Their Second Chance Love

“He still has this?” she said, a bit misty-eyed as she ran her fingers over the pink daisy key ring, the colorful paint long since worn away along its edges. She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I gave him this for Christmas when I was in eighth grade.”

Logan eyed the key-laden piece. “Reckon it meant a lot to him for him to still be carrying it around.”

She laughed softly. “I probably should’ve bought him a cowboy boot key chain or something a little more manly. But I was big on flowers and anything and everything pink back then. I remember drawing pink flowers all over my school folders.”

“Back then?” he said with a snort as he reached for the handle on the driver’s door panel. “It went well beyond eighth grade. I seem to recall you doodling flowers all over my book covers when we were in high school.” His gaze shifted her way to find Hope biting back a grin. “Funny to you, little darlin’,” he said with a grin of his own. “Not so funny when you’re a teenage boy wanting to come across as rough and tough on the football field and your teammates are calling you ‘Pretty Posey Cooper.’”

A giggle erupted from her lips. “You never told me that.”

“And make myself come across as less than manly in your eyes as well as my teammates? Not a chance.”

“Oh, Logan, I’m sorry.”

“They were only having fun with me,” he replied. “Truth be told, it improved my game. In an effort to prove myself more than just a ‘Pretty Posey,’ I broke the high school’s record for total receiving yards our junior year.”

“I had no idea I was the reason behind that impressive achievement,” she said, her tone teasing.

She was behind so many things that had been good in his life. Yanking up the collar of his jacket, he said, “I’ll grab your suitcase.” Tugging the brim of his hat lower over his brow to shield his face from the driving rain, Logan stepped out into the downpour. After grabbing her suitcase from the back of the truck’s extended cab, he hurried around to help Hope get down, but by the time he reached her she was already stepping onto the puddled ground below.

Squealing as the cold rain poured down on her, she made a sprint for the front door of the large cedar-sided building, her laughter trailing after her as she left him behind.

Logan followed at a fast jog, suitcase in hand, a grin sliding across his face. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed hearing Hope’s laughter until that moment. “Afraid you’re gonna melt?” he asked with a chuckle as he stepped beneath the temporary shelter of the roof’s overhang.

She flashed him an impish smile. “Daddy does call me Sugar, you know.” Then she turned, hurrying to insert the key into the lock on the door as a gust of wind sent sheets of cold rain past them.

“Stands to reason, then, why you’re in such an all-fire hurry to get out of this here downpour,” he said. He nearly covered her hand with his own to help steady it, but held back from doing so. He didn’t want to remember what it felt like to have her hand in his, something that had once been so natural. As soon as the lock clicked, he reached past her to turn the knob, giving the door a gentle shove open. “Let’s get you inside, little darlin’. Can’t have you melting into a puddle of sugary sweetness at my feet.”

Before he could follow her inside, she turned, her petite form blocking his way. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Thank you for the ride?” He looked down at her questioningly. “That sounds like you’re sending me off.”

“I am,” she said, unable to meet his gaze. “There’s really no need for you to stick around tonight. All I need to do is close out the register and then I’ll head to the house.”

His brow tugged upward. “You’re asking me to leave you here to walk home in the rain?”

“It’s not like it’s a long walk,” she countered.

She had the right of it. Jack’s house sat in a thin copse of pines a few hundred yards behind the main nursery building. “Maybe so,” he grumbled, “but I don’t like the thought of leaving you here to walk home alone in the dark. In the pouring rain to boot.”

“Daddy keeps a handful of umbrellas in his office for customers to borrow on rainy days if they need one.”

His concerned refused to budge. At the same time, a tiny voice inside Logan was telling him to back off. That Hope was a big girl. One who was more than capable of making her own decisions in life. Even if they weren’t always ones he agreed with. “Reckon I’ll be on my way, then. Sleep well,” he said with a tip of his hat.

“You, too, Logan.” The door closed between them, shutting him out yet again. At least this time it was only a door. Not miles and miles of God’s green earth.

Lowering his head, he moved in quickened strides to his truck before he did something foolish like turn around and go back to insist that he escort Hope home. He’d thought he was finally moving past the unrequited feelings he had for her. That time and distance had given him a better grip on his apparently misguided emotions. But he’d been nowhere near prepared for his heart’s reaction to spending time with her again. Laughing with her again. Now all he could do was pray.

