Page 10 of The Floral Arrangement

You don’t need to work it all out now. Take some time. Try to relax a little.

I pulled out my phone, my thumb hovering over the icon for my work email. Thirteen new emails. It was tempting to check them, to fire off a few responses and make sure all my matters were still in order.

Do not click on it, Roz.They’re not your matters any longer.

I sighed and moved my thumb to my text messages instead. One new message from Matt. I opened it. It was a selfie of my seven-year-old niece, Lottie, sitting next to my brother on their couch. They were covered in a blanket, both wearing hoodies and broad smiles on their faces. Accompanying the photo was some text.

Sick day today, so I’m introducing Lottie to Back to the Future.

I grinned. Those two didn’t have any trouble relaxing.That must be nice.

Once you’ve finished, I’m available for a call if you’d like. I’m not at work.

Not working?! Are you OK?

My thumb hovered over the screen. The news would travel fast once I told Matt. But I might as well rip the Band-Aid off.

I resigned.

My phone lit up with an incoming video call.

I sighed and accepted it, steeling myself.

Matt’s face appeared, his brow furrowed. “What happened?”

“I didn’t get the promotion, so I decided I’d had enough.” No point in telling Matt that it was almost certainly because Saunders & Company’s leadership were sexist homophobes. He might get riled up and threaten to drive into Manhattan with his construction buddies and give them a talking-to. Not that Matt would hurt a fly, but as a burly six-foot-two builder, he could be intimidating when he wanted to be.

A small blond head popped into view, and my face softened. Lottie’s hoodie was now pulled down, revealing large blue eyes wide with concern.

“You didn’t get the promotion?” she asked.

A pang of guilt stabbed my chest. The last thing I wanted was to cause Lottie any more heartache.

“I’m afraid not,” I said.

She frowned, and then her face brightened. “Can you come see us if you’re not working?”

“You know, maybe I will,” I said. “I haven’t worked out what to do yet.” The thought clamped itself around my chest, but I focused my attention on Lottie. “How are you feeling?”

“Sick,” Lottie said, emitting a not-very-convincing cough. Matt rolled his eyes, and I held back a chuckle.

“Did you hear about Red Tractor Farm?” Lottie asked, her face falling again.

I frowned. “No, what about it?”

“It’s closing down.” The corners of Lottie’s mouth trembled.

What?My chest constricted.

“We don’t know for sure, sweetie,” Matt said, gazing down at Lottie and stroking her head. He looked up and grimaced. “The Wardells are selling the farm. They’re getting older and finding it all to be a bit too much. And none of their children want to take it over.”

“But surely someone would buy it and keep it going? I mean, it’s been a Hudson Valley institution for generations.”

Our visits to Red Tractor Farm over the years flooded into my mind. Lottie as a baby, giggling in her stroller as the rabbits hopped around in the petting zoo. Lottie laughing with delight as a toddler as we bounced on the hayride. Our more recent fall visits to search for the best pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, shoot apples out of cannons, and get lost in the corn maze. And magical Decembers when the farm was transformed into a winter wonderland, decorated in Christmas lights and with rows of Christmas trees for sale. The thought of all of that disappearing, of no more happy memories being made, sent a pang of sadness right to my heart.

Matt shrugged. “Apparently it’s been running at a loss the past few years, so it’s not exactly an appealing purchase. They’ve only had interest from Samadhi Resorts at this stage.”

I frowned. Samadhi Resorts owned a number of exclusive health retreats across America. If they purchased the farm, it would be bulldozed and replaced with shiny state-of-the-art yoga studios, swimming pools, colonic therapy rooms and exclusive accommodations for the New York elite. I’d advised one of my clients against a potential investment in Samadhi a few years ago and knew their business model well. Charging thousands of dollars a night for services that had no basis in science—energy healing, sound baths, and contrast hydrotherapy. I pressed my lips together. It was a load of bullshit.

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