Chapter Seven

"I've been thinking," Nicole starts, glancing up from the flower that she's pruning. Waverly tilts her head, the hint of a smile on her lips.

"Oh yeah? Something that I should be worried about?" She asks. Nicole looks back down at the plant, shaking her head.

"No, not at all. I was just thinking that I would like to build a greenhouse. You know, it'd be nice to have some extra space to grow stuff. Especially in the winter. It'd let me expand my inventory and all."

Waverly nods, her mind immediately turning to the visual of Nicole, her shirt off and her muscles tight as she lifts a support into place. "That might be a fun project. You think you have enough space in the back?"

Nicole shrugs, throwing a glance out the open door in the back room. There's a small strip of grass, although it's not much. "Maybe. I can make it work, I bet. I'm pretty handy. Have to go down to the sheriff's office, see about permits..." Nicole trails off, setting the pot she was working on down. She moves onto the next table, inspecting the plants closely for any dead stalks.

"I'm sure you could do it. Maybe I could even rope not-boyfriend Xavier into helping you! He seems strong. Ex-special forces or something. He's American too," Waverly says. Wynonna had surprisingly invited the man over for dinner a few nights ago, and Waverly had been sure to grill him as much as she could. Can't let Wynonna go running off with another drug dealer, after all...

"Hmm, an extra pair of hands would be nice," Nicole says, straightening up. She brushes her gloved hands off on her apron, then strips the gloves away. "Probably'll have to make a trip to the city to get supplies if the sheriff approves it."

Nicole approaches Waverly, who's sitting on the counter. They shoot each other grins and Nicole places her hands to each side of Waverly, leaning close to her. It had been a week since their first kiss, and although they hadn't specifically discussed a label, they had been more than happy to steal the occasional kiss.

Waverly leans the rest of the way in, gently connecting their lips. She drapes her arms around the taller woman's shoulders, her eyes falling closed with pleasure. They kiss for a long moment before slowly breaking apart, both sighing gently. Nicole steps back just an inch, her dimples appearing in a sweet smile.

Nicole holds one finger up in a 'wait' gesture as the phone rings. She picks up, a cheery customer service smile spreading on her face automatically. "This is Purgatory Blooms, Nicole speaking. How can I help you today? Mhm. Yes, ma'am. Yes, I would be able to do that. Is there a time that works best for you? Okay, just a moment-" Nicole grabs a pen and paper, scribbling a note down. "Okay, ma'am, we'll talk about the particulars then. Have a nice day, ma'am!"

She places the phone back into the cradle, raising her eyebrows at Waverly. "Well, I suppose my miracle landscaping work at the Homestead is being talked about."

"Ooh, exciting! Do you have another job lined up?" Waverly claps her hands together, thrilled that Nicole's business seems to be taking off.

"I do indeed. 10 AM this Thursday, Mrs. Peterson's house. She wants me to come pull some weeds."

Waverly hops down from the counter, throwing her arms around Nicole. "That's great news! We needed a landscaper too," Waverly adds with a wink.

"Well, seek and ye shall find. Hey, I think I'm gonna take a quick break and head over to the sheriff's office. Would you want to come with?"

"Why, yes, I would love to."

The women leisurely walk the short distance to the sheriff's office, hand in hand. Waverly tells the story of the first time she bailed Wynonna out of jail- she had stopped back into town for less than two weeks when Waverly was 17, and she managed to get arrested four times in those two weeks.

They arrive at the sheriff's office, a squat, drab looking building. They enter, Nicole dropping Waverly's hand to push the door open. A rather plain looking man sits at the counter, tapping away contentedly at a computer.

"Um, hi. I was wondering about getting some building permits?" Nicole says, her voice raising into a question. The man looks up, blinking at her slowly.

"Building. Like... Building?" He asks, eliciting a confused look from Nicole.

"Yeah. Like building."

He nods slowly, looking down at his desk. The man shuffles through a few papers, finally finding a folder. Nicole isn't sure if she's reading it right, but it looks suspiciously like it says 'missing persons'.

He flips through the papers, continuing his slow blinks. "Um. I don't see any building papers."

At that moment, an older man with a thick mustache walks in. He takes one look at the man and the two confused women in front of him and sighs.

"Come on with me," he says in a gruff voice, gesturing at the women as he pushes through a door. Waverly bounces after him and Nicole shrugs, following after them.

They find themselves in the sheriff's office and the two women sit down across from the man, who sighs heavily as he settles into his chair.

"So, Waverly, introduce me to your friend," the man says, removing his Stetson and placing it down on his desk.

Waverly is grinning, looking incredibly pleased to see the sheriff. "This is Nicole Haught! She just moved here. Nicole, this is Sheriff Nedley."

