Read Online Flowers on Main by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online Page B

kids had lost confidence in themselves. There wasn’t a one of them—even Jess with her ADD—who wasn’t smart and strong and talented, each in their own unique way.
    Unfortunately, Megan had taken off and he’d lost himselfin work. He’d left it to his mother to teach the kids to value themselves. He knew without a doubt Nell O’Brien had done that in every way she knew how, but obviously it hadn’t been enough for Bree to counter being all but abandoned by both her parents during those critical early teen years. She’d been easy prey for a man like Demming.
    “So, is it just breaking up with Demming that has you so miserable?” he asked.
    “I’m not miserable,” she immediately said with a lightning-quick flash of heat.
    “Okay, you’re the expert when it comes to words. You tell me the right one to describe your mood.”
    She considered the question, her expression thoughtful. “Lost,” she said eventually. “Gram said that a few days ago and she got it exactly right.”
    “Why would a woman who’s making a name for herself in the career she chose be feeling lost?” he asked, trying to make sense of it.
    “Because the name I’m making isn’t that great anymore,” she admitted.
    “You got rave reviews for that first play of yours,” Mick reminded her. “There was even talk about taking it to New York.”
    “And then the second play didn’t do so well, and the third one bombed,” she said, her voice empty of emotion.
    “Then you’ll write a fourth,” he said confidently. “Better than the first one.”
    Bree shook her head. “Not now. My heart’s just not in it. I need to start over, try something new.” Her gaze met his. “Which is why I rented a space on Main Street and plan to open a flower shop in it.”
    Mick couldn’t have been more stunned or dismayed if she’d announced an intention to take up pole dancing. Not thatthere was anything at all wrong with owning a flower shop—or pole dancing, for that matter, if one was so inclined—but Bree’s talents lay elsewhere. So did her heart, no matter how wounded she was feeling at the moment.
    He knew, though, that he had to tread carefully. After all, he’d promised to limit his advice and to accept her decisions.
    “Are you sure you want to make such a drastic change?”
    She nodded, her expression eager. “I really do.” She must have seen the skeptical look he hadn’t been able to hide, because she added, “I know what you’re thinking, but I can keep my laptop in the back room, write whenever I have some free time.”
    “Bree, honey, I know those Main Street leases are for two years. That’s a long time to be tied down.”
    “I prefer to think of it as having some stability in my life,” she countered.
    “Flowers,” he said, then shook his head. “You’re sure you’ll be happy fiddling with a bunch of posies?”
    “Marty asked the exact same thing,” she said, giving him a pointed look that made him cringe. “And the answer is that I think so. There’s only one way to find out for certain.”
    “Okay, then,” he said, concluding she needed support and practical thinking, not criticism, right now. “How much of your trust-fund money are you putting into this? I don’t want to see you lose that nest egg.”
    She frowned at that. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad.”
    “I didn’t mean it that way.”
    “Yes, you did,” she said. “And it’s okay. It just makes me want to work harder to prove you wrong. Besides, I thought you always said that you put the money into those funds so we’d be able to buy a house or start a business when the time came. That’s all I’m doing.”
    “Then I don’t have a leg to stand on, do I?” he said, relenting. “You’ll tell me what I can do to help. I’ll come down there with you tomorrow, if you want me to. I can help you figure out any construction you’ll need, custom cabinets for supplies, a front desk, an island workspace in back. Whatever you