Chapter Three

Waverly's flowers bloom four days later. She thinks that the little pansies are charming and just as adorable as Nicole said they would be.

She's been meaning to stop by, but work has been unusually busy lately. They've had multiple appointments for large or intricate tattoos. She tells everyone who comes by about the new flower shop in town.

She finally makes it back to Nicole's shop late after work one night. It's almost eight o'clock and there's almost no chance that it's still open, but she takes her chances.

Waverly arrives to find the store lights still on and the open sign still taped to the door. She pushes the door open, a bell jingling as she does. Well, that's new. Waverly wonders if it has anything to do with her surprising Nicole during their first meeting.

There's no Nicole in sight, but there is another ginger. She's curled up on the counter, and she raises her head when the bell jingles. The cat tilts her head and meows curiously.

"Hello there, pretty kitty," Waverly says, taking small steps closer to the cat. She holds her hand out to the cat once she's close enough.

Calamity Jane stares at the small woman's hand for a moment before meowing once more. Waverly stokes the cat's head, her fingers sliding easily through the soft orange fur.

The cat purrs, deciding that this human is worthy of her attention. Waverly hears a noise from the back of the store and looks up to see Nicole standing in a doorway. She's carrying two bags of potting soil and she grins at Waverly.

"You've met Calamity Jane. I'm surprised that she's letting you pet her. She doesn't usually take to strangers." Nicole drops the bags next to the door and kicks the doorstop up to let the door bang shut.

"Hi, Nicole. I wasn't sure if you were open or not but the lights were on and the door wasn't locked so… I just came in."

Calamity Jane meows excitedly as her owner approaches. "No worries. I was just carrying in some soil. Thought CJ here could keep me some company."

The cat stands once Nicole is standing in front of the counter and meows insistently until Nicole rolls her eyes and picks her up.

She cradles the cat, whose purrs become louder. "How long have you had her?" Waverly asks, wiggling her fingers at the car, who watches with interest.

Nicole stares up at the ceiling, muttering to herself for a moment as she tries to remember. "Just around a year ago, I think. Maybe a bit earlier. I was in Nebraska and I found her on the side of the road. I couldn't stand to leave her."

Nicole presses a kiss against the top of Calamity's head. Waverly smiles, watching as Calamity bumps her head against Nicole's chin.

"Anyway, what brings you out here? You probably didn't come to listen to me talk about CJ."

"My flowers are blooming."

"Really? That's great! Do you like them?" Nicole beams, her adorable dimples coming out.

"I love them. Here, I took some pictures to show you…" Waverly takes her phone out of her back pocket to show Nicole the pictures.

"Good, good," she murmurs, still gently stroking the cat in her arms. "I'm glad you like them. By the way, those muffins were delicious."

"Thank you," Waverly says, putting the phone back away. She hesitates before speaking again. "Do you think you could landscape?"

"Landscape?"

"Yeah. The homestead is so old and drab. It would be good to get some color in there. Get rid of all those weeds. Could you?"

"I'd do anything for a girl as pretty as you," Nicole says, a hopefully flirtatious smile curling her lips.

Waverly responds with a smirk. "Is that so? I'll be sure to remember that. Does Saturday work for you?"

"Saturday would be perfect."

"Come any time. I'll be there all day."

"See you then, Waverly Earp."

—

"Hey, Nonna?"

"What up, baby girl?" Wynonna looks up from the plate of pancakes that she's demolishing. There's a trail of syrup down her chin.

"You know that new flower shop that opened up in town?"

"The one you were talking about with the cute tall ginger who you might have given a concussion? I've heard about it."

"Yeah, I kind of hired her to landscape. She's coming today."

"So she's gonna trim your bushes? Gonna mow your lawn?"

"Wynonna!"

Wynonna laughs, long and loud at the scandalized look on her little sister's face. "What? You think that she's cute, don't you?"

"Well, yeah but- Wynonna!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. It'll make them harder to take off."

Wynonna continues snickering, even after Waverly throws a blueberry at her. "I expect you to behave when she shows up, Wynonna. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I won't interfere with your little crush. Ask her if she can plow the fields, Waves."

"Wynonna!"

She shoves another bite of pancake into her mouth, grinning as Waverly shakes her head exasperatedly.

Waverly is washing the dishes when a knock comes at the door. Wynonna had disappeared upstairs after she finished her pancakes to get out of Waverly's hair. Waverly hopes that she's finishing painting the upstairs bathroom, but she's more than likely just getting drunk. Oh well.

Waverly wipes her hands on a towel and goes to answer the door. Nicole Haught is standing there, wearing a blue t-shirt and a grin.

"Good morning, Ms. Earp. I'm here to slave away and make your shit-show of a yard look nice."

Waverly steps back, opening the door wider. "Come on in, Nicole. Have you had anything to eat today? I have pancakes."

