Page 10 of Silver Sanctuary (The Silver Springs #3)

Six

T wo more months—that was all she had left in the tank.

Just two more months before she would have to tell Sebastian Montgomery—the freaking insanely successful billionaire businessman who was kind enough to fund her dream of opening Petals, and one of the best friends of the man she was constantly drooling over—that she couldn’t keep the doors open any more.

She was a failure.

Failure, failure, failure.

Lacy took one hand off the steering wheel, rubbing at the growing pressure behind her temple.

If she lowered the amount of inventory she had, it might help.

But a lower selection meant the already sparse customers she managed to find would be likely to look for arrangements elsewhere.

It was a never-ending cycle that seemed to just have one finish line: Petals closing its doors forever, leaving Lacy and Embrie without a way to pay for their already horrific living situation.

She needed to find a second job. But a second job meant an early morning or late night sitter, which meant even more money out of her accounts.

Would it even be worth it? Working a second job just to pay for a sitter?

She didn’t see Brie nearly as much as she wanted to as it was, and that was the whole point of moving back to Silver Springs.

Maybe there was online work she could do during shop hours.

She normally finished the one or two orders that came in everyday by lunch, and tidying up the store while refreshing the inventory took only another hour or two.

Brie could just go to the store after school, and that would give her a few more hours of work time before they went home.

She truly hated calling that dump home. How many leaks in the roof was it going to take before her lazy landlord fixed something?

“Mom? Did you hear me?”

Lacy looked in the rearview mirror as she pulled up to the drop-off line in front of the elementary school.

“Sorry, baby, I was lost in thought.”

“I need twenty-five dollars for the field trip to the aquarium. Ms. Tillman said it needs to come back to her with our permission slip on Friday.”

Lacy already knew, without even having to look, that she only had ten dollars in purse.

Of course.

“Okay. I’ll stop by the bank today and make sure I have the money to send in with you tomorrow. Just make sure you bring home the permission slip.”

“I left it on the table this morning.”

“I’ll sign it after dinner, okay?”

Embrie took off her seat belt, grabbed her backpack off the floor and leaned toward the driver’s seat to press a kiss to Lacy’s cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Have a great day, baby. Good luck on your spelling test.”

Lacy drove down Ford Avenue, pulling into the space behind the flower shop.

She could put it off for a little while, maybe go out for the one delivery she had on the schedule in Bell Ridge instead.

But Lacy knew deep down she just needed to get it over with.

She had years of experience as a server, and the damn place she’d completely avoided since returning to Silver Springs would be her best bet for pay and hours.

Walking to the front of her shop, Lacy stopped for a moment to take in her reflection. She hated the way her hands shook. The way the sweat started to bead on her back, not from the early morning heat, but from the memories that were pressing against the walls in her mind, trying to escape.

Without thinking, Lacy mechanically took one step, and then another. Her mind was blank, and she kept it that way until she reached the front door of Davney’s.

If it weren’t for Embrie, she would never step foot back in the establishment.

Rudy might have only been the manager back when she was in high school, but he was still the prick who didn’t stop things that night.

A shudder rolled through Lacy’s body, her cheekbone radiating a phantom ache that had long since healed.

“Never thought I’d see you back in here.”

Lacy’s eyes darted to the deep voice coming from her left.

“What do you want, Lacy?” Rudy was running a cloth along the empty bar.

She’d been able to smooth talk him into giving her a job in high school, back when she shouldn’t have legally been working, but it was the only way for her to have food in the house.

Maybe she could turn on the charm and do it again.

“I was hoping you might have some hours available, Rudy. I’m flexible with nights, or even just on the weekend.”

“Kid, no one wants to see you in here. I don’t give a shit either way, but I’ve got a pretty good pulse on things, and so far, the consensus is that no one really wants you back in town.”

“I know that. I just thought… I have Embrie now—my daughter—and I was a good worker for you back in high school. You know I don’t have to be a server. I could wash di shes, bus tables, take out the trash, even clean the place at the end of the night. Anything, Rudy.”

