by Bella Falls
“N-o-o-o!” Cate dragged out. “Tell me that’s not the shop that actually provided them. They were so pretty.”
Gloria grunted, “Hmph,” and left us slack-jawed in the sun.
We headed back inside and attempted to pay Pops at the register for the food he’d provided, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Once we settled in my truck, we sat in awed silence. My fingers turned white from gripping the steering wheel.
“Welcome to my world, ladies,” Gloria said with a sad smile. “I couldn’t figure out why Azalea’s mom would want to hire her daughter’s fiancé’s ex to provide the flowers except in an attempt to cause strife between her and Harrison.”
If I’d had a shred of respect left for her parents, this new information torched it into oblivion. “That’s so twisted.”
“Well, her plan backfired,” Cate said from the backseat.
“Oh, it definitely caused tension,” Gloria countered. “More than once, I had to calm Azalea down during the months of preparation. And if I’d had any cajones, I would have marched into the shop myself and demanded that Cassidy not be involved in any of the deliveries.”
I smacked the steering wheel hard enough my palm stung. “She didn’t show up on the wedding day, did she?”
Gloria’s jaw tightened. “I was hoping she’d know better, but that girl likes to mess with people. I kind of felt bad because I think if it hadn’t been an added bonus she could bug me as well, she might not have tried so hard to get to Azalea. Out of all people, she was the one who delivered the bridal party bouquets to the suite prior to the ceremony.”
What had been such a beautiful day had turned out to have so many ugly shadows. My love and admiration for Azalea increased at her ability to take everything thrown at her and still make the best of things. With a little digging, we found someone who might have done more than deliver flowers to get at her in the long run.
“Right. Let’s go.” I turned the key and revved the engine of Deacon’s borrowed F-150. It rumbled underneath us, and as we left the parking lot, I punched the gas a little too hard, throwing gravel out from under the tires when we pulled out on the road.
Cate leaned forward and grabbed the back of my headrest. “Exactly where are we going in such a hurry?”
A sly grin crept onto my lips. I glanced in the rearview mirror at my friend. “To nip things in the bud right now.”
Chapter Nine
The three of us sat in the truck outside of the strip mall in front of Beach Blooms, readying for battle.
“If she’s truly horrible like you said, I could always wilt all the flowers in there with a little of my magic,” I offered, conjuring a tiny flame in the palm of my hand.
“No, you can’t do that,” Cate protested, smacking my shoulder from the backseat. “Don’t take anything out on those innocent plants.”
“Sometimes I think you’re a little too nice, Catydid,” I teased. “You have to admit, even Nature can sometimes be cruel when she needs to be.”
Gloria flipped down the visor and applied a new layer of lipstick, checking her appearance in the small mirror. “If I have to face Cassidy, I want to look good doing it.” She slammed the visor back into place. “Ready, girls?”
“Ready,” Cate and I replied.
An electronic bell dinged as soon as we opened the door to the shop. Beautiful flower arrangements peppered the area. If we weren’t here to fight, I might be so impressed that I could buy one or two things to take back with me.
“I’ll be right with you,” a female voice called from the back room. “Feel free to take a look around.”
Gloria cringed. “That’s her. I guess her mom’s not here today.”
“There, that’s finished.” A young woman about the same age as us with blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun wiped her hands on her pink-striped apron. “The hazards of working with glitter are that it gets absolutely everywhere.” She glanced up at us with a smile and stopped in her tracks. “Gloria.”
“Cassidy,” my friend replied in a tense tone.
The smile faded from the woman’s lips for a second, but she recovered and plastered one on, speaking in an empty, pleasant voice. “How may I help you ladies today?”
“Cut the crap, Cass,” Gloria demanded. “I want to know why you took the job of providing the flowers for Azalea and Harrison’s wedding. Surely you had to know it would cause trouble. Or is that why you did it?”
Okay, we were going to jump straight into the deep end. I stepped to my friend’s side and stood as tall as I could, raising my chin in indignation.
