The Chocolate Garden (Dare River Book 2) (2 page)

“I’ve never seen anyone happier to begin a summer job where it’s expected she’ll work long hours and rarely have a day off. She’s like Rye, in love with her work.”

Amelia Ann was dancing with a man Tammy didn’t recognize, her blond hair cascading down her back as she laughed at something he said. She’d grown her hair out, and she often left it down in utter defiance of her mama’s decree about proper ladies not having big hair. Of course, she wore it up in a professional do when she was in lawyer mode, but at the moment, her curls hung to the middle of her back. Mama had suggested she cut it for the wedding, but Amelia Ann had easily refused, making Mama’s mouth pinch like she’d sucked down sour buttermilk.

Yes, Amelia Ann had made short work of reinventing herself. Part of Tammy was jealous of the ease with which she’d managed it.

But everyone had a different path lined with a different set of challenges.

“I’m going to take a stroll through your gardens before it grows dark. I’m so proud of you, honey.” Aunt Henrietta air-kissed her cheek so they wouldn’t have a lipstick incident. Vanity trumped true affection in public, something Tammy wouldn’t be passing on to her daughter.

Left alone, she turned and watched as Annabelle ran over to her granddaddy and tried to tug him toward the dance floor. He was mid-conversation with Rye’s deputy business manager and groomsman, Clayton Chandler, but he excused himself to twirl her daughter around the dance floor, prompting more of Annabelle’s girlish giggles.

“You should join them.”

Tammy turned toward the voice, which she imagined a giant oak would sound like if it could speak, and felt a different brand of nerves surface. John Parker McGuiness had a sweating longneck in his hand. The man was equally comfortable wearing a three-thousand dollar suit as he was in a wrinkled John Deere T-shirt and running shorts. Yet, in formal dress, he was devastatingly handsome. The beer rounded out his style. Casual, yet elegant. That was John Parker to a tee. She was fascinated by how comfortable he was with himself, and since he was one of Rye’s best friends and a frequent visitor at their house, she’d had plenty of opportunity to interact with him.

John Parker’s curly brown hair glinted in the sun’s fading light, and the twinkle in his blue eyes made her wonder if he knew what she was thinking. Dear God, she hoped not. As he waited for her to respond, he smiled slowly. The devilish dimple in his left cheek made his handsomeness more approachable. And then he winked at her and all she could do was stare like some tongue-tied schoolgirl.

Earlier, he’d met her halfway down the aisle as her companion in the bridal party, electrifying her arm with his touch. His boy-next-door good looks, intense gaze, and easy charm had…gotten to her since she’d arrived in Dare River.

He’d never made a move on her, but she knew she wasn’t alone in her attraction. She could all but feel his desire to wrap her up and carry her off.

“Did you hear me, honey?” he asked again.

“I heard you. I just haven’t anything to say back.” The words were slightly rude, but she was always stuck between a conversational rock and a hard place with this man. She could show neither cool artifice nor real emotion with him. No one muddied her water like John Parker.

His sexy mouth twitched. “How about I just talk then?
So,
it was a nice wedding.”

Okay, she could do conversation. Heck, she’d gotten an A in the Conversation Class at Mrs. Augusta’s. “Your mama’s words at the ceremony were really moving,” she said. To further unsettle her, he was a preacher’s kid and a rock solid man of faith. It was a quality that appealed to her in a man, especially after her experience with Sterling, who had been able to say all the right words in church without ever meaning them.

“It meant a lot to her when Rye and Tory asked her to marry them. She’s fond of saying, ‘I’ve been praying for that boy for years.’ She couldn’t be happier to see the direction his life has taken.”

“We all are.” His mama, Reverend Louisa Adams, was a gem, and so were John Parker’s three sisters, whom he’d spun around on the dance floor earlier. Yeah, she’d been watching.

“Rye told me you handled the flowers. And of course, the gardens are perfect and growing like a rocket now that summer is easing up. Tammy, you outdid yourself.”

