She was his heart, his blood, his bones. She was his life.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The flower shop was bustling with people when Hailey rushed in with an iced chai in one hand and a bag of ribbons in the other. Her hectic life hadn't let up for one moment, even with Ryan back in Afghanistan. He'd been in the States for a ten-day leave, and she was happy that they had mended things before he left. Of course, he hadn't come around all of a sudden and embraced her and Goldie's relationship-that was the stuff of romance movies. Basically they just ignored the whole thing. She went along with it because his time at home was too short, and if something happened to him overseas, she'd die from guilt and grief.
Unfortunately, he didn't reach out to Goldie, and even though Goldie told her it was the way life went, she knew he was hurt by the loss of the friendship. The only hope she had was that, in time, Ryan would see what a wonderful boyfriend Goldie was and that he'd changed. Only time would tell.
"Hailey, I'm glad you're here. We're slammed. And we're out of the rose-patterned tea cups. Some lady wants six dozen for a charity luncheon she's chairing."
"Okay. Did you write all of that down, because I probably won't remember that by the end of the day."
"Yes. Is your brother still in town?"
"He left a few days ago. I miss him already. He said he's going to take the rest of his leave at Christmas. I hope it works out. The last few years it's been canceled."
As Hailey waited on customers, Sheriff Wexler walked in. He smiled and nodded at her and she waved at him.
"Carol, can you finish with this customer, please?" Hailey asked as she made her way over to the lawman. "What brings you into the shop?"
"I need some flowers for a dinner party," he replied.
"Is it a formal or informal dinner party?"
"Actually it's just me and this lady friend of mine. I wanted to bring a nice arrangement to her." Wexler gave a half smile.
"Is this someone you're very interested in? The beginning of something, perhaps, or just a friend? And before you think I'm being nosy, all of that matters when picking the right flowers."
He shuffled his feet a bit. "I didn't realize it was that complicated."
"Flowers hold messages. The wrong flower, the wrong message. Like if you gave red roses to a woman you only liked as a friend. Wrong message."
Nodding, he looked inside the case of premade floral arrangements. "I'd say it's someone I want to get to know a lot better."
"Perfect. First date?"
"Fourth."
"Great. We'll start with what flowers she has in her garden and what her favorite color is. By getting something specific, you'll show her that you remember things about her, and she'll love the flowers since she has them in her own garden. Providing she has one, of course."
"Sounds good. I know purple is her favorite color, and she loves tulips and hydrangeas."
"Excellent. Do you know how many men don't know that about the women they're with?" She laughed and went to the cooler to gather the flowers and some greens. As she started putting flowers into a vase, she said, "The paper's been printing that Dan Krutcher is also the serial rapist. I can't believe I was in the same room with him all those times. You never know what goes on in a person's mind."
"That's the truth. We've officially charged him with the murders at Cherry Vale and, once the DNA results come back, probably the rapes as well."
"I wonder what his poor wife is going through. Can you imagine finding that out about your husband?"
"I heard she's taking the kids and moving back to her hometown in Illinois."
"I just can't imagine it." She added one last sprig of greenery and turned the arrangement to face the sheriff. "How do you like it?" The vase contained a beautiful and colorful assortment of flowers, greens, and ribbons.
A wide smile spread over Wexler's face. "She'll like that a lot. It's very nice."
After she rang him up and gave him his change, she said, "When you have a chance, pop in and let me know how she liked it."
"Will do."
The rest of the day was a blur as Hailey and the other employees worked relentlessly. When six o'clock came, Ellie quickly flipped the "Open" sign to "Closed" and pulled down the shades. "My feet are killing me," she said as she came behind the counter.
"I never thought the day would end," Carol added.
"I can't believe how busy we were. It was too crazy. Let's hope tomorrow isn't as bad," Hailey said.
"Aren't you taking off?" Ellie asked as Hailey settled on the stool in front of the computer.
