zoned everyone and everything else out.
Donna was up front. The last customer had just left the building when the door dinged and another walked in. She smiled at him as she approached.
"Good morning! Can I help you with anything, or do you want to look around a bit?"
"My name is Edward Rollins. I'm looking for a young woman named Gracie. They told me at Subway she might work here because she was there the other day with someone who does. Work here, that is."
Reba had just put a new bouquet in the display cooler and overheard enough of the conversation to realize who he was.
"Oh my gosh! Donna, this is the man Gracie saved. The one who was choking."
Edward nodded. "Yes, that's me. I don't want to interfere with her work. I just wanted to thank her."
"Of course. Reba, go get Gracie," Donna said.
Reba went straight back to Gracie's table.
"There's someone up front who wants to speak with you."
Gracie frowned. "Who?"
Reba grinned. "It's the man you saved from choking. Now go!"
Gracie was surprised, but pleased to know he was okay. She wiped her hands and headed up front. She recognized him instantly, but he looked much better than he had when she'd last seen him.
The moment Edward locked eyes on her, he smiled.
"There you are," he said. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here, but I just needed to find you—to thank you for saving my life."
"I was just in the right place at the right time," Gracie said.
"No. It was more than that," Edward said. "You did more than save me from choking. You really called it on my blood pressure problems. I spent a day in the hospital until they got it leveled out. I was bordering on a stroke. You didn't save me once. You saved me twice. I know the hug you gave me was life-saving, but may I be allowed to give a real hug as a gesture of my sincerest gratitude?"
Gracie didn't hesitate. "Absolutely," she said, and threw her arms around his neck.
He grinned and hugged her, then stepped back, still holding her hand.
"We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Edward Rollins."
"And I'm Gracie Dunham. It's a pleasure to see you in such good health."
"Yes, well... I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you. I wish you a long and blessed life, Gracie Dunham. And now, I'll be on my way."
He nodded at Donna and then walked out of the store, got into a black Jaguar, and drove away.
Gracie went back to the workroom, with Reba right behind her.
"He was driving a Jag," she said.
"I saw it," Gracie said.
"I always wanted one of those," Donna said.
"I never was into sports cars," Gracie said. "I was a rancher's kid. If our vehicles weren't big enough to pull a loaded cattle trailer, they weren't worth having."
The girls all laughed, and Gracie smiled as she put the final touches on a bouquet of roses.
The door dinged again. Donna glanced up, then smiled at the young man who'd just entered.
"Good timing, Gracie. Here comes the new daddy after his bouquet of roses."
"I'll carry it to the counter for you," Gracie said, and followed Donna, who hobbled up to the register in her walking cast and set the roses down on the counter.
"Oh wow! Those are beautiful," the man said.
"Thank you," Donna said, as Gracie went back to the workroom and glanced at the clock.
It was twenty minutes to twelve.
Donna came back, smiling.
"We've done prom flowers for that young man. We did the flowers for his wedding, and now we've done flowers for his wife at the birth of their first child. I feel like an honorable auntie, or something. Girls, finish what you're doing, and then clean up your worktable. When you're done, go on home. If we get a last-minute customer, I'll handle it."
They didn't have to be told twice. A short time later, they were gone, and Donna locked up the front door, turned on the Closed sign, and began counting out the till.
Gracie was sitting at a stop sign when a white van drove through the intersection. She saw the sign and the logo on the side and grinned.
COYOTE CONSTRUCTION.
The logo was of a coyote running at full speed. What made her laugh was that the coyote had been painted to appear as if it was running toward the back of the van, while the van was moving forward.
She watched it passing, and then laughed out loud at the coyote they'd painted