When the Hope Rose Blooms by Annette Miller

Author:Annette Miller [Miller, Annette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spring; jelly beans; small town romance; vernal equinox; hero florist; security agent heroine; fantasy
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2022-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Lucas pulled up to his shop, and saw his brother leaning against the door, his arms folded. “Hey, Parker. I thought you’d be at Miss Dee’s by now.”

“Just checking on you after we talked last night. The dark energy surge was felt all over town. Mom wouldn’t give me a minute’s peace until I made sure you were all right. She would’ve come herself, but she and Dad had their own areas to secure.” Parker knocked on the wood where glass used to be. “Did it have to do with the busted window?”

“A few unwanted visitors dropped in last night. Will-o’-the-wisps. I gave them the message they weren’t welcome here.” Lucas opened the door, and they walked inside, heading right for the refilled bowl of jelly beans. “The Hope Rose is safe, and I’m not hurt. I’m more worried than I let on to the elders. The wisps were more coordinated, more organized, and ignored the candy distraction. Who has the power to pull them together into a single force?”

“Okay, now I’m worried, too,” Parker said. He looked around the shop. “Wisps are solitary fairies. If someone turned them into a viable threat, we could be in big trouble.”

“The biggest trouble.”

They walked over to the vine-covered door. Lucas waved his hands, and the vines receded. The brothers walked in, and the rose remained unharmed. Small leaves had begun to sprout, and a bud, the size of a golf ball, had formed at the top. The stem had changed from its dead stick appearance to a vibrant green and had grown thicker and rounder.

“Can you feel it, Parker?” Lucas whispered.

“Yes. There’s a lot of power in the Hope Rose this year.”

Lucas waved his hand over the top of the bud. It swelled for a moment before it settled back down. They both bowed to the rose and left the room. Lucas re-sealed the door with the vines and laid his hand on them. “Thanks for the help to keep the Hope Rose safe. It will all be over in a couple of days.”

Parker stood behind the counter and took several handfuls of jelly beans until Lucas pulled it away. “I was eating those,” Parker said.

Lucas turned the bowl upside down. “I know. You ate them all.” He came back from his office with another bag and dumped them into the bowl. “Take it a little easier this time.”

Parker scooped up another handful. “Nope. Your jelly beans are the reason you see me so much this time of year.”

“Very funny. I see you all the time. We share a house, remember?” Lucas flipped the closed sign to open and tended to the plants. “Did you need any more flowers for Miss Dee’s B and B? The way everyone has started to bloom, you might want to get them into the ground sooner rather than later.”

“I’ll need to check with the winter kingdom to see if they’ve scheduled any more frost. I don’t need a bunch of crystaling fairies ruining all my hard work.

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