Page 1 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
CHAPTER 1
JUNIPER
The apothecary filled with the perfume of flowers as I pressed the last of the starshine seeds into the seedling tray. Every nook, cranny, and surface in the apothecary was filled with tiny green sprouts. Spring was upon us, and with it, the Greening. It was my favorite time of year in Moonshine Hollow. After the long winter, the earth was waking. I inhaled deeply. The smells of loamy earth blended with dried lavender hanging from the rafters. To me, there wasalmostno better smell in the world.
“Pip?” I called to my mosspup who was sleeping in the front window, nearly indistinguishable from the plants. “Do you see Granik yet?”
Pip lifted his head, wagged his tail briefly, then gave a cursory glance before going back to sleep once more.
“Not yet. All right, you fierce guard dog, you,” I said with a giggle.
Late-afternoon light poured into the apothecary. My assistant, Polly, and Tansy, the jewel crafter who worked in the loft upstairs, had already gone for the day. Only Pip and I remained.
Going to my farmhouse sink, I pulled off my dirty apron and washed my hands, cleaning off the soil with a lemon astringent of my own making. I then went to the front window and looked out. My garden was filled with spring flowers. Fragrant forsythia, daffodils, and tulips lined the garden path. Multicolored winking roses trimmed the fence line. And beyond the garden, Moonshine Hollow had been decorated for the Greening. Bright pink, yellow, blue, and lavender ribbons trimmed the light posts, along with yellow forsythia wreaths. The Greening was a special event. There would be a festival with crafts, food, and maypole dancing, seedling exchanges, planting ceremonies, and the townwide stuff swap.
It was a nice event.
The kind you’d like to share with someone special.
I usually didn’t mind that I was single, but after the long winter, I felt the absence of a partner more keenly. I had no one to wander around my garden with me in the morning as I checked my plants in my nightrobe, a mug of tea in hand. There was no one to walk with me under the cherry blossoms that looked out at Rainbow Falls. There was no one to snuggle up under the blankets with me as the last of the winter chill drifted away.
For the first time in a very long time, I realized I wanted someone.
That thought was, thankfully, interrupted when the massive green form of Granik, my orcish best friend, appeared at my garden gate, a smile on his face.
“Junie,” Granik called, gesturing toward the garden. “By the bird bath. Not far from your pinkerton roses. Heart hares!”
I opened the door carefully and stepped outside.
Sure enough, I spotted a pair of the pinkish-colored hares lingering in the garden, their soft fur shimmering in the moonlight.
Granik moved carefully toward me, treading as softly as an orc could. Seeing heart hares was a rare and special sighting. Only appearing during the spring equinox, the magical hares came out into the open to find their match. They would court one another for the season, and then disappear into whatever pocket world they resided once more. Magical creatures, they reminded us of the unending pull of spring.
“How sweet they are,” I said with a soft smile.
“I want one,” Granik said with a grin.
“First, they are wild. Second, they are as shy as fairy dragons and only come out this time of year for…romance. And, third, there is no more room on that farm of yours for another animal.”
“There is always room for another animal. That’s how I ended up with the shrieking goats.”
“Why in the world you wanted those goats is beyond me.”
“They’re cute.”
“Right up until they shriek and make you tell truths better left unspoken. It’s dangerous having those around.”
“Doesn’t affect me. I don’t have anything to hide.”
“Nor do I, but it makes visiting your farm a risky adventure for everyone else. And they also keep breaking out of their pen and trying to eat your lavender.”
“Yeah, but they’re dead cute while they’re at it.”
I laughed lightly. “You see the good in everyone—and every animal.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “As if you’re any better. You pal around with me, after all.”
I looked up at him. “Who else would put up with you?” I asked with a grin. “And when was the last time you shaved?”