Cassidy blinked a couple of times in shock. “I wasn’t trying to cause trouble. I was hired to do a job, and I think our shop more than fulfilled the bride and groom’s requests.” Her hands curled in and out of fists. “I heard what happened. I hope you can pass on our good wishes to Harrison for a fast recovery. If you want to pick something out to take to him, I’d be happy to give it to you for free.”
It was hard to maintain a level of anger at her when all I observed was someone who was kind and thoughtful. But I trusted Gloria, and if she said we couldn’t rely on Cassidy to be a good person, then the lady didn’t deserve thoughtful consideration.
“Right. Would you like me to sign the card in your name? That way, Azalea will know they came from you.” Gloria took a step closer to her former friend. “You were always good at hiding your evil deeds behind good intentions.”
Instead of smirking or egging Gloria on, Cassidy fiddled with the ends of her apron. “I think it might be best if you leave.”
I cleared my throat. “It’s hard to be confronted with the truth, isn’t it?”
“But she’s got it all wrong.” Cassidy stood her ground for a moment and turned away, walking behind the front display case to get a little space between us.
Gloria closed the distance and pounded her hands on the countertop. “Oh, I was wrong about you for years. But I’m pretty sure I have you pegged.”
Cassidy’s shoulders slumped, and she busied herself with tidying up the rows of ribbons. “If you’re so sure about me, then why even come here?”
“You were at the Wallace House the day of the wedding, right?” I asked, ready to get some answers.
“Of course. We had to deliver the bouquets to the bridal suite and the boutonnières to the men as well as set up the arrangements for the ceremony and complete the design for the reception.” She stood her ground with her arms crossed. “It’s what we were hired to do.”
Her reply didn’t sound unreasonable, but it still meant she had open access to all areas of the wedding. It wouldn’t be an impossible leap to consider her sticking around during the entire event. Maybe in a fit of jealousy, she attacked Harrison.
Gloria leaned against the case. “But why you, Cass? I mean, you had to flaunt yourself in front of Azalea by delivering her bouquet right to her.”
The florist’s eyes got as big as the peonies in the refrigerators behind her. “That’s what you think? That I took the job to torture Harrison and his bride?”
I steadied myself for a knockdown drag out fight to break out, but Cassidy hurried out from behind the counter and clasped her hands over Gloria’s shoulders. “Oh, Glo, I never meant for things to go as bad as they clearly have between us. I’m so sorry.”
Cate and I gawped at the interaction, shocked bystanders to Gloria’s fizzling anger. Her mouth opened once or twice, but she didn’t manage to say anything. For everything we’d prepared for when we came in here to confront Cassidy, none of us had expected to hear any apologies.
“You’re just saying that to get out of trouble,” Gloria accused. She cast her eyes to the floor. “I still don’t see why you took the job in the first place.”
The florist let go of her former friend with a disappointed exhale. “Because I thought that maybe I could make up for the past. That us doing a good job would be a great way to let Harrison know I wished him well. And to do something nice for your friend.”
Gloria sniffed, caught between warring emotions. “That doesn’t sound like the person I once knew.”
“We haven’t been friends for a long time. And that’s my fault entirely. I destroyed something good in my life because I never believed I deserved anything good.” Cassidy’s voice trembled, and she reached up to her neck, pulling out a silver chain. “I still wear this every day as a reminder to be better than I was.”
The rest of Gloria’s anger evaporated at the sight of something meaningful to her. “That’s the necklace I gave you after graduation.”
“Yep.” Cassidy pulled the pendant out for us to see. “It’s a bird because Glo heard me say all the time how I’d like to fly away. Yet I ended up not getting very far.” She stopped talking to Cate and me and turned her full attention back to her former friend. “Gloria, I really do apologize for the way I mistreated you. Losing your friendship was the worst thing that’s happened to me, and I’ve regretted it for a long time. I hope someday, you can forgive me.”
