The Resurrection of Wildflowers (Wildflower #2)(55)

“Auntie Lauren!” Seda shrieks, climbing off the counter.

Lauren presses her fingers to her temples. “Quiet down my favorite little gremlin.”

“I didn’t know you were here,” Seda jabbers, wrapping her arms around Lauren’s legs. Poor Lauren looks like she’s about to throw up. “Are you hungry? My dad made waffles. I helped.”

“We’ll see, kid.” She ruffles Seda’s hair and sits down at the table, laying her head on the surface.

Salem grabs the bottle of orange juice, pouring a glass for all of us. She carries one over to Lauren and says something about going to grab ibuprofen for her.

Lauren raises her hand, giving a thumb’s up.

I plate up waffles for everyone and Seda helps me set the table.

Salem returns, handing Lauren two pills. She gulps them down and mutters something under her breath. Salem laughs, pushing the plate closer to Lauren.

“Eat,” she admonishes. “It’ll make you feel better.”

“When I throw it all up in your lap don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Salem rolls her eyes, mouthing to me, “She’s being dramatic.”

Breakfast goes relatively smoothly, despite the glares Lauren sends my way every other minute. I don’t let it bother me. I know she’s being protective of Salem, and I’m glad she has a friend that cares so much.

Once the kitchen is all cleaned up, I join Salem and Lauren out on the deck while Seda plays in the treehouse.

I pull out a chair and sit down. Lauren has a big pair of sunglasses on her face, shielding her eyes. Salem props her legs up on the deck railing, tilting her head back to absorb the sun.

“Are you still up for taking Seda furniture shopping?”

Salem nods, wiggling her toes. They’re painted a blue color. “Absolutely. I think she’d like having her own space here.”

“Good. I might have to run by the hardware store too.”

“For what?”

“Paint—I’m sure she’ll want to change the color.”

Right now, it’s just a beige color I put in the guestroom because I had it leftover from a project.

Lauren snorts. “Pushover.”

I shrug. “If it’ll make Seda happy I don’t think that makes me a pushover.”

“Ignore her, she’s just grumpy because she can’t party like she used to.”

“We didn’t even party. We drank and now my brain hates me because it’s literally pounding against my skull.” Lauren points at her head to drive home her point. “I only just turned twenty-six and my body apparently has decided I’m forty and my life is over.”

“Your life isn’t over at forty.”

Lauren lowers her sunglasses, her lips twitching when she tries not to smile. “You’d know, Old Man.”

Salem shakes her head. “I need a babysitter for you. You’re more of a handful than Seda.”

Lauren tips her sunglasses like they’re a hat in some old timey movie. “Happy to be of service. Someone has to keep you on your toes.”

“Yeah, because life hasn’t already done that to me yet.”

Lauren wags a finger. “Touché.”

“Seda!” Salem calls out. “Come down from there. We’re going to run some errands, get some things to decorate your room!”

“Really?” Seda pokes her head out of the treehouse window. “Can I get a princess bed?”

“You can get—” Salem slaps her hand over my mouth, trying not to laugh.

“You are such a pushover. You can’t tell her she’ll get anything she wants. She might only be five, but she’ll take full advantage of that.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.” I grin when she lets her hand go.

“Oh, you weren’t?”

My smile grows bigger. “Maybe.”

She shakes her head, and I tug her into my lap.

Before Salem came back into my life, I was living every day just to make it through. Now, I’m living for every day.

It’s like I can finally breathe again.





CHAPTER 36





SALEM





I’m exhausted by the time we get home from shopping. I’ve never grown into a love of shopping and I doubt I ever will. But Seda has a brand-new furniture set on the way, along with a new bedspread, and what she’s dubbed Perfect Princess Pink paint for her room’s walls. It’s actually called Melted Ice Cream, but try telling her that.

“I normally love shopping,” Lauren says, lugging in a bag of décor items, “but your daughter is making me question it.”

“She’s something,” I agree.

Seda let loose to shop is like trying to wrangle a wild bunny. She runs and hops all over the place—skips too—says hi to almost every stranger she sees, and dances in aisles if she likes the music the store is playing.

Basically, my child is the complete opposite of what I was. Then again, I’m not really sure what I would’ve been like as a child if it hadn’t been tainted by a monster.

We unload all of the bags while Seda runs around the front yard singing a made-up song.

“Don’t go near the street,” I warn, walking up the porch steps to set bags in the foyer.