Page 4 of Silver Sanctuary
He nodded.
Interesting. He usually bought only arrangements.
“It’s forty-five for the larger bouquet. Seventy for the large arrangement and the little one is on the house.”
“Lace—”
“You’re my best customer. That has to come with some perks.”
“The perk is getting to spend some time with you and Brie. Charge me for the flowers.”
She sighed, knowing better than to continue pushing the issue. “If you’re sure, it’s thirty-five for the smaller flowers.”
Nash nodded. “Good girl.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!He had to know that would absolutely kill her. He’d dropped his voice down so deep, and said it so quietly, and yet, she’d felt it fly straight into the empty depths of her belly. She was officially pathetic.
“Okay. This is coming with me to the office.” Nash set down the large arrangement on the counter, still gripping the other two tightly in his hand. “But these flowers are for a very special girl who made it through her first day in a new school like a champ.”
Lacy’s throat pulled tight as he handed the smallest bundle to Embrie. “Nash?—”
“And these flowers are for her mama. First days are a big deal. My grandma always used to make me black-and-white cookies to celebrate, but I’m afraid I didn’t get any of her baking skills.”
Her eyes instantly filled with tears. “This is too much. You didn’t have to…”
“You’re surrounded by these beautiful flowers all day, every day, but you have to give them away. I wanted you to have some to take with you. Some that were just for you, and some that were just for Brie.” He turned to her daughter. “Maybe you can put them in your room. Do you have a window that lets in a lot of light? Those purple ones really seem to like the sun.”
“Oh, no. My room has a leak?—”
“Embrie! We better let Nash go. We’re almost running late for our appointment.”
The wrinkle between his eyebrows said he wanted to push Embrie to finish what she was about to say, but instead,his shoulders relaxed and he nodded as he grabbed the arrangement off the counter.
“Thank you again for such a sweet gesture.” Lacy watched as Nash smiled, giving Embrie a high-five before he left the shop.
“Mom, do we really have to do this?” Embrie whispered from her chair in the waiting room of the Silver Springs Health Clinic.
“Brie, I thought you wanted to play soccer? If you don’t it’s okay, but this check up is nothing to worry about. You need an updated one for school anyway, so we can just get it done now and have everything taken care of.”
“I do want to play, I’m just tired. I want to start on my homework too.”
“Homework on the first day of school? That wasn’t very nice of your teacher.”
Embrie shrugged. “I asked for some. It’s extra math practice and some vocabulary words.”
“I should have known.” Lacy laughed. “Just remember, it’s okay not to get one hundred percent on everything. You don’t need to know all the spelling words, or all the science terms, or how to solve every math equation right now. It’s okay to be a kid.”
Embrie shrugged. “That’s why I’m playing soccer.”
What was she going to do with her very practical child? “Okay. As long as you’re happy.”
“I am, Mama. I promise.”
The wait was unexpectedly short, and before Lacy could pull more details about Embrie’s first day at school from her, they were called back and placed in an exam room. Embrie satin the chair next to the exam table, her eyes wide with apprehension.
Lacy’s stomach soured the second she recognized the nurse who walked in behind them—a woman she’d gone to high school with. Jamie something-or-other. She'd been at least two grades ahead of Lacy, so maybe Jamie wouldn’t remember her.
“So, you’re going to play a sport?” The nurse’s voice might have been professional, but Lacy could see the venom in her eyes. “Your mom can afford for you to do that?”
