“Oh my, what a lovely…arrangement.Broken, wilted stems and all.”She gave a resigned sigh.Gas-station flowers were more desirable.“Well, the roses are still very pretty.Grier will enjoy them.”
“I’m sure.”Hilary looked like she’d just sucked on a lemon.
Fighting back a laugh, I pulled the folded document from my back pocket and placed it carefully in front of Hilary on the counter.Not quick and abrupt, I was meticulously slow and moved with care.Calm even though that was the last thing I felt.
“What’s this?”She picked it up, her brow furrowing as she read.
“Eviction notice from the new owner of this building.Effective immediately,” I summarized for her.“I’m going to need you to grab all your personal items and get out.”
“What?”She laughed weakly.“Very funny.”
“No one is joking, especially not the new owners.They want you out.Not tomorrow.Or next week.Not in an hour.Now.This very moment.Get your shit and step out of the building.”
Her eyes widened.“No, no, this isn’t possible.This building is mine!My grandmother left it to me.I own it.Not…not whatever this LLC is.”
“Miss Hester was generous enough to leave you this building, along with the business and all the things her name once touched.Sadly, that poor woman had very questionable judgment during her later years.”Mom shook her head in regret.“I wasn’t surprised when you used this building as collateral, Hilary.Quite frankly, I anticipated it and even looked forward to it.Because that meant eventually I could snatch it up and do something more useful with this prime location.”
All the blood drained from Hilary’s face.“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t.Again, not surprised.Oh, I’m not saying that florists aren’t useful, by the way.They’re a dying art form, if you ask me.This place was so full of happiness when Miss Hester ran it.”Mom glanced down at the bouquet, her lips pressing into a hard line.“Obviously, you lack creativity.I don’t know how you were able to sustain a livable wage.”
Shehadn’tmade a livable wage, and that was why she was three months behind on her loan.Which had been good news for me.It had made purchasing the loan from the lender marginally easier.Getting the paperwork pushed through quickly had required a little more patience.And a little elbow grease, via Max.
At least it hadn’t been a bullet.
Grier
Raven Reid wasn’tsomeone people said no to often.She was a lot like MiMi in that regard.When she walked into the barn, I knew she hadn’t decided to be another one of my Helping Hands.
Waffles saw her and sprinted over to greet her.With a laugh that my boy was able to produce from any kind soul, she rubbed his head.“Hey there, pretty boy.I haven’t seen you in forever.”
It probably did seem like forever and not less than a full week.I’d lost count of all the calls I’d gotten from people in town, asking about Waffles, letting me know if there was anything I needed, not to hesitate to ask.Once Finn alerted me that Hilary was out of jail, I hadn’t set one foot off my property, though.I was starting to feel claustrophobic on my farm, but I didn’t want to end up doing something I couldn’t take back if I came face-to-face with my archnemesis.
Still scratching Waffles, Raven turned her gaze on me as I approached.
“Is everything okay?”I asked, then a sudden thought had me panicking.“Did something happen to Finn?”
“Finn is fine.I promise.”Before I could spiral, Raven hugged me.It took me a moment to get myself under control and hug her back, a little dizzy with relief.She gave me a genuine smile.“I stopped by to ask if you’d take a ride with me.”
“I feel like I should ask if this is a ride that ends with me being tossed into a very deep hole,” I said as I assessed her suspiciously, having lived in Trinity County long enough to know who the most dangerous people residing here were.Raven was in the top five on any given day.
“Fair.”I lifted my brows, waiting for her to respond.She snorted.“No, Grier.I do not have any plans to drop you into a hole of any shape or size.I actually have a surprise for you.”
“A yay kind of surprise or one where I question every poor life choice I’ve ever made?”
Amusement shimmered in her eyes.“It’s a fun surprise for everyone involved.Well, mostly everyone.I’ll even supply snacks.”
“Next time, lead with that.”I sent a text to Leo and a few other people to let them know where I was going.Because I wasn’t a gullible idiot, even if I did adore this woman.But also, they needed to know I was leaving since I’d been working on several different things all day.If I randomly disappeared, they would send out a search party and turn it into a whole thing before the sun went down.
“Waffles can come with us,” Raven offered, and I hesitated, a ball of anxiety building in my belly once again.“He won’t be left unattended at any point.There will be plenty of people there to ensure he gets the attention he loves.”
Reluctantly, I gave in.Saying no to Raven didn’t feel like an option.She opened the back door to her SUV, and Waffles hopped in without having to be told twice.He plopped down in the seat like he’d done it a hundred times before, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if he had.Finn wasn’t the only person who had escorted Waffles home after one of his many adventures.
Raven didn’t drive like she was in a hurry to get to where we were going.Along the way, she asked me about the upcoming band fundraiser, offering assistance and advice.I was so distracted by giving her the details that I didn’t notice when she slowed to a stop.Looking through the window, I tensed when I realized we were only a block from Hilary’s flower shop.
To my surprise, though, there were barricades stopping the flow of traffic along this portion of Main Street.Several large dump trucks were lined up along the road, while someone unloaded an excavator from a long truck bed.People were already starting to gather in groups, asking what was going on.
I was just as curious as they were.