For Jack to regain his good health. And for himself, knowing there would be no escaping the pain of seeing Hope again, of spending time with her, and knowing her heart would never ever be his.

Chapter Three

“Morning.”

Logan’s gaze shifted from the plants he’d been watering to find Hope standing in the doorway of the greenhouse. She looked refreshed. More relaxed than she had the day before at the hospital. She wore a sweater beneath an open camel-colored jean jacket. Dark brown leather boots peeped out from beneath the bottoms of her jeans. The long, curling tendrils of her unbound hair looked like a slow-burning fire under the red-gold rays of sunrise.

“Morning,” he replied, trying to ignore the sudden thudding of his heart.

“You’re here early.”

“Habit,” he replied as he shut off the hose’s nozzle and turned to face her. “Better to start early in my line of work,” he explained. “So I’m usually up with the roosters.”

“But the nursery doesn’t open for business for another couple of hours,” she said as she moved past him to walk along two rows of plant-filled tables laden with newly emerging tulips and daffodils. “You could have slept in.”

He stood watching her, unable to keep from drinking in the sight of her. “Appears I’m not the only early bird around here.”

Reaching out she ran a finger over the droplets of water clinging to a slender green-and-yellow striped leaf of a variegated flax lily. “It appears I had the same idea as you.” Letting her hand fall away, she turned to face him. “Watering the plants. Then afterward, before I set out for the hospital, I thought I’d finish tidying up Daddy’s office and go through the orders for this coming week.”

“You were cleaning his office last night?” After he’d dropped her off more exhausted than not?

“I swept up the broken planter and soil, even repotted the aloe plant with the hope I might be able to save it.”

Her words had guilt tugging at his gut. “I’m real sorry you had to do that. I should have at least swept that up before I left for the hospital.” Truth was he’d forgotten all about the upturned plant. His focus had been on Jack.

“It’s all right,” she assured him with a smile. “I’d rather Daddy have had someone he knew with him at the hospital than concern myself with a little dirt on the floor. Besides, I grew up with a nursery in my front yard. Sweeping up soil spills is one of my many talents.”

“Speaking of which, I have bags of topsoil to put out.” He set the hose on the floor by his feet. He’d finish watering later, after Hope had gone.

“Why do I get the feeling I’m chasing you away?”

“I have work to do,” he grumbled.

“I see,” she replied, her scrutinizing gaze fixed upon him.

He sighed. “I’m supposed to be seeing to the nursery during the day so you can spend time with your daddy at the hospital. Or have you changed your mind?” Like you did with us?

“Boy, it’s starting to sound like a certain someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Hope teased in the same playful tone she used to use with him when they were teens and he’d had a bad day. It had worked back then. Now it only served to make matters worse.

“With due cause,” he replied. “I’m worried about Jack.”

“We both are,” she agreed. “But there’s something else bothering you.”

He released a frustrated sigh. “Look, I’m trying to respect your wishes.”

Confusion lit her pretty face. “My wishes?”

“That our paths cross as little as possible.” And from the way his heart had reacted to the sight of her standing in the greenhouse doorway that morning, respecting her wishes seemed like the smartest plan.

Hope folded her arms in front of her. “I thought we both agreed we were mature enough to put the past behind us while I’m here.” Then added, “For Daddy’s sake.”

She had a point. But then she hadn’t been forced to lock away her feelings for him. She didn’t have any. So this situation they found themselves in wasn’t anywhere near as hard for her as it was for him.

“Judging by that frown on your face, I’m guessing that you’re having second thoughts about offering to fill in here while Daddy’s down. I’ll understand if you wanna withdraw your offer.”

Doing so would probably be the wisest thing to do, but he’d made the offer to help out and intended to see it through. “Don’t read something into it that’s not there. I said I’d lend a hand and I’m gonna do just that.”

“Then you don’t have a problem with my helping you water the plants?” she asked. While the built-in, overhead sprinkler lines took care of most of the watering in the greenhouses, the various potted plants that lined the inner walls of the glass buildings needed to be hand-watered. “I mean it’s not like we’ve never worked together before.”

