Page 12 of Trial Run

She dropped her head, her ponytail swishing forward to cover half her face. “Yeah. I need the money.”

“It’s okay to accept a gift.”

“No.” Her head snapped up again. “Not from a stranger. Not that much money. But I’ll pay you back. I can work on your lawn on the weekends. I’m good with landscaping.”

“You don’t need to do that.” His townhome had a team of landscapers who kept every lawn looking almost too perfect.

“Please let me do something.” Her eyes begged him to understand, and Ben couldn’t say no. Her pride wouldn’t let her accept the money otherwise.

“Well. You did help me with … No. That’s a bad idea.”

“What? What were you about to say?”

“When you sat with me on the porch, I got over my … problem a lot faster than usual. And I had the thought I could go with you one time when you deliver the flowers. As a way to test the waters. Get out of the house.”

As soon as the words were out, he wanted to take them back. Of all the stupid ideas.

“You want to deliver flowers with me,” she said.

“I told you, it’s probably a bad—”

“It’s a great idea.” Her eyes lit with purpose. “I can help you get out of the house as a way to pay you back. That many flowers will take three or four days to deliver at least. Maybe a week.”

Ben held up a hand. “Can we start with one day? Maybe even one errand.”

One hour might be too much for him, in all honesty. But the earnest hope in her face was too much for him to squash this terrible idea now.

“Okay. One day. We’re ordering the flowers now, but a big order takes a few days to come in. They should be in the shop by Monday. I could pick you up at 8:30?”

“8:30 on Monday,” he repeated, heart pounding in his chest. What had he just agreed to?

“Great! I’ll see you then.” She stepped away from the counter and smiled up at him, her first genuine smile since walking in the door. “And thank you. I really do mean it. That money … It was the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

She was breaking his heart. “I told you, it wasn’t that much—”

“But it was.” She gave a nod and turned to go. She’d reached the door when Ben stopped her with a question.

“What kind of plant is that? The one you brought today.”

“Oh. It’s a ficus. Some people call it a rubber tree. It reminded me of you, I guess. Because it’s tough. And it grows without much sunlight.”

“I—” Ben was rarely at a loss for words. “Thank you.”

She gave him a small smile over her shoulder and shut the door behind her.

He crossed the space to the counter and adjusted the ficus so it stood closer to the daffodils. He stood there for a long time, looking at both plants. Nell was pure sunshine, and he was … what he was.

She’d already seen him at his worst, so it couldn’t hurt to try going out with her on one small errand. She was the only person who’d witnessed his panic attacks, and while it wouldn’t be ideal for her to see another one, at least it wouldn’t be a surprise.

It could be good practice, for when he went back to the office. He’d call his doctor today and ask about changing the dosage of his anxiety med, to be safe. This could be the first step to getting his life back together, pulling his own weight again.

Some plants needed less sunlight, and maybe that was okay.

Chapter 4

Aswarm of dragonflies swirled in Nell’s stomach as she pulled up the florist van in front of Ben’s house. And it was natural to be nervous, because an intimidating, scowly man who’d given her two thousand dollars on a whim would be delivering flowers with her today. Maybe all week.

She’d had to sit down when Amy had told her about Ben’s huge flower order, and the amount of her commission.

---