Page 51 of A Perfect Match
I can’t love him.I don’t have room for him in my life.My brothers would never accept him.Mom’s in the hospital.This is not the time to fall in love.
I repeat these words like a mantra as I punish myself through cycling like I’m training for the Ironman.But it does nothing to dissolve the conflicting emotions swirling inside me.
The bike ride empties out my brain eventually.But then I get to the shop and see the façade of Ray’s and I’m right back to Square Kru.
I briefly wonder what Kru is doing right now.Did he really go back to sleep?Is he still thinking about that goodbye kiss we shared?Is he plotting more ways to be both sweet and honest with me so I fall even further in love with him?
I hurry inside, eager to get things open for Jerrica to come and take over.I called her last night to take over since I wasn’t sure what hospital rotations would look like, and she immediately offered to take on more hours indefinitely.Once Jerrica is all set, I’ll be heading straight to Bayshore Memorial to see Mom.According to Griffin’s update earlier that morning, Mom is still unconscious but her vitals are stable.
I’ve barely got the espresso machine warmed up when Jerrica comes bouncing in.She’s perky and friendly, an excellent addition to Cloud Nine.After we’ve run over the morning tasks, I’m milling around the back room, trying to figure out if I’ve forgotten anything.Instead of going over my to-do list, my mind is wandering to that little fantasy corner of my brain where I’ve been stashing details for my future business expansion I don’t quite know how to make a reality: the event space.Jerrica showing up reminded me that I’ll need to hire more wonderful employees like her if I want to expand.
But how?Finding more people like her seems impossible.She’s the daughter of a longtime family friend, so of course she’s amazing.
Piper, this is not the time to be thinking about business expansion.Or hot neighbors for that matter.
Even ridiculously attractive ones with talented hands and a way of making me feel seen.
Jerrica assures me she’s caught up and ready, and she practically pushes me out the door.I hop back on my bike, pedaling across town to Bayshore Memorial.
Mom needs her kids.That's priority number one.
The hospital is quieter this morning than it was last night.I find my way to the third floor, ICU room 317, and pause outside to brace myself.Hospitals put me on edge—the antiseptic smell, the beeping machines, the forced cheerfulness of the staff.But when I push the door open, what I see stops me in my tracks.
Mom's room is full of flowers.Not just any flowers—beautiful, artful arrangements of late summer and early fall blooms.Sunflowers, dahlias, chrysanthemums, all in vibrant oranges, yellows, and deep reds.They're everywhere—on the windowsill, the bedside table, even a small arrangement on the wheelie table that goes across the bed.
Griffin looks up from his chair by Mom's bed, his expression weary but relieved.
"Asher went a little overboard with the flowers," he says by way of greeting.“He bought a couple himself but also got a few other local business owners to chip in, which snowballed into, well, this.”
I move closer to examine the nearest arrangement.There's a small card tucked into it.I flip it open.
"For our rock.Get better soon.We need you.Love, Asher."
My eldest brother, always the steady one, the one who stepped into dad's shoes when we needed him most.Of course he'd fill Mom's room with color and life.
"Leave it to Asher to turn the place into a botanical garden," I say, feeling a lump form in my throat.
Griffin nods."He said the room was too depressing.Too clinical."He gestures to the largest arrangement."That one's from all of us, technically, but Asher picked it out."
I sink into the chair next to him, my eyes on Mom's sleeping form.She looks smaller somehow, vulnerable in a way I'm not used to.But the oxygen mask has been replaced with a nasal cannula, which I take as a good sign.
"Any word on what caused the fire?"I ask, reaching for Mom's hand.Her skin is warm and soft, betraying nothing of the bandages around her legs covering the burns.
Griffin shakes his head."Police are investigating.They think it might have started in the basement, but they're not sure if it was electrical or…" He trails off, his jaw tightening.
"Or what?"
"Or deliberate."
The word hangs in the air between us.
"Who would want to burn down the Bayshore Bakery?"I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Griffin shrugs."It's prime real estate right on the waterfront.Developers have been trying to get their hands on it for years.At least that’s what Dane is saying."
Almost all of downtown Bayshore features various grand old buildings, almost all of them with a lake view.They’ve been rehabbed and converted into a wide variety of businesses—the bakery, of course, but the other historical buildings feature a heart clinic run by Dominic Daly, The Daily Grind coffee shop, and Hazel Homes, Hazel Daly’s realty outpost.
"We have to be prepared for the building to be a total loss," Griffin continues."Jett went by this morning, and it’s burned right down to the foundation.The brick walls are still standing, but barely."