"Not yet. I didn't have any time today to order all the stuff we're out of, including the tea cups for Mrs. Spencer's charity luncheon. And I have to go through dozens of e-mails and sift out the urgent ones from the not-so-urgent."
"Do you need any help?" Ellie asked in a small voice.
Hailey smiled; she knew Ellie would be crushed if she said yes. "Go. I'm good."
The two women left and Hailey began punching in the inventory numbers. When she was halfway through, her phone pinged. When she saw Goldie's name, her stomach fluttered. I hope I'll always be this excited when I see or hear from him.
Goldie: Let's get dinner.
Hailey: I can go @ 10.
Goldie: WTF? U still at shop?
Hailey: Ya. Crazy day. Have 2 finish some work. Maybe 9:30?
Goldie: 9:30's better. U want me 2 pick u up?
Hailey: Ur sweet, but I'm good. Feel like Mexican. Alfonso's?
Goldie: It closes @ 9. Leroy's the best bet.
Hailey: K. See u @ 9:30. ♥ u.
Goldie: Me too.
Happy that she'd see Goldie in a couple of hours, she rubbed her shoulders, stretched out her neck, and returned to the computer.
* * *
Goldie washed up, glad his last appointment of the day was over. He shook out his hands and clenched and unclenched his fingers many times. I need a good workout. Sitting for hours at a time, hunched over while tattooing someone made his muscles stiffer than a board. He normally worked out five to six times a week, but he'd gotten off his schedule since he started seeing Hailey. Deciding he had to get back to his routine, he chose to go to the clubhouse before meeting up with her for dinner.
The clubhouse had a full gym in the basement, including a small boxing rink. Most of the brothers took advantage of it, and sometimes they would stage fights between themselves. He loved getting into the rink and punching a worthy opponent, especially after a stress-filled day.
Ryan had left without a word to him. He hadn't seen him since that fateful day when his friend found out about his relationship with Hailey. Goldie had hoped that at least they could've talked, but Ryan never returned his texts or his phone calls. He'd let it go, but the sting of Ryan giving up their friendship started to anger him. Ryan acted like Goldie wasn't good enough for Hailey, like he was a piece of shit. He supposed that's what hurt the most, the way Ryan abhorred the idea of Hailey with him. Fuck it. As long as he and Hailey were good with each other, nothing else mattered.
Walking into the clubhouse, he shook his head at Patches, who had started filling a shot glass. Then he went downstairs and began his workout.
An hour later, he came out of the shower and put on a clean T-shirt and pair of jeans. He glanced at his phone to check if he missed any texts from Hailey. Seeing that he had a little bit of time before he met up with her, he went to the main room and took the shot Patches poured for him. The smokiness of the smooth whiskey tasted good, and it warmed his belly. He motioned for another.
"We're getting a poker game together. You in?" Brutus asked.
"No, I'm meeting Hailey soon. Another time."
"You're never around here, dude," Skull said.
Goldie smirked. "Do you miss me?
Skull punched his arm and sat on one of the barstools.
"We miss you," Ruby said from the couch. "All of you." She placed her finger in her mouth and pushed it in and out.
Goldie laughed. "You got plenty of that with the brothers. One less cock doesn't mean that much."
"It does when it's yours," Fina said as she pressed her breasts together and bent down low.
"Fuck!" Brutus said as the brothers in the main room whistled.
"Give us a dance and show us your big tits, sweet butt." Army said as he laid down his pool cue and came over to Goldie and the others.
In a flash, the TV was muted and the jukebox blared out "Pour Some Sugar On Me" as Fina started moving seductively. Not to be outshined, Ruby jumped up and joined her, and the men hooted and whistled. Goldie watched as the women ran their hands over their bodies. From the corner of his eye, he saw Diablo come in. The sergeant-at-arms glanced over at the women, then back at Goldie as he came over to the bar.
"I got the list of names from Dog. You wanna see them?"
Goldie looked away from Fina and Ruby playing with their tits. "For the eagle ornament?" Diablo nodded. "Yeah. Let's go to the church room."