by Krista Davis
Wolf picked it up, glanced at it, and handed it to me. “See you tonight.”
I nodded. Though we’d planned to have dinner together at my house, after all this, it just seemed—odd.
Nina said good-bye and propelled me toward our cars. Daisy ran ahead of us and waited by my car to jump in.
“He’s coming to your place tonight?” whispered Nina.
“It was already planned. Just dinner.”
“I don’t know what to think.” Nina jiggled her keys nervously. “He could have done it. He’s too calm. Just to be on the safe side, I’m coming to dinner, too.”
“I appreciate your offer, and I love you to death for worrying, but maybe it would be a good time for me to feel him out. Do you know any of the details about Anne’s disappearance?”
“No one does. No one I know anyway.”
That was saying a lot. Nina had some impressive connections when it came to information.
She cocked her head at me. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Wolf has always been very kind. That’s probably why I feel so torn. The Wolf I know couldn’t have killed anyone, but that handbag…”
“If I weren’t married and you weren’t dating Wolf, I’d be dating him myself. I love the guy! There isn’t one other man who swings by the shelter every single week to donate food for the animals. I never believed the idiotic rumors about him—but I can’t imagine anyone except Wolf burying that purse under the rose bush like that.”
CHAPTER TEN
Dear Sophie,
I plant a fabulous vegetable garden each summer. My mother-in-law keeps telling me to bury a fish under each tomato plant. I think she’s pulling my leg. Please tell me it’s a joke or some kind of kooky superstition.
—Dubious in Tomato, Arkansas
Dear Dubious,
Sorry to side with your mother-in-law, but this is a common practice. Dig a hole deep enough to bury the fish or fish head, and cover it with about one inch of soil. Plant the tomato over top of it. As the fish breaks down, nutrients are released that will feed your tomato plant.
—Sophie
“Soph, I’m not letting you be alone with Wolf.”
Logic and emotion were colliding within me. I hugged Nina. “Thanks for looking out for me. I’ll let you know what happens tonight.”
Thanks to heavy tourist traffic, I parked five blocks from my house. During the walk home, I decided a garage wasn’t such a bad idea after all. It would be a delicious luxury to be able to pull into my own garage and avoid the extra trek. I unlocked my front door, and Mochie strolled into the foyer. With typical cat composure, he yawned and stretched before circling my ankles to let me know he was glad I had returned. Normally, I would have ushered him into the kitchen, but today I couldn’t wait to see what had happened in my backyard.
Daisy and Mochie accompanied me to the sunroom overlooking the back of my property. All the shrubs, trees, flower beds, and grass on the left side were gone. All of it. I kicked myself mentally. It wasn’t as though I had never watched the show. Tear It Up was Troy’s thing. He’d lied to me. What a surprise. He’d promised to build on the right side and yet they had dug a trench for footings that extended all the way to my house on the left. I tried to comfort myself with the notion that my angle wasn’t the best, but if that became the slab for the garage, I could park four Hummers in it.
A noisy truck was pouring concrete, and Natasha appeared to be shouting instructions to everyone. She waved her arms wildly at the driver of the concrete truck, but from my vantage point, I could see that he was watching the hand signals of a very calm man who was part of the crew.
I returned to the kitchen, fed Mochie leftover chicken breast, and gave Daisy a dog cookie. Troy knocked on the kitchen door.
“Could you come out a minute?” I followed him to the backyard.
“What do you think?”
This time I was painfully aware of a camera filming us. I tried to keep my cool. “It’s much larger than I expected. You do realize that I don’t own four cars?”
He laughed. “Not to worry. It will be wonderful. Trust me.”
I knew better than to trust anyone who could turn on the charm like Troy. “Didn’t you say it would be on the right?”
“Sorry, last-minute change.”
Last-minute? I didn’t think so. I was willing to bet the plans he submitted to the town showed everything on the left. Did they lie on purpose to get a rise out of the homeowners?
“Sophie! You’re not supposed to be out here.” Natasha barreled up behind me holding a clipboard. “Oh! You’re on camera.” Whispering, she said, “Isn’t this the most fun? I know what you’re going to say, but you don’t have to thank me. Getting to work with Troy is like a dream come true.”