He nods, his mustache twitching slightly. "Ah. You're the plant lady. Chrissy's been talkin' about you. Should probably stop by and try to spruce my house up a bit." The last thought is added under his breath, but Nicole still catches it and grins at the thought of this gruff-looking man kneeling in his garden to plant flowers.

"Anyway," he continues, "what are you ladies in here for?"

"I'm hoping to get some building permits. Planning on building a greenhouse out in my back garden."

Nedley's mouth twitches up in a small smile. "Where you planning on getting these supplies from? I know a good place out in town. Could get you a discount."

Nicole is, obviously, more than surprised by the sheriff's generosity. "Yeah, that sounds really great!"

The man hums, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "Miss doin' work like that with my hands. Small town sheriff work ain't nothing but haulin' local boys off to the drunk tank. Glad someone's finally out here tryna improve the town a bit."

The two fill out the paperwork together, and Nedley smiles more than Waverly has seen in years. Finally, all three stand up and Nicole and the sheriff share a firm handshake.

"Thanks, Sheriff. I'll have to stop by soon and take you up on that discount offer."

It's a little over a week later when Nicole finally finds the time to start working on her new greenhouse. She and Nedley had made the trip to town earlier in the week, and according to Nicole, they became fast friends.

It's a pleasantly warm afternoon when Nicole stands in her back yard, staring at the pile of wood and greenhouse plastic. She'd spent her nights researching the best plans for low-space greenhouses. The Earps and Xavier were supposed to arrive any moment, and she had, in her effort to impress them, made tiny sandwiches and bought lemonade and iced tea. It's almost definitely too much, but Nicole wants to appear as put-together as possible.

She hears the bell ring a few moments later and she walks back into the store, grinning at the arguing sisters and the stoic, blank-faced Xavier Dolls.

"Heya! It's nice to finally meet you, Xavier," Nicole says, holding her hand out. He shakes it firmly, responding only with a quick nod. "Well... let's go out back, yeah?"

They follow Nicole to her back yard, and Wynonna snorts when she sees the assortment laid out on the little table.

"Red, this is the most aggressively American thing I've ever seen. You squeeze this lemonade by hand?" Nicole's face reddens at the comment, and she casts her gaze down.

Waverly smacks her shoulder, hissing a 'Wynonna!' at her. Wynonna reluctantly apologizes at her sister's insistence. She shoots an apologetic glance to Nicole, who shrugs.

"I think it's nice," Xavier says, his voice soft but deep. Nicole smiles at him, her dimples popping.

"Well, thank you! There's turkey, ham, and chickpea salad for you, Waves." At this, Wynonna gives perhaps the most dramatic eye roll that Nicole has ever seen.

They sit at the table, eating the little sandwiches as they chat. Nicole and Xavier talk about America, both recounting stories about their travels. Nicole talks about how she spent months rock climbing in the Rockies, and Xavier tells her about the few months that he spent camping in the wilderness of Alaska.

Finally, they get to work on the greenhouse. Xavier and Nicole lean over the vague blueprints that she had drawn up, quietly talking about the measurements.

Wynonna and Waverly watch them from across the yard. "They're getting along well. I think that's the fastest I've ever seen Dolls talk to... anyone."

"Nicole seems to get along really well with, like, everyone she meets. She even has Nedley acting like her dad."

Wynonna snorts at that. Nedley, of course, viewed Wynonna as public enemy number one. She's definitely never done anything to deserve that, of course.

They work on the greenhouse for the next few days, finally getting it done after plenty of fingers slammed by hammers and swearing.

The four stand in Nicole's backyard, admiring their handiwork. Nicole had moved some extra tables into the greenhouse earlier today with Xavier's help.

"Good work, guys. Thanks so much for helping me."

"Eh, I guess it's payment for you making my house look not-crappy," Wynonna says, slinging an arm around the redhead's shoulders. "But I hit you with that hammer for boning my sister," she whispers, giving the other woman a wink before stepping away.

Nicole stammers for a moment before deciding to just let that comment go. After a few more moments of chatting, Xavier and Wynonna leave to go do... crimes, probably.

"Thanks for all your help, Waves," Nicole says, reaching out to grab the smaller woman's hand. Waverly grins at her, lacing their fingers together.

"It was fun! Nice to take a few days off work and spend some time with you. Nice to watch you work."

Nicole chuckles, pulling Waverly close to her. "Oh, was it? Nice to know."

Waverly wraps one arm around Nicole's waist, gently brushing her lips against the other woman's jaw. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Speaking of that... wanna go have some more fun?"

Nicole laughs, pulling Waverly inside.