Chapter 4
Izzy woke to the soft chirp of birds outside Sadie’s guest room window and the faint scent of coffee in the air.
For one blissful second, she thought what a wonderful day it would be.
Then the incidents of yesterday, the scorched flowers, the charred remains of her dad’s shop, assaulted her brain.
It all came rushing back. The weight of it felt crushing.
Her breathing came in short spurts, and she closed her eyes and told herself to calm down.
She sat up too fast. Her body protested with aches and sore muscles. Nothing serious, just a reminder that yesterday had really happened.
Pushing herself out of bed, she padded into the hallway. Sadie was in the kitchen pouring coffee, wearing the same oversized sweatshirt from the night before.
“You’re up,” Sadie said gently. “I was just about to come check on you.”
Izzy nodded and wrapped her hands around the warm mug her friend handed her. “Thanks. For letting me crash here. For everything.”
“Don’t mention it.” Sadie leaned against the counter, her face lined with worry. “You really okay?”
“No,” Izzy admitted, her voice cracking. “But I will be.”
They sat in silence at the scarred wooden table in Sadie’s cozy kitchen for a few minutes, sipping coffee.
The comforting normalcy of the moment helped.
But her mind was already spinning. Orders to cancel.
Customers to notify. Insurance to call. And then there was Mitch, who’d somehow managed to be both reassuring and frustratingly protective.
Her phone buzzed on the table. A message from him.
Let me know when you’re up. I’ll come get you, we can go over the footage and talk next steps.
She typed back quickly, with a tingle in her tummy.
I’m up. Give me 30.
Sadie gave her a look. “Was that him?”
Izzy nodded. “He wants to go over the video footage again. He thinks it might help narrow things down.”
Sadie tilted her head. “And what do you think?”
“I think he might be right.” She stared into her coffee. “It just doesn’t make sense. Who would want to hurt me? Or the shop?”
Sadie frowned. “You ever had trouble with the zoning board or city permits? Anyone complain about your deliveries? Parking?”
“Not really.” Izzy rubbed her forehead. “There’s that cranky guy behind me, Mr. Hines.
He always thought our back deliveries were too loud, but nothing serious.
And Delilah Parker’s been gunning for the corner shop to expand her nail salon into something more, I think to add clothing, but I thought that was just gossip. ”
Sadie raised an eyebrow. “Maybe it wasn’t.”
Izzy blew out a breath. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions. But yeah. I guess I’ll have to look at everyone a little differently now.”
Sadie nodded. “Want help drafting a message for your customers?”
Izzy gave her a tired smile. “God, yes. I don’t even know where to start.”
Sadie pulled a notepad and pen from a hidden drawer at the table. "I pulled a t-shirt and leggings from my drawer and set them in the bathroom for you. I have a new toothbrush and a travel toothpaste in the drawer. Do you need underwear and a bra?"
"No, I washed mine out in the sink last night and hung them in my room. Thank you."
Sadie smiled, her friend from high school and all her adult life so far, was her rock. "Anything you need, Iz, I'm here."
Izzy's eyes watered. She hugged her bestie tightly, then started toward the bathroom to dress as Sadie began drafting a note to her customers.
After dressing and brushing her teeth, she entered the kitchen, ready for the day, she hoped. Sadie smiled and handed her the notepad. "How about this?"
She read the draft Sadie had put together for a post on Petal Pushers’ Facebook and Instagram pages. Sadie kept her tone soft but firm while Izzy made sure the message didn’t sound like she was giving up. When it was done, Izzy felt both lighter and raw.
"Once this is posted, it feels like the real work will begin."
Sadie smiled. "I'll help you in any way I can. For instance, should I begin calling your flower vendors and see if they can deliver more flowers to cover your orders?"
"Where will I have them delivered?"
Sadie's pretty lips turned down for a moment. "Ask Jace and Margo at the Sandbar if they have room in that giant house of theirs."
"I only know them from business meetings and having done some weddings and birthday parties there. I'm not really friends with them."
Sadie shrugged. "I'll keep thinking on it."
Her phone buzzed again.
I’m outside when you’re ready.
Her heart gave a traitorous little flutter. “He’s here.”
Sadie gave her a quick hug. “Call me if you need anything. And if you think of anyone suspicious, let me know. I can ask around, too.”
“Thanks, Sadie.”
She grabbed her purse from the side table in the living room, realizing that Travis' boots were on the rug next to the door.
She hadn't even heard him come home. This thought made her nervous, what if someone had been outside trying to hurt her?
She'd slept too soundly. She opened the door and stepped outside.
Mitch stood beside his truck, leaning slightly on the open door. He looked tired. Pale. But focused.
“You ready?” he asked.
Izzy nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”
They drove in silence for a few blocks. The kind that wasn't uncomfortable, just... full. She studied his profile, strong jaw, serious eyes, a faint bruise darkening near his temple. He looked like he should be resting, not playing detective.
“You sure you’re okay to be doing all this?” she asked quietly.
He didn’t look at her. “You’re not safe until we find out who did this. So yeah. I’m doing this.”
Her heart twisted. “I didn’t mean to drag you into my mess.”
“You didn’t.” His voice softened. “But I’m in it now. And I don’t walk away from unfinished work.”
