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  But he just wanted to do this for her. Maybe then, at least for today, his life would have meaning.

  He left Jean’s office before she could tell him he had to turn the flat tire case over to his brother. Adam would send out two of his officers, and everything would become so clinical. Besides, Drew had Gretchen’s keys, and their weight in his pocket made him smile as he poked his head into the medical supply room.

  Russ held a clipboard and surveyed a cupboard, a scowl on his face. Drew knocked twice on the door. “Russ, let’s go. Flat tire.”

  He didn’t even protest or ask why two paramedics were needed for a flat. He tossed the clipboard on the nearest shelf and followed Drew out to his truck. “We’re not taking the bus?”

  “I ran across a woman with a flat tire on my way in,” he said. “It’s not an emergency medical issue.” He climbed into the cab. “Jean let us go, because there’s nothing else going on.” For the first time in the year he’d been back in Hawthorne Harbor, Drew was happy about the non-emergency nature of most of his days. Other days were slammed, and those times were hard too. He couldn’t really decide what he hoped for on the job, honestly.

  He pulled into Larkin Tire and Oil and headed inside to get a spare tire. “Hey, Bennett,” he said to the man who was close to his step-father’s age. “Got an old van that needs a tire for a spare.”

  “What year?” The older gentleman started tapping on a keyboard that used to be beige. The whole place smelled like rubber and grease, and Drew inhaled a noseful of it. He’d loved working with his father in the sheds behind the farmhouse, and he remembered days when he had dark stains along his fingers and under his nails.

  “No idea on the year,” Drew said. “It’s one of those big Chevy ones. Three rows of seats. Ten-passengers, probably.” Gretchen had taken all the seats out, but he’d seen vans like hers before. “You know, it looks like the plumbing vans.”

  “I got it,” Bennett said, hitting the Enter key with more force that was reasonably necessary. “Ninety-nine dollars.”

  Drew hadn’t thought through everything, clearly. He had the money, but he hesitated, wondering what Gretchen would think of him paying for the spare tire. She’d refuse him if she were here. Her independence and self-reliant spirit had been strong out on the Lavender Highway. Both times.

  But she wasn’t here, and she needed the spare. So he pulled out his wallet and slid his debit card across the counter. Russ watched him and then wandered over to the bulletin board, where flyers announcing buy three tires and get the fourth free hung.

  “I’ll have Jakey load it up for ya,” Bennett said, and Drew turned toward the exit.

  Russ gave him five seconds of peace before he said, “You bought the tire?”

  “She’ll pay me back.”

  “Who is this woman?”

  Drew had a few extra moments to gather his thoughts together while Jake loaded the tire in the back of his truck and hit the tailgate a couple of times. He got in the vehicle and turned the key. “Remember how I delivered that baby ten years ago out on the Lavender Highway?”

  “Before my time, but I’ve heard the story at least a dozen times.”

  “Oh, come on. I don’t tell it that often.”

  “Yes, you do.” Russ chuckled, his deep bass voice vibrating through the whole truck. “Every year at the Safety Fair.” He started checking the times off on his fingers. “Every time we get together with the joint units for chicken wings. Every time—”

  “Okay, okay.” Drew laughed with his best friend. He glanced at the African-American man he’d worked beside before he left for Medina, and who’d still been here when he’d come back. They got along great, which was lucky as they spent a lot of time together.

  “It’s literally the most exciting thing that’s ever happened on the job.” Drew lifted one shoulder into a shrug.

  “What about that hiker that got lost on Hurricane Hill?”

  “That was a good day too.” Drew sighed, trying to put his finger on exactly why that day he’d delivered Dixie in February had been so significant to him. “It’s just that, this wasn’t an emergency because someone was bleeding, or because a glass broke in the kitchen sink. This—delivering that baby—it was like…magic. I helped a life come into the world.”

  “We help lives on every call we get,” Russ said.