"That's very kind of you to offer, but I ate breakfast before coming here. By the way, when was the last time you weed whacked?"

"Um… Never?" Waverly offers, shrugging. Nicole grins, looking out the window over the kitchen sink.

"Yep, seems about right. So, seeing as this whole landscaping job came up very suddenly, I have nothing in the way of tools."

"There should be some stuff in the barn. As you can tell, taking care of the lawn has never been a priority."

"If I get tetanus from all this rusty metal laying around you're paying for my doctor's bill. Also, can I borrow some sunscreen? I don't have any of that either and I'll burn like a wildfire if I don't get some sunscreen on."

Nicole gestures vaguely to her pale skin and her red hair. "Right. I'll go find some sunscreen. Meet you in the barn?"

"Yep. On my way to your creepy ass, deteriorating barn. When it collapses on me, please mourn me. Make sure Calamity Jane finds a good home."

Waverly rolls her eyes playfully at Nicole's good-natured teasing. She pushes Nicole towards the door.

"Go, Nicole. I'll be there in a minute."

Waverly heads off to the downstairs bathroom, searching around in the cabinets beneath the sink for sunscreen. She finally finds a half empty bottle of sunscreen. She's pretty sure that no one's used it in years.

As she approaches the barn, she hears a loud crash then muttered curse words. Waverly grins, reminded of their first meeting.

She pushes open the barn door to find Nicole struggling with three different rakes and something that looks like a pick axe.

"Having a bit of trouble, Haught?" Nicole spins around at the sound of Waverly's voice, dropping everything in her arms.

Her face turns almost the same shade of red as her hair. She straightens up, trying to regain some sense of control and confidence.

"Nope, everything is going exactly according to plan."

"Looks like it. What are you looking for?"

"No idea. I'm actually pretty sure I should get rid of all that rusty metal I mentioned before. Get it out of the yard."

"We could load it up into Wynonna's pickup. There's a place a couple hours away in the city where we could dump it."

Nicole shakes her head. "You don't have to help me. This is kinda my job and all. And I wouldn't want to inconvenience your sister by stealing her truck."

"She can use my Jeep if she needs to."

"Waverly-"

Nicole is quickly cut off. "I want to go with you. It'll be fun, like a road trip!"

"Yeah, a road trip with someone you barely know. For all you know, I could be an axe murderer. I could take you out on the middle of nowhere and-"

"We're in the middle of nowhere right now. I think I can trust you enough that I'm not worried about you killing me."

"Fair point. Alright, if you really wanna help, you need gloves. I have an extra pair in my glove box. Door should be open."

Waverly hands Nicole the bottle of sunscreen before rushing out of the barn, pleased that Nicole is letting her help.

She grabs the gloves from Nicole's car and pops into the house to quickly tell Wynonna that she'll be gone.

Waverly finds her sister sprawled out on her bed, which isn't surprising. She's snoring lightly and clutching a pillow, and Waverly spots the probably empty whisky bottle on the nightstand.

She rips a piece of paper out of a notebook that was on her desk and writes a short message.

Wynonna, I'm taking your truck & heading into the city for a while. You can use my Jeep if you need, keys are in their spot. There's leftover casserole in the fridge if you get hungry. Just heat it up (and don't burn the house down!) Love you! -Waverly.

She lays the piece of paper next to Wynonna in the bed. After, she hurries down the stairs. Outside, Nicole has already started to haul pieces of scrap metal into the truck.

They work together easily. Nicole is slightly surprised by just how strong Waverly is, despite her tiny body. Waverly explains the years and years of dance, then cheerleading in high school.

Nicole teases Waverly about the sheer amount of crap in her yard as they work together to haul a barrel full of gravel into the back of the truck.

"Why is this even a thing? Why do you need a gravel barrel? Jesus Christ, this is heavy," Nicole groans as they lift it up.

"It's been there as long as I can remember. One time when I was really little my sister told me that there was a body in there and it would come out and haunt me if I didn't do what she said."

Willa had never been very nice to her. As the youngest Earp, Waverly was little more than an annoyance. At best, she was a way to keep Willa entertained.

Nicole looks shocked. "Wynonna? I can't believe she'd do that to you." She leans against the truck, her brows furrowed.

Waverly shakes her head quickly. "No, no, I have another sister… Had another sister. Um, her name was Willa. She was so much older than me and we just didn't get along."

Nicole catches the 'had' and nods slightly, not pushing the subject further. "Oh. Okay. So, I think that's everything, if you wanna get going?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go." Waverly nods, closing the tailgate. Nicole pushes off of the truck and the girls get into the truck, with Waverly driving.

She starts the truck and grins over at the redhead, the awkwardness of the moment before forgotten quickly.

"Road trip time!"