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She stops what she’s doing and flashes a shy smile at me. “Is Thunder your new name? Like Beyonce or Cher?” She’s teasing me. I remember her doing that when I sat on the couch waiting for Clarissa to get ready for wherever the hell she decided we were going that night.
“Kind of.”
She pushes the box toward me. “All ready. I hope she loves these.”
“Quinn will love them.”
“Lucky girl to have so many people to make her day special,” she says. Maybe I’m imagining it, but her tone turns wistful, almost sad.
“How did Clarissa die?”
“Overdose,” she says softly. “We were devastated. I’d like to say we were surprised, but we knew it would end that way if she didn’t stop. She chose not to.”
Hammer returns for the second box, and I grab the other. Hammer is about to leave when he turns and speaks to Rose. “I was thinking, maybe we can grab a coffee sometime.”
I want to smash this vase right over his thick head. What did he not understand?
“Thank you, I’m flattered, but I don’t date,” Rose replies quietly. “Please give the happy couple my best.”
What the hell does she mean she doesn’t date?
As soon as we get out of the shop and into the truck, I turn to Hammer. “What the fuck was that? I told you she was off-limits,” I growl.
Hammer grins. “I fucking knew it. You’re into her.”
I shake my head. “You’re fucking crazy. I don’t date girls. I fuck women.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t date either.” Then the bastard laughs out loud.
I’m not ready to give an explanation to Hammer or anyone else. I feel like I need to protect Rose. The last thing Rose Marie Mariner needs is a man like me.
ONE
A Woman, Not a Child
ROSE
Never in my life did I expect to see Michael Donally again. He was so angry the last time he showed up at our house, I thought he was going to shake the door off the hinges with his violent knocking.
It was early morning when we heard the pounding. I jumped out of bed, hoping to get to the door before Dad, but he was already yanking the door open. We all expected to see a very high Clarissa standing there, and instead, it was Thunder, full of fury. Dad was stunned because Michael, or should I say Thunder, was always even-keeled. Any time he came over to the house with Clarissa, Thunder had been nothing less than respectful.
Even though I’m a wallflower, Thunder would find a way to include me in conversations or tell me jokes to make me laugh. I had a crush on him, hard. I knew he was with my older sister, but secretly, I wished it was me he wanted.
Everything about him was hot and still is. When I first knew him, his hair was black, with strands of red, which he wore up in a man bun. Today he wore it the same, but when he was dating my sister, sometimes he would keep it loose, and I would watch him ride off with his hair blowing in the wind. His eyes are so dark, in fact almost black, but they shine brightly when he laughs. Maybe it’s because he’s mature, carries himself with confidence, and knows what he wants that I find him so attractive. He was a no-nonsense kind of man. He said what he had to say and if he had nothing to say, then he wouldn’t fake it.
What my sister did to him was horrible. I cringe at the thought of how it must have been to wake up and find your wallet empty and realize that the person you loved had abandoned you. Thunder was looking to build a life with Clarissa, and she threw that all away. And for what? Another hit!
What’s worse is that she took Thunder away from all of us. My dad looked upon him as a son. My mother believed him to be everything a woman needed in a man: caring, attentive, and a great partner in life.
And me, well, I lost my best friend. He didn’t know it, but he was. He was the person I felt free to be myself around. I told him stories about school and the dreams I had. He encouraged me, pushed me to keep dreaming, and taught me that I could do anything I wanted. My florist shop, Petals, exists because of him. This shop is what I’ve always wanted. When things got hard, I wanted to give up, but I kept hearing Thunder’s voice in my head, telling me that I could do anything.
I both loved and hated my sister. I loved her because she was my older sister, and when she was younger, she was the coolest. Eventually, she turned into someone I didn’t know. She was a user, and not just drugs. She used people, including Mom, Dad, her friends, and me. I could live with all that, but the way she lied and manipulated Thunder, that wasn’t something I could forgive.
When Clarissa ran away, Mom and Dad were beside themselves. I was relieved that she wasn’t going to be able to hurt us anymore, and maybe Thunder would find peace.
It was four in the morning when a police officer came to the house to tell us they’d found a woman matching Clarissa’s description in an alley. She had overdosed and was gone. We cried, we grieved. Although, I think each of us cried for different reasons. Mom because she lost a child and her thoughts went back to the sweet little girl Clarissa had once been. Dad felt like he’d let Clarissa down and that he should have been able to fix her. I cried because I was angrier than hell that she could do this to the people I love.
Mom and Dad are back in Nebraska now, where they chose to retire, surrounded by good friends and relatives. I go back as often as I can, but with the new shop, I’m here until I can hire staff to cover for me. My parents understand and support me.
