Chapter 1: The New Lock
At eight o’clock the morning after our mother’s funeral, I found my brother changing the lock on Mercer Flowers.
“Owen, what are you doing?” I asked.
He kept his eyes on the screwdriver. “The building is mine now, Rachel. I have a buyer, and he wants possession in ten days.”
For twenty years, I had opened that shop before sunrise, balanced its books, trained its employees, and delivered arrangements when Mom’s arthritis became too painful. Owen had a good career two states away. He visited when he could, but he had never worked behind that counter.
Mom’s will left the building to him and the flower business to me. I had assumed we would arrange a lease like reasonable adults. Apparently, Owen had assumed I would disappear.
“You could have called me,” I said.
His shoulders tightened. “I knew you’d make this emotional.”
“It is emotional. We buried our mother yesterday.”
He handed me one new key. “Then you understand why I need this settled quickly.”
I closed my fingers around the key and chose not to throw it back. “Nothing gets removed until we speak with Mom’s accountant.” Continue Reading ⬇️
