“I’m sorry, Ellie.” I lean over and give her a hug, hating that talking about this has brought up the memories of her brother and his girlfriend, who died in a car accident. When they both died suddenly, the care of their daughter, Hope, who was just a few months old at the time, was left to Ellie, and since then she has raised Hope as her own child. Hope knows about her parents, but Ellie and Jax are the only real parents she knows.

“Honey, you just lost your sister. I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around.”

“I wasn’t as close to Kelly as you were to your brother and Bonnie,” I remind her quietly, and she presses her lips together. Ellie didn’t care much for Kelly. Not that she knew her personally, but she did know of the things Kelly had done to me, and being the kind of friend she is, she’s been angry at Kelly on my behalf for a long time. “I wish things had been different between us, but they weren’t, and now they never will be.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too,” I agree.

“You know I’m here anytime you want to talk about anything, right?” she asks, wrapping her arms around my waist to give me a tight hug.

“I know.” I hug her back just as tightly.

“I love you. We all love you,” she whispers against my ear, and I pull in a breath.

“I love you, too,” I whisper back, vowing then and there to be a better friend to her and the friends I’ve made since moving here. Over the last few months, I’ve gotten so caught up in my own personal drama that I’ve neglected my friends and family, but that is going to change. Life is too short to live the way I’ve been living, and losing Kelly reminded me of that. Giving me one last squeeze, she pulls away and I wipe my wet cheeks, praying I’ll soon stop crying all the damn time.

“How are things between you and Sage?”

This is a subject I don’t really know how to go about discussing. Everyone who knows the two of us saw Sage coming around, trying to get me to talk to him before Kelly was murdered. Now they all know I stayed with him while my parents were in town, since he’s related to most of the people I consider friends. “We… I… we’re…” I sigh then roll my eyes when she starts to smile. “I honestly have no idea, but I do know we are not friends.”

“You’re not friends?” she repeats, and her brows draw together tightly.

“He told me before he left that we’re not friends and he did everything he did for me because I’m apparently his.”

“Ahh,” she breathes, and then mutters, “I see.”

“Do you? Because I don’t see, and I’ve been wracking my brain since he left yesterday, trying to figure it out.”

“It really is simple, honey. You’re his. He’s obviously claimed you.”

“Claimed me?” My nose scrunches up at that, and she giggles.

“Is it really that bad, being claimed by Sage Mayson?”

“Put like that, I guess the answer is no,” I reply as my lips twitch, and she laughs loudly.

“I didn’t think so,” she says right as the bell over the door goes off. Watching a woman walk up to the front counter carrying a huge bouquet of flowers, I follow behind Ellie toward the front of the salon, where Frankie’s been going over the appointment book since the last client left.

“How can I help you?” Frankie asks as the woman sets the bouquet down and steps out from behind it and into view.

“These are for Kimberly Cullen,” she answers, and Frankie turns to look at me.

“You got flowers, girl.”

“I see that.” I smile at him then turn my smile on the delivery woman. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She grins back before she turns and leaves through the door.

“Did Sage send you flowers?” Ellie asks as soon as the door is closed, and I shrug while searching for the card. Finding it a second later, I pull it off and open it up. Reading it, I blink and then turn and hold it out to Ellie and Frankie.

“Mrs. Ethel? Sheesh! Who knew the cheap, mean old goat had it in her to be sweet?” Ellie mutters, and I laugh.

“I can’t believe she sent me flowers.” I smile, leaning in to sniff one of the huge pink roses, and Frankie shakes his head.

“That woman adores you. You’re the only person she talks to when she comes in, and since you started here, she’s been a regular of yours. I’m not surprised at all that she sent you these,” he states matter-of-factly, and I blink at him, realizing he must not know she doesn’t really talk to me. Honestly, I don’t think she’s even said more than a dozen words to me since she’s been my client.

“Well, they are beautiful. I should give her a call and say thank you.” I decide, pulling the appointment book toward me so I can retrieve her number. Scanning through the pages, I finally come across it and then reach for the salon phone to dial her number. Putting the phone to my ear, I listen to it ring three times before a woman answers.

“Duesaw residence. How can I help you?”

“Is Mrs. Ethel available?”

“Yes?” she replies, and I wait for her to say more then realize if I do, I’ll likely wait a year. Knowing it’s Mrs. Ethel, I continue on, forgoing normal phone etiquette. “It’s Kim. I just wanted to call and say thank you. I got the flowers and they are beautiful.”

“Of course they’re beautiful. They cost me fifty dollars,” she mutters, right before I hear a loud click.

Frowning, I pull the phone from my ear, look at it, and then put it back to my ear. “Hello?” I call, but get nothing. Taking the phone from my ear once again, I stare at it in disbelief.

“What did she say?” Frankie asks, and I look from him to Ellie and back again.

“She said of course I like them, because they cost her fifty dollars, and then she hung up on me,” I respond, feeling my lips tip up as Frankie and Ellie both start to laugh. “I’m thinking you might be wrong about her adoring me,” I add, and Frankie cackles harder as Ellie doubles over, snorting in amusement when she does.

“I don’t know about that,” Ellie says, wiping away the tears in her eyes. “The one time I had to do her hair when you were out of town, she gave me a twenty-five cent tip after complaining I was doing it all wrong, which I didn’t. She looked exactly the same way you make her look.”

“She’s very set in her ways.” I smile, smelling the flowers again, not being able to help myself.

“You could say that.” Frankie smiles at me then his eyes turn serious. “I know this isn’t exactly the best time to talk to you girls about this, but I’ve been putting off this conversation for a few weeks now and Alex is starting to fret.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask, watching him go to flip over the “Open” sign and lock the door.

“Come have a seat.” He sits on the purple couch in front of the window, and Ellie and I look at each other before going over to take a seat across from him. Folding my hands in my lap, I wait to see what he will say while my stomach fills with worry.

When I moved to town, Frankie took a chance on me and gave me a job. I didn’t have much hands-on experience before I started, but he didn’t care. He hired me anyway and, with his help and guidance, I’ve gotten really good at what I do. I don’t know what I will do if he tells me that he’s getting rid of the salon, or worse, getting rid of me.

“I know both of you have a lot going on,” he starts, looking at Ellie and I both softly, making me worry even more. “Alex and I are moving to Florida.”

“What?” Ellie and I ask at the same time.

“This hasn’t been an easy decision for us to make, but Alex’s mom is getting older and needs us closer, so we have decided to put the shop up for sale,” he says, and my chest starts to get tight with anxiety as my hands ball into fists. “Before we do that, we wanted to offer it to one or both of you for a little off the asking price. I know this is unexpected, so you have a little time to think about it before you give me your answer. But I hope you both really think about saying yes.” He smiles at us, and his face softens. “You girls have worked your asses off for this salon. The clients love you, and I know if you two do decide that you want to buy it, you could do some amazing things with this place.”