Chapter 11 - Flora
Every morning for the past week, Flora had woken up early and headed to the fields for training, but after the way yesterday’s session had ended and the conversation with Camden that night, Flora decided it was time for her to switch her focus.
There was still a chance she and Sofia would need to run away from Silverrose, and she still had no money saved up.
Camden had been providing for her needs ever since she arrived, but she needed funds of her own.
It was time for her to look for a job. Even a temporary, low-paying gig would give her a cushion so that she could get Sofia to safety in an emergency.
Flora had plenty of skills that would translate into the workforce, but without any previous employment, she knew her choices would be limited.
It was better for her to start at the bottom and stay out of the public eye as much as possible.
She was a realist, after all. Her days of dreaming about a thriving career or fame were so far in the past that she wasn’t sure they had ever existed. Survival was the key.
After dropping Sofia off at Clementine’s house, she headed into town. She passed by each business, weighing the options in her mind. Fate happened to be on her side when she spotted a “Help Wanted” sign in the window of the coffee shop, Moon Brew.
Flora chewed on her lower lip, wondering if she was out of her mind trying to find a job in the town where everyone treated her as a disposable human outcast. After a moment, she straightened her shoulders and opened the door.
The bell tinkled softly overhead, and an older man with thinning silver hair looked up at her from behind the counter.
His thick spectacles were perched on a long, bulbous nose, and he smiled kindly at her as he placed a coffee mug on the shelf beside him.
“Welcome to Moon Brew,” he said warmly. “What can I get for you?”
“Actually, I saw your sign in the window, and I was wondering if I could apply for the position. My name is Flora Jones.”
“I know who you are, Ms. Jones,” he replied. “My son has spoken highly of you.”
“Your son?” she asked in confusion.
“Cillian,” he said with another warm smile. “My name is Edgar Thompson.”
Thompson. The chance that Flora would run into the father of one of Camden’s squad members was small, but not nonexistent in a town of this size. Cillian had been kind to her since her arrival, and she took this as another good sign. She reached her hand out to him and shook it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said.
“Likewise,” he replied. “As for the job, I’m not sure it’s something you’ll be interested in.
I handle almost everything around here with the coffee and such, but I’m not getting any younger.
I’ve been looking to hire someone to do the menial tasks: wiping down tables, stacking chairs, mopping, washing dishes, that sort of thing. I think you might be overqualified.”
“I’m a hard worker, and I’d do a good job,” Flora said, doing her best not to come across as desperate even though she was. “If you’re willing to take me on, I’d like the opportunity to work here.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” he replied.
His mouth had downturned slightly, as if he was wondering why she was so eager for a cleaning position. But Flora was sure that this job was the best she could get in the pack. And if she had the chance to work for someone who was kind instead of cruel, she wasn’t going to turn her back on it.
“I’m positive,” she said. “I can start right away.”
Edgar paused for a moment and then seemed to make his decision. He turned his back on her and went through a doorway that led to an office, reappearing a minute later with a t-shirt bearing the company name and a black apron.
“Here you are, then,” he said. “I won’t usually need you to come in until ten, but you’re here now, so you may as well start. Shop closes at three, and you can leave whenever you finish cleaning up after that. Sound good?”
Flora nodded and threw the shirt on over the one she was wearing, then fastened the apron behind her back. She was just finishing tying the apron behind her back when the door opened again, and a customer came inside.
“Welcome to Moon Brew,” Edgar said to them. “What can I get you?”
The next few hours passed in a blur of cleaning tables, noisy conversations, and sore feet.
Flora was used to hard work, but usually she was alone when she cleaned.
At the coffee shop, there was a constant hum of activity.
After a while, it started to overwhelm her, but she knew she needed to push through.
She thought of the paycheck steadily growing with each moment she worked and kept going.
When the bell above the door made its familiar tinkling, Flora glanced up.
She inhaled sharply as she recognized the faces of three of her childhood tormentors.
Scott, Thatcher, and Aidan were Camden’s old school friends, and they were wearing the same sneering look of superiority they always had when they caught sight of her behind the counter.