  Drew agreed, because it was true. But delivering that little girl really had been different. He liked to think it was because it was Gretchen’s baby, and he’d been friends with her for a number of years. Aaron too, as they’d lived next to his mom and dad while Aaron finished school. Drew had gotten busy with his own education, and moved out, and by the time Gretchen and Aaron left town with their five-month-old baby, they hadn’t spoken since the day after Dixie’s birth, when Drew had stopped by the hospital to check in on the two of them.

  “So you like this woman?” Russ asked, his voice just on the edge of casual, suggesting his curiosity.

  “I delivered her baby ten years ago,” Drew said, forcing his voice into nonchalance too. “And then helped her into town. Nothing to like.”

  “And then begged Jean to let us go fix a flat tire. Which you paid for.” Russ’s eyebrows practically reached his hairline.

  “Don’t read anything into this,” Drew said as they approached mile marker seventeen. “There’s the van.” With the two of them, they got the old tire off and the spare on in only a few minutes.

  Drew was about to toss the ruined tire into the back when a police cruiser pulled to a stop alongside the van. The passenger side window went down, and Adam leaned across the seat. “Drew? What’s goin’ on here?”

  Drew leaned his elbows on the car door and stuck his head in the car. “Hey, Adam.” He smiled at his brother. “We’ve got this.”

  “Got a call about this abandoned van.”

  “I came across the owner on my way in from the farm.” Drew rubbed his hand along his jawline where his beard itched. “I convinced Jean to let us come out. There’s nothing going on today.”

  Adam’s look of disapproval wasn’t lost on Drew. “You should’ve called,” he said. “This is a police matter.”

  “Sorry.” Drew grinned and pulled out of the car. He tossed the ruined tire into the back, where a sliver of silver caught his eye. He traced his finger along the length of it. “That’s a blade she drove over.” Drew turned and scanned the road but couldn’t see any other debris. Adam hadn’t moved either.

  “Dinner at my place tonight?” he called through the still-open window.

  “What’re you making?” Drew asked as Russ practically sprinted over.

  “I’m in,” he said, leaning into the window. “I haven’t been grocery shopping in a week.”

  “I was thinkin’ fish ‘n chips.” Adam draped one hand over the steering wheel and gazed toward the water. “Maybe shrimp or something.”

  Sounded like he hadn’t gone shopping either, but Drew didn’t have anything else going on. “I just have to go out and get Blue and Chief from Mom and Joel after work.”

  “And take that van back,” Adam said.

  “Yeah.” Drew turned away from the police car and took Gretchen’s keys from his pocket. He tossed Russ his. “See you back at the station.”

  Russ groaned. “Can’t we…I don’t know. Maybe I’ll drive in a ditch on the way back.”

  “Don’t you dare,” Drew said. “That’s my truck, and Jean will never let us do non-emergency jobs again.” He tapped on the doorframe. “I’ll come for dinner, Adam.”

  “See ya.” The police cruiser inched away, and Drew envied his brother. He could get in his car and drive around, looking for whatever it was cops looked for. He didn’t have to stay in the office if he didn’t want to.

  He drove Gretchen’s van back to The Painted Daisy and pulled around the back, where there were only two parking spots. Across the street sat the largest park in town, where the Lavender Festival took place every summer. Tall trees provided shade, and a c
ouple of people had their dogs chasing Frisbees.

  Drew inhaled the salty scent that permeated the seaside town, grateful for his life here. He faced the back of the building and saw a door labeled floral deliveries. He knocked on the door and then entered, calling out, “Hello?” The shop smelled like roses and pollen and something fresh, and the temperature was several degrees below that outside.

  “I’m in the back,” she called. A hall in front of him had a door on the left, leading to a bathroom, and on the right a big, metal door that looked like the walk-in fridge in the restaurant where he’d worked in high school. Beyond that, multi-height displays of vases and flowers sat on a single table, with an entire wall of refrigeration units that held various colors of flowers.

  Gretchen came into the hall, wiping her hands on a green apron. “Coming.”