There had been a time he would have welcomed this opportunity to spend some time alone with Hope. But he was older and wiser, and he wasn’t about to let her get under his skin ever again. Because that was what a smart man would do.

Logan motioned to the hose he’d left lying on the ground. “You wanna water? Spray away. Like I told you, I’ve got other things I can be doing here.” Turning, he strode toward the open door.

A few steps away from making his exit, Logan felt the cold, wet spray of water hit him square in the back and travel downward. He froze, unable to believe that Hope had just squirted him with the garden hose. No, soaked him clean through was more like it.

Soft, feminine giggles behind him had him pivoting to face her. Raising an arm to shield his face from the water’s relentless spray, he said, “You’re playing with fire.”

Another giggle. “Then I reckon it’s a good thing I’ve got myself a mighty powerful garden hose to keep that fire from getting out of control.”

“Too late,” he said with a warning grin as he charged into the water’s cold, wet, arcing stream.

Hope gave a loud shriek as she spun around to flee, dragging the hose behind her.

Three long strides and Logan managed to step on the hose, easily jarring it loose from her grasp. Reeling it in, he took hold of the still-spraying nozzle and aimed it in the direction of Hope’s fleeing form. A stream of water went up and over the top of Hope’s head, raining down on her. It wasn’t a direct hit, one guaranteed to leave her as drenched as he was, but he made certain it was close enough to have her ducking.

“Logan!” she shrieked, arms folded over her head.

This time he was the one chuckling. “You ready to call a truce?” he asked as he shifted the hose’s aim to the plants on the table beside her.

“Yes,” she sputtered as she turned to face him. Water clung to the spiraling strands of her hair like a heavy morning dew. Coppery curls hung in sagging wet tendrils to frame her face.

A memory came rushing back from the past. One that had been very much like this moment. He and Hope in this very same greenhouse, both armed with hoses. Both soaked clean through by the end of their water play. Both falling in love. Or so he had thought.

I don’t love you.

Logan shut off the nozzle’s spray and tossed it onto the ground beside him. “You can take it from here. I’ve got work to do.” That said, he walked out of the greenhouse.

* * *

Hope stood staring at the empty doorway. What had just happened? Logan’s sour mood had turned playful and fun, both of them laughing over the unexpected water battle they’d found themselves engaged in, feeling at ease with each other for the first time in years. Then suddenly he was walking away, his parting demeanor a complete one-eighty from the playful side he’d shown her just moments before.

Pushing the damp curls from her face, she sighed. For the briefest of moments it had felt like old times. Comfortable. Fun. The two of them enjoying life. It had also been a reminder of what she’d given up. Of the forever kind of love she’d come so close to having.

If she were honest with herself, she knew why he’d walked away. And it was fortunate for her that Logan had come to his senses and put an end to things before they got any more carried away. She could never offer him the things he deserved, and the fewer reminders of what they’d once shared the better for them both.

While she’d surprised even herself with her actions, she didn’t regret what had happened. Not completely. Not when their playful respite had helped her to forget about the pain of the past and about the near-paralyzing fear she’d felt before learning that her father was going to be all right.

Hope made her way toward the abandoned hose with a deep sigh. Reaching for it, she turned its nozzle on and began working her way around the inner edges of the greenhouse, watering the vibrantly colored bougainvilleas and other assorted potted plants that lined the glass and metal walls.

Her thoughts turned to her daddy once again. He’d been asleep when she’d called the hospital that morning to check on him. The nurse on duty had assured her that he was still in stable condition, but that his blood pressure was still a little higher than they’d like to see it.

Fear of him having another stroke was always at the back of her mind. She couldn’t lose him. For the first time in years, she found herself wanting to pray. Wanting to ask the Lord to help heal her daddy. But praying hadn’t brought healing to her mother or to herself. All she could do was hope he was strong enough to get through this health crisis with the help of his very knowledgeable doctors.

When she was through with the watering, Hope gathered up the hose and returned it to the mount near the front wall. Then she stepped out from the protective shade of the greenhouse and into the morning sun. Closing her eyes, she tilted her face upward, welcoming the touch of its warming rays. The air around her smelled of pine and freshly turned soil with a hint of sweetness, no doubt from the flowers blooming inside the greenhouse behind her.

