by Nora Roberts
“Let me see the thumb.” She grabbed his hand. “You’ve got dirt in it now.”
He saw her gaze slide over toward the alcohol and ripped his hand out of hers. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Well, it should at least be cleaned. And I really am sorry. I didn’t see the headphones. I thought you heard me.”
“It’s okay. No big. The classical’s for the plants. If I listen to it for too long, my eyes get glassy.”
“Oh?” She picked up the headphones, held one side to one ear. “Metallica?”
“Yeah. My kind of classical.” Now he looked warily at her clipboard. “What’s up?”
“I’m hoping to get an idea of what you’ll have ready in here to put out for our big spring opening next month. And what you have at the stage you’d want it moved out to the stock greenhouse.”
“Oh, well ...” He looked around. “A lot of stuff. Probably. I keep the staging records on computer.”
“Even better. Maybe you could just make me a copy. Floppy disk would be perfect.”
“Yeah, okay. Okay, wait.” He shifted his stool toward the computer.
“You don’t have to do it this minute, when you’re in the middle of something else.”
“If I don’t, I’ll probably forget.”
With a skill she admired, he tapped keys with somewhat grungy fingers, found what he was after. He dug out a floppy, slid it into the data slot. “Look, I’d rather you didn’t take anything out when I’m not here.”
“No problem.”
“How’s, um, Hayley working out?”
“An answer to a prayer.”
“Yeah?” He reached for a can of Coke, took a quick drink. “She’s not doing anything heavy or working around toxics. Right?”
“Absolutely not. I’ve got her doing bulb planters right now.”
“Here you go.” He handed her the floppy.
“Thanks, Harper. This makes my life easier. I’ve never done a Christmas cactus graft.” She clipped the floppy to her board. “Can I watch?”
“Sure. Want to do one? I’ll talk you through.”
“I’d really like to.”
“I’ll finish this one up. See, I cut a two-, maybe two-and-a-half-inch shoot, straight through the joint. I’ve cut the top couple inches from the stem of the stock plant. And on the way to slicing my finger—”
“Sorry.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time. I made this fine, vertical cut into the vascular bundle.”
“I got that far.”
“From here, we pare slivers of skin from both sides of the base of the scion, tapering the end, and exposing the central core.” Those long, artistic fingers worked cleverly and patiently. “See?”
“Mmm. You’ve got good hands for this.”
“Came by them naturally. Mom showed me how to graft. We did an ornamental cherry when I was about Luke’s age. Now we’re going to insert the scion into the slit on the stock stem. We want the exposed tissues of both in contact, and match the cut surfaces as close as you can. I like to use a long cactus spine....” He took one from a tray and pushed it straight into the grafted area.
“Neat and organic.”
“Uh-huh. I don’t like binding with raffia on these. Weakened clothespins are better. Right across the joint, see, so it’s held firm but not too tight. The rooting medium’s two parts cactus soil mix to one part fine grit. I’ve already got the mix. We get our new baby in the pot, cover the mix with a little fine gravel.”
“So it stays moist but not wet.”
“You got it. Then you want to label it and put it in an airy position, out of full sun. The two plants should unite in a couple of days. Want to give it a shot?”
“Yeah.” She took the stool when he vacated it, and began, following his directions carefully. “Ah, David was telling me about the house legend this morning.”
“That’s good.” His gaze stayed focused on her hands, and the plant. “Keep the slice really thin. Legend?”
“You know, woo-woo, ghost.”
“Oh, yeah, the sad-eyed blonde. Used to sing to me when I was a kid.”
“Come on, Harper.”
He shrugged, took another sip of Coke. “You want?” He tipped the can from side to side. “I’ve got more in the cooler under here.”
“No, but thanks. You’re saying a ghost used to come in your room and sing to you.”
“Up until I was about twelve, thirteen. Same with my brothers. You hit puberty, she stops coming around. You need to taper the scion now.”
She paused in her work only long enough to slide a glance up at his face. “Harper, don’t you consider yourself a scientist?”
He smiled at her with those somewhat dreamy brown eyes. “Not so much. Some of what I do is science, and some of what I do requires knowing some science. But down at it, I’m a gardener.”
He two-pointed the Coke can into his waste bin, then bent down to get another out of his cooler. “But if you’re asking if I find ghosts at odds with science, not so much either. Science is an exploration, it’s experimentation, it’s discovery.”
“I can’t argue with your definition.” She went back to the work. “But—”
He popped the top. “Gonna Scully me?”
She had to laugh. “It’s one thing for a young boy to believe in ghosts, and Santa Claus, and—”
“You’re trying to say there’s no Santa Claus?” He looked horrified. “That’s just sick.”
“But,” she continued, ignoring him, “it’s entirely another when it’s a grown man.”
“Who are you calling a grown man? I think I’m going to have to order you out of my house. Stella.” He patted her shoulder, transferred soil, then casually brushed it off her shirt. “I saw what I saw, I know what I know. It’s just part of growing up in the house. She was always ... a benign presence, at least to me and my brothers. She gave Mom grief now and then.”
“What do you mean, grief?”
