The Magnolia Inn(71)

“What do you have to do to get ready?” he asked.

“Just got to pick up my purse.” She hurried off down the stairs.

She’d be good for you. Melanie’s voice popped into his head so quick that it shocked him. He waited for a full minute, but she didn’t say anything else, so he went down to the foyer and got his jacket.

Jolene slipped her arms into an oversize cardigan. “It’s fairly nice out today. No rain in sight. Maybe we’ll have an early spring.”

Tucker held the door for her. “My grandpa always said not to think spring was here until after Easter, and that’s not until the end of April this year.”

“The Easter snap.” Jolene nodded. “That’s what Uncle Jasper called it.”

“Yep, my grandpa said the same thing.”

The trip to Jefferson took only a few minutes, but Tucker kept thinking about what Melanie had said. Would Jolene be good for him? Here lately, he really had felt a lot less guilty every time he thought about how cute she was with paint smeared on her face or how gorgeous she was when she got all cleaned up for Sunday dinner.

“The work is coming along faster than I thought possible,” Jolene said when they parked outside the antique shop. “And I love the way it looks. Do you think we’ll have the rest of the upstairs done by the end of February?”

“Yes, ma’am, and then we’ll have March to work on the downstairs renovations,” he answered. “There’s not as much actual work there, mainly just deciding how on earth to get a little office space and some basic cosmetic help.”

Her finger shot past his nose. “Look at that, Tucker.”

A whitetail doe and her fawn stood right inside a barbed-wire fence at the edge of the road. It was one of those Kodak moments, but neither of them had their phones ready, so they didn’t catch the picture.

“Ah, man, that was postcard pretty,” Jolene said.

“If we ever see any around the inn, we’ll have to take pictures to go on your website. You are going to keep it updated by seasons, right?”

She leaned forward, no doubt looking for another deer. “You bet I am. And if we ever have a wedding there, I’ll get permission from the bride to post pictures of that, too.”

Lucy met them at the door with her arms spread out to hug Jolene. “I’m so glad to see you today. You kids are like a breath of spring after a long winter. What brings you to town?”

“I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with someone to help with Flossie’s garden.”

Tucker held up a palm. “Don’t look at me. I’ve got black thumbs instead of green ones. Melanie used to say that if I breathed on a plant, it died.”

He’d mentioned her name, and no sadness swirled up around it. He glanced down at the wedding band on his left hand. Was he really starting to take steps forward?

“Me, either. Daddy taught me how to grow flowers, but I wouldn’t know anything about squash or tomatoes,” Jolene said.

“Maybe Sugar can think of someone who might be interested. Flossie loves that garden.” Lucy sighed.

“Don’t you worry. I bet there’s someone who’ll love to help Flossie,” Jolene answered.

Her tone was so honest and caring that Tucker wanted to take her in his arms and hug her. There’d been attraction before, but then, who wouldn’t be drawn to a woman like Jolene? She was strong and independent, and still sweet.

“That’s right. I don’t know why I fret about things like I do. But enough about us old ladies and our problems. I bet you’re here to see the things I bought for the inn, right? Y’all just follow me to the storage room, and I’ll show you what I’ve bought. Since I talked to you, I found another piece. If you want both, I’ll give them to you for what I paid for them.”

“We can’t do that. You need to make a profit,” Tucker said.

“No, I don’t. I’ve got more money than Midas already and no one to leave it to when I’m dead,” Lucy argued as she opened the door into a storage room. “There they are.”

Two small burled-oak washstands, complete with the towel bars, were side by side. There was no doubt that the hardware was original, and they were in pristine condition. Jolene squealed and went to open all the little drawers and then the small door.

“They’re both perfect. That’s so sweet of you to give them to us at such a bargain. Thank you, thank you.” She rushed over to hug Lucy.

Tucker couldn’t help but smile as he pulled out his wallet. “At least let us give you a finder’s fee.”

“Nope. I paid a hundred apiece for them, and that’s what I’m charging. You can back your truck up around to the back doors and load them up.” Lucy smiled. “I’m glad that I did good.”

“You did better than good.” Jolene ran her fingers over the top of each piece. “You did fantabulous.”

Lucy giggled. “Well, thank you.”



Tucker got into bed that evening and laced his fingers behind his head. Clouds kept shifting across the quarter moon, sending shadows and shapes across the ceiling. He turned his head to catch sight of Melanie’s picture on the nightstand, but she was barely visible in the semidarkness. Then he turned the other way to find that Sassy wasn’t in her usual place on the pillow but had curled up at the foot of the bed.