The alert from the front door chimed, and a little girl in a frilly dress ran inside and launched herself at Cassidy’s leg. “Mommy!” she cried with a great big grin.
“Hey there, munchkin. Did you have a good time with Grammy today?” Cassidy bent down and picked up the girl who got shy when she spotted all of us watching her. “And this here is the best thing that’s happened to me. Gloria Jean, say hello to these nice ladies.”
After a small wave, the little girl buried her head in her mother’s shoulder. An older lady stepped up to peel her granddaughter off. “Come here, love bug. We’ll take you in the back and get you a juice box.” Before she left, she placed a hand on Gloria’s arm. “I’m glad to see you two talking again.” The grandmother and granddaughter disappeared into the back.
Gloria gaped after them. “Cass, you’re a mom.”
“I am. I mean it when I said she’s the best thing to happen to me.” She clutched the space over her heart. “If anyone had treated her the way I behaved towards you, I’m pretty sure I’d go to jail for hurting them.”
Her exaggeration reminded me of our original purpose. It felt a little awkward bringing up the wedding day, but I needed to hear her answers.
“So, after you finished putting together all the flowers for the event, did you stick around for the reception?” I pushed, ignoring the little twinge of guilt for even asking.
Cassidy stopped smiling at her former friend. “Actually, my babysitter called me because my daughter had a stomachache. So, I left before our crew was even finished.”
“And your daughter’s name?” Gloria asked.
The grin returned to the florist’s face. “I named her after you in the hopes that she would be as kind as you had been and to strive to be better. Jean is after my mom, the other woman I want her to grow up to be like.”
Cate reached in her purse and pulled out a tissue to wipe away her tears. I didn’t come as prepared, so I bit my lip in order not to lose control.
Gloria hesitated for another moment before sticking out her hand. “I accept your apology.”
Cassidy blew out a huge sigh of relief. “You don’t know how you’ve just made my entire year, not just my day. I’ve been waiting to say these things to you all along, but I didn’t want to ruin your friend’s wedding preparations by putting myself first.”
“I guess I was only seeing things from my point of view,” Gloria admitted.
“I get it. But whatever brought you in here today, I’m so happy we got to talk.” Her body tensed as if she wanted to give her old friend a hug, but she placed her arms behind her back instead. “I hope Harrison gets better soon. Are you sure you don’t want to pick something out to take to him at the hospital?”
Gloria looked around the shop as if seeing it for the first time. “You have a lot of beautiful things here. If you’ve got a moment, maybe you can give us some options.”
When we left, the other half of the back seat was full of plants and flowers we’d purchased to take home with us or to drop off at the hospital. Cate cradled a potted peperomia with deep green ornamental leaves, already talking to it. Gloria settled the peace lily she’d picked out for Harrison between her legs in the front seat. Somewhere between the spider plant and the devil’s ivy I’d gotten for Luke’s house was my clivia with its bright orange blossoms with yellow middles. I pictured it sitting on the windowsill of my kitchen like my own floral fire. If I could keep it alive long enough, I might consider getting something else later on.
“That was completely unexpected and overwhelming,” Gloria stated. “And I’m not sure how helpful it was.”
“But you got to mend fences with an old friend. I’d say this was an incredibly beneficial,” I countered, driving in the direction of the hospital to drop her off first.
We rode the rest of the trip with the radio on, half listening to the songs and half caught up in our own thoughts. I pulled the truck up to the entrance and Gloria untangled her feet without hurting the plant before picking it up.
She shut the truck door and spoke through the rolled down window. “Well, it looks like you’re back to square one, trying to come up with whoever hurt Harrison.”
“It was a good theory while it lasted. And I’m sure we can come up with other ideas when we get together again.” I didn’t want to stress her out with my growing doubt and worry for Azalea. “We’ve got the coven meeting coming up. Maybe all of us can go out afterwards and brainstorm.”
