Page 80 of Slash & Burn

She turned to face me, squinting into the sun as her lips pressed into a line. “Excuse me?”

A bushy plant with dark green leaves and bright red flowers caught my eye, and I plucked it from the pallet on the table to add to the rest. “You need to pick, so I’m giving you an assortment to choose from.”

She turned back to the flowers, the pieces falling into place as she shook her head at me. “I could just spend some time at a florist. Or looking online. This is nuts.”

“Nope,” I said, brushing my knuckles across her cheek as she stared up at me. “You shouldn’t be rushed into this. Take your time, enjoy them.”

Why I wanted her to have a favorite flower was a bit of a mystery even to me. But I liked the idea of planting these all around her house. Hoping they’d linger, adding color to her life for years to come.

Jill’s expression softened sweetly. “You don’t have to do this.”

I leaned down to kiss her, stroking her neck as she tilted up on her toes to get closer. “I want to.”

She was blushing when I let her go, and it filled my chest with a warmth like nothing else.

“Ahem.” Joey cleared his throat behind me and I smirked down at her.

“Busted.”

“If I say I’mfamished, would that be too obvious?” she whispered, giggling to herself like ratting me out to her brother was the funniest thing ever.

“Shit stirrer,” I mumbled, spinning her toward the register before her snickering got even more under Joey’s skin. We had a nice brunch planned, I wanted to enjoy it.

CHAPTER 31

JILL

As we walked Joey and LeAnn back to their car I couldn’t stop smiling. Grady hadn’t stopped touching me all morning, even with Joey’s glances—and sometimes outright glares. He’d held my hand, laid his on my thigh, or brushed the base of my back every chance he could. It was like he was making sure anyone looking knew I was with him. It made my heart race, but I told myself to knock it off. He was probably just messing with my brother.

It was distracting, though. So much so, I missed it when the three of them stopped short and I kept walking.

“What?” I asked, walking back to where they were standing on the sidewalk staring across the street. I followed their gaze and spotted it too. The old shoe store had gone out of business. I didn’t know how I’d missed it, but the storefront was completely vacant with a “For Rent” sign taking up nearly the whole showcase window. “When did that happen?” I asked no one in particular.

LeAnn shook her head. “I don’t know. I could swear I bought a pair of running sneakers there just the other day.”

“You know what would be great for that spot?” Grady said, and instantly my stomach lurched. “A bookstore.”

My glare slid over to him and suddenly I felt more related to my brother than I had all morning. We shared the same side-eye and as I leveled it at Grady he just grinned back at me.

“It’s pretty perfect, Jilly. You can’t deny it.”

“I think it would work so well,” LeAnn agreed, her enthusiasm grating, like the sound of styrofoam in my ears.

“It’s probably a crazy high rent, and that’s why the shoe store failed.” I was ready to walk on when Joey finally piped up.

“The shoe store didn’t fail.” All eyes turned in his direction. He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he slipped back into sheriff mode. “The owner’s wife passed away suddenly. He decided it was time to close up and move down to North Carolina to be with his kids.”

“That’s so sad,” LeAnn said, frowning at the empty store.

“It is,” Grady agreed, before taking a breath. “And kind of makes you think it’s time for the torch to pass to someone else.”

“So, I should open a shoe store?” I asked sarcastically, my irritation at being put on the spot getting the better of me.

“No.” He sighed patiently, stroking his hand down my arm. “I meant that it was time for someone else to pursue their dream in that spot.”

It was bad enough having Grady give me that hopeful look that made my heart twist, but to see the same look on LeAnn’s face just made it worse. Because as much as they thought I didn’t want to talk about my bookstore, the truth was, ithurtto talk about it.

I’d never wanted anything more in my life, but I’d never once had any hope I could make it happen. If anything, the one time I’d worked up the courage to talk to the bank about getting a loan, they’d made it abundantly clear that bookstores were a losing gamble and I’d be a fool to even try.

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