Chapter 18

Claire laid her forehead down on her desk and took a deep breath. Today had been a day.

And, unfortunately, it was far from over.

She'd cordoned off the day for the data entry clients that she was retaining during the crossover to getting the flower shop up and running. She'd already dropped a few clients, and had let a few others know that she'd be phasing out over the coming months, but since it would be a while before the flower shop provided any real income, she had kept some of her higher-value clients to make sure she still had money coming in. Her Aunt Sylvia's financial gift had been insanely generous, but opening a store was expensive.

It had been a good plan, a balanced plan. And everything would have gone off without a hitch… if not for the fact that her phone kept ringing.

All. Day. Long.

At first, it had been easy things. The electric company had called about switching the bill from the realtor, who'd been handling it during the sale, to Claire. That had been straightforward enough but had required Claire to gather and provide certain information regarding her new business' financials.

Then, just as she'd settled back in to work on a complicated spreadsheet, her phone had rung again. Someone at the county was following up on a permit she hadn't filed… except she had filed it. After the initial spark of panic, Claire had backtracked through her email and found the submission confirmation. She'd forwarded that and another copy of the permit application to the harried clerk on the other end of the line. The clerk had been apologetic about the mix-up, but that had been another hour, gone.

She'd rushed through another hour or so of work before getting a text that had really pushed the rest of the day off the rails.

A local flower farm, which she'd been counting on to provide a large proportion of her inquiry, no longer would be able to deliver the quantity she'd asked them for, because Claire had forgotten to send them the deposit check in time.

She'd called them immediately, pleaded her case, and though the farmer was sympathetic, there was nothing he could do. He'd already committed some of his crop to someone else.

Someone who had remembered to send the deposit on time.

This was the incident that pushed Claire over the edge. Not only had this come after a series of irritations, and not only was this far worse than the other small annoyances she'd dealt with all day, but this one was her own fault.

That made her feel far, far worse about it.

"Okay," she whispered to herself, forehead pressed against the cool wood of her desk. "Okay. You can do this."

Except… she didn't feel like she could do this.

The stressors of the day meant that she'd entirely forgotten to have lunch. She'd spent too long in her chair without stretching or moving her body. She probably hadn't had enough water, although she'd lost track of her intake. Add to that the stress itself?

Well, it was the perfect recipe for a flare-up. She could already feel the ache building in her muscles, knew the headache forming behind her eyes would soon become blistering. And she couldn't take the medication she needed to help with that without eating first, and to do that she would have to get up and cook, and she still had hours and hours of work ahead of her.

And it was just all too much.

Despite her best efforts to keep calm, Claire felt tears begin to well up, then start to drip down her cheeks.

With a grunt of frustration, she shoved away from her desk, the sharp movement causing the aching in her limbs to intensify. Half blind with tears, she stumbled out of her home office and to her couch, where she threw herself down and let herself indulge in a few minutes of crying. It was maybe a little bit melodramatic, but she couldn't help it.

She was just so exhausted.

Her tiredness and misery pushed her into an unhappy doze, one from which she kept waking, jolted by anxious dreams about her business failing before it had even gotten off the ground. She never fully rose into complete wakefulness, instead dropping down into yet another stressful dream. It was only when she heard knocking at her front door that she sat up, rubbing sleep and the remnants of tears from her eyes.

She cursed her decision to not even glance in the mirror when she opened the door to find Liam, whose face dropped into a mask of concern as soon as he saw her. He once again had a bag of takeout in his hand, but he set it down, sweeping her into a hug, instead.

"Oh, sweetheart," he said, and the warm sturdiness of his embrace made Claire want to devolve into tears once more. "What's wrong?"

"Bad day," she mumbled against his shoulder. It was probably too early in their relationship to let him see her looking like an utter mess, she knew, but something in her heart said that this wasn't like other relationships. She had this undeniable sense that she could trust him to support her when she needed it. He wouldn't be frightened away by a few tears.

Indeed, he sprang into action.

"Okay, okay, let's come inside, huh? Then you can eat something and tell me all about it."

He settled her on the couch, going so far as to tuck a blanket around her shoulders as he moved to her kitchen, unerringly remembering where to find plates, napkins, and utensils. He came back, arranged the sandwiches he'd brought on plates, and handed one to Claire. She took it, noticing that her hands shook a little from not eating anything all day.

She was halfway through the sandwich before she came up for air.

"Thanks," she said, feeling a little sheepish. "I needed that."

He smiled kindly. "I'm glad I brought it, then. Now, tell me. What's going on?"

With a sigh, she recounted the mess of her day.

"I just feel… overwhelmed," she said. "It stings my pride to admit it, which I know is tied in with feelings about my lupus. But I feel like I'm being pulled in multiple directions."

He gave her a thoughtful, sympathetic look.

"Do you need advice or just commiseration?"

"Advice," she said promptly.

"Well, I'm not sure it's what you want to hear, but you are being pulled in multiple directions. Which might mean you need to drop one of the things you're juggling in order to give sufficient attention to the others."

"Oh, that's easy! I'll give back the lupus," she joked. He nudged her playfully with his knee. "You're right though," she continued. "I dropped some clients when I started working on the store, but I think I was too conservative. I think I need to let a few more go."

