Page 43 of Reckless Chances
“I’m not going anywhere.” Emma brushed small pieces of wood from her hands and stood up. “Charlie doesn’t get to have Chance Rapids just because he was here first.”
Serena grinned and hopped up from the bench. “That’s the spirit.”
Emma held the grips of her hiking poles tightly. “Down is going to be scary, isn’t it?” It wasn’t a question. The path seemed to drop off into the abyss at the corners of the switchbacks, one misstep, or slip on some loose shale, and Emma didn’t know where she’d end up.
“Nothing like a little adrenaline first thing in the morning,” Serena said. She snapped a photo of the mountain peaks. “Start walking,” she ordered, pointing to the path. “I’m going to take your photo.” Emma didn’t know it at the time, but the photo that Serena took of Emma’s and her ponytail blowing in the wind, glowing from the sunlight behind her, would capture the moment that Emma fell in love.
With Chance Rapids.
***
THE PAPER WAS STILLon the windows, but inside the flower shop, Emma’s vision was coming to life. The first delivery of tulips from the greenhouses in Windswan filled her cooler, and she had just gotten off the phone with Jenni and had been booked for two more summer weddings. The weekends she had imagined spending in Charlie’s bed, or exploring his property with him, suddenly looked a lot different – they were going to be filled with the nervous excitement of brides on their wedding day.
She saw Stan, the guy who had done her floors, parked in front of Charlie’s brewery. She wondered if he was going to have to postpone the flooring, after seeing the state of his bar, there was no way he was ready for Stan. She wanted to feel smug, that her project was ahead of schedule and her business was flourishing, she wanted to rub it in Charlie’s face that she was able to get things done and he wasn’t, but instead, she felt bad for him. “Stop it,” she muttered as she cut the stems on some variegated yellow tulips. He doesn’t deserve your pity. He doesn’t deserve your thoughts period. She turned on the local radio station and let the sounds of the latest Eric Church song fill her brain instead of thoughts of Charlie.
The newly installed bell over the front door rang and Emma glanced up to see Jenni. “Can I come in?”
Emma waved. “Of course, you don’t have to ask, you can come in at any time.”
Jenni was wearing a flowy sundress and what Emma had come to learn was her trademark camel-colored Brixton hat. “Ooh, these are pretty.” Jenni felt the silky tulip petals and bent to smell the ones in Emma’s hand.
“Thanks, they’re for the grand opening.”
“Yours?” Jenni’s eyes grew wide.
“Yep.” Emma had chosen the yellow tulips, a flower she always associated with spring, and new beginnings, for her grand opening.
“You must be so excited.”
“I am.” Emma smiled. She really enjoyed spending time with Jenni, but her eyes darted around the room at everything she needed to get done. She didn’t have time for a social call. “What brings you in today?” She asked and as soon as she saw Jenni’s eyes drop to the floor, she knew that something was wrong. She paused her clipping scissors in her hand.
“I have some bad news,” Jenni said.
“Oookay.” Emma set down the shears and crossed her arms.
“I don’t know how to tell you this.”
Jenni’s cheeks were flushed and there was a stammer in her voice, she was nervous. Emma’s pulse started to race. “What? Jenni?”
Jenni set her leather folder down on Emma’s work counter. “I just got off the phone with the groom for the wedding that we talked about the other day.”
“Which one?” They had talked about three upcoming weddings and Emma was losing her patience.
“The one with the pink tulips and roses. The one that you are attending as a guest.”
Emma pursed her lips. She didn’t have to be a genius to guess that she was no longer Charlie’s plus one for the wedding. “I was wrong. I’m not going to that one.” She was actually partly relieved. It was going to be her first big contract in Chance Rapids, the one that was going to set the tone for the entire season, so now she’d be able to focus entirely on getting it perfect.
Jenni nodded as if this wasn’t news to her. Her cheeks got pinker than the tulips on the counter and then she took a deep breath. “You’ve been fired,” she blurted out.
“By whom? You?” Emma squeezed her eyes shut quickly and jerked her head. This was not the news she was expecting. First, she gets dumped, now she gets fired. What’s next?
“Oh, no. Not me. I love you, Emma,” Jenni said. “I think you’re amazing.”
“Then who? What? What happened?” Emma rapidly fired questions at the wedding planner.
“The client fired you.” Jenni’s mouth twisted like she wanted to say more.
Emma leaned heavily on the counter; nothing was making any sense anymore. Did people just decide randomly that they didn’t want her anymore?
“What did I do to her? What did she change her mind?”
“It wasn’t the bride,” Jenni whispered. “It was the groom.”
