Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

“Like you?” Helen grinned.

“I suppose. Although I didn’t so much make a choice not to stay as to not come back.” After all, being sent away when she was fifteen hadn’t been her idea. “Your diner’s really nice. I like the way the wall color complements the booths and the artwork.”

“Thanks. I’ve made a few changes since buying the place.”

A bell softly chimed. Helen turned and collected the tall milk shake, then brought it over.

“Here you go.”

Olivia stared at the black-and-white ice cream mixture, the fudge poured over the top and the whipped cream.

“It’s so beautiful. I’m having a moment.”

Helen laughed. “Should I leave you two alone?”

“No, I’m good. How on earth do you not eat one every single day?”

“Oh, there are plenty of temptations in this place. I swear I start and break a diet every other day.”

“I would, too.”

“Yes, but you’re skinny.” Helen held up a hand. “Sorry. That’s my curvy bitterness manifesting. No offense.”

“None taken.” Olivia dipped her spoon into the milk shake and tasted it. “Oh. My. God. It’s amazing.”

“Another satisfied customer. I’ll pass along your praise to my cook.”

“Please.”

A family walked to the cash register to pay their bill. Helen assisted them, then returned to sit by Olivia.

“I’m going to donate three or four gift certificates for the auction,” she said. “I’m trying to decide if I want to do a dollar amount or breakfast for four. I’m not sure which would be easier for the winner and for me.”

“Would you be willing to have one of the breakfast gift certificates be part of a package? I’m going to talk to one of the local hotels for a two-night stay. Being able to add breakfast here would make it even more desirable.”

“Sure. That works.”

“Thanks. Oh, and if you want me to design a gift certificate, I can do that. You could even use it for other purposes. Get it printed out on a nice card stock for holidays or something.”

“We’ve never had gift certificates. I hadn’t thought of selling them, but that could be a good idea. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. I love doing all kinds of design work.” Olivia put the straw in the milk shake. “In Phoenix I do marketing for the real estate firm where I work, but it isn’t exactly full-time, so I’ve branched out. I’ve done a little interior design and lately I’ve been doing more and more staging. So if you ever want your living room spruced, I’m your girl.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Have you gotten a lot of people offering items for the auction?”

“Not yet. I’m starting to get the word out. You wouldn’t happen to have any contacts with a hotel in Seattle, would you? I want to make the Seahawks tickets a really big item.”

“Like you mentioned for the hotel here. Bundle the tickets with a hotel and maybe a restaurant?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I don’t,” Helen told her. “You might want to talk to Griffith. He’s done a lot of work for clients in Seattle. He’d be your best bet.”

“Thanks. I met him last night. He seems like a good guy.”

“He is.”

More customers waited to pay their check. Helen excused herself and went to help them. Olivia sipped her milk shake.

This was nice, she thought. The town, the people. She liked that she was being accepted. In a way she could start over—no Marilee, no past, just her and her family. And wouldn’t that be nice.





11

Helen took a deep breath for courage, told herself that she was strong and self-actualized and that there was absolutely no reason to be nervous, then she walked into Jeff’s office at Murphy Tulips and felt her knees knock together.

He sat at his desk, the phone pressed against his ear. When he saw her, he smiled and waved her closer.

“Give me a minute,” he mouthed. She nodded and went to the window.

From where she stood, she could see two of the huge greenhouses that grew their “off-season” tulips. They were between harvests, but in a few weeks, nearly three dozen workers would descend on the place to harvest and wrap tulips to be delivered up and down the West Coast.

“Let me see what I can do,” Jeff was saying. “It’s late in the season to be placing orders, but I’ll do a count and figure out what we have available.”

Christmas tulips, Helen thought with a grin. Someone else had been caught flat-footed, realizing too late red-and-white tulips were required for whatever they had going on.

“Give me until tomorrow. I’ll call you in the morning. Uh-huh. Bye.” He hung up and stood. “Idiot.”

“Don’t you hate people who don’t plan ahead?”

“Mostly they just annoy me. What’s going on?”

She pulled the sheet music from her bag and waved it. “Isaak wants us to do a new duet.”

“Are there any Billy Joel songs we don’t already know?”

His voice was low and teasing. Helen’s stomach fluttered, along with the rest of her.

“It’s not Billy Joel.”

Jeff held out his arms. “Do you need a hug?”

She did and more, but they were talking about different things. “I’m trying to breathe through my disappointment. He suggested a Miley Cyrus song instead. It’s not a traditional duet, but he thinks it has potential.”

“I know that name,” he murmured. “Give me a second.”

“Her publicist will be so proud.”

She set her phone on the docking station he had on his credenza and pressed play. She adjusted the sound as the first notes of “Wrecking Ball” filled his office.

Jeff sat on the corner of his desk as he listened. At the end he reached for the sheet music.

“We could do this in harmony,” he said absently. “Decide who starts the song. Would you play it again?”

As the opening notes began, he started scribbling on the paper.

“You’ll start,” he told her. “That’s what people will be expecting. I’ll join in here, then take over after the chorus.”

“We could try it.”

“Is there a video?”

Her heart sank. Literally. It fell to her feet and flopped around, whimpering in pain.

“Helen?”

“Oh, there’s a video.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

Why? Why? “Because it’s so unfair. She’s beautiful and the rest of us mortal women don’t stand a chance.”

He dropped the sheet music to the desk and studied her. “What does that mean?”

Her throat tightened as she recognized that this was one of those make-or-break moments in her life. She could tell him exactly what she was thinking and see what happened or she could continue to wish without doing a damned thing to make her dreams come true.

She sucked in a breath for courage and raised her chin. “Jeff, I—”

“There you are,” Kelly said as she walked into the office. “I saw your car in the parking lot and knew you had to be somewhere. What’s going on?”

“Isaak wants me and Helen to try a new duet,” Jeff said, glancing at his daughter.

Helen held in a scream. She forced herself to smile at her friend because none of this was Kelly’s fault.

“Miley Cyrus.”

Kelly grinned. “Do you even know who she is, Dad?”