The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane

He remembered how his grandpa had fought the whole business of aging, tootling around in his Caddy, trying to take out half the population in his small town. After Gramps had run a stop sign and T-boned a truck, Mom had finally convinced him to turn over his car keys, but it had sent him into a depression that lasted for three months. The only thing that pulled him out was getting rides to the senior center from the widow down the road who drove a 1950 MG. Cruising around in a sports car with a sexy seventy-year-old had eased the pain.

What was going to ease the pain for the Halversons? They didn’t have any kids. All they had was each other, and with Mike barely recovering in the nursing home, Todd wasn’t sure how long that would last.

“We were hoping you might like to buy the house,” Millie said timidly.

Just what he needed—another old Victorian to fix up.

She must have seen his hesitation. “We’ll give you a good deal.”

“Millie, I don’t want to screw you guys over. But, well, I’ve got a place.”

“I know,” she said. “But only last fall you were talking with Mike about finding some more business investments. And this is commercially zoned.”

Except that he couldn’t see himself setting up some fussy little shop. “Aw, Millie, I appreciate the offer but...”

“Prime location. You could rent it out to someone wanting to have a shop.”

Of course, she was right. He’d be a fool not to scoop this place up. “What do you want for it?”

The number she gave him was pathetically low. Good Lord, did the woman have no idea what property values were in Icicle Falls these days? “Uh-uh. I’m not out to steal from you.”

“Well, then, make me an offer.”

He did.

She shook her head. “Too high.”

He had to laugh. “Mrs. H., you do know that this isn’t how you do a real-estate deal? The idea is to get the most money you can.”

“You’ve been awfully good to us since Mike had his stroke—even before. We’ve talked it over and we’d like to help you a little.”

“You’ll need that money,” he said. “Assisted living isn’t cheap.”

“We have money, dear,” she told him. “We just need to unload this house.”

Yeah, right. Who did she think she was kidding? He named another figure, and she countered. At last he threw out a final number he thought he could live with. It was still a bargain, but at least not so much of a steal that he’d feel like a robber. “And that’s my final offer.”

She nodded. “Done.”

“Do you want to talk to your husband about my offer?” Not that Mike could talk so well these days.

“No, I have power of attorney. Anyway, we’ve already discussed this. He’ll be relieved. I’ll have our lawyer draw up the papers. If you can arrange financing, we can get this settled pretty quickly.”

“There’s no rush,” he assured her.

She smiled sadly. “Oh, yes, there is. My sister and her husband are coming here next week to help us move. We found a lovely place in Bremerton.”

“Oh.” He sat back, shocked.

She smiled sadly at him. “Mike’s not getting any better. There was no point letting grass grow under our feet.”

“I’d have kept mowing it,” he said, trying to lighten the moment.

She patted his arm. “I know. You’ve been a good friend to us. Mike sure loved going over to The Man Cave on Thursday nights and playing pool with you. It was something to look forward to.”

“Same here,” Todd said. Mike had reminded him a lot of his grandpa, and he’d enjoyed the old guy. “I’m gonna miss you two.”

“Life moves on, dear,” she said. She gave him another pat. “Do something wonderful with this place and make us proud.”

He nodded, fighting the urge to go all wimpy and cry. “I will.”

“I know you will. You’re a smart young man.”

“That’s what my mama always says,” he cracked. Too bad he’d never heard those words from his dad.

He and Millie shook hands, and then he left, mentally adding a visit to the bank to the day’s to-do list. As he walked to his Harley, he glanced around the street, looking at the various shops. Yep, this was a sweet location. What could he put in that house? Something food-related? He didn’t yet know what the old Victorian would become, what should be done with it, but he’d know when he saw it. Oh, yeah, the Halversons had given him an incredible deal.

He smiled. A new business acquisition this morning and a date with the delicious Cecily Sterling tonight. Life was good.

Chapter Three (#u41e1ead5-8ff4-59a5-a7f7-76ae0b53d248)

Cecily was poking around in her closet, trying to decide what to wear on her date with Todd, when Samantha called to tell her their little sister was coming home.

“Thank God,” Cecily said. “She needs to be here with people who care about her.”

“She also needs a place to stay. Mom’s is too small.”

“She can stay with me.” Cecily had bought Samantha’s condo when Samantha married Blake Preston. The condo had two bedrooms, and she wasn’t really using the spare one other than as a catchall for her extra clothes and some of her craft supplies.

“That’s what I told her.”

“You did?” Their big sister would have made an excellent dictator.

“I knew you’d offer,” Samantha said in her own defense.

“Oh, so you’re psychic. For a minute there, I thought you were just being bossy.”

“That, too,” Samantha admitted. “Really, I knew you’d offer to take her in. But she can also stay with Blake and me for a while.”

They did have three bedrooms. One was an office, but the other they used as a guest room. Now that she thought about it, Cecily was surprised her sister hadn’t insisted Bailey stay with them. What was up with that?

“No, it’s okay,” Cecily said. “I’m fine with having her.”

She and Bailey had hung out often when they were both in L.A. Bailey had even catered some mixers for Cecily’s matchmaking company. Their relationship, Cecily supposed, had the same ebb and flow as that of most sisters. As kids they’d had their squabbles, but just as often they’d banded together against a common enemy—their older sister. As they moved toward puberty they’d fought more, and sharing a room hadn’t helped. But as they’d settled into adulthood and set aside teenage pettiness, they’d come full circle to the camaraderie they’d enjoyed as little girls. It would be fun having her sister stay with her now that they didn’t have to share a room, Cecily decided.

“I booked her flight home,” Samantha said. “She’ll come in on Friday. Want to go to the airport with me to pick her up?”

“You’re leaving the office?” Cecily teased.