“Ask Mom. But I don’t know why you’d bother, since you don’t believe in ghosts anyway.” He smiled. “That’s a good graft. According to family lore, she’s supposed to be one of the Harper brides, but she’s not in any of the paintings or pictures we have.” He lifted a shoulder. “Maybe she was a servant who died there. She sure knows her way around the place.”
“Luke told me he saw her.”
“Yeah?” His gaze sharpened as Stella labeled the pot. “If you’re worried that she might hurt him, or Gavin, don’t. She’s, I don’t know, maternal.”
“Perfect, then—an unidentified yet maternal ghost who haunts my sons’ room at night.”
“It’s a Harper family tradition.”
AFTER A CONVERSATION LIKE THAT, STELLA NEEDED something sensible to occupy her mind. She grabbed a flat of pansies and some trailing vinca from a greenhouse, found a couple of nice free-form concrete planters in storage, loaded them and potting soil onto a flatbed cart. She gathered tools, gloves, mixed up some starter solution, and hauled everything out front.
Pansies didn’t mind a bit of chill, she thought, so if they got a few more frosts, they wouldn’t be bothered. And their happy faces, their rich colors would splash spring right at the entryway.
Once she’d positioned the planters, she got her clipboard and noted down everything she’d taken from stock. She’d enter it in her computer when she was finished.
Then she knelt down to do something she loved, something that never failed to comfort her. Something that always made sense.
She planted.
When the first was done, the purple and yellow flowers cheerful against the dull gray of the planter, she stepped back to study it. She wanted its mate to be as close to a mirror image as she could manage.
She was half done when she heard the rumble of tires on gravel. Logan, she thought, as she glanced around and identified his truck. She saw him start to turn toward the material area, then swing back and drive toward the building.
He stepped out, worn boots
, worn jeans, bad-boy black-lensed sunglasses.
She felt a little itch right between her shoulder blades.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hello, Logan.”
He stood there, his thumbs hooked in the front pockets of his work pants and a trio of fresh scratches on his forearms just below the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt.
“Picking up some landscape timbers and some more black plastic for the Dawson job.”
“You’re moving right along there.”
“It’s cooking.” He stepped closer, studied her work. “Those look good. I could use them.”
“These are for display.”
“You can make more. I take those over to Miz Dawson, the woman’s going to snap them up. Sale’s a sale, Red.”
“Oh, all right.” She’d hardly had a minute to think of them as her own. “Let me at least finish them. You tell her she’ll need to replace these pansies when it gets hot. They won’t handle summer. And if she puts perennials in them, she should cover the planters over for winter.”
“It happens I know something about plants myself.”
“Just want to make sure the customer’s satisfied.”
He’d been polite, she thought. Even cooperative. Hadn’t he come to give her a materials list? The least she could do was reciprocate. “If Graceland’s still on, I can take off some time next Thursday.” She kept her eyes on the plants, her tone casual as a fistful of daisies. “If that works for you.”
“Thursday?” He’d been all prepared with excuses if she happened to bring it up. Work was jamming him up, they’d do it some other time.
But there she was, kneeling on the ground, with that damn hair curling all over the place and the sun hitting it. Those blue eyes, that cool Yankee voice.
“Sure, Thursday’s good. You want me to pick you up here or at the house?”
“Here, if that’s okay. What time works best for you?”
“Maybe around one. That way I can put the morning in.”
“That’ll be perfect.” She rose, brushed off her gloves and set them neatly on the cart. “Just let me put together a price for these planters, make you up an order form. If she decides against them, just bring them back.”
“She won’t. Go ahead and do the paperwork.” He dug a many folded note out of his pocket. “On these and the materials I’ve got down here. I’ll load up.”
“Good. Fine.” She started inside. The itch had moved from her shoulder blades to just under her belly button.
It wasn’t a date, it wasn’t a date, she reminded herself. It wasn’t even an outing, really. It was a gesture. A goodwill gesture on both sides.
And now, she thought as she walked into her office, they were both stuck with it.
Nine
“I DON’T KNOW HOW IT GOT TO BE THURSDAY.”
“It has something to do with Thor, the Norse god.” Hayley hunched her shoulders sheepishly. “I know a lot of stupid things. I don’t know why.”
“I wasn’t looking for the origin of the word, more how it got here so fast. Thor?” Stella repeated, turning from the mirror in the employee bathroom.
“Pretty sure.”
“I’ll just take your word on that one. Okay.” She spread out her arms. “How do I look?”
“You look really nice.”
“Too nice? You know, too formal or prepared?”
“No, just right nice.” The fact was, she envied the way Stella looked in simple gray pants and black sweater. Sort of tailored, and curvy under it. When she wasn’t pregnant, she herself tended to be on the bony side and flat-chested.
“The sweater makes you look really built,” she added.
“Oh, God!” Horrified, Stella crossed her arms, pressing them against her breasts. “Too built? Like, hey, look at my boobs?”
“No.” Laughing, Hayley tugged Stella’s arms down. “Cut it out. You’ve got really excellent boobs.”
“I’m nervous. It’s ridiculous, but I’m nervous. I hate being nervous, which is why I hardly ever am.” She tugged at the sleeve of her sweater, brushed at it. “Why do something you hate?”