His eyes narrowed as he licked his lips. “Your place not bringing in anything?”

“I’m sure you’d love to spread that gossip around, wouldn’t you?”

“Eh…” His chuckle made her stomach go sour. Everyone was waiting for her to fail, and she was weeks away from proving them right.

“It’s doing okay. Embrie just wants to try some new things like dance class, and I’m saving up to buy us a house, so I could use a few more streams of income.”

“How diverse are we talking? Cause if you’re messing with that shit like your mom did?—”

“You’re still such an asshole. I would never, ever , mess around with that stuff.

You have no fucking clue how hard it was growing up with a mom who struggled with addiction.

I wouldn’t put my kid through that. Ever.

” Lacy swallowed down her rage, hating that her throat felt raw from hiding how much it hurt her to be accused of doing the same garbage her mom had.

“Well, I ain’t got nothing for you, kid. Sorry to say, even if I did, I probably wouldn’t want you here. You’ll be fine, though. And if you’re not, well, then maybe you’ll be on your way outta town and things will finally settle down.”

“Thanks for having such a compassionate heart, Rudy.”

Lacy pushed away from the bar, not missing the way the two servers stood rolling silverware while staring right at her.

“You know what? I know you were there. I know you saw what they did to me that night—the way they beat me. And you did nothing. A couple of almost-grown men hitting a fourteen-year-old girl, then throwing her in the dumpster, and you dropped your cigarette on the ground and walked away. You’re fucking pathetic, Rudy.

I hope that fact haunts you for the rest of your life. ”

Damn, it felt good to say that after all those long years. Her pride certainly took a hit, but that was something she’d learned to block out a long time ago. Someone hated her? Someone didn’t want to give her a chance because of what her mom did? Add them to the never-ending list.

“Fine. Monday through Thursday. Dishes. Trash. Busing the tables if they need it. That’s all I have for you,” Rudy called out to her just before she reached the door.

Her shoulders relaxed and she nodded. “I’ll take it.”

With Rudy giving her early week shifts at Davney’s, it left open the weekend to work at Dolly’s. She hated knowing she’d be leaving Embrie with the sitter most nights during the week, but maybe Dolly would give her an early afternoon shift on the weekend and Embrie could tag along.

Lacy made her way down the street, crossing in front of her shop before continuing on to Dolly’s Diner. She ran her fingers over her windblown hair, praying she looked somewhat presentable as she pushed open the door to the diner.

Jessie Ford’s smiling face greeted her as soon as she stepped inside.

“Hey, Lace. You here for breakfast?”

“Morning, Jessie. I was actually hoping to talk to your mom. Is she here?”

“Yep, just in the back helping with the breakfast rush. I’ll have her pop out in a minute. Grab a seat at the counter. Can I get you anything while you wait?”

“No. It always smells so good in here, but I already had breakfast at home.” The rumble in her stomach, which, thank goodness, was covered by the loud clang of dishes in the back of the restaurant, nearly gave up her lie.

But being hungry was nothing new. It wasn’t the first time, and until things turned around, it wouldn’t be the last.

“All right. Give me a minute to get her.”

“Thanks, Jess.”

Lacy fiddled with a menu, trying to not let her gaze wander into the dessert display case. What she wouldn’t give for a slice of key lime pie. It was her favorite and just the thought of the tangy pie with cold whipped cream was enough to make her drool.

“Hey, sugar. What can I get ya?” Dolly bustled behind the counter, wiping down the spots next to Lacy.

“Oh, um, nothing for me this morning. I was just wondering if… well, I know you have Jessie here, but…”

“Spit it out, love. I won’t bite.”

Lacy smiled, running her hands down her shirt. “I was hoping you might need another server, even if it’s in the early morning. Maybe in the afternoon on the weekends? Just Friday and Saturday nights would work too.”

Dolly’s eyes filled with concern and Lacy wanted to slide off her stool and melt into the floor. “Honey, is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah. You know how business is. Things just aren’t picking up with the flower shop as much as I thought they would be, and Embrie’s class is going on field trips and asking for parent contributions for fun days, plus she has soccer and mentioned wanting to try dance.

