Lemon, Carson, Hallie, Louie, and Luna have a couple drinks and talk in the roadhouse, Luna closed early.
"So Lemon, how do you know Luna?" Hallie asks.
"Luna is my mom." Louie speaks up over Lemon.
"Oh." Hallie says.
"And I used to live with Lemon when she was younger." Louie says
"So we've heard." Carson says rolling her eyes.
"Wait how?" Louie says
"Well Lemon, I met your parents."
"You what?!?" Lemon says sweaty and blushing holding Carson's hand.
"Yea well when you picked up and left Hallie and I did our best to try to figure out where you'd go, and we found out about how you played at Washington and that your parents own a Manor in Bellingham."
Lemon's head down, barely looking up.
"Lemonade, you should probably look at your wife when she's talking to you about this." Luna says abruptly.
Lemon looks up at Carson.
"How much do you know." Lemon asks worried
"Well besides all that, the only thing I feel like I'm confused about it is how long you lived here." Carson says
"Well when everything was falling apart in Washington, Louie had told me where she lived if I ever needed to get away."
"And so you came here to get away.
Lemon frowns.
"Yea that's basically it."
Louie exhales loudly, pouting almost.
"And because I wanted to be with Louie." Lemon says knowing she didn't want to anger Louie.
"Oh" Carson says. "I mean your mom did tell me that, kind of."
"She did?"
"Yes."
"Well okay." Lemon says.
Carson grabs for Lemon's chin.
"Honey whatever you've had to go through, I'm glad you have a safe spot but I'm kinda now your built in safe spot and I just want to know so I can help protect you too." She kisses Lemon.
Louie puffs out loud again. "She will never be her safe spot. Her safe spot is me." Louie says in her head.
"Okay listen Louie I just met you, do you have a problem with me?"
Luna speaks up
"She definitely does not, right Louie." Glaring at her.
"It's not you Carson, it's not you at all. It's the situation."
"What situation? that I came to find my wife?"
"No, no, that you're here when he's here too." She says looking at Carson realizing how beautiful she is. "She may be the most beautiful girl ive ever seen" Louie thinks suddenly
Hallie is sitting in the corner, she's quiet.
She's staring at Louie, she can't help but feel like she has seen her before. It's bugging her more by the second.
Luna pours them all another drink.
Hallie looks to Louie, she's drunk.
"Louie? When is the last time you saw Lemon before she came here?" Hallie says almost quizzically but also oddly staring at Lemon while she asks it.
Lemon was staring back at Hallie, "was she accusing that I have a secret fling with Louie?" She thought
"I haven't seen Lemon since everything went down with Jackson."
"Do you dislike Jackson and Marcus because of everything that they apparently did to Lemon? We read her book." Hallie says
"My book.." Lemon says starting to sweat
Carson places it in front of Lemon.
"I'm sorry honey I didn't want to creep I was scared." She was frowning.
"It's okay" Lemon says leaning into Carson as Carson kisses her forehead.
"How the hell can she just forgive her for invading her space. She is allowing Carson to control her..". Louie thinks in her head.
"I hate what they did to Lemon, I hate that they had control over her. Marcus needs to go." Louie says.
"Well are we allowed to know the plan?" Carson asks.
"No, not even Lemon knows the plan." Louie says stubbornly
"So we're all just gonna sit here in Talkeetna Alaska, drinking shine while you work your voo doo stalking and killing shit around us." Hallie says angrily
"Or you can just leave, no one needs to protect you anyways no one even knows you." Louie says
"What the fuck do you mean no one even knows me?" She yells. But in her head, Louie voice sounds familiar, she still can't help but recognize her. "Why do I know her" she thought.
"You're who? Lemon's ex girlfriend?" Louie says
Suddenly Luna has a glare at Louie.
"How did you know I was Lemon's ex?" Hallie says snarlingly.
Louie is suddenly sweating, but considering her training in the woods about fear, she calms instantly.
"I shouldn't have come out and said it like that, I just assumed you were the girl from Indiana. Lemon was happy there, I assumed it would be someone like you." Louie says less aggressively and more apologetically. A very quick change in tone.
"Okay." Hallie says instantly. But her face said differently.
"That's it, she's the girl at my bar. She was in late one Saturday night, Bryan was serving with me and he made a terrible comment about Lesbians and she and him had fought verbally and aggressively at the bar but Louie ended the argument quickly by leaving. Just like now, backing off quickly; Hours later, Bryan was sent to the hospital when he was beaten badly in the alley while taking the garbage out. I thought maybe it was Louie friend that was with her, but no. She was part of it." Hallie was sure now. She suddenly felt a chill.
Carson reaches for Hallie noticing her sudden instability.
"Hal?" She says
"It's fine, Luna? What do we owe you?" Hallie asks.
"Not a thing girls, why don't you girls head up to bed?" She asks
"Yes I would like to."
Carson goes upstairs with Hallie, Lemon walking them up.
"Lemmie this place is weird" Hallie says.
"I know but it's okay. I'm going to go back down for another drink okay?" She kisses Carson strongly, and hugs Hallie.
"I love you both."
Carson kisses Lemon deeply, out of breathe and whispers I love you.
Lemon heads back downstairs.
"Carson, I know Louie."
"Know her?"
"I don't think she's safe." She says to Carson
"How do you know?"
She tells the story to Carson, Carson covering her mouth.
"We have to get to know Louie, secretively." Hallie says almost demanding of Carson.
"Okay Hal."
YOU ARE READING
Coneflowers
Mystery / ThrillerLike coneflowers or otherwise known as black eyed Susan's.. Lemon has moved from place to place trying to survive. Her past has mostly come to the surface of everyone she knows. Will she stay safe on the west coast from Marcus? Will she have planted...
