from his expression.
A long silence fell in the room and Chase's heartbeat raced as he wondered what his next move would be.
Dog turned to leave but stopped. "For the record, I will never forget what LuAnn did to my family despite all the help and bullshit I'd gone through with her over the years. Granted, I did it out of respect for Lance, but I still did it. I never begrudged her anything she had. And, all her bad decisions were of her own doing, not anyone else's. That said, you have to make your own decisions and whether this one is a bad one or a good one, will only be determined by you."
“LuAnn knows you’ll never forget. She won’t either. But, haven’t you always said we need to forgive or the hate in our hearts will eat away at us?”
Without another word, Dog left the room. He lay his head back on the pillow and took in a deep shaky breath. JT broke the silence.
"I'll tell you this, Chase. When I met Kayden, things were rocky at first, but once I knew I loved her, no one would change my mind. So, I get it, your heart wants what it wants, and I hope, for your sake, LuAnn makes you happy. But, you must know she'll never be accepted at Rolling Thunder."
"I'm aware."
JT stood with a heavy sigh. "I'll see you later man. Hope you feel better soon."
JT walked through the door and the first thing Chase did was reach for his phone and look through his texts. That's when he saw several texts from LuAnn asking where he was. He'd never answered and now his brain was confused at how she knew where he was.
With shaking fingers, he sent out a text to LuAnn.
29
LuAnn's phone chimed a text and she quickly pulled it from her back pocket. Her heart hammered in her chest when she saw the message from Chase.
"I'm so sorry Dog gave you a hard time this morning. I had no idea you were out there. Please come back, he’s gone, and I don't expect to see him here again."
Her fingers shook with excitement and also worry. What had he done?
"I can come after work. About two hours."
"I'll watch the clock."
She smiled, held her phone close to her chest for a moment and inhaled deeply. Lily walked into the greenhouse and LuAnn quickly tucked her phone in her back pocket, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment at being caught on her phone. Again.
"Is your man doing alright?"
Your man. Wow, that sounded...nice.
"Yes, he asked when I could come back to see him. I told him only two hours." Her smile broadened.
"I'm happy to hear he's doing well." Lily continued on through this greenhouse into the back greenhouse. Forget Me Nots consisted of the front store then the four separate greenhouses. Each had its own purpose and grew different varieties of plants and flowers. She was happy she mostly worked with the flowers, but she also had some days where they took care of the vegetables and she'd been learning more and more about them as well. The job was incredibly interesting.
Setting her mind to the task before her, she began working the nutrients into the soil with her hands. The feel of the cool soil and the aroma of the fragrant nutrients also made her smile. She was helping life to grow here. Beauty. The colorful flowers and their individual aromas made for such a happy place. It was healing to the soul. At least hers.
"LuAnn, Mrs. Smythe is here for her arrangement." Jan called from the back of the store.
Looking up, she nodded, reached for a rag to wipe her hands and began walking to the store. A little nervous would be an apt description of her feelings. She'd impressed Mrs. Smythe with the floral choices from the catalogue, but now she'd know for sure if her choices were perfect. This felt like a big deal. Lily said Mrs. Smythe was a very good customer; it wouldn't do to not please her.
Entering the back of the store she walked to the floral cooler where the arrangements were kept after they were made. The blue speckled coffee pot and the purple and green arrangement looked fantastic together.
Pulling the unique arrangement from the cooler, she turned to walk to the front of the store. The overly large arrangement was heavy and would certainly make a stunning centerpiece. Entering the front of the store she set the heavy