Cam sat at his flower stall, methodically looking at each of each his flowers. Satisfied that they were perfect, he paused and looked around. He saw Georgia and Laney sitting at a table, talking but looking at the entrance to the town. To some it might seem strange, but Cam knew why they were doing it. They were waiting to see Ash's new wife. Cam wasn't surprised that the gossip had spread this fast. After all, Bluebell was a small town. From what he gathered, Jessica had talked about it to Grady, and Georgia had overheard. Since Georgia couldn't keep her mouth shut, within 15 minutes everybody in Bluebell knew that Ash had a new wife.
"Speak of the Devil," said Georgia, pointing. "There they are!" Cam looked, and sure enough, Ash was walking into Bluebell with a girl holding the leash of the horse next to her. He looked at her outfit and smirked. Rutger had obviously gotten to her. As they came nearer, Ash looked like he was in his usual bad temper, but the girl looked thoughtful. Their progress was stopped when Georgia blocked their way. She regarded them with an air of superiority. Well, of course she would have one, Cam thought, she was Ash's ex-girlfriend.
"So," Georgia says, sizing the girl up, "You're Ash's new wife." The girl, surprisingly, doesn't look mad or scared. Instead she blushes, confusing Cam, Laney, and Georgia.
"I'm not his wife. I'll be here for a year, and then it's his decision."The girl claps her hands to her bag, and looks at them nervously. Ash gives Georgia a look of pure disdain.
"Georgia, this is Star." Ash points to the girl. "Star, this is Georgia. As evidenced by her looks, she's the horse girl." Georgia turns red at this statement, and Ash smirks. He brushes past Georgia and sits on the edge of Cam's table.
"So," Cam says. "I take it you're not happy about this?" Ash snorts.
"'Not happy'? That's an understatement." Ash says. "I break up with Georgia, and what does my mom do? She goes and gets me a random girl. I mean, is that normal?" Cam looks at him skeptically.
"She probably had to get you a girl." He says.
"What do you mean?"
"Look, you can't talk to Georgia without snarling at her. And you consider Laney like your sister, right?" Ash nods. "Your mom had to get you a girl or otherwise you'd probably be a miserable old bachelor for life." Ash glared at him but said nothing. He knew that Cam was right. Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Howard. Howard makes a beeline toward Star.
"Ooh. 3. So you're the girl who's going to marry Ash, right? 3" Star's eyes widen, but she nods. She didn't freak out when she saw him, Cam thought, she handled it better than Ash did.
Flashback:
"Hello 3. I'm Howard. So nice to meet you 3." Howard skips to Ash. Ash looks freaked out.
"Are you high or something?"
-End Flashback-
Ash walks toward Howard.
"Howard! I need to ask a favor."
"Yes? 3"
"Well..." Ash suddenly looks uncomfortable. "I really don't have much money. In fact, I'm broke. So that's why I want to ask if I could have a loan to eat at your restaurant. I'll pay you back." Ash looks at Howard anxiously. Howard seems delighted.
"Of course 3. You can eat at my shop until you pay me back 3." Relieved, Ash walks back to Cam.
"What was that all about?" Cam asks. Ash answers him.
"Simple. I'm only making about $300 with the animals I have now. And since we need more animals, I figure I could eat at Howard's restaurant. I just wish his food wasn't so expensive."
Meanwhile...
"Your name's Star, right? I'm Laney." The blonde-haired girl smiles at her kindly. Star smiles back hesitatingly. Georgia snorts. Laney looks at her sharply.
"Georgia, you shouldn't be this rude." In the force of Laney's glare, Georgia relents.
"Fine, fine... So, why do you want to marry Ash? He's not exactly a prize, is he?"
"Um..." Why did she want to marry him, anyway? Star asks herself. The voice responds instantly. Isn't it obvious? You want to get away from your parents. And you think he's cute. Star blushes. Laney and Georgia took her blushing as an answer. But before they could interrogate her, Ash interrupts their conversation.
"Star, are you ready? We've got to go see my mom. We promised, remember?" Star gratefully jumps to her feet. But before they leave, Cam calls them back.
"Ash, Star, come here." Puzzled, they go back to his flower stall. Cam consults an open book and hands Star a bag of seeds.
"What's this?" Star asks.
"A bag of Bells of Ireland seeds. They're best planted in the spring. Every farm needs a good garden, don't you think?" Cam says. Star smiles happily.
"Thank you so much!" Clutching the bag to her chest, she follows Ash to Jessica's house. Cam turns his attention back to the book he opened. On the cover, it says Floriagraphy : The Language of Flowers. He goes to a section of where they list what the flowers mean. He runs his finger down the length of the page and stops at one particular entry: Bells of Ireland :Good Luck.
"You're gonna need a lot of good luck to put up with Ash, Star." Cam murmurs to himself.