She followed his gaze as it swept across Rye’s property. She had designed the gardens last fall after coming to live with her brother. She’d planted an array of trees in different colors and textures, everything from weeping willows to dogwoods to magnolias, with a few more exotic varieties added in to catch the eye. Crammed with hundreds of different plant species, the garden beds exploded with color, weaving around the vibrant green grass like a windy mountainous path. There was blue and purple foliage for contrast against the green, weeping branches for texture, and mop-size blooms for impact.

She was proud of it.

Pride was a new, rare emotion for her—one she liked. Gardening was the only thing she thought she was good at right now other than mothering, and even her confidence with her kids had taken a hit during her marriage to Sterling. All of her other accomplishments—ones she hated like her ability at bridge or tennis or dressage or even gossip—had fallen away like a house of cards. Heck everything she’d thought she was inside and out was undergoing a complete overhaul.

Reading books about women and their journeys had blown her life open. Realizing she wasn’t alone in wanting to be loved for the woman she was helped, as did the hundreds of other passages she’d outlined with her highlighter.

“I’m happy everything came together,” she responded. “I’m so glad Rye and Tory wanted to get married here.”

“People can’t stop talking about the gardens, Tammy.”

Yes, and she’d dropped hints that she was starting her own business. A few of the people who’d loved her work had given her their business cards, making her toes dance inside her shoes.

“Thank you, John Parker. That’s kind of you to say.”

He shifted on his feet, drawing her attention to his muscular legs. She forced herself to look away.

“I didn’t want to ask you before, what with the wedding and all, but now that it’s done, I was hoping you might be willing to look over my property and design something like you did here for me.”

Her breath rushed out. Of all the people at the wedding, she wouldn’t have expected John Parker to be interested in flowers and gardens. “Are you serious?”

“Of course I am. I like to be outside, and now that you’ve worked your magic on Rye’s place, my own has started to look pretty plain in comparison. It’d be nice to have something more interesting to look at.”

She wondered if it was a ploy to spend more time with her, but she was so delighted, she didn’t care if he had ulterior motives. He was Rye’s friend, and while he watched her with an intensity that gave her goosebumps, he hadn’t made a move on her…nor would he any time soon. For which she was glad. Yes, she was glad. She’d just shed one man, and while she found John Parker devastatingly attractive, sweet, and compelling, she wasn’t anywhere near ready for another.

This was her time to discover who she really wanted to be, and nothing was going to interfere with that.

“Well, I am starting my own gardening business,” she confessed.

“You are? Well, that’s wonderful. Do you have anyone else signed up?”

“Ah, no. I mentioned my plans to a few of the guests, but I’m going to set things up more officially after the wedding.”

Rye and Tory were leaving tomorrow for a short honeymoon in Memphis before starting his summer concert tour, which meant Tammy and the kids would be alone at the house for months. While she would miss her brother and sister-in-law like crazy, she was looking forward to having more time to devote to her business.

“I’d love to have the first official spot on your calendar. I can bring by a check this week for whatever you consider a reasonable down payment.”

“That would be…wonderful,” she said, trying to keep her cool as her heart did a twirl. Her second paying client, and this one wasn’t a relative.

“Exchanging money is a form of a contract in my legal mind.”

“We can work out the money once I give you an estimate.” The official nature of it made her want to take a deep breath and grin at the same time. “It’s a bit late in the season to be starting a project like this though,” she forced out.

He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about that. I know it will work out just fine.”

If they watered all of the plants and trees with clock-work precision, it should be okay, she decided. “Then consider yourself my first priority.”

“Good. We can set a time for you to swing on by. Once we discuss your ideas, we’ll draw up the contract.”

Now they were in more official territory. She and Daddy needed to get her incorporation papers finished pronto. “Perfect.”

There. She sounded like a confident businesswoman. Of course, she’d need to create a pricing strategy, but she’d read books about that as well. She had never handled her own money, and she’d put off learning about finances, afraid she might not be up to the task. Mama had never encouraged her and her sister to excel at math when they were in school, saying ladies didn’t need to worry their little heads about such things.

A couple careened a bit too close to them then, and he drew her back to prevent a collision.

Oh, how his hands felt on her skin. So shocking and forbidden and delicious.

“I know you probably have plenty of help from your daddy, but if you need any business or legal advice in passing, just ask me.”

