Page 106 of Back To Our Beginning

“I’ve seen pictures of the six of you together. Yep, there is definitely an Avery girl model.”

“Huh,” was all she said as we made it to the parking lot. She didn’t sound like the woman on the phone.

“My ride is over here,” I said as I pointed to the Escalade.

“Nice,” she murmured.

“There was a screw-up with my original rental. They upgraded me.”

“Huh.”

Uh-oh. I hoped I wasn’t destined for a monosyllabic conversation for the rest of the trip. If I was, I hoped she liked the same music I did.

I opened her door and waited for her to get in before closing it and hopping into my side.

“Before we head on out of here, I want to show you my idea,” Chloe said.

Hallelujah, a full sentence.

She reached into her large purse and pulled out a folder. “I called Brantley Hawkins. He said he could fit your project in, depending on the stones you want to use. He’d charge you a small rush fee, but I think he’s worth it. I printed out some of his designs to see if you like them.”

She handed me eight sheets of glossy printer paper with beautiful pieces of jewelry. Six of them were rings, two of them were pendants. All of them were like nothing I’d seen before. “What are these stones?” I asked.

“I’m pretty sure this is a pink sapphire, but I’m not sure about the lighter pink. Then those are diamonds. So, are those the two styles you like the best? They don’t look like traditional engagement rings.”

“But Brantley has made them?”

“For different clients. He’s amazing. If I had my way, he would design all the rings for all my sisters. Now, he wouldn’t do anything exactly the same for you. He could come up with something similar, using the stones you want. He charges fifteen percent over materials, and then he normally has a ten percent rush fee, but he would give you a three percent rush fee.”

“Three percent?” I frowned. “Why so cheap?”

“You’re a friend of mine, and you’re in the military. His sister is in the Coast Guard. So, do you want to go over to his shop?”

“Absolutely.”

“Head for downtown Gainesville. Let me get you his address so you can put him into your navigation system. I’ll give him a call.”

It took us less than fifteen minutes to get to Brantley’s studio. I’d figured it would be in a shopping strip, but instead it was in a professional building next to a dentist's office. It had good security, and we had to be buzzed in.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t a stylish man about my age in a suit and tie.

“Chloe! When are you coming out with your next issue? I need another hit of Seris. I need to know what comes next for her.”

I watched as Chloe blushed. “Her story will come when it comes, Brantley. Can’t tell you more than that.”

“I forgot, you’re indie. You get to decide your own deadlines.” He grimaced. “Must be nice.” Brantley turned to me. “You must be Maddie’s guy. Chloe’s told me about you. You’re quite the hero. It would be an honor to work with you on an engagement ring for Maddie.”

He held out his hand, and I shook it.

“Let’s go have a seat in my conference room. We can look at designs, gems, and discuss prices.”

We sat down, and I pulled out the printouts of the two rings that I thought would be good for Maddie.

Brantley looked at them, then tapped his finger on the two pieces of paper. “Can you tell me why you thought these would be good for her?”

I shook my head. “That’s a hard question.”

“Humor me.”