“It’s just a casual afternoon outing.” Hayley avoided the D word. They’d been over that. “Just go and have fun.”
“Right. Of course. Stupid.” She shook herself off before walking out of the room. “You’ve got my cell number.”
“Everybody has your cell number, Stella.” She cast a look at Ruby, who answered it with chuckle. “I think the mayor probably has it on speed dial.”
“If there are any problems at all, don’t hesitate to use it. And if you’re not sure about anything, and can’t find Roz or Harper, just call me.”
“Yes, Mama. And don’t worry, the keg’s not coming until three.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Did I say keg? Peg’s what I meant. Yeah, I meant Peg.”
“Ha ha.”
“And the male strippers aren’t a definite.” She got a hoot of laughter out of Ruby at that and grinned madly. “So you can chill.”
“I don’t think chilling’s on today’s schedule.”
“Can I ask how long it’s been since you’ve been on a date—I mean, an outing?”
“Not that long. A few months.” When Hayley rolled her eyes, Stella rolled hers right back. “I was busy. There was a lot to do with selling the house, packing up, arranging for storage, researching schools and pediatricians down here. I didn’t have time.”
“And didn’t have anyone who made you want to make time. You’re making it today.”
“It’s not like that. Why is he late?” she demanded, glancing at her watch. “I knew he’d be late. He has ‘I’m chronically late for mostly everything’ written all over him.”
When a customer came in, Hayley patted Stella’s shoulder. “That’s my cue. Have a good time. May I help you?” she asked, strolling over to the customer.
Stella waited another couple of minutes, assuring herself that Hayley had the new customer in hand. Ruby rang up two more. Work was being done where work needed to be done, and she had nothing to do but wait.
Deciding to do her waiting outside, she grabbed her jacket.
Her planters looked good, and she figured her display of them was directly responsible for the flats of pansies they’d moved in the past few days. That being the case, they could add a few more planters, do a couple of half whiskey barrels, add some hanging pots.
Scribbling, she wandered around, picking out the best spots to place displays, to add other touches that would inspire customers to buy.
When Logan pulled up at quarter after one, she was sitting on the steps, listing the proposed displays and arrangements and dividing up the labor of creating them.
She got up even as he climbed out of the truck. “I got hung up.”
“No problem. I kept busy.”
“You okay riding in the truck?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” She got in, and as she buckled her seat belt, studied the forest of notes and reminders, sketches and math calculations stuck to his dashboard.
“Your filing system?”
“Most of it.” He turned on the CD player, and Elvis rocked out with “Heartbreak Hotel.” “Seems only right.”
“Are you a big fan?”
“You’ve got to respect the King.”
“How many times have you been to Graceland?”
“Couldn’t say. People come in from out of town, they want to see it. You visit Memphis, you want Graceland, Beale Street, ribs, the Peabody’s duck walk.”
Maybe she could chill, Stella decided. They were just talking, after all. Like normal people. “Then this is the first tic on my list.”
He looked over at her. Though his eyes were shielded by the black lenses, she knew, from the angle of his head, that they were narrowed with speculation. “You’ve been here, what, around a month, and you haven’t gone for ribs?”
“No. Will I be arrested?”
“You a vegetarian?”
“No, and I
like ribs.”
“Honey, you haven’t had ribs yet if you haven’t had Memphis ribs. Don’t your parents live down here? I thought I’d met them once.”
“My father and his wife, yeah. Will and Jolene Dooley.”
“And no ribs?”
“I guess not. Will they be arrested?”
“They might, if it gets out. But I’ll give you, and them, a break and keep quiet about it for the time being.”
“Guess we’ll owe you.”
“Heartbreak Hotel” moved into “Shake, Rattle, and Roll.” This was her father’s music, she thought. It was odd, and kind of sweet, to be driving along, tapping her foot, on the way to Memphis listening to the music her father had listened to as a teenager.
“What you do is you take the kids to the Reunion for ribs,” Logan told her. “You can walk over to Beale from there, take in the show. But before you eat, you go by the Peabody so they can see the ducks. Kids gotta see the ducks.”
“My father’s taken them.”
“That might keep him out of the slammer.”
“Whew.” It was easier than she’d thought it would be, and she felt foolish knowing she’d prepared several avenues for small talk. “Except for the time you moved north, you’ve always lived in the Memphis area?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s strange for me, knowing I was born here, but having no real memory of it. I like it here, and I like to think—overlooking the lack of ribs to date—that there’s a connection for me here. Of course, I haven’t been through a summer yet—that I can remember—but I like it. I love working for Roz.”
“She’s a jewel.”
Because she heard the affection in his tone, she shifted toward him a bit. “She thinks the same of you. In fact, initially, I thought the two of you were ...”
His grin spread. “No kidding?”
“She’s beautiful and clever, and you’ve got a lot in common. You’ve got a history.”
“All true. Probably the history makes anything like that weird. But thanks.”
“I admire her so much. I like her, too, but I have such admiration for everything she’s accomplished. Singlehandedly. Raising her family, maintaining her home, building a business from the ground up. And all the while doing it her own way, calling her own shots.”