Loving Liam (Cloverleaf #1) (7 page)

Unconsciously, Rachel smoothed her sweater over her leggings, suddenly feeling underdressed.

Cheryl soon returned with the keys, jangling them at Rachel. “Let’s go see that rental.”

***

Rachel followed Cheryl’s newer, sleek, black SUV down several streets, trying to find landmarks to remember the way to her new home. She found doing that to be difficult as her gaze kept wandering to her new surroundings. Freshly built snowmen stood lopsidedly in the yards of adorable homes that were still decorated for the holidays. So far Rachel had counted one market. It was a national chain type store, so that was a huge relief. This tiny place was unlike what she had pictured—tree-lined streets and small houses in neat little rows of postcard perfection.

Cheryl’s SUV pulled into a small, recently plowed driveway not far from what Rachel assumed was the center of town. In the park directly across the street from the home, children waddled around, dressed in heavy snow pants and coats. Rachel smiled, thinking how perfect the park would be for her evening runs.

The home itself was a pale yellow with fading white trim and a metal roof dusted with snow. A large window gave an excellent view of the park, and the front door had been painted a deep forest-green and showcased a stained-glass window depicting hummingbirds and flowers. Not exactly Rachel’s taste, but the stained glass was charming and pleasing enough to the eye. When Cheryl opened the door, the scent of new paint and the stale smell of a home not lived in welcomed Rachel, as did the gorgeous honey-colored wood floors and pale, natural light seeping through the various windows.

Letting out a breath of relief, Rachel was actually pleased with the home. It wasn’t extremely modern, but the lovely details and craftsmanship could be seen throughout. Built-in bookcases and shelving, and carved archways leading into different rooms were eye-catching surprises as Rachel cruised through each room slowly, envisioning where she would put her numerous belongings.

“So what do you think?” Cheryl’s voice echoed in the empty space.

Rachel smiled. “It’s great.”

***

Liam

Liam’s mood greatly improved after stuffing himself with a heavy breakfast. He said goodbye to his brothers and decided to run to the grocery store for a couple of staples. The sun was shining now, pulling away from the storm clouds that had filled the sky earlier. Liam inhaled the sharp air. The sun was misleading; it was still damn cold.

At the checkout counter, Liam visited with a couple of neighbors, then chatted for a bit with the cashier as he paid for his items. Feeling happy as he exited the building, he realized he shouldn’t have been so upset about the parking spot. He was normally an easy-going guy who wasn’t really troubled by such small things, but for some reason her actions had rubbed him the wrong way. Seeing her license plate only made matters worse. Californians always came up to Birch Valley during the holidays for the excellent skiing, or during the summer for hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor activities, and they brought a rude and obnoxious me-first mentality with them that just didn’t sit well with the community. Of course, not all Californians were terrible. However, a large number who seemed to flock to this tucked-away little treasure of a town had money and figured they could afford to treat the area and its people however they wanted.

Liam sighed and decided to enjoy the rest of his day. Maybe he would lounge around and finish that novel he’d been reading. He considered fixing up some soup for dinner and maybe taking in a movie. Either way, he decided a lazy day sounded great as he hurried home.

***

Rachel

After Cheryl left, Rachel kept checking through the large front window for the movers. She had already taken her luggage inside and had even run to the grocery store she had seen earlier and purchased some cleaning supplies, and the house now smelled of bleach and disinfectant. She’d checked in with Chelsea and given her the lowdown and was more than eager for the movers to arrive so she could start unpacking and get settled in.

Rachel had mapped out exactly where she was going to place some of her furniture. The home had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, a fair-sized kitchen that contained a small dining area, and a small room that sheltered a washer and dryer. Rachel was particularly thrilled with this one because she’d had to use a shared laundry room at her condo in Newport. The appliances in the home weren’t top-of-the-line or the newest, but they all seemed to be in good working condition, and Rachel figured she could always see about updating them later.

The living room had a beautiful brick fireplace and was the largest space in the house. The home had electric heat too, which came as a relief to Rachel, because she had no idea how to get the fireplace started. She was already creating a list of things she had to learn and things she would probably need to buy in order to properly be able to live here. She entered the dining room and discovered a deck outside of it, which was part of a generous but manageably sized yard. Several large trees stood at the end of the yard, as did a singularly large pine in the front yard. A line of snow-covered shrubs ran outside the large front window in the living room. Rachel considered purchasing some flowers when winter was over to dress up the place and added that to the now-growing list on the counter.

Soon, Rachel heard a loud rumble and looked out the large bay window. To her delight, she saw the moving truck pulling into her driveway. She threw open the door in excitement and instantly was hit with the harshness of the cold temperature. Relief flooded through her, and she grinned from ear to ear as one of the drivers exited the truck with a clipboard.

The movers were very apologetic as they quickly filled up her small home with her boxes and heavy furniture, and one of them explained how the storm had made the pass impossible to drive across. As they brought the last items in, the skies started to turn into a swirl of dark gray and white, the sun disappeared, and the temperature dropped considerably.

Rachel locked the front door after waving goodbye to the men. Then with her hands on her hips, she looked at the task before her and felt a little overwhelmed. Her new home was now littered with boxes and furniture. She let out a deep breath and prepared to get settled in.

***

The next day, Rachel’s entire body was sore as she added freshly ground coffee beans to her coffeemaker. Yawning, she poured the water in and pressed the On button as she surveyed her handiwork from the late night she’d pulled. The living room was almost completed. She had set up her entertainment center and rearranged her couch and loveseat several times before finding their permanent placement. She’d emptied box after box, folded the empty containers, and stacked them in her spare bedroom. She had then set up her bedroom and snuggled in the fresh linens and a warm comforter before passing out sometime after one in the morning.