“That’s brilliant of you,” she said, happy for all the help she could get. It seemed as though she came up with three new questions for each hour of business research she did. Everything from calculating overhead costs to figuring out how to pay taxes as a small business.

“I’m a brilliant guy, or hasn’t Rye mentioned it?” he teased.

He
was
brilliant. That much she knew. He and Rye had gone to law school together at Vanderbilt. Rye had dropped out just weeks shy of graduation to pursue country music, breaking with family tradition…and up until recently, his family. John Parker had continued with the law, even though he was also in demand as a songwriter for the country’s top artists, including her brother. That man had more left and right brain action going on than should be legal.

Rye appeared beside them, swaying to the country music playing over the speakers. “How are my two favorite people in the world?”

“We’re wonderful,” she responded, her voice soft. She loved seeing him this happy. “But I’m surprised Tory’s not in your top two.”

“Aw, sugar, you know she’s in a category all her own,” he drawled.

She gave him a smile and said, “And how are you faring on this fine day?”

“Better than I ever imagined I could be,” he said, his grin contagious. “You two need to dance.”

When Rye’s hip bumped hers playfully, her mouth twitched. She’d grown more at ease with her brother’s sometimes outlandish behavior and his emotional intensity. She imagined the same current ran through them both, as strong as the current in Dare River, but she hadn’t tapped into hers yet. She’d dammed her feelings up so tightly the water had grown still and stagnant. Even so, she could feel something shifting inside herself, and she was afraid of where all that emotion might take her if she let it run its course.

So she was only planning to open one gate of the dam at a time.

“This music isn’t quite my style,” she responded, knowing it wasn’t wise to dance with John Parker. His touch was too electric by half.

Rye swung an arm around her shoulders. “Do you want me to see if they can play something from our ol’ cotillion days, honey?”

She knew he meant it in fun, but her stomach tightened. Images of white dresses and gloves swam in her head. She’d been thinking way too much about Mrs. Augusta today, particularly when she’d promised herself to shut the door on such unhelpful habits.

John Parker removed the champagne flute that was now clenched so tightly in her hand it was in danger of shattering. “Perhaps if we can find something you like, you’ll let me have a dance. Don’t the maid of honor and best man always share a dance?”

In her old circles, they certainly did. Weddings had an order to them—they followed tradition. Even if it made them suffocating, like her own had been.

As she watched her family, she realized they, at least, were cutting loose. With the exception of her mama, of course. Tory was laughing with gusto while Rory twirled and wiggled his little hips in time to the music.

Thank God Tory was not one to follow convention. Just watching her was like having a front row seat in a whole new class about life.

“Tory looks so free and happy,” she murmured.

Rye’s grin stretched even wider at the mention of his bride. “Isn’t she beautiful? I mean, I used to sneer at all that sweet talk, but seriously… J.P., have you ever seen a more beautiful woman?”

Her brother was right. With her black hair, porcelain skin, and petite figure elegantly displayed by a simple long white wedding dress, Tory made a stunning bride. Tammy and her sister had helped her pick out her gown, and it had been a special day for all three of them. Of course, the dress only accentuated Tory’s happy glow.

John Parker nodded. “You’re a lucky man, Rye. Rhett, Clayton, and I are all breathing easy now that you’re settling down. We won’t have to worry about any of your wild antics anymore.”

“Hey, Rhett,” Rye called out to his friend, who was dancing with Abbie, the love of his life. “J.P. here says you don’t think I have any more wild in me.”

“That’s about right,” Rhett shouted back and dipped his woman, causing her to laugh and clutch his jacket.

“Tame as a pussycat, am I?” Rye leaned into John Parker. “You should see the sexy apron I got my wife for the honeymoon,” he whispered, but not quietly enough. Tammy heard every word.

Mrs. Augusta’s advice flashed to mind:
When men are being inappropriate around you, ignore them.

John Parker cleared his throat and glanced at Tammy like he knew it was totally inappropriate to talk that way in front of a lady. No doubt he did. “Well, you did originally meet when she became your cook. I still can’t believe she agreed to cook for you again on your summer tour.”