CHAPTER ELEVEN

LIAM

Damn. 

God fucking damn, I was pissed. 

Everyone at the gym could tell too. Trainers usually said hello and small-talked with me about my weight routine. Women usually tried to catch my eye and smile, but not today. 

The moment I stalked in with a vice grip on my gym bag, my hood up and my headphones in, everyone steered clear. 

Throughout my routine, I kept adding weight and pushed myself to my limits. It was better than hitting walls or a person for that matter. 

I couldn't even articulate why I was so angry. Hazel made me out to be some kind of womanizer, which was absolutely false but I couldn't blame her for thinking that. What else would you expect by saying another woman's name in your sleep?

I hated that I couldn't tell her the full truth. That I made myself sound pathetic and like I was making excuses. I pretty much blew my chances of seeing her again. If I explained that Katie passed away, maybe Hazel wouldn't have been in such a hurry to leave my office. 

Or maybe it wouldn't have made any difference because to her it would look like you're still in love with a dead girl. 

After my final, shaky set of overhead presses, I set the bar on the rack and nearly collapsed to the floor but thankfully made it to the bench. 

As I sucked in deep mouthfuls of air and wiped the sweat from my eyes, I tried to picture Katie's face in my mind but it kept morphing into Hazel's face. 

"She would have wanted you to find someone again," everyone who knew us always told me. "She wanted you to be happy." 

Every day my memories of her seemed to grow more and more distant. Sometimes I even felt like she never died at all, but rather we broke up like any other ended relationship and she was just another person in my distant past that I never talked to anymore. 

My heartbeat slowed and my breathing returned to normal so I headed to the showers on shaky legs feeling like I just survived a massive battle. I'd definitely be feeling sore all over tomorrow.

I had the night off so after the gym and running all my usual errands, I sat restlessly at home wondering what else I should do with myself. 

"Don't forget to enjoy the sunshine," Dad often told me. "And spend time among the living."

Finally, I said fuck it and went for a walk downtown. It was early afternoon and the local schools were just letting out. High school kids gathered in the bakery for after-school donuts while parents crossed the streets while holding the hands of their elementary-aged children. 

An odd twinge in my chest squeezed as I listened to their excited babbles while the parents listened and asked questions about what they learned. 

I always wanted kids and a family of my own but Katie never seemed too enthused. After I proposed and tried to talk about the future, she always changed the subject when I brought up how many kids we would have. Before she died, it became a sore point that made me wonder if our marriage would have worked out. 

My feet took me to the coffee shop for an iced americano and a brilliant display of colors caught my eye just as I was leaving. 

Two doors down, potted plants with bright red flowers decorated the windowsill of Dahlia's Blooms. A chalkboard sign just outside the front door read, "Now offering free local delivery!"

 Before I could think twice about it I pushed open the door to the flower shop, ringing a small bell as I walked inside. 

A pregnant Dahlia Forsyth looked up from pruning some potted houseplant near the window. 

"Officer Liam, what a pleasant surprise!" she greeted. With her warm smile, tasteful maternity clothes, and generally glowing appearance, you'd never guess the hard life Dahlia grew up in. 

She lived her whole life in the local trailer park with her mother as the town drunk and her stepfather thrown in jail for multiple statutory rape charges. 

When her mother died suddenly on the night of her flower shop's grand opening, I took her to the morgue to identify her mother's body. 

Death didn't seem to shake her like it did to me. Maybe that's why I walked into her shop, to see if she knew how I could shake Katie's death from hanging over me constantly. 

"How've you been, Dahlia?"

"Alright. As well as I can for waddling around like a balloon with legs."

"You look lovely," I told her earnestly. "Asher is a lucky man."

"Yeah right." She rolled her eyes but smiled good-naturedly as she brought her hand to her rounded belly. 

"Anything I can help you find today, Officer?"

"Please call me Liam," I urged her. “I’m looking for flowers, I guess.”

“Well, you've come to the right place. What’s the occasion, if there is one?”

"I'm looking to make an apology of sorts." 

"I see." Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "How badly did you screw up?" she teased. 

"Well, I'm not sure." I rubbed my jaw. "We've kind of only just met and I may have said something she misinterpreted. I'd like to see if she'll give me another chance." 

"Mm-hm," Dahlia nodded thoughtfully. "Do you happen to know her favorite flowers? Favorite colors, maybe?"

I shook my head. "No idea." I tried to think back to what Hazel wore both of the times I'd seen her. I was usually pretty observant in such things but her brilliant green eyes and soft lips always seemed to blur out the rest of the world.

"Green would look fantastic anywhere near her," I mused. "She has the most amazing green eyes." 

"Ha, is she related to my Ash?" Dahlia joked. 

"She might be," I said with a hint of a smile. 

Dahlia's jaw dropped. "No way! Is it Hazel?! I knew she met someone!" 

"Well, I don't know how happy she is with me right now," I said sheepishly. 

Dahlia sprung into action as much as a pregnant woman could, running around her shop to pick flowers from various arrangements. 

"I've got your back, Liam. I know exactly what she likes."

"You're an angel." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." 

"Of course!" she beamed. "After what her awful ex-fiance did, she deserves a stand-up guy like you."

She couldn't possibly know about the incident from last night but I still felt my stomach drop. Even if not illegal, he still did something shitty to Hazel and that was enough to make me just as pissed as I was at the gym this morning. 

"I'll get everything arranged," Dahlia said as twine and ribbon flew around her head as she worked her magic. "If you want to write a message with the bouquet, here's a card."

I accept the card and pencil from her and took a minute to think before writing my message down.

Some things should stay in the past. How about another try at those new beginnings? I would love to clear things up. Call me. -Liam.

I ended the note with my phone number and passed the card over to Dahlia, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Would you like to take advantage of our free delivery?"

"Yes," I smiled. "To your house, I suppose.”