Chance to Bloom by Dillon Hunter

Author:Dillon Hunter [Hunter, Dillon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Jack

From the workbench in the back corner of the shop, Jack watched—half-amused and half-amazed—as Ethan guided the elderly lady around from corner to corner, from arrangement to beautiful arrangement. The pitiful bouquet Jack had been attempting to put together was momentarily forgotten as the scene unfolded in front of him.

The customer might have looked frail and grandmotherly—maybe even great-grandmotherly—but Ethan’s back had immediately straightened and his jaw had set as soon as she’d walked through the door, giving Jack his first clue that this particular customer was a little less warm and fuzzy than she might have appeared.

Her rapid-fire questions in lieu of a greeting confirmed what Jack had suspected. This old lady was as prickly as the little shelf of cacti behind the counter.

“No,” the woman was saying to Ethan, the tight, white curls on her head shaking emphatically as she spoke. “I’m tired of tulips. They’re overdone, especially this time of year. Not that I didn’t like the ones you sent for me last time, of course. Keep going.” She pointed imperiously toward the hanging baskets in the corner—the same kind that Jack was hopelessly trying to mimic—and issued her next edict. “Show me some of those. There’s a spot by my garage that could use a good hanging basket. If you have one that’s decent.”

Jack snorted, then quickly looked down as both her head and Ethan’s snapped in his direction. Jack tried to play it off as a cough, but didn’t dare glance back up until he heard Ethan’s soothing voice again, extolling the virtues of the hanging baskets they had on display.

How could Ethan stay so patient, so serene, when the customer was being so aggressively… particular? It was definitely beyond anything Jack could have managed. He might have been trained for war, but he’d be the first to admit that he was no match for old Mrs… Lindstrom? Lincoln?

Whatever Ethan had called her, she was way out of Jack’s customer-service comfort zone. Ethan, on the other hand, was handling her questions and demands and thinly veiled insults like a pro.

“I think we’ve got a few that you might like, Mrs. Linley.” Ethan shot Jack a look as the corners of his lips twitched. Was that quick near-grin meant for Jack? “If not, Jack and I are going to make a couple more later today. We’d be happy to do a custom one for you, if you’d like.”

She sniffed, and her eyes flicked back toward Jack for a moment, making him feel like a deer in headlights.

“A custom one? Hm. Maybe.” She cocked her head to the side for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I think I’d like a custom arrangement. I might stop by again tomorrow and see what you’ve come up with, or…”

“Or I’m sure Frankie would be more than happy to deliver it to you when it’s done.”

She smiled, the first time Jack had seen even a hint of happiness. “You’re a mind reader, Ethan. I don’t know how you do it.”

Ethan returned the smile and gave a little wink.

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