  “It’s me,” he said as she started to turn right.

  She spun to her left, surprise flickering across her face as her hands flew to her throat. “Oh!” She recovered quickly, her shock melting away into recognition. “Drew. What are you doing here?”

  He held out her keys and kept his position in the hall. “I got your tire fixed and drove your van over.”

  “You did not.” She cocked her hip and her blonde-streaked auburn hair fell over her shoulder. With a slight wave, it caught the light from above. She gazed at him with a sparkle in her large, brown eyes. He couldn’t see the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose now, the way he could in this morning’s sunlight.

  “I did. You needed it this afternoon, right?” He rocked back on his heels, satisfied that he’d helped her.

  “Yeah, I use it to deliver.” The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. “Thank you, Drew.”

  Drew shrugged like he’d done nothing. “Well, the tire’s all fixed. We dropped the bad one off at Larkin’s, and Bennett said he’d have it ready for you by five.”

  “Can I get it tomorrow?” She ran one hand along her forehead, as if reorganizing her thoughts from the outside of her skull.

  “I’m sure you can.” Drew watched her closely, unsure of why an alarm was going off in his head. “Why?”

  “The wedding is at four, and I have to set up at three,” Gretchen said. “I probably won’t be done until nine tonight.”

  Drew’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? You stay the whole time?”

  “It takes an hour to set up, and then I stick around to make sure all the groomsmen and the bridal party have what they need. I might be able to sneak away before five, but I might not.” She leaned against the wall, and she looked slightly pale to Drew. His medical training kicked in, but he didn’t want to ask intrusive questions.

  “My friend will bring Dixie home. I’ll get her fed and in bed, and then I have to go back and clean up.”

  “They don’t keep the flowers?”

  “They’ll keep some of them, sure. Some brides give them away. Whatever they don’t want, I’ll haul out.” She glanced toward her workroom, and Drew fell back a step.

  “All right, well, good luck.” He didn’t want to take her time. Surely, the tire incident had set her back already, and she didn’t need him here talking to her. “See you around town.” He turned to leave, but spun back to her as a thought struck him. “Oh, there’s the Hawthorne Harbor Safety Fair next weekend. You should come as my special guest.”

  Her forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows shot up.

  “I mean.” Drew laughed as he realized how forward he’d sounded. “We have a special luncheon for people we’ve helped over the years. You and Dixie should come.” Drew had never invited anyone as his special guest. He did his job, sure. He showed up every day, and he’d helped people over the years, yes.

  He’d just never felt like he’d made a difference—except for Gretchen, Aaron, and Dixie Samuels. He had delivered that baby. He had felt responsible for that success. It was the only time he’d truly felt like he’d achieved what he’d hoped to achieve when he’d signed up for his first emergency technician class.

  “When is it?”

  “Next Saturday. Lunch at eleven-thirty. The Safety Fair starts at one for the general public. We’ll have the fire engines out, bounce houses, great food catered. Dixie would love it.”

  “I’ll see,” she said, a completely non-committal answer. But Drew would have to take it. So he nodded and backed up another step.

  “All right. Well, let me know if you need more details. It’s at the firehouse three complex, right downtown. Couple of blocks from here.”

  “I’ll look at my calendar. I have a lot of weddings in the spring.”

  Drew thought he heard something hiding in the tone of her voice, but he couldn’t riddle out what. So he just lifted his hand in a wave and ducked out the way he’d come in. His heart did a little tap dance in his chest, and he couldn’t name why.

  Chapter Four

  Gretchen worked though her fingers went numb from the cold. She worked though her stomach roared at her to eat something. She worked though her head pounded and her feet ached.

  She would not miss this deadline. She couldn’t afford to. While hers was the only all-local, all homegrown flower shop in town, it wasn’t the only one people had to choose from for their floral needs. If it were, perhaps she wouldn't have to worry so much. She certainly wouldn’t have been able to keep the front of the shop closed while she frantically wrapped stems and secured baby’s breath to boutonnieres.

