Page 32 of Taking Root

Chapter Sixteen

Adrian wrinkled his nose, his allergies kicking in as he stepped into the Garden section of Home Depot, a spot he hadn’t visited in far too long. When he’d first bought the house, he went on constant post-work trips there, but as his hours increased at the hospital, he spent less time fixing up the house. Betty’s complete lack of interest didn’t help. The idea she wanted their old house made him laugh—she’d always been more of a swank condo type.

However, Adrian called about six different Home Depots, and the one a half hour outside of town had what he searched for. He didn’t know the first thing about gardening apart from pulling out the weeds when they got too wild, and even then, half the time he pulled flowers instead. But Danny offered a fountain of knowledge on the subject, passion lighting her eyes every time she talked about the different types of perennials she planted or the way she’d spaced out the blooms in the Horntree garden.

The one flower he remembered her talking about over and over again was a Madagascar rose, but she couldn’t find a way to work it into the Horntree garden because the colors were too splashy. He’d hit Google like a fiend, though, and it could work for a house plant. No way would he show up on her doorstep empty handed—he wasn’t raised that way. The humid air of the gardening center glued his undershirt to his chest as he wandered through the aisles, searching for the blooms. The employees strolled around in their eyesore-orange aprons, idly chatting with folks as they passed.

He wove by them, heading toward the big displays of petunias and zinnias collected on large tables, hanging overhead, and lining the stacks of pallets. The splashy colors distracted him at every turn until all the neon blues, yellows, and reds melded together. One shade in particular caught his eye, the velvety magenta flowers growing from a pot like a miniature tree.

Bingo.

His phone buzzed as he approached the potted plant which had Danny stamped all over it. Adrian snagged his phone and checked the screen. Nellie hadn’t called him in a while since she saw him at family dinner every week, whether her douchebag husband Greg joined her or not.

“What’s going on, Nellie?” Adrian asked, nestling the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he picked up the pot.

“Guess who I ran into at the grocery store?” she said, a bite to her voice.

Adrian did the quick detective work of who might irritate Nellie that involved him. “Betty’s just showing up everywhere, isn’t she? Give me a second to pay. I’m at the store.”

He carried the desert rose over to the register, the petals brushing his arm from this tiny, twisted tree. The cashier lifted a brow as she rang him up but didn’t offer any unwanted opinions. He thanked her before scooping off the plant from the counter and returning to his conversation with Nellie.

“So, what did my ex-fiancée say to you?” he asked, familiar irritation washing over him. The more time that passed, his initial hurt and shock changed into acid annoyance. Her actions since they split retold the story of a woman he once knew better than anyone. She was the pure opposite of Danny who no matter what name she went under burst with a Monarch butterfly’s vibrancy since high school.

“She’s claiming she got the short end of the deal with the house and you underpaid her,” Nellie said, letting out an annoyed huff afterwards. “Why that monster is torturing you more is beyond me. She never deserved you.”

Adrian reached his car and placed the desert rose in the passenger seat before slinking over to the other side. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, sweetheart. Betty’s making it easier and easier to get over her every time she pulls one of these stunts.”

“She can’t throw you out of your house, can she?” Nellie asked, the worry broadcasting clear in her voice.

Adrian’s chest warmed. The subtle war Betty had waged with his family had made him feel inattentive for how involved he got in his family’s lives, but that’s part of what it meant to be a Dukas. They were a chaotic, interfering, constant mess of the most loyal people he had the honor to know. Any one of his siblings would’ve pulled out their arsenal against Betty the moment she tried to cause him serious problems, whether Cal called in one of his connections in town or Lex showed up at her house with a switchblade and a butane torch.

“Anything she tries won’t hold up in court,” he said, pulling out of the Home Depot parking lot. Next stop, Danny’s apartment. This could either end one of two ways, but he just held onto the hope that she hadn’t closed her heart for good. “Betty signed the agreement when she accepted the money. Right now, she’s begging for attention.”

“Why doesn’t she ask the dozens of guys plowing through those legs?” Nellie spat back, his sweet-spoken sister’s temper appearing.

Adrian snorted. “I’m betting her entry into fine society hasn’t been as satisfying as she hoped for. All the talk about me holding her back was hot air. Old money only accepts their own into the ranks, and she reeks of newly earned desperation.”

“Next time she comes up to me in public, I’m pulling out the pepper spray,” Nellie muttered. “You’re way better off now. I liked the new girl you brought around the other week.” His sister would’ve been too young to remember Sam Peterson from Hanahan High, and Lex must’ve kept her trap shut for once.

Adrian swallowed, his throat drying at the reminder of his current destination. A quiet part of his heart still flickered with unwavering hope for respite from the disappointment that clutched his chest ever since Betty left him. However, he’d also witnessed too much injustice to believe Danny would slip into his arms and all their past problems would melt away.

“I’m heading to see her now,” he said. “I’ll tell her you said hey.” No need to share his cracked cobblestone headspace with Nellie, not until he knew what path he and Danny headed down. “How’s Greg doing?” He asked more out of politeness than giving a damn. His blood boiled every time his brother-in-law opened his ignorant mouth, and Greg’s disparaging comments to Nellie’s face made Adrian’s knuckles itch every time.

If Nellie and Greg ever split, which Mom prayed for every day, the man had best hustle out of town. So many members of his family would be lining up to sling a punch they’d have to start taking numbers.

“He’s real busy with work,” Nellie murmured, and he’d be an idiot not to hear the slight tremble in her voice. “His job has him traveling to a lot of different cities, so we don’t get to see each other as much as I’d like.”

“Well, you know we’re here to keep you company in the interim.” He flicked on his turn signal as the exit came into view, the proximity causing his heart to race.

“I appreciate it,” she murmured. “And if Betty gives you any more trouble, don’t hesitate to tell us. We’ll make her regret she ever messed with a member of the Dukas family.”

Nellie hung up the phone, but Adrian couldn’t help his lingering grin. His sister would sling fists for any one of them even if she never stood up for herself. He wove down the side streets closer and closer to the apartment complex he’d entered when he picked Danny up on their official date. A few weeks ago felt like an eternity since their stumble through the Siren’s Call and first, intoxicating kiss.

When the Magnolia Courts sign came into view, the weight of his nerves smacked into him like a broken brick.

This was a terrible idea. He had shot the occasional text, but she hadn’t responded to a single one. That pretty much confirmed she had no more interest in talking to him, let alone seeing his face. Somehow, he’d let Cal and Lex’s terrible plan infect his brain, and he couldn’t help feeling like some pathetic creep at this point. The thought didn’t sit well in his stomach as he pulled into a parking spot.

The desert rose mocked him from the passenger seat. Adrian ran a hand through his hair, wishing for the thousandth time things hadn’t ended the way they did, with his worries coming out horribly and her walking out his front door. He’d imagined the night going in the opposite direction, with Danny spending it in his bed. Not like he had planned on sleeping.

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