They arrived at Petal Pushers, and she saw the police squad car already there.
Mitch stepped from the truck just as labored as yesterday.
He pulled his laptop from the backseat, and she watched his face intently to see if he showed signs of pain.
If he was in pain, he was a great actor. If not, he was a miracle.
He set the laptop on the hood of his truck as Trey Fielding approached them.
"Morning, folks."
Mitch shook Trey's hand, and she followed suit. Trey nodded at her, "We'll figure this out, Izzy."
Comfort washed over her. Hopefully, nothing else would happen to anything or anyone. "Thank you."
Mitch pulled the video footage up on his laptop, and the shadowy figure paused on screen.
“That’s from about two minutes before the explosion,” he said. “They knew exactly where the cameras were. Stayed just out of frame most of the time.”
Izzy leaned in. “Can you enhance it?”
He smirked. “You’ve been watching too many cop shows. It doesn’t work like that.”
She grinned despite herself. “Had to try.”
He clicked through more frames, each one revealing just a fraction of the figure’s movement, dark hoodie, slightly hunched shoulders, heavy step.
“See that?” Mitch pointed to the corner of the screen. “That shape, near the dumpster. Could be a gas can.”
Her mouth went dry. “So they brought it with them.”
“Looks that way.”
They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of it all settling over her again.
“What happens now?” she asked.
Trey stepped back. "Stay here, I'll go see if I can find anything besides the lid to the gas can."
He stepped away, and she stood near Mitch as he stared at the computer.
He peered around the top of his computer at the hotel behind her building.
He began walking toward the corner of the lot line where he could see behind her building and the hotel at the same time.
She slowly followed behind him, not saying anything, mostly because she didn't know what to say.
He was thinking, and she didn't want to disturb that.
They stopped on the corner, and his eyes tracked the steps the assailant took from the back of the hotel, along the dumpster, to her greenhouse, and then to the back of the building.
Trey then stepped from behind the greenhouse, and it startled her.
She yelped softly, and Mitch turned to her.
He grinned slightly. "He startled me, too.
I was so lost in thought for a few moments that I forgot he was back there. "
They stood in silence as Trey stared at the ground, took some photos, and picked up a couple of objects, placing them into baggies for safekeeping.
Mitch took a few photos as they stood there. The nail salon was in front of them and to the right slightly as they stood on the corner of Main Street and Main Square.
"When I chatted with Sadie this morning, I told her I'd heard rumors about Delilah Parker..." She pointed to the nail salon, "Wanting to expand her shop but not having the space here to do it." She swallowed. "I don't want to start anything, it was just a rumor, the way I heard it. But..."
Mitch stared at the nail salon for a while and shrugged. "I'll keep that in the back of my head as we move forward with investigating. I'll talk to Trey and the fire department to see if there's any way I can install cameras today."
"Mitch, in your condition, you should be resting."
"I have help when I need it. And you need cameras. Whoever did this didn't finish the job. It looks as though only the back portion of the building is damaged."
Trey rejoined them. "I found a few small things that may or may not be helpful, but I want to get them back to the department and take a closer look."
Her stomach twisted slightly. "When can I get back inside? I really need to see what's damaged and what isn't and take care of the plants that survived."
Trey nodded. "Let me talk to the fire chief, and I'll let you know."
They watched Trey move toward his squad. Mitch nodded. "Let's get you back home, Izzy."
"I'm not at home." She longingly looked at her precious business and the upstairs where she lived. "I mean I am, but I can't go inside yet."
“You live here?”
She nodded. “It’s supposed to be temporary. Until I can find my way clear to buy a little farm out of town so I can grow some of my own flowers and sell them here. Maybe even vegetables.”
He turned to look at her. She wore a t-shirt and a pair of leggings that Sadie had loaned her. He smiled. "We'll get you back home as soon as it's safe, I promise."
She nodded. Looking into his eyes, she saw the deep shades of brown and how pretty they actually were.
He had thick, dark lashes with slight creases at the corners.
He was incredibly handsome. Her tummy fluttered, and she took a deep breath only to inhale his clean, fresh scent.
Her heartbeat increased slightly, and she pushed it away and attributed it to thinking it was just all the commotion and gut punch to her life. Nothing more than that.
He opened her door to his truck. She stepped up into it and busied herself with the seatbelt as he hefted himself in without a groan this morning.
As they drove to Sadie’s, she asked, "Do you know a place in town where I can have deliveries dropped?
If my vendors have the flowers I need, I can still work on fulfilling orders, which will help not only my bottom line, but customer satisfaction too.
In the history of Petal Pushers, my father and I have never missed a delivery.
I'd love to keep that record, even through all of this. "
"I think I do. But let me make a couple of calls first."
"Thank you." She swallowed back the emotion that rushed forward. He was kind, too.
He pulled into Sadie's driveway and turned to her. “You lay low. Rest. Focus on your customers. Let Trey and me figure out the rest.”
She wanted to argue. Say she wasn’t fragile, that she could handle herself. But the truth was, she was tired. And maybe just this once, letting someone else take the lead wasn’t the worst idea.
She gave him a nod. “Okay.”
But even as she said it, a tiny voice inside her whispered that if someone had gone to this much trouble to take down Petal Pushers…
They weren’t done yet.