She inhaled deeply, feeling a calm come over her. A feeling of rightness. Because she was back at the nursery. A place that had been like an extension of her own home when she was growing up.

Just like Logan’s parents’ place had been. Even before she and Logan had begun dating she’d felt like she belonged there, like she was a part of their family. Mostly because their parents had been close friends and had spent a lot of time together at each others’ houses. At least they had until her momma had gotten sick and was taken from them. If not for her daddy’s love and Logan’s momma taking Hope under her comforting wing, she would have been a broken little girl.

If only Logan’s momma were here today. Because Hope was feeling very broken now. Like nothing in her life was right. The job she worked. The fast-paced city she had chosen to live in. Her discontented heart. Her abandonment of a faith she had once held so dear. But his momma wasn’t here and she was a grown woman who needed to find a way to live with the choices she’d made.

Opening her eyes, she searched the front nursery grounds, hoping Logan hadn’t witnessed her moment of self-reflection. Thankfully, he was nowhere to be seen. So she shored up her shoulders and made her way to the storefront, the building that housed the checkout counter, gardening goods for purchase and the office. As she’d told Logan, she needed to look over the calendar and the delivery sheets to see what orders were scheduled to be picked up that week and make certain he would be able to have them ready in time.

Exhaustion mixed with the steady thrum of rain on the office roof had lulled her to sleep in her daddy’s big, comfy office chair the night before. When she’d awakened, well into the night, the rain had finally stopped. Too tired to focus, she’d decided to call it a night and made her way back to the house to grab a few more hours’ sleep before tackling a new day.

She smiled wistfully as she looked around the main storefront. Her momma had loved this business. She’d built it with Hope’s daddy every bit as much as he did. So much so, they’d chosen to name the nursery they opened not long after Hope was born after her.

She moved about the room, tidying each and every shelf. While her daddy had never been one to fret over the fine details when it came to putting up the sale displays, it had been important to her momma. Therefore, it was important to Hope.

Twenty minutes later she stepped back from the assortment of gardening books she had finished sorting alphabetically to glance around the room. She had placed things in a way she felt would present the most appeal to the customers that would be passing through on a daily basis. Everything looked neat and inviting. She had no doubt her momma would have been pleased.

Satisfied, Hope made her way back to the office. Pausing in the doorway, she glanced about the room. The same room she’d nearly lost her daddy in if it hadn’t been for Logan. The thought of what might have happened had her stomach turning.

Settling herself into the leather swivel chair, she began sorting through a pile of paperwork. Sales flyers from their suppliers. Paid receipts that needed to be filed away. Purchases that had yet to be billed. Order sheets for pickups. And several letters postmarked as far back as a month ago.

As she was opening those up, she was surprised to find several past due bills from a couple of their suppliers, as well as for some of the utilities. But then in today’s day and age her daddy had probably taken care of the payment online and simply hadn’t taken the time to mark the paper bills as paid and filed them away. To be sure, she made a mental note to ask him in a day or so, once he got to feeling better.

Gathering up anything she had questions on, she stood and made her way outside to find Logan. This time she spotted him almost immediately, his tall, muscular frame making the trunks of the potted fruit trees look like sticks. He’d pushed his dark, wavy hair away from his face, the still-damp strands glistening beneath the rays of the awakening sun. Logan Cooper was a good man and a hard worker. He always had been. The kind of person who put his heart into everything he did. Just as he was doing now. He could have easily done nothing more than sit back in the office, waiting for customers to require his assistance. But he was seeing to everything her daddy would have taken care of himself were he there to do so.

As she watched him work, she thought back to those few moments they had shared in the greenhouse when no hurt or bitterness, or, as in her case, longing for a life she would never have, hung in the air between them. Only joy and laughter.

Her lips quirked up into a grin as she recalled the stunned expression on his handsome face when she’d taken his advice to “water away.”

Logan chose that particular moment to turn her way, his gaze narrowing. “Coming back for round two?” he called out, his husky voice carrying across the yard to where she stood watching him.

“Nope,” she said, holding up her empty hands. “No hose. You’re safe.” It was her heart that wasn’t safe. Not around Logan. “I’m sorry I got carried away earlier.”

