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Chapter One
Fredrick
I never thought I’d come home at all - much less for my father’s funeral.
Stepping out of the Uber, the familiar sights of my hometown hit me like a wave. Somehow, the air smells the same, that choking scent of fresh-cut grass, damp earth, and a hint of gasoline.
The distant chatter of people going about their day takes me back to when people would stop talking when they thought I could hear them.
Well, I'm back. Not because I want to be, but because duty calls - the unforgiving, frustrating duty of burying someone who never loved you and that you had to pretend to love... for a time, anyway.
Leaving home meant I could stop lying to myself; I could face what my parents put me through.
So yeah, one could say that I’m glad my father is gone.
But the bastard doesn’t deserve anything more than my anger and hatred.He’s earned those.
I'd asked the Uber driver to stop a little way away from my destination. And now I'm walking down the streets, catching glimpses of my past as memories dance like ghosts in every corner.
My eyes trace the old movie theater where I had my first fistfight. I’d escaped with a black eye, but the other guy had it way worse.
The diner where I'd shared my first kiss with Stacy Moore. She’d wanted more all right, and we’d had fun.
And the old flower shop that May used to run. Now the sign says Lila’s Flowers. I can't help but stop and stare, a sense of pride and satisfaction rolling over me. Hot damn, she’d done it. She’d made her dream a reality.
Too bad I’m about to tank her whole career.
I hesitate, staring at the building as my mind drifts to the past.
Lila had always been a dreamer, with her heart set on the future. I’d gone to the flower shop in search of May - the only person who had felt like family to me throughout my childhood years and teenage years - when I’d met a pair of sky-blue eyes framed by dark hair.
After her initial surprise, she'd gone right back to work as if I didn’t exist. I'd listened to her talk with customers about flowers, events, weddings, and everything to do with flowers. I’d sensed that the flower shop was her sanctuary, a place she could feel safe, free, and happy. I didn’t understand, but I admired her ability to stay grounded, in spite of what life threw at her.
I’d just watched her, waiting for May, as Lila proved she had a way with flowers. She knew them by name on sight, knew just how to care for them, and how to arrange them into bouquets filled with harmony and beauty.
I remembered thinking she was beautiful in her element, her apron dusted with pollen, her hands gently arranging a bouquet, her smile quick to flash when anyone had a question for her.
And I just watched her, pretending to read a book, as she explained to one customer why peonies would be perfect for a spring wedding. While I hadn’t had any interest in flowers, her knowledge was impressive, and I couldn't help but feel her passion as the evidence of it lit up her face and colored her voice.
Then her gaze had ticked to me and the whole world stood still.
The customer left and a slight frown tugged the corners of her lips.
“What?” I asked, aware I’d been caught in the act.
“You know May is on lunch. Why are you hanging around?” she’d asked in that softly melodious voice as she planted her hands on her hips.
I lifted my shoulders, the book forgotten in my hands. “To get under your skin, obviously. You’re going to own your own flower shop one day, and I need to be in your good graces in case you hire May.”
Her eyes had widened at my words, but she nodded at my book, arching an expressive eyebrow. “Your book is upside down,” she said.
I closed the book, checking to see if she was right, and of course she was.
That memory has stayed with me, a reminder of the young woman with the power to make me overlook the complications in my life. The one who treated me like a person when everyone else saw me as a means to an end.
Two women in exercise clothes, one pushing a baby stroller, walk past me, their gazes on my face until they pass me, and their furious whispers meet my ears. I haven’t been back more than a few minutes, but the gossip is already likely spreading like wildfire.
I said I wouldn’t come back except to bury my parents.
