Page 7 of Finding Her Strength

“Oh, hey, Steph. How’s it going?” With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and long face, she’s naturally pretty. Unfortunately, she ruins it with the amount of makeup she cakes on.

“Pretty great. How are you? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you out.”

“Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy recently with work.” Cheryl passes my beer across the bar, and I take a welcome drink. “I’m here with the guys, so I’m going to head back over there. It was good to see you.”

“You, too! Call me sometime.” Stephanie grins, and I nod my head before walking back to the table.

When I sit down, the guys are looking at me like there’s something on my face.

“What?” I ask, running my hand over my mouth in case I have a beer ‘stache.

“We’re surprised you came back over here,” Cooper says.

“Why? We’re having a guys’ night.”

“That’s never stopped you from taking a girl home before,” Max points out.

I shrug my shoulders, playing off their words, even though they’re true. “Not really feeling it tonight.”

“Are you sick?” Todd asks with genuine concern.

“Guys, I’m fine. Just because I’m not going home with the first woman who flirts with me doesn’t mean I’m losing my mind. You act like I’m some man-whore who will go home with anyone.”

“Well… it’s sort of true, man. Although, now that I think about it, you haven’t been...out on the townin a while.” I know Cooper’s words aren’t meant to be harsh, but for some reason, they’re sort of grating on my nerves.

I’m not sure why it’s making me mad. What he’s saying is true. I loved going out, flirting with women, maybe taking them home, or getting their number to go out another time. Things have started to change for me, though. I’m not looking for a quick release only to move on to the next one a few days later.

But I have yet to find someone who wants more from me than that.

5

HOPE

“Ouch, dammit.” I stick my bleeding thumb into my mouth, attempting to stop the blood flow. After so many years of dethorning roses, you’d think I’d have learned to avoid them. I want to roll my eyes at myself sometimes.

“You okay, boss?” Claire, my one and only employee, asks me. She’s twenty-two, insanely outgoing, and my only friend in Sonoma. She’s never pushed me for information about my past, which is one of the many reasons I love her. I’ve slowly been sharing my past with her, but it’s still incredibly difficult for me to trust others.

The bells on Claire’s shoes jingle as she walks across the store to grab the first aid kit for me. Her multicolored, striped crop top under denim overalls is adorably trendy. I’m envious of her ability to wear whatever she wants with no qualms about what people think of her.

“Let me see.” She holds her hand out for mine, and I reluctantly let her hold it as she doctors up my thumb. The feeling of her hand on mine sends a little shiver of nerves down my spine. I hate that I still have a reaction to physical touch.

“There, all better,” she says. I look down at the pink, sparkly Band-Aid on my finger.

“Did you have to pick the sparkly one?”

“Yep, everyone needs a little sparkle in their life.” Claire winks at me, then walks back to the front of the store to continue watering the plants. Her zest for life always adds a little color to mine. It’s another of the many reasons I enjoy working with her.

I continue dethorning the roses for an arrangement going out this evening until the door chimes, signaling one of my favorite people entering the store.

“Hi, Mrs. Jackson!” I say, greeting the force that is Alice Jackson. Her brown hair is streaked with silver, but her thin frame makes her seem younger. When I first opened my shop, she made it her mission to learn everything she could about me, and while I did tell her a little bit about myself, I never gave in to her serious inquisition. I think she gained a new respect for me afterward.

She comes in regularly and always asks for the craziest arrangements for her house. Her requests constantly have my creative mind swirling.

“Hi, sweet Hope. How are you today?”

“Just fine, and you?”

“Wonderful, especially with one of my babies now happily married. You did such a great job on Quinn’s flowers.” Quinn and Cooper Jackson got married a month ago, and Alice hasn’t stopped talking about it since. She was so happy to have Quinn as a daughter-in-law. It honestly made me a little bit jealous of them. To have someone in your life who cares as much as Alice does would be a dream.

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