stepped out into the fresh air. “Smell that rain. Absolutely nothing in the world smells like that.”
“Agreed.”
When she stepped out from the safety of the overhang, Alan didn’t stop her. He simply walked along beside her as she followed the cobblestone path, letting the drops of water hit her neck and trickle down her back. She didn’t feel wet—she didn’t feel anything. She just needed to think.
Throughout her life, all the roads had led right back to Quinn Valley. Her parents had loved her and done every single thing they could for her, but she’d needed to plant herself somewhere else, and they’d understood. Celeste had been her safe haven, her planter box where she’d bloomed. If something happened to her aunt . . .
No. Nothing was going to happen. The surgery would be successful, even if they had been in there an hour and a half longer than they’d said.
Finally, Lindy’s phone buzzed with a text, and she snatched it from her pocket. “She’s out of surgery,” she said, waving her phone in the air. “She’s out, and she’s in recovery.”
They retraced their steps as quickly as they could and entered the building only to be stopped halfway across the lobby by a nurse. “You can’t track all that water in here,” she said. “What did you do—go puddle jumping?”
“I’m sorry, but my aunt just got out of surgery, and I need to see her,” Lindy said, a sob breaking her voice. “Please. I know we’re making a mess—bring us some mops and we’ll clean it up. But we’ve got to go in.”
The nurse pursed her lips. “I’ll grab you a couple of towels, and I’ll call housekeeping. Wait right here.”
With the promised towels wrapped around their heads, Alan and Lindy continued on to the surgical wing, where they found Joan in tears. “She’s going to be all right. We knew she would be, but now we know,” Joan said, wrapping Lindy in a giant hug.
“See?” Lindy said to Alan over her mother’s shoulder. “I come by it honestly.”
He didn’t reply. He just leaned against the doorjamb and grinned, toweling his hair.
***
Two days had gone by since the surgery. Alan actually did hitch a ride with a UPS truck and had gone home to get some rest, but he’d promised he’d come back the next day. Celeste was still in a lot of pain, but she had her sense of humor, and the doctors were very pleased with her progress.
Joan was taking a nap at the hotel and Lindy was taking a turn with her aunt when Celeste patted the bed. “Come here a minute, hon.”
Lindy obediently sat.
“It’s time to have that hard conversation, Lindy.”
“I was hoping that with all the surgery drugs and whatnot, you’d forget all about that.”
“I’ve got a mind like a steel trap. Let’s talk about this. Everything in life goes in cycles. Remember the scripture about times and seasons? I’ve had a wonderful time with Scentiments, but its season has come to an end. I’m not very old, but I’m certainly not very young, and it’s obvious that my recovery from this is going to take a long time. I can’t ask you to stay on—you’ve got classes to take and a life to live. It’s time for us to contact Mr. Wall, Lindy. He’s a little odd, but he’ll take good care of the place.”
“I told him to his face that I would never let you sell to him,” Lindy replied.
“Oh, you did?” Celeste chuckled. “He annoyed you that badly?”
“Worse. Such things must not be allowed.”
“Then we’ll find another buyer. But this can’t continue, hon. We both know it, don’t we?”
Lindy pressed her lips together. She wondered if she had the courage to say what she was thinking, what she’d started thinking about in the rain and hadn’t been able to stop thinking about ever since. “Here’s the thing, Aunt Celeste,” she said at length. “You have always been my rock. You’ve been my strength. You gave me a place to hide, and then you gave me a place to start over. Scentiments isn’t just your store—it’s part of my healing, and that had nothing to do with essential oils or lotions, but everything to do with you. You’re the shop, and the shop is you, and the shop is me. You’re in me. We’re all knit together. That’s why I can’t bear the thought of you selling—it would be like losing a piece of my soul.”
“For me too,” Celeste admitted, wiping away a tear. “But I don’t know what else to do.”
Lindy continued like she hadn’t heard her aunt’s comment. “I’m dropping out of school, and I want to come on board as your partner,” she said. “Yes, I love animals, but I’ve never loved anything like I’ve loved the shop. It fills up my heart. It makes me happy. These last two weeks, even though I’ve only run it at partial capacity, it’s been such a blessing to me, and I want to get my hands in there and try new scents and hold sales and give everything a fresh coat of paint. I want to sink into it and let it sink into me. Please don’t sell, Aunt Celeste. Please let me do this.”
Celeste reached out and grabbed Lindy’s hand, her cheeks sodden with tears. “Of course,” she said, sniffing. “Of course. This is the perfect answer, and it’s what I’ve always wanted, but I thought your heart was set on becoming a veterinarian.”
“My heart’s set on finding my way, and this is my way,” Lindy replied. “So . . . is that a yes?”
“Yes, it’s a yes, you silly girl. Now get down here and give me a hug.”
Lindy squeezed her aunt as tightly as she dared, grinning at how similar it was to hugging Alan. Well, only the need to be careful. Hugging her aunt was absolutely nothing like hugging Alan in just about every other way she could think of.