  A chime like an obnoxious doorbell made her lift her head. Her phone, which she’d propped in front of her, showed a text from Janey. Her best friend and fellow single mother, Janey was picking Dixie up from school and caring for her until Gretchen could get over there that evening.

  The two women helped each other a lot, as Janey worked in Olympic National Park as a park ranger. They coordinated her days off with Gretchen’s busy times, and they’d made things work. Jess, Janey’s son, was a year older than Dixie, and the two got along great. Thankfully.

  Headed over to get the kids! the text read.

  Gretchen’s heart flew to the back of her throat. If Janey was already on her way to get the kids from school, Gretchen should be loaded and on her way to the reception center. Without answering the text, she put her head down and finished the last two wrist corsages and placed them delicately in the box for transport.

  Taking a few precious seconds, she downed two painkillers and got her van loaded. The new tire in the front seemed to shine like black gold, and she realized Drew had not mentioned the cost of it.

  This new worry ate at her, especially because she couldn’t just call or text him to find out. She didn’t have the man’s number, or know where he lived, or anything.

  But she absolutely would not allow him to pay for her new tire. She knew where his mother and step-father lived, and she went out to clip flowers every morning. She’d find out how to get in touch with him from Donna.

  She spun to re-enter the shop and retrieve the vases. Her vision blurred, and agony tore through her head. Instinctively, she reached out and steadied herself against the trusty, brown van. The last thing she needed was to faint in this back alley, where no one would find her for hours.

  Everything settled back into its normal place, and she moved through the doorway a little slower than she’d planned. Once everything was loaded into the back of the van, she got in the driver’s seat.

  Her stomach cramped, but she kept a tight grip on the steering wheel. She could eat as soon as the wedding was properly flowered.

  Magleby Mansion sat on a bluff overlooking the water, on the northwest crown of Hawthorne Harbor. Anyone who was anyone got married there, and Gretchen had done more floral arrangements at the Mansion than anywhere else.

  Securing the sponsored business label from them had been huge, something she’d accomplished in her first year in town. Honestly, the contract with the Maglebys had probably kept The Painted Daisy afloat all this time, and she navigated toward the back entrance of the event hall with ease.r />
  She could do without having to deal with Mabel Magleby, who owned acres and acres of land in town and made sure everyone knew it. The Maglebys had loads of money, and were some of the original settlers in Hawthorne Harbor. Mabel’s great-great grandfather had been the first mayor in town, something she liked to point out at City Council meetings when discussions were had about things she didn’t like.

  Nearing seventy herself, Mabel still hovered around every aspect of the events at the Mansion, as she lived in a back cottage and had no children, grandchildren, or pets to speak of. Her event center was literally her entire focus, and Gretchen ignored the spicy look from the elderly woman as she backed her van toward the wide French doors that were already open.

  The Mansion sported white and brown rock, cut into craggly shapes and fitted together. The grounds boasted of the finest Washington Hawthorne trees, after which the harbor and town were named.

  Mabel made sure there were dozens of bushes, flowering plants, and spruces in all their varieties. She had a knack for picking out interesting foliage and making the gardens unique and beautiful. Someone in her family had extremely long vision, as the shade trees had all been placed strategically, and now produced exactly what the center needed to have outdoor and indoor events.

  Gretchen leapt from the van as soon as she had it parked, welcomed by the scent of sugar browning into caramel. She’d done enough weddings at the Mansion to know the menus, and it seemed like today’s lucky couple was getting the crepe buffet.

  “You’re late,” Mabel said.

  Gretchen gave the older woman a single nod. “I’ll be ready in time.”

  Mabel had deep lines on her forehead and between her eyes. Decades of frowning could do that to a person. Her blue eyes were sharp, and she didn’t miss much. “That tire looks new.” She folded her bony arms and looked to Gretchen for an explanation.

  “I got a flat,” Gretchen said as she flung the back doors of the van open. “That’s why I’m running a bit behind.”