Page 112 of Inked in Bloom
“What’s invisible ivy, Lily?”
“Don’t you know? They’re the vines that attach to everyone you love, no matter where they are or how much time passes. You’ve got loads of them stuck to you. See?” she asks, miming pulling a vine from me.
Dramatically, I shift toward her with a smile, as if I’m a fish she’s hooked on its side. “That was quite a tug.”
Taylor shakes her head, tone serious. “That’s not a tug. When Daddy gets a tug, he makes a sad face.”
“It hurts,” Lily clarifies, and it’s like being punched in the gut when she shoves the tip of her tiny finger into her sternum. “Right here.”
My chin wobbles and tears prick behind my eyes. Just when I think I’ve blinked enough to keep them at bay, Taylor swipes one with her thumb. “Don’t be sad, Monroe. Daddy doesn’t get the tugs anymore. Not since you’ve been around.”
“Well, that’s good.” I quickly take my shirt, wiping under my eyes to hide any evidence they were watering. How do such tiny people make the most profound sense? “No one wants your daddy to have a sad face.”
“Nope!” Lilliana agrees. “So if he doesn’t get the tugs anymore, maybe Auntie Corrigan won’t one day?”
“I don’t think so,” Taylor says, casting her younger sister a disbelieving glance. “She doesn’t have the tugs. I overheard Gran say she sent her mate away.”
I nod my head, unsure how else to respond, then gratefully return to quiet crafting. Fortunately, the rest of the guests all seem distracted while I nibble on this new information.
Corrigan has a mate.
Who is it? Why would she send them away?
And why has Briar never mentioned it?
“Alright,” Dani says, and all eyes snap to them. “Time forthe tried-and-true Bloom birthday tradition: pin the tail on the bunny!”
The girls cheer and start running around in circles in the yard. Dani directs everyone to make a line facing a large white shed. The roof is draped in flowers, and a white lattice rests against the side, twined with the largest roses I’ve ever seen in shades of dusky rose and lilac.
The fabric of my skirt is tugged a few times, and I glance sideways, finding Millie peering up at me. “Have you ever played?”
“A long time ago, though it was a bit different.” Dani waves their arm over the kraft paper rectangle on the shed’s exterior. The paper disappears, and in its place is a drawing of a gray-and-white bunny standing up on its hind legs. It holds a palette and paintbrush in its paws and glances over its shoulder, ears perked up and mint-green eyes watching us. In the backdrop, clusters of foxgloves line a white picket fence. My brows furrow. “Is that?—”
“Hope you don’t mind if I took a bit of artistic license,” Dani says with a shrug.
“Not at all. I’m impressed.” They are actually quite talented. I feel a bit guilty for thinking they were such a slacker in class, considering they’d only ended up in there for trying to rescue their brother. “I didn’t know you could draw.”
Cherri leans over my shoulder. “You should see the pieces in Dani’s office.”
“I’d love to,” I say to Dani, and they beam with pride. They spin Taylor and then send her toward the poster. In her hand, she holds a large white cotton ball with a strip of adhesive on the side facing away from her. She staggers forward and sticks it to the fence. When she lifts the blindfoldup, she howls with laughter. Returning the blindfold to Dani, they tie it around Davis’s eyes.
“Wondered where you went to,” Dani calls toward the house. The sound of the door snicking shut pulls my attention.
Briar strides over. Alone.
“Is she okay?” I ask, glancing at the back door.
“Yeah. She’s just a bit under the weather.” His tone is serious and bitter frustration still lingers in his mood. He’s lying and I wish I understood why, but now isn’t the time to ask. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he rocks back on his heels and directs his attention to the front of the line. “What did I miss?”
“It’s time to play pin the tail on the bunny,” Claire says with a chuckle.
“Oh. My favorite!” He claps his hands together and then bends down, scanning over the group. “But I think I need a helper.”
“Me, me, me!” Juni hops up and down.
He stretches out his arms and she runs for him. Dani follows and places the blindfold over her, tightening it to fit. Lifting her in the air, Briar spins around three times with his eyes closed, dramatically stumbling toward the shed. She leans out from his hold, just as Briar turns away from the shed, and manages to get the cottontail on the bunny’s forehead. She tugs off the blindfold and Briar opens his eyes.
“Oops!” he says, playfully, setting her down with a kiss to her forehead.
