“I’m going.”
“Today, Birdy.”
“Of course. In a minute.”
The sound of tires on the gravel path outside makes us both look up. Through the greenhouse glass, a big old truck rolls to a stop in the small parking area.
Nell appears at my side. “Who is that?”
“That,” I say, “is Jude.”
She fans herself with her trusty clipboard. “It is? Oh, wow.”
“Doesn’t mean anything. He’s probably looking for some flowers.”
“Birdy. He came to your place of work. That means something.”
The truck door opens, and he steps out, his boots hitting the ground. Jude stands in the parking area for a moment, looking at the farm sign as if he’s confirming he’s in the right place.
Then he spots me and walks toward the greenhouse door.
Chapter Four
Jude
I don’t know why I’m nervous. Or why I even drove up here. I remembered Birdy telling me she works at this farm, but I don’t have a reason to be here except to see her again. So while I was driving over, I figured I could ask about plant supplies and flowers. If they even sell those? Maybe they only sell seeds or tubers? I honestly have no idea. Buying flowers isn’t exactly something I have experience with. But I can’t stay away from Birdy. I need to see her again. The craving is so strong, I can’t even explain it with words.
The greenhouse door opens before I reach it, and she steps out holding a bouquet of flowers. She looks up at me. I look down at her.
“Hey, Jude,” she says.
“Birdy.” I clear my throat. “I was in the area.”
“Oh, okay,” she says.
“Needed supplies.” I look past her at the greenhouse. “Flower supplies.”
“You need flower supplies?” she asks, looking both confused and amused.
“For my, um, yeah.”
I sound like a fool. Years of coordinating disaster relief operations in some of the most chaotic places on earth, and I cannot complete a sentence in front of one woman.
A woman appears in the doorway and smiles at me. “Hi there! I’m Nell. I own the farm. You must be Jude.”
Birdy’s cheeks grow red, and she looks up at the sky to avert my gaze.
“Birdy’s told me so much about you,” Nell continues. “Can I just say thank you for what you did yesterday?” She presses a hand to her heart and sighs. “A bear. Can you imagine! And you rescued her.”
“Nell,” Birdy says.
“I’m just saying thank you to your rescuer.”
Nell turns back to me. “Now. Flower supplies, you said? What are you looking for specifically?”
I have no answer to this because I have no idea what I need. Hell, I don’t even need anything, and I know nothing about growing flowers.
“Not flowers exactly, but more… um… general supplies,” I say.