Page 22 of Every Single Wildflower
“Same as always.” I press the phone between my ear and shoulder as I enter the office.
Millie Sheppard is a saint. A woman who spent her nights working at the Silver Ridge assisted living facility. She had the biggest heart, the kindest soul, and more patience than any human on this earth. Which is why I’d do anything for her. After all, I’m the reason she became a widow at the age of forty-six.
“Would you mind stopping by later today? That fire alarm in the hallway has been beeping for a week and it’s driving me insane. I would change it but…”
“But nothing. I’ll handle it.” I shut the door behind me and flip on the lights.
She sighs. “Thank you.”
She never has to thank me. I’m happy to do it. We all know Brady is never available to do anything she needs, and Laiken has her plate full with Trace. It leaves me.
“I’ll be by after lunch,” I tell her as I approach my office door.
“Ok. I’ll get a few hours of sleep in. Love you.”
“Love you.” I end the call, but my steps slow when I see the light already on in Emmett’s office.
I stop at the threshhold to see Ivy’s cheek pressed against the plywood, her body resting on the old rusty office chair.
I step inside, waiting for her to move or to startle at my presence, but she doesn’t budge. Black lashes touch hercheeks, her breathing even. She’s sound asleep on a mound of documents. A part of me wants to wake her up just to drive home that she’s not supposed to be walking on her ankle. But the other part of me, the part that would just rather let her rest after the recent events wins this round. Not wanting to wake her, I walk to my office, and lower down in my chair. My hand scrubs across my face, and when it drops to my thigh, I freeze. There it sits. Right on top of my desk calendar.
A wildflower.
Chapter seventeen
Ivy
Why is my face wet? I blink open my eyes, my head snapping up when I see the plain taupe wall and not an actual bedroom. Drool is on the corner of my mouth, along with the insurance policy I finally found at exactly four eighteen this morning. I couldn’t sleep. Not with everything on my mind. Not with my visit to the hospital last night. Dad was heavily medicated so he couldn’t form a coherent sentence let alone hash out my disappearing act. So much was weighing on me. My father’s health. My destroyed memories, and the man that was not even twenty feet across the hallway from me after magically developing a bedside manor. So, I got up, threw on whateverclothes I could find in my suitcase first and went back to digging through files. I finally found the golden ticket that was thankfully current and more than enough to rehabilitate this place.At least I hoped.I haven’t exactly gotten to sort through the financials, but the close to one point two million that was securely stated on those documents would make a dent. That would be the next step after I talk with Cooper and Ryder.
Letting out a long breath, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and push to my feet. I could use a shower and some toothpaste at the moment. A flash from the catastrophe yesterday morning makes me wince and I shift my eyes to Maddox’s office.Empty.My nerves ease slightly as I snatch up my phone and the documents before heading back to his cabin. My phone reads nine o'clock, along with a missed call from Dakota and a text from Merit.
Merit: Checking on you friend. Call me when you can.
My thumb moves to the call icon, and I bring it up to my ear as I enter the cabin, heading directly to the laundry room to grab a towel.
“Hey. How is everything?” Her soft voice flows into my ear.
“Fine,” I lie, opening the dryer to find it empty.
Part of me is embarrassed. He folded the towels that fast? Like seeing me naked was traumatizing enough to fold laundry at midnight.
“Don’t lie, Ivy,” Merit scolds.
Maybe I am bad at it?
My boss wasn’t like any other. She was myfriendfirst, my boss second.
“It's a mess,” I admit.
I make my way back to the guest room. I refuse to call it mine and grab a change of clothes.
“Take all the time you need.”
Merit was the most empathic person I’d ever met. She reminded me of Laiken in that way. She had been my first real friend in Georgia, and even though I haven’t ever told her about my family issues, she knew about Maddox. One night with a few too many wine spritzers and a bad date that I refused to kiss, I spilled my guts. It was the first time I’d talked about my feelings for him out in the open. I hadn’t even told Dakota. I felt like she’d be keeping secrets from Laiken, and I know firsthand how that felt. I didn’t want to put her in that place.
“It may be a week or two. I can do all of my work from my laptop, so no worries there.”
“I’m not worried about work.” I can hear the jingle of the shop door opening in the background. “I’m just worried about you. Have you seen him?”