Today, she planned on putting all her kitchen items away and organizing the extra bedroom, which she hoped to turn into an office and guestroom of sorts. As cold light filtered into the chilly home, Rachel turned the heat up and pulled her thick sweater tighter around her frame. She wondered exactly how long winter lasted here and if it was always this frigid. She was already anxious for spring and missed the warm temperatures back home.

***

Liam

Liam turned over in his large bed and stretched and yawned as he pulled the heavy comforter over his head. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. He would only be privileged with a couple more wonderful days of sleeping in and lounging around before he was back to work on Monday. But Liam enjoyed his early mornings where he got to view Mother Nature as she woke up in all her splendid colors. He also relished the silence and his dose of caffeine before he entered a loud classroom filled with young faces and eager brains.

Liam’s phone rattled next to him as it emitted a loud, shrill ring.

“Hello?” he answered, sleep still coating his throat.

“Good morning, dear. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“I was just getting up. How are you this morning, Mom?” he said as he sat up, his chest emerging from the warmth of his blanket.

“Doing quite well, thank you. I heard you had quite the run-in yesterday?” A hint of teasing laced her voice.

Nothing got past his mother. “Oh, did Daniel tell you?”

“Actually, Patrick mentioned it this morning when he was dropping the twins off to play with Melanie.”

“I’m surprised. I figured Daniel would’ve told you. He really got a kick out of seeing me a little ticked off.”

“Well, he failed to mention it, but I only saw him for a bit yesterday and this morning. Either way, I heard from my friend Janice—you know her; she works at the new real estate place Cheryl opened up—well, she told me a lady just moved up from California. She said Cheryl rented her Bob Flannery’s old home. You used to mow his lawn, remember? That cute little place across from the park.”

Mary sounded animated, and that worried Liam. “Yes, I remember that house. So someone new is in Birch Valley? Wonder why she moved here,” Liam said, hoping the rude woman who’d cut him off yesterday wasn’t the one who had just moved in, but he had a sneaking suspicion she was.

“Could the lady renting Bob Flannery’s place be the same one you had the run-in with? Janice said the woman was younger and very attractive. Was that the person you saw? I wonder if she’s single.”

“Mom, I have no idea. And honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal. I hadn’t had anything to eat or my coffee yet, so I overreacted a bit, you know? I didn’t notice if she was good-looking or not,” Liam tried to convince himself as irritation gnawed at him.

“Well, maybe the poor dear was in a hurry,” his mother said sweetly. “Janice said her movers didn’t show up until quite late. So I’m sure she probably didn’t even see you, sweetie.”

“I had my signal on.” Liam was beginning to feel a tad defensive.

“I’m sure you did, dear. But never mind. Folks make mistakes, son, and one as minor as that is no reason for you to get all upset,” she scolded.

Liam mentally rolled his eyes. “That’s fine, Mom. She’s forgiven, all right? Might not even be the same woman I saw.”

“Well, Janice says she sent the poor dear over to Herrick’s for a bite while she got ahold of Cheryl. So I’m thinking she just might be.”

“Wow, Mom, she really gave you the play-by-play, huh?” Liam chuckled. Birch Valley didn’t need a neighborhood watch of any kind as long as his mother and her friends were around. News spread quicker than wildfire in a dry field here.

“Sweetheart, you seem a little testy this morning. I think you need to get up and get a little coffee and food into you. I’ll check back in with you a little later. Since tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, I was hoping you could be a dear and pick up Michael from the airport. I need Maggie’s help making all the snacks and decorating. We have a decent amount of people coming over for the party.”

“Not a problem, Mom.” Liam swung his nude legs to the side of the bed and slid his feet into his slippers. Cradling the phone in the crook of his neck, he wrapped himself in his robe.

“Remember, son, sometimes people have a bad day. I’m not excusing poor behavior, but sometimes we can be absentminded in our decisions, no matter how small they might be. Besides, it’s not like we get a lot of new residents here, especially young, single ones.” Her voice was smooth and loving as she continued, “I love you, son. Now go and get on with your day before it’s gone.”

“Love you too, Mom,” Liam said. He hung up and padded to his open kitchen with plans to start a large pot of coffee.

Good grief. Now his mother had it in her head that this Californian, who obviously couldn’t drive worth a damn, was single and cute. Granted, Liam had to admit she didn’t look half bad.

***

Rachel

Rachel sighed as she dropped the flattened cardboard box down onto the growing pile. She was making progress in getting everything in its place. Swatting away at her blonde bangs, she peeked out the curtain to see what the weather was doing.

She had planned on running to the grocery store later in the day to purchase some much-needed essentials. The list she had been compiling since yesterday was becoming quite long, but she was nervous about venturing out now that snow had covered the street and the icy flakes kept pouring from the sky. Rachel had seen neighbors shoveling their walkways and a large snow plow truck scrape the street in front of her home.

Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve, and a little pang of loneliness hit her as she realized she would be spending it alone. She added a bottle of champagne to her list as she thought more about her fond memories of sharing the holiday with Chelsea. Thinking of her best friend, Rachel wondered what she would make of all this snow and how Birch Valley looked. Chelsea would probably think Rachel had lost her mind moving somewhere so completely different.
But even though Birch Valley was cold and unfamiliar, Rachel felt the newfound sense of freedom she’d hoped to find as she layered her clothing to go shopping