She smiled at the camera, stood at an angle, and lifted her chin. “Honestly, Troy, I don’t know how you manage to get anything done with that crew of yours. They were all just standing around, so I put them to work raking what’s left of the grass.”
Troy barely missed a beat, but I thought I saw one second of shock. “I’m sure they were waiting for more concrete to be poured.” He grinned. “We, um, need to pick up some things this afternoon.”
Natasha straightened her top. “Will the cameras be coming with us?”
Troy smacked his forehead. “How stupid of me. We’ll need someone to stay here and accept deliveries.”
“I could do that.” Natasha waved the clipboard.
“I don’t know,” said Troy. “It really ought to be someone strong enough to stand up to the delivery guys. You’re so pretty that they might give you a hard time.”
“No! I can do it. I’m very firm with my employees, right, Sophie? No one messes with me.”
Troy was slick. He knew exactly how to get her off his back. I watched with amusement as he reluctantly agreed to leave her behind. Natasha promptly ran toward Troy’s crew to tell them of her new and oh-so-important role.
“Thanks,” I muttered sarcastically.
He dragged his fingers over his face, pulling his features so he appeared demented. “I have spent the entire day with that woman telling me what to do. I deserve a break. Besides, there’s not a thing anyone can do until the concrete sets up. At this point, I would pay to get away from her.”
I chuckled at his mock desperation.
“I do feel a little bit guilty for sticking you with her, though.”
That was nice. If he hadn’t lied to me and torn up my backyard, I would have thought he was a good guy. He gave me a little two-fingered salute and strode away, waving his hands over his head at his crew.
In fairly short order, the concrete truck departed, leaving my world blissfully quiet. With Natasha hovering over them, Troy’s crew finished smoothing the concrete, packed up their belongings, and headed out.
I had to assume that Natasha was worn out. She eased wearily into a lawn chair, took off her shoes, and slouched with her eyes closed. Her hands fell to her sides. I had never seen her in such an unladylike position before. When I looked out the window a few hours later, she had left.
At precisely seven o’clock, Wolf rapped on the door to my kitchen and opened it. “Think it’s cool enough to eat outside?”
“Have you seen the mess back there? They poured concrete earlier today. I think we could cook on the grill, though. They didn’t tear up the patio.”
“Sounds good to me.” He was dressed to relax in navy shorts, a red polo shirt, and flip-flops. “Feel like a margarita? After the day I’ve had…”
“Yes, please!” I sliced sweet, juicy pineapple chunks to thread on skewers with onions, red pepper, and pork seasoned with sea salt, pepper, and rosemary. Rice cooked on the stove, along with spicy black beans.
Icy margaritas in hand, we ventured outside. The table, chairs, and closed grill needed serious dusting before we could use them. That chore behind us, I put the shish kebabs on the grill and joined Wolf at the table, exhausted from the events of
the day. Wolf and I stared at each other for a few minutes in silence. I couldn’t imagine how he must feel.
“I didn’t expect quite this much concrete in your backyard.”
“Me, either. How much do you think it will cost to rip it all out?”
He licked a bit of salt from the rim of his glass. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. What’s the deal? Will they undo it if you hate it?”
“I don’t think so. I could clobber Natasha for starting this nonsense. I thought I’d have two weeks of leisure. Now I’ll be getting up before the crack of dawn for construction.”
“I’ll be glad when you can park safely inside your own yard, though. It always worried me when you had to walk for blocks in the dark after work.”
I gazed at the expanse of concrete. I hoped the garage would prove to be worth it after all.
When the meat had finished cooking, we sat down to eat. I pondered how I could gently broach the subject of his wife. Other than talking about vegetables and concrete, though, I couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t upset him. I was itching to ask questions about Mona, but I guessed she might be a giant thorn in his side. I was also dying to know what happened after I left. Had they really roped off the back of his yard?
I returned to the subject of my own yard; surely that was innocuous enough. Maybe I could work my way over to his marriage. “Think I made a mistake letting Troy tear it all up?”
“The homeowners on his show generally act appalled in the beginning, but it turns out well in the end.”
“I wonder how much they cut. Those homeowners might not be as happy as the show indicates.” I couldn’t stand the pretense any more. “Wolf, I’m so sorry that I dug up Anne’s handbag. I…” I wavered. I