She shot me a thumbs up. “I’ll text you any updates once I get up there. Thanks for having my back.”
We waited until she made it inside before driving away. Cate stayed in the backseat happy as a clam with all the plants back there, and I drove us both toward Cedar Point.
After the umpteenth advertisement on the radio, a catchy country song played, and I hummed along, singing the words when I remembered them. It dawned on me I hadn’t heard back from Mac about the playlist. With no other ideas of how to find the person who hurt our friend, I took a little comfort in having at least one thing I could check on. Once I got home, I could message the band and see what they’d put together for a timeline.
Turning up the volume, I belted out the chorus and sang away my blues.
Chapter Ten
The timeline Mac sent me through email didn’t do much other than narrow down the window of when Harrison was stabbed. It gave me a little too much smug pleasure to know the lieutenant had not reached out to the band to ask them the same thing, which meant only I had come up with the brilliant idea. But it didn’t do anyone any favors to keep the useful information to myself if it didn’t help find who stabbed Harrison or keep Azalea from being the number one suspect. Still, I wanted to talk with my friends after the coven meeting and see what we could come up with before handing the information over.
On the afternoon before the meeting, I begged off helping to unload another haul from a short picking trip and headed back to my place. Exhausted from a lack of consistent sleep and my brain working overtime to piece everything together, I stared up at the ceiling while lying on my bed. Sleeplessness was all too familiar. I’d gotten so used to stressing out that I couldn’t rest and not resting because of the stress. I tossed and turned on top of the quilt, determined to at least do nothing if I couldn’t succeed at napping.
A warm blanket was wrapped around my body when I woke up some time later. Disoriented, I rubbed my eyes and checked the time. I’d managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours. Yawning, I stretched my arms and debated dozing through dinnertime, figuring I could snack at the meeting. I almost snuggled back under the blanket when I caught the scent of something yummy.
My stomach growled, and I padded out of my room and down the hall to the kitchen, following the smell of garlic and onion. Luke stood at the stove, stirring the contents inside a pot and pouring white wine into the rest of the ingredients with a steamy hiss.
I wrapped my arms around his middle and rested my head against his back. “I thought vampi
res didn’t like garlic.”
His rumbling chuckle vibrated into my cheek. “This vampire thinks it’s absolutely an essential part of good cooking and especially the risotto I’m making for you. If you’re not too tired, could you cut those zucchinis into thin slices for me?” He pointed with the wooden spoon at the three green veggies lying on a nearby wooden cutting board. With a ladle, he spooned some of the hot liquid from a second pot into the first, still stirring.
I cut the zucchini like he asked, wondering what I’d done to deserve a boyfriend who cooked amazing Italian meals whenever he wanted to woo me. We hadn’t had much time to see each other after the wedding with a bunch of jobs coming in for the family business and my efforts to investigate Harrison’s stabbing during my off moments.
Luke had been working on a special job fixing up a vintage car for a client, which usually consumed his attention. If we hadn’t had such a good night dancing together and he hadn’t given his admission about his awareness of the distance between us, I might have continued worrying about us. If a tasty dinner was his way to butter me up, I had no complaints.
Never taking the wooden spoon out of the pot of risotto, my handsome boyfriend flashed me a sexy smile. “Did you get a little rest? You were pretty much out of it when I arrived. You didn’t even hear me when I was calling out your name.”
“Thanks for throwing the blanket over me.” I snuck a slice of zucchini and ate it. “I haven’t been sleeping well. I guess my body finally conked out.”
He ladled some more liquid into the pot. “I’m sorry I’ve been working so hard. I should have checked in person rather than trusting when you told me you were okay over the phone.”
“But I was okay. And you have a special job you’re working on right now. I know that means you’re at the garage more than usual. If I really needed you, I would have said so.” Dropping the third zucchini slice when he scolded me, I closed the distance between us and hooked my arms around his middle. “Don’t I look okay to you?”