He peered at her past the slender trunks of the young fruit trees that surrounded him. “You didn’t look sorry when I caught you watching me with a grin plastered across that pretty face of yours a few moments ago.”

That pretty face. How long had it been since she’d heard those words leave Logan’s lips? It wasn’t the flowery comment that touched her as much as the sweetness in his words where she deserved so much less from him.

“Okay,” she conceded. “I’m sorry, but not completely sorry.”

One dark brow lifted. “I’m thinking one cancels the other out.”

“What I mean is that I regret getting you so wet,” she continued. “But it felt so good to let go and really laugh. I can’t recall the last time I did anything like that.”

One side of his mouth kicked up into that crooked Cooper grin she so loved. “Reckon I could say the same. Not that I haven’t had some fun with my brothers. But what happened back there, well, it felt almost...” His words trailed off, yet she understood.

“Therapeutic?”

“Something like that,” he agreed.

“Does that mean I’m forgiven?” she asked and then quickly added, “For getting you wet.” To ask for more than that would be asking far too much from him.

“I seem to recall squirting you back,” he said as he stepped out from among the potted fruit trees. “So unless you’ve got hard feelings about my getting even, I’d say there are no apologies needed from either of us.”

“I deserved it,” she said, her gaze coming to rest on his tan face. “You wanna throw your shirt in Daddy’s dryer for a spell? I made fresh coffee this morning. You could help yourself to a cup while you wait.”

“Unlike you, darlin’, I’m not made of sugar,” he replied with a grin. “A little water isn’t gonna make me melt. That being the case, I’m fine letting my shirt air-dry.”

“Suit yourself,” she said with a shrug. Stubborn man. “I wanted to talk to you before I left for the hospital. I came across some paperwork that I need to go over with Daddy, but wanted to give you a heads-up on some of the order sheets I found in that stack of paperwork he had lying atop his desk.” Holding out her hand, she waited until Logan took the handful of papers from her before continuing, “Two of them are scheduled for pickup the day after next. Another at the end of the week. They were never written down on the calendar.”

His gaze came to rest on the orders in his hand and he nodded. “I’ll have them ready.”

“I can help you get them together when I get home from the hospital tonight.”

He looked up. “I think I can handle it on my own.”

Meaning he didn’t want or need her help. She struggled not to let her hurt show. “Fine. By the way, I finished the watering in the smaller greenhouse. If you could—”

“See to the others,” he said, finishing the thought for her just as they’d had a tendency to do for each other back when they were together. “I’ll do it as soon as I’m done here.”

She nodded, wondering if he even realized what he’d done. How was she supposed to keep the memories at bay when everything about Logan stirred them up over and over again? “I’ll let you get back to work then. I need to go give my hair a quick blow-dry before heading to the hospital. You know how to reach me if you need me.” With a nod of acknowledgment from Logan, she walked away, leaving him to his work.

* * *

If you need me. Logan watched her go, his emotions all in a tangle. There had been a time when he had needed Hope and yet she’d chosen to walk away. A part of him still wanted her. That part being his heart. His head knew better. Thankfully so.

Hope had made it clear when she’d ended things between them years before that the small-town life wasn’t for her. True to her word, she’d settled in a big, busy city, leaving Braxton behind. Leaving those who loved her behind with hardly a glance back.

The times he’d caught sight of her during her infrequent trips home, Hope’s discomfort at being there flashed like a beacon on her face. But the smile that had come over her face that morning when they’d had their playful little water battle in the greenhouse had been undeniably real. Her laughter contagious.

It felt so good to let go and really laugh. I can’t recall the last time I did anything like that. Hope’s admission had surprised him. The fact that squirting each other with a garden hose had her feeling that way made him wonder if the life Hope had chosen for herself in San Diego hadn’t turned out to be all she had wished it would. Not that he needed to concern himself with it. Hope’s happiness, or possible unhappiness, was no longer any of his business. Hadn’t been for years. Unfortunately for him, old habits die hard and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from caring. Not where she was concerned.

The sound of a vehicle rolling up the drive caught Logan’s attention. Pulling his cell phone from the front pocket of his jeans, he checked the time. Not quite nine. Hope’s Garden didn’t officially open for another hour or so.