"I think you do too," he agreed, wrapping her in a comforting hug. "I know it's not easy to let go of that financial safety net, but I think giving each thing only half your focus is going to make it so that neither of them is working really successfully."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, adjusting the blanket he'd draped over her so it covered them both.

"I have to take the leap," she said.

"You have to take the leap," he echoed.

They sat together for a long, comfortable moment, Liam's hand stroking gently up and down her arm in a pattern so soothing it nearly sent her back to sleep. But she did her best to stay awake, because she didn't want to miss a moment of this.

"Thanks," she said. "You have a great way of helping me make sense of things."

"Nah." His tone was fond. "You already knew the answer. You just needed to talk it through with someone."

She made a mumbling sound that wasn't disagreement but wasn't entirely agreement either, then suggested they watch a movie. As they cued up her streaming services and searched for something to watch, she thought about the part of that statement she wanted to disagree with; she didn't need to talk it through with someone, she'd needed to talk it through with Liam.

Because, even though the thought was equal parts exhilarating and nerve-wracking, she had to admit it. She was really starting to fall for Liam Hiller.

"Okay, Scout, here's your mommy and daddy!"

Dr. Maxwell's chipper voice caused Rick to jolt awake. He immediately regretted the movement; he was getting far too old to spend the night slumped in a hard-backed chair. Beside him, Darla looked just as unhappy as she rubbed her neck. But the instant his wife spotted Scout, looking far more chipper than she had the night before, Darla's expression brightened.

"Oh my gosh!" she cried. "Scout, you're looking so much better! Avery, you're a miracle worker!"

Dr. Maxwell chuckled humbly, waving away the compliment as she put Scout on her feet. The puppy bounded over with her usual exuberance, bathing Rick and Darla in kisses. Rick, however, agreed with his wife. Not only had Dr. Maxwell restored their precious pup to health, but she looked fresh as a daisy. You'd never know the older woman had been up all night.

"Well, guys, I have good news for you. Scout just had a food allergy. She spent a pretty yucky night, which I'll spare you the details about, but it seems like she's allergic to dairy products. It's a very common allergy for dogs… and unfortunately a very common additive to dog food."

Darla frowned as she looked up from scratching Scout behind the ears. The puppy was visibly in heaven. "What should we feed her, then?"

Avery's smile was reassuring. "Don't worry, there are plenty of allergen-free dog foods too. They're a little more expensive, I'm sorry to say, but I can recommend some brands that are both easy on the stomach and on the wallet."

"We appreciate that," Rick said. "We're not going to skimp on Scout, but nobody wants to spend a king's ransom on dog food."

"Too true," Avery agreed. "For the next few days, however, I'd recommend giving her something doubly easy on her stomach. Chicken and rice is usually a big hit with the pups."

He nodded. "We can do that easily enough."

The exhausted couple thanked the vet again for all her help and then loaded Scout into the car as the sky began to lighten with the very first hints of dawn. Because this was Whale Harbor, they saw some signs of life despite the early hour. Several fishermen were making their way toward the docks, including a very grouchy-looking Braden, who was clutching an enormous reusable coffee cup with the Seastar Espresso. Darla and Rick waved as they passed his car, and Scout gave several excited barks, but Braden seemed too exhausted to notice.

Rick could relate. He wasn't a stranger to early mornings, what with his whale watching business, but he usually got a good night's sleep before. Despite his exhaustion, however, he smiled at the thought that he would become a lot more familiar with the wee hours whenever he and Darla had kids…

Well, he thought, some things are more than worth the late nights.

They pulled into their driveway, Scout yelping in excitement as she recognized the house. The puppy was clearly feeling much improved; before they'd left the vet's office, Avery had told them Scout had been administered some stomach-settling meds to carry her through any lingering effects from her allergy. It was cheering to already be able to see that the sweet pup wasn't suffering any long-term pain from her ordeal.

They went inside, tired and quiet—except for Scout. Feeling the need for some comfort, Rick drew Darla into his arms for a long, sweet hug.

"That was scary," he mumbled into her curls.

She nodded against his chest. "It really was. I'm glad everything is okay, but my heart is only now starting to slow down."

The moment was interrupted by Scout poking her nose between them, curious to know why she was being left out of the snuggle. The adults both laughed and bent down to give their beloved pet some more ear scratches. Then Rick went to let Scout into the yard quickly while Darla whipped up some chicken and rice so that Scout would have something to eat.

"It feels strange to be cooking dinner foods at five in the morning," she commented when they came back inside. "And to not add any seasoning."

"Reminds me of my college days," he quipped. "Back then, I wouldn't have known a spice rack if it bit me on the nose."

She chuckled, the sound tired.

When the food was ready, Darla cooled it quickly in the fridge before giving a small serving to Scout, who fortunately scarfed it down happily. The relief made the two humans of the family feel their exhaustion even more, so they sent off quick messages to their coworkers and employees to let everyone know they wouldn't be coming into work today, and then collapsed into bed.

Right before he fell asleep, Rick felt Scout's sweet, warm body sneak in to cuddle between him and Darla, who was already fast asleep. He wrapped an arm around the puppy and drifted off thinking about how fortunate he was to have this little family that he loved so much.