Page 5 of Where the Roses Bloom

She winced, like the idea of dealing with anyone else—let alone a mechanic—was too much. Like this moment, this coffee, this quiet morning was all she could manage.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” she said.

Her voice was low, apologetic. She looked back at the car like she might apologize to it too, like she owed everyone something.

She’d had to apologize for a lot. That much was obvious. But…I didn’t think she deserved that.

“You’re not a bother,” I said. “It’s not even half a mile. I can get the can from the garage, see if it’s a fuel thing…if not, Beau can come take a look.”

“Beau?”

“My brother.” I gave her a little smile. “He’s the charming one.”

That earned me the ghost of a smile, quick and unsure.

“So your brother is Beau,” she said. “And you are…?”

I almost laughed. “Rhett,” I said. “Rhett Ward.”

“Is that funny?”

“Just not a lot of people ‘round here that don’t know me,” I said.

“And where exactly is here…?”

“Willow Grove,” I said. “Just about an hour south of Savannah.”

Now it was her turn to laugh. She smiled, tired and pretty, hair falling out of her braid. I should’ve looked away. But I didn’t—not right away. “Well, I’ll give you one funnier.”

“Really now?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m Willow.”

I snorted.

“You’re right. That is funny.” I took a sip of my coffee. “So…what brought you out this way?”

She hesitated. “Oh…um…I’m from North Carolina. I was just passing through.”

“Passing through to…nowhere?” I said, and tipped my head toward the field past the house. “You know the road dead ends, right?”

“Yeah. I didn’t mean to—I guess I was following the GPS and then I wasn’t.” She tucked her legs under her and took another sip of coffee. “It’s been a weird week.”

I didn’t ask.

Didn’t push.

But something about the way she said it stuck in my chest.A weird week.Like she was trying to swallow down something bigger.

Heartbreak, maybe. Or grief.

I’d had more than a few weeks like that myself.

“You eaten?” I asked.

She blinked at me like I’d asked her if she wanted to fly to the moon.

“What?”