He stepped from the far right greenhouse and cut through the leafy wall of fruit trees that stood between himself and the parking area, immediately recognizing Ryan’s old Chevy truck. The pizza-shaped magnets adhering themselves to the truck’s front doors, magnets that advertised his friend’s business—Ryan’s Pies and Pins—were a dead giveaway. Grinning, Logan peeled off his work gloves and went to greet his friend.

Ryan stepped down, releasing a whistle as his gaze moved over Logan. “You get caught in a downpour the weather station failed to make mention of?”

His thoughts having been distracted elsewhere, he’d forgotten about his still-damp clothes. Giving the clinging flannel shirt a tug, Logan pulled it away from his chest. “I ended up on the wrong end of one of the nursery’s garden hoses.”

“Jack’s still in the hospital, right?”

He nodded.

“Then I reckon I don’t have to guess who was holding that hose. Hope always did have good aim.”

“Still does,” he acknowledged. The three of them had gotten into all sorts of playful water fights during summer breaks in high school. Water balloons, garden hoses, buckets of water, you name it. And Hope usually came out the victor. Mostly because they were soft when it came to her. It was worth losing just to see her smile at besting them.

Ryan shook his head, his grin widening. “Well, she got you good. What’d you do to set her off?”

He shrugged. “Not exactly sure. But I got her back.”

Ryan’s brow lifted.

“Don’t read anything into it,” Logan warned. “It wasn’t planned.”

His friend’s grin widened. “Clearly, or you would’ve brought a change of clothes with you to work today.”

“You sticking around for a bit? I’ve gotta finish watering in the greenhouses before I open up for the day.”

“As long as Hope’s not waiting in there to douse me.”

“You’re safe,” he assured his friend as they walked back to the buildings. “She’s back at the house getting ready to leave for the hospital.”

Ryan nodded. “How are you holding up?”

“Better today.”

“Glad to hear it. You sounded pretty shaken up last night when you called to let me know what happened.”

“For good reason.”

“I take it you and Hope have called a truce,” Ryan said as he walked beside him.

“It appears that way.”

“Reckon it’s for the best, seeing as how the two of you are gonna be crossing paths while Jack’s in the hospital, not only there but at the nursery, as well. How’s Jack doing anyway?” Ryan asked.

“He’s holding his own,” Logan replied as he pulled open the greenhouse door, motioning Ryan inside. “At least, that’s what both of the on-duty nurses told me when I called last night and then again first thing this morning.”

“Glad to hear it.”

He walked over to the hose that hung in a loose coil from a thick, wooden peg on the wall and began lifting the heavy loops. “I’ll look in on him this evening after I lock up here and see for myself. Jack tends to keep things to himself to keep others from worrying.”

Ryan’s expression grew serious. “If you need anything, help out here, or help with a landscaping job, all you’ve gotta do is ask.”

“I know,” Logan said with an appreciative nod. He’d do the same for Ryan. He bent to turn on the spigot and then reached for the nozzle of the hose. “Did you receive the invite?”

“To Nathan and Alyssa’s wedding?”

Logan straightened, glancing his friend’s way with a sullen expression. “That would be the one. Hearts and flowers and all,” he added with a grumble.

Ryan chuckled. “You look as though you just sank your teeth into a lemon. You got something against hearts and flowers?”

“Just not one for weddings,” he admitted with a mutter. At least, not any longer. Not since the day he’d gone to see Hope at college with a bouquet of red roses and a box of chocolate-covered pretzels, her favorite, hoping to convince her they were meant to be.

The day she’d ended things once and for all, throwing his declaration of love back in his face by delivering her own declaration that she didn’t love him the same way he loved her. So, no, another wedding wasn’t something he looked forward to being a part of.

Ryan’s expression sobered. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course you’ve got reason to avoid marital festivities. I’m sure Nathan would understand if—”

“No,” Logan said, shaking his head. “I’ll be there. For Nathan’s sake. Just as I was when Carter took a mind to marry Audra. If the good Lord saw fit to bless Nathan with this second chance at true happiness, then I intend to be there for him.” He dragged the hose he was holding across the front aisle of the greenhouse and began watering the potted plants that Hope hadn’t gotten to.