Page 42 of Wild Scottish Rose

Everyone wanted to speak to me.

I was a new face in town, which meant I had new stories to contribute to the local gossip, and I made sure to be careful in what I said. Though this was likely a landmine of opportunity to learn more about the Kelpies, now wasn’t the time to ask those type of questions. Instead, I focused on making connections, knowing that when the time came to ask more prodding questions, I might be given better information.

“This is for free,” Shona instructed me, pointing to a basket a woman aboutthe age of fifty held.

“It’s for Greta. She lost her husband a month ago and is having a really rough go of it,” the woman explained to me as though I had any idea who Greta was. “Her grief is consuming her.”

“What did you just say?” Shona turned back, having caught the tail end of the woman’s words.

“I said Greta’s grief is consuming her. She can barely function. Her wee kids are struggling. We’re all doing the best we can, but the poor lass can barely get out of bed.”

An odd look passed across Shona’s face and then she nodded once, as though to herself, and reached out to squeeze the woman’s arm.

“I’ll pass by to see her this week.”

“That would be grand, I’m sure any help will be appreciated.”

“Here you are,” I said, handing the woman the sack full of green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, and kale. I grabbed a bouquet of blossoms wrapped in brown paper and tied with brown twine and handed them over. “Give these to her with our condolences.”

“This is just lovely. We’ll cook up something nice for her.” With that, the woman left, and I smiled at the next person in line.

By late morning, Shona’s booth had sold out and I looked up at her as I helped her stack empty bushels.

“You could sell ten times this, couldn’t you?” I asked, amazed at how quickly she’d gone through what I had thought to be mountains of produce.

“I’m not sure about ten times, but I could be selling more, yes.”

“What would that look like for you?”

“You mean in overhead?” Shona stopped, tilting her head as she considered it. “I guess it’s part of why I wanted to get out of doing wedding flowers. I think I have to pick an area to focus on if I want to grow.”

“Your flowers did sell out almost immediately,” I pointed out. On top of her produce, she’d had buckets of mixed bouquets, each more cheerful than the next, and they’d been some of the first items to sell. Of course, once people were there and buying flowers, they saw all the delectable produce and inevitably bought something else. “They’re a great way to catch people’s attention, and then you can upsell them on the produce.”

“That’s the idea.” Shona laughed. “But honestly, I don’t know. I could expand the florals and just sell plants and flowers, you know? But I love having produce as well. I eat from my garden, and I like that I can provide healthy food for the community.”

“And you deliver to restaurants too?”

“I do. Both florals and produce.”

“But you need to build more if you want to grow?”

“It’s that or rent space at a commercial greenhouse, but that would require me to commute. I like my cottage garden.”

The way she said it, like she had a few rows of herbs behind her house, made me laugh.

“Far more than just a cottage garden, Shona. I’m really impressed. You’ve got an incredible thing going here.”

“I do, don’t I?” Shona beamed at me, and I lost a breath for a moment. When she directed her light at me, I wantedto bask in that warmth for days. You couldn’t recreate that type of beauty—and I’ve seen many try—and I doubted that she understood how utterly beautiful she was.

“Are you afraid that expanding it will ruin what you have?” I asked as I bent to fold the table.

“What do you mean by ruin?” Shona paused in her stacking.

“Just that…sometimes growth isn’t always better. Keeping things small can be just as satisfying and productive as expanding. I’ve seen a few of my friends who have gotten over their heads with trying to go too big too fast. They took on too much and the added costs ruin their business.”

“I do think about that,” Shona said, crossing her arms over her chest, and worrying her lower lip. “I’m already at my max when it comes to my time. If I hire more people, then I have to manage more people. It feels like a catch-22. And for what? I like my life as it is.”

“Nobody says youhaveto do more.”

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