Page 27 of The Little Flower Shop By the Sea
‘Can I just thank you all for looking after my grandmother’s shop while she was in hospital. It was very good of you.’ I turn and smile at Willow and Beryl. Willow beams back; Beryl sort of snarls something that might be a smile.
‘Not at all,’ Harriet replies for them. ‘Rose was thought of very highly here in St Felix, it was the least we could do. Any member of Rose’s family will always be welcome at our guild meetings. I do hope you might consider joining us, Poppy. We could do with some younger blood.’
Willow nods eagerly. From behind me I hear Jake chuckle.
‘I’ll think about it,’ I say politely.
‘Can I join too?’ Amber asks, stepping away from the door of the shop. ‘I’ve never been a member of a Women’s Guild. I don’t think we have them in the States – what is it? It sounds fun!’
While Amber discusses the benefits of the St Felix Women’s Guild with Willow and Harriet, I go over and talk to Jake and Woody.
‘Thank you,’ I say.
‘Not a problem, miss,’ Woody replies. ‘All in a day’s work.’
‘I meant Jake actually, for vouching for me like that.’
Jake grins smugly.
‘But if you hadn’t arrived when you did, Woody,’ I quickly add when he looks upset, ‘I don’t know what might have happened. It was starting to get a bit aggressive.’
Jake snorts now.
‘It was!’ I tell him. ‘You weren’t here. That Beryl woman looks quite vicious.’
‘Ah, Beryl’s harmless enough,’ Jake says. ‘She’s the verger at the local church, has been for years. Clarence would be lost without her.’
‘Clarence?’
‘Father Claybourne,’ Woody explains. ‘He’s our vicar. Lovely man; he was most helpful to me when I first came to St Felix. Poppy, you know I would have vouched for you if I’d known. You didn’t tell me who you were when we met yesterday.’
‘I know, I’m so sorry, Woody.’ I gently touch his arm and Woody’s face flushes again. I don’t know what it is about Woody. Unlike most women, I don’t go for men in uniform at all. But Woody was just so cute. Cute like a puppy: you wouldn’t want to make him sad or upset.
‘So, I’m gathering from all this hoo-ha this morning you reallyhavedecided to keep the shop,’ Jake says quickly, changing the subject. He looks up at The Daisy Chain. ‘I wondered last night if you might change your mind.’
‘No, of course I wouldn’t change my mind,’ I lie. ‘Why would I do that?’
Jake shrugs. ‘Just thought you might have rushed into your decision a bit, and then had second thoughts in the cold light of day.’
I shake my head. ‘Nope.’
‘Good, I’m pleased. So the question is, now you’ve decided to keep the old girl, what are you going to do with her?’
I liked how Jake referred to the shop like it was a person. ‘Run it as a flower shop, you’ll be pleased to know,’ I tell him. ‘I think I’d be lynched around here if I did anything else. Plus my mother has sent me Amber over from New York.’ We both look over at Amber. She’s got her eyes closed and is waving her hands rhythmically around Willow’s head, while Harriet and Beryl look on sceptically.
They’ve obviously moved on from discussing the Women’s Guild.
‘She’s supposed to be some hotshot florist over there.’
Amber suddenly clicks her fingers, snaps her eyes open, and pronounces Willow’s aura clean.
‘Time will tell, though,’ I add.
Miley climbs on to Woody’s shoulder and begins fiddling with his uniform buttons. Woody looks apprehensive.
‘She won’t hurt you, Woody,’ Jake insists. ‘I’ve told you a hundred times.’
‘I know, I know, I’m just concerned about my uniform – this is police property, you know?’
