Page 39 of Organized Chaos

A muffled thump came from the open garage. Phillip listened through the open truck window while popping the door open and hopping out. “Sarah?” He inched closer to the garage.

Paint cans littered the ground around a large box sitting in the middle of the room. Phillip scanned the perimeter. His day of organization hadn’t been wasted. Except for the cans sittingnearby—which looked like they’d been used to paint the box—the place was neat and orderly.

Another thump sounded. Phillip angled his head toward the sound. “Who’s there?”

“Sarah.” Her voice filtered out of the box and a series of thuds rattled the wooden structure. “I’m stuck.”

Phillip closed the distance at a flat run and yanked on the top of the box. Hinges squeaked and the lip popped up.

Sarah lay curled in a ball, her face red and her knuckles raw. She gasped and flung herself out of the box. “Well, now I know it’s not ready to go yet.”

He gaped at her, his mouth hanging ajar. “What were you doing?” Phillip took her shoulders and turned her to face him. He framed her face in his hands and peered into her eyes.

Sarah waved a hand and gently pulled out of his embrace.

He couldn’t quite let her go yet and let his hands settle on her collarbones.

Her lips hitched upward in a slight smile. “It’s a toy box. I wanted to make sure it was safe. You know, if a kid decided to crawl inside.” She rubbed her cheek against her shoulder, meeting the back of his hand in the process. “Obviously it’s not safe and I need to fix it before the parents come to pick it up.”

Phillip’s phone rang. He groaned and grabbed it from his pocket when he recognized his dad’s ringtone. His apology to Sarah would have to wait a minute. Dad never called unless it was an emergency. “Hey, Dad.”

“I need you to head over to the vet clinic. Your mother’s horse is on its way there and they need someone to meet them. I can’t leave the ranch right now. Since you’re already in town, I thought you could do it.” The sound of an engine and tires on gravel almost drowned out his dad’s voice. “You know as much about that horse as I do.”

Phillip checked his watch, then glanced at Sarah, who sat next to the box and meticulously removed screws from the hinges. Her crimped frown told of her intense concentration. Phillip released a sharp breath. “Yeah. I’ll head on over.”

Sarah gave the next screw a savage twist but never looked up.

Phillip ended the call and gripped the phone tight. “I have to go.”

She nodded, a sharp, jerky movement.

“I’d like to come back.”

“Sounds like your family needs you.” She tucked her hand into her sweater sleeve and rubbed it over her forehead. “You should go help them.”

In other words, she didn’t want to talk to him right now. “I’m sorry about the podcast.”

A car horn blared, and Sarah leaped to her feet. “Oh no. They’re early.” She dashed from the garage without looking back. “Could you close and lock the garage?”

Phillip did as she asked before climbing into his truck and turning toward the vet clinic back in his hometown. The road unrolled ahead of him in a long stretch of nothingness. How could he make up for his mistake?

Sarah deserved more than an apology.

The bright floral arrangement that announced a florist shop caused him to yank the steering wheel to the right and pull into the small parking lot.

Flowers burst from every side. A wheelbarrow full of bright pink blooms bobbed oversized heads. Sarah would love something like that. His imagination took hold and despite knowing the vet was waiting for him, Phillip turned the engine off and left the truck. He needed to do this.

A younger woman wearing a bandana around a thick head of black hair paused on her way out of the shop’s front door. Sheheld a bucket of daisies in her arms and a warm smile. “Morning. Can I help you?”

Phillip trailed his fingers over the yellow sunflowers swaying in an old rain barrel and nodded decisively. “I need something that says, ‘I’m sorry I’m an idiot, please forgive me’. Can you do that?”

Creases appeared in the corners of her eyes as her smile widened. “Oh, yeah. Got you covered. Are we talking I-forgot-our-anniversary sorry or I-ran-over-the-dog sorry?”

“Something in between?” Phillip made his way along the meandering path filled with assorted blooms. “I need bright and cheerful but not pompous.” He picked up a handful of deep red blooms he didn’t recognize and held them out, along with a few peonies. “Like this.”

The woman nodded and took the flowers. “Anything special you want on the card? And what about a vase?”

Phillip spotted an old pair of cowboy boots with daisies poking out the tops. He pointed. “That. Or something like it. Vintage but with a hint of whimsy.”

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