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ONE
Gracie
“Hey,can I get a large pumpkin spice latte?” I ask.
The barista nods, taking the twenty that I hold out and passing me back my change. I drop three dollars in the tip jar, smiling as I head over to wait for my order.
Cherry Tree Coffee is packed, but I don’t mind. I like people watching while waiting for my order. Cherry Falls is a small town so I recognize pretty much everyone, even though I only moved to town eight months ago.
It’s Monday and everyone looks half asleep as they wait for their caffeine fix. I spy Heath Winters over in the corner looking like he’s about to fall asleep standing up and I smile as I head over to join him.
“Does Caroline know you’re here getting coffee instead of at her diner?” I tease and he grins.
“I’m here for her. She’s craving the cream cheese danishes lately. I’m here almost every day since it’s the only thing that she can keep down in the morning.”
I nod sympathetically. Caroline is Heath’s fiancée and they just found out she’s pregnant.
“I heard about these suckers that are supposed to help with morning sickness. Maybe that will help?”
Heath nods, yawning as his order is called.
“Yeah, we ordered them. They’re supposed to come in today or tomorrow, I think. Hopefully they help.”
“Let me know if you need anything,” I tell him and he nods, leaning over and giving me a side hug.
“Thanks, Gracie. I’ll tell Caroline and Charlotte that you said hi. Charlotte has been asking when you’re going to come back and hang out with her.”
“Anytime,” I say with a smile as I think about Caroline’s cute little niece.
Caroline adopted Charlotte when her brother and sister-in-law passed away and they just moved to town around the same time as me. We became fast friends and I try to stop by The Virgin Street Diner that she owns for lunch a few times a week to catch up.
Heath waves as he grabs the pastry bag and heads for the door. I wave back and then go back to people watching. My eyes snag on the town doctor, Ken Coleman, and my heart starts to race. His dark hair and closely shaved beard do something to me. My hands grow clammy and pressure blooms in my lower belly, causing my hips to tighten.
I have the same reaction every time I see Ken. I have since the first time that I laid eyes on him. Who could blame me? The guy is a total babe with his dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, framed with thick lashes that soften his otherwise sharp angles and hard planes. Even exhausted and stressed out, he makes my stomach drop like I’m on a roller coaster.
If I’m being honest, the reason I came to Cherry Tree Coffee was to see him. My flower shop is right next door to the coffee shop, and I see Ken walk past my window on his way inside almost every day. I try not to gawk at him when he floats past the window of my shop, but I fail most days. It’s just a little crush, though. Nothing good can come from it.
Today, however, I wanted to get a closer look at him, just to see how he was doing. I hoped I could casually bump into him here at the coffee shop and strike up a conversation.
Ken has looked more and more stressed and disheveled over the last few weeks. Even with wrinkled clothes, bags under his eyes, and stiffness in his movements as if every muscle has been tense for weeks, he’s still stupidly handsome. But seeing Ken so lost looking and frazzled tugs at my heart. I just want to do something nice for him, something to try to brighten his day.
That’s the best thing about owning my own flower shop. I can pick out the perfect flowers or combination for a bouquet and brighten someone’s day.
I’ve always had a green thumb, and I loved to spend hours gardening in the summer. It was my happy place, my way to de-stress and seeing something that I nurtured grow always made me feel proud.
Growing up, it was just my dad and me. He hardly ever talked about her, but from what little I’ve gathered over the years, she left soon after I was born. I heard one of the nannies gossiping to our cook when I was ten. She said my mom left because she couldn’t handle my father’s overbearing perfectionism. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but I sure do now.
Secretly though, I’ve always wondered if she left because of me. It’s no coincidence she took off soon after I was born. And if my father drove her away, why didn’t she take me with her?
“Gracie!” the barista’s voice rings out across the café, and I snap back to the present, smiling as I head to the counter to grab my latte.
I can’t help but steal one last look at Ken as I turn to make my way back to my flower shop. He’s busy on his phone, glaring at the screen. The light from his phone splashes across his face, highlighting his strong brow and angular nose. His lips are pulled down into a grimace, and I wonder what it would take to make him smile.
Oh well. A mission for another time. I sigh as I head next door to my shop.
I had never even heard of Cherry Falls until I got a letter from a lawyer about my Great-Aunt Linda’s will. Turns out that she had passed and left The Flower Patch and the little apartment above it to me.
I hadn’t even known that I had a great-aunt. My dad always said we were the last two people in our family. I wish I had known about my aunt when she was still alive. Maybe having other family to visit every once in a while would have made living with my dad more bearable.
