Page 59 of Island Protector

Molly frowned. “But this is the perfect job for me, remember? The hours, the pay, and the flexibility when I’m sued for custody,” she added wryly.

Nina snorted. “That’ll pass. As long as you’re not feeling held back or stuck. There’s not a ton of upward mobility.”

She didn’t need that. Life was good. Simple, but good. “I’m thrilled with my role here,” Molly assured her. “Especially after you boosted me to manager. I enjoy our daily routines and all the interesting projects that come along. I’m notinterested in branching out with my own shop. I don’t have your business sense.”

“You can learn business.”

Molly didn’t disagree. “It’s easier if you are truly interested in a topic.” Her son was proof of that.

“Right.” Nina hefted a box of greenery up onto the worktable and started unpacking. “I sort of came by it naturally, growing up in a family-owned business. But there are options, Molly. Ways for you to grow doing what you love with flowers.”

Molly walked over to help, separating the banded stems of lemon leaf. “Are you suggesting I go to design school?” She’d considered and dismissed the idea a while back, unable to justify the expense or the time away from Bryce and Sharon.

“Only if you want to. You’re doing amazing on your own. You’ve got a great eye for design. I suppose if you wanted to compete like Hailey does, formal training would help.”

Molly couldn’t imagine traveling for design competitions.

“Of course,” Nina continued, digging into the topic. “If there’s an aspect of the business you really like, you can always find a way to turn that into a consulting gig. You could team up with wedding planners, tourism events, and stuff like that.”

“There’s a market for floral consultants?” She assumed everything went through established shops.

“Absolutely. You’d be self-employed, but you’d also have complete control over your schedule and your income.”

Nina paused and Molly knew she was brainstorming a business plan. It was just the way her mind worked. “It’s not a bad plan. Something you could work into. Maybe start it as a side hustle and if you like it, let it grow.”

“Bloom where I’m planted?” When the lemon leaf was ready, they moved on to a fresh box of leatherleaf fern.

“You’ve been blooming, Molly. Maybe it’s time to startthinking about creating a new dream for yourself. You should thrive where you’re planted.” Nina gave her a wide smile.

“I’ll give it some thought,” Molly promised. Right now, thinking about new dreams and the changes that would follow only made her head hurt. Dr. Nyland had warned her to heed those signs and back off when necessary. She didn’t want to share that with Nina and cause any worry. Or worse, get sent home where she’d only sit with her thoughts and worry about other things.

Like what was going on with the glitch in the court scheduling. She was plenty grateful she didn’t have to take Bryce to Tampa or sit down with a social worker, but that could change in a moment.

The bell over the door sounded as a customer entered. Normally the door was propped open with a bucket of flowers and a sign encouraging folks to take one. But the current rainy weather prevented it today.

Before Nina could tell her to sit back and relax, Molly wiped her hands on her apron and hustled out to greet the customer. Seeing it was Knox, she smiled, until the expression on his face stopped her in her tracks. “What happened?”

To his credit, he didn’t dismiss her intuition. “Miles walked home from your place late last night, right?”

“Yes. It wasn’t that late. He wanted me to have the car for this morning. Sharon’s out of town.”

“Coming back tomorrow?

“Sunday. What happened?” Molly demanded, untying her apron. “I was right to worry. I knew it. He keeps his promises.” She didn’t care that she was rambling. “Where is he?”

“He’s at the clinic. Someone jumped him. It’s not serious,” Knox said. “He’s okay.”

She didn’t hear anything else. If Miles was at the clinic, he wasn’t okay. Blasting by Knox, she grabbed her purse and the car keys, and drove as fast as she dared. Her entire bodytrembled, a leaf in a hurricane. She reached the front desk and Diedre, the nurse on duty, didn’t even ask, just ushered her straight to Miles.

Maybe there was some advantage to the notorious island grapevine after all.

Her steps faltered at the door, catching her first glimpse of him in the hospital bed. She wasn’t sure what Knox considered serious, but she disagreed. Miles looked terrible. His breathing was shallow and labored, there was an IV in his arm, and his face was puffy and stained with bruises.

“Go on in,” Deidre encouraged. “He was asking for you.”

She stared at the nurse. “How? Did he?—”

“Come on, Molly. It’s obvious you’re a couple.” Diedre winked. “I can’t give you details about his condition, but he can. He’ll be awake again in a few minutes, I’m sure.”

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