“There she is,” Scott said, striding toward her confidently. “We heard there was a human working here and had to come see for ourselves. We had no idea it was our favorite human.”
The twisted smile on his face made her stomach turn, but she kept calm. She needed this job. She wasn’t going to let them run her out of it before she could make enough money to get herself and Sofia to safety.
“Mr. Thompson will be back up to the counter shortly, but I can take your order for you if you know what you want,” Flora said, ignoring their sneers.
“Nah, we’ll wait for Ed,” Aidan said. “Knowing you, our orders would be all wrong, anyway. You always ruined everything you touched, and I’d rather not get burnt coffee grounds in my drink.”
The other two laughed, and Flora pasted a fake smile on her face before walking away. She may not be able to react to their taunting, but that didn’t mean she had to stand by while they ridiculed her.
The sound of their laughs didn’t leave her mind for days afterwards. Each time she pushed in a chair, the scraping of the wood against the floorboards seemed to echo the sound. Each tinkle of the bell made her jump, wondering if they were back for more.
She took a deep breath as she straightened another chair.
Sofia was with her today, sitting at the small table in the back of the shop, looking at a book.
Clementine wasn’t available to watch her today, and Flora had been forced to bring her in.
Luckily, Edgar hadn’t minded, but she didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness too much.
She needed to find another solution for the days when she didn’t have her regular babysitter, but that would require her to make another friend.
Try as she might, Flora hadn’t made much progress on that front.
“Mom,” Sofia said as Flora swept the floor. “Are you almost done? Can we go home?”
“Not yet, baby. Still a few hours left,” Flora replied.
Sofia looked disappointed, but her eyes passed to the door and brightened as the bell rang. “Cam!” she exclaimed.
Flora turned around, surprised that Camden was coming into the shop. He wasn’t one of the regulars. In fact, he hadn’t been there at all since she started working, even though she had told him about her new job.
“Hey, there,” he said, smiling at them. “How are my girls doing today?”
“Good!” Sofia said excitedly, running up to give him a hug.
Their bond had grown deeper with each passing day.
Flora’s heart swelled at the sight of them together, warming to him slightly with the knowledge that he had become a steady presence in her daughter’s life.
It almost made her want to abandon her plan to escape Silverrose with Sofia, but in the back of her mind, she wondered if the change she’d seen in Camden since returning was only temporary.
She couldn’t help but remember all the horrible things he’d said and done when they were younger.
“And you?” he asked, turning toward her.
“I’m fine. A little stressed because Clementine wasn’t free to watch Sofia today,” she admitted, and then stopped herself.
She tried not to bring her problems to Camden if she could help it, but this admission had slipped out.
Seeing her with Sofia made it seem like they were a partnership, but she knew that leaning on him only gave him the opportunity to hurt her again.
“It’s nice of Mr. Thompson to let you bring her in,” Camden said, still holding Sofia in a side hug while she wrapped her arms around his leg. “But I can’t imagine it’s much fun for her to sit around all day. Do you want me to bring her with me? I don’t have anything else planned for the day.”
“That’s okay,” Flora said quickly.
“Please, Mom!” Sofia interrupted. “Can I go with Cam?”
Her eyes were wide and questioning, begging her mom to let her go. Flora sighed, but couldn’t think of a good reason to say no that didn’t make her sound controlling and fearful.
“If it isn’t too much trouble,” she hedged.
“Not at all,” Camden said. “We’ll go to the park. That sound good?”
When Sofia nodded, Camden sent her to pack up her things.
“If she’s any trouble, you can bring her right back,” Flora pointed out.
“She won’t be,” Camden said. “Besides, I’ve been wanting to get to know her better. She is your daughter, after all. I’d like to be a part of her life as much as the two of you will let me.”
Flora nodded, unsure of what else to say, and then turned back to her work. She was clearing off a table when one of the human regulars flagged her down.
“Miss?” he said. “You got a minute?”
“Sure thing,” she said, putting on her customer service smile. “Did you need a refill on your coffee?”
“No, I’m getting ready to head out, and I was about to write my phone number on this napkin,” he said, flashing her a sheepish grin as he toyed with the napkin on the table.
“But I was worried that was taking the easy way out, so I’m going to take a chance and just ask you face-to-face.
Would you like to go out on a date with me sometime? ”
Flora was stunned. The last thing she was looking for was a relationship, and she didn’t think she had given this man—or any of the customers—any indication that she was available.
“I’m sorry,” she said with an apologetic smile. “But I’m actually—”
“—She’s married,” Camden interrupted.
Flora had forgotten he was still there, waiting for Sofia to grab her backpack. His eyes were narrowed at the man, who had blanched when faced with the intimidating figure of Camden’s imposing form towering over him.
“I didn’t know,” the man said quietly. “She isn’t wearing a ring.”
“It’s none of your business whether my mate wears a ring or not,” Camden growled.
“Of course. I’m sorry,” the man mumbled.
He threw some cash on the table and scurried out with Camden glaring after him.
“I’m ready!” Sofia said, bounding up to them.
“Great!” Camden said, turning instantly back into his usual charming self. “We’ll see you at home later, Flora.”
Still in shock from the interaction, Flora watched as they left.
***
When Sofia was in bed for the night, Flora came back downstairs to clean up the kitchen and found Camden had already beaten her to it.
“You had a busy day,” he said, offering her a smile.
But instead of feeling reassured, Flora remembered the way he had been overbearingly protective.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, examining him as he placed a clean dish on the drying rack.
The towel slung across his shoulder was casual, unassuming, but earlier, she had seen a harsher version of him when he had confronted the man in the coffee shop.
“What?” he asked. “Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m trying to figure out who you are,” she said. “Sometimes you’re calm and caring, and other times—like this morning when that stranger asked me out on a date—you’re something else. Intimidating.”
“We all hold multitudes,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Maybe,” Flora said. “But I’m not sure you had a good reason to jump in when I’m perfectly capable of having a conversation with a patron without your interference.”
Camden scoffed. “That wasn’t a casual conversation, and I didn’t feel like watching it drag on any longer than it had already.”
“Why do you care what conversations I have?”
“You are my mate,” he said, repeating what he had told the man. His tone teetered on the edge of politeness, dipping over into another emotion that Flora couldn’t quite place. She watched as his pupils dilated and constricted again when he looked away from her, suddenly realizing what it was.
“Are you—Camden, were you jealous?” she stuttered.
“Of course I was jealous,” he said, his tone serious. She was stunned by the nonchalant way he admitted it, as if there should be no question in anyone’s mind about his feelings. “A stranger asked my wife out on a date. I’m the only one who should be doing that.”
“That’s news to me. You haven’t given me any indication that you wanted to date anyone, let alone me,” she said.
“The thing is, it’s very hard to get you on your own to ask you questions like that,” Camden said, taking steps toward her.
“Even Mr. What’s-His-Name at the coffee shop knew that much.
He had to flag you down just to get a minute of your time.
What’s a guy like me to do when you’re busy all day and night?
Should I leave my number on a napkin for you to call? ”
Flora was caught off-guard by his flirting. It had never been a part of their relationship before, and she wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She felt her heart racing as he placed his forearm on the doorframe above her head and brought his face closer to hers.
“Or should I just ask you right now?” he whispered.
“Ask me.”
She hadn’t meant to say anything. The words had sprung from her lips without any input from her brain. Now that she had spoken them, they couldn’t be taken back. Camden smiled slowly, and Flora felt her breath falter.
“Flora,” he said softly. “I’d like to take you to dinner. Does tomorrow night work for you?”
If he had asked yesterday, she knew she would have said no immediately.
She probably would have laughed in his face for good measure.
But tonight, it felt like everything had changed.
She had seen him working toward becoming a better man than he used to be.
Their relationship, though heavily flawed, had progressed more than she thought possible.
It was clear to her after seeing the care he gave to both her and Sofia that he meant what he said about wanting to protect her.
He may have bullied her when they were younger, but she was confident that side of him wouldn’t ever return.
He was a changed man, and there was no harm in having a casual dinner with him, was there?
“Yes,” she said. “Tomorrow night.”