We have a hot water heater on the fritz and I just need something to balance the scales for a while. ”

“Well, I don’t have much, but I was just telling Jessie I’ve been thinking about taking the weekends off. Wasn’t going to just leave her here to deal with everyone on her own, but if you have the time, then we can make something work. You okay with serving?”

Was she really about to get two jobs in the span of an hour?

“Yes, anything works, I promise. I’ll make it work.

Do you think… would it be okay for Embrie to come with me.

Sh e’s incredibly well-behaved and can just sit in a booth when it’s quiet and be in the office when it’s busier.

It would help to not have to pay for a sitter. ”

“We’ll figure it out, honey. Oh, now here’s a sight for old eyes.” The bell above the entry chimed and Lacy turned to see who had caught Dolly’s eye. “You boys haven’t been here in too damn long. I almost forgot what all those muscles looked like.”

“Hey, Dolly.” Gunner’s gruff voice had Lacy slipping off her stool and stepping to the side, hoping to slide past them without being seen. “Lacy.”

She held back her sigh.

“Hey, Gunner.” Her heart dropped as she watched the Montgomery Defense team walk in. And of course, there making his way through the door last, was Nash.

Lacy took the opportunity to look at him before he saw her. He ran his hand through his hair, blue eyes bouncing over the booths, and the counter, before landing on her.

“Lace.” His smile bloomed almost as fast as his hand fell from his hair. “I thought you’d be at the store already? I was gonna bring you some breakfast.”

“Oh, she was just?—”

“Getting my own breakfast. Thanks for a delicious meal, Dolly, I’ll see you this weekend.”

Dolly’s eyebrows pulled together, but she smiled, and gave Lacy a curt nod. “Sure thing, sugar. We’ll see you then.”

Lacy tried to slip past the group, but Nash’s hand caught her waist before she could get by.

“Hey, why don’t you come sit with us? Lily and Sloane are just a few minutes behind with Gage.”

“I’d love to, really, but I have to open the shop. Like you said, I’m running behind this morning.”

His brows furrowed, the cute wrinkles around his eyes that she loved disappearing as the smile dropped from his face. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

She nodded. “Just really busy.”

“Hopefully not too busy for another date one day soon?”

“I’d love to. I promise it’s not that I don’t want to see you…” Her belly did a funny little swoop at the thought of spending another evening with Nash.

“It’s just busy?” he guessed.

“Yeah.”

“All right. Well, maybe I’ll stop by with lunch?”

“I’d like that. I need to get ahead on some arrangements for this weekend.” He didn’t need to know that was because she now had to make sure she was available to pick up her shifts at Dolly’s.

“Okay. And I’ll just put it out there: I’m an excellent helper—top of my class in stem snipping and bouquet wrapping.”

She couldn’t hold back her smile. “Mm, is that what they teach SEALs these days? I just can’t imagine some of your big burly friends over there snipping thorns off my roses.”

“Careful, Lace.” He took one of her curls between his fingers and turned it before tucking it behind her ear. “I might get jealous that you think my friends are big and burly.”

“No need to be jealous. You fall into that category too, there, sailor.” She shrugged, raking her bottom lip between her teeth before continuing. “But I happen to have a bigger thing for blue eyes and salt-and-pepper hair.”

Her hands landed on his arms as she balanced on the balls of her feet, giving her just enough height to kiss his cheek.

“Yo, Wings! Quit flirting with your girl and let her get to work!” Hawk yelled across the diner, and Lacy stepped back, feeling her cheeks flood with color.

“I’ll see you for lunch?” Nash asked, hope dancing around brightly in his eyes .

“Yeah. Lunch.”

“Lacy?”

“Hm?”

“I can’t wait.”

She smiled as she turned away and walked out onto the sidewalk. Two more jobs. Another date with Nash. Maybe the day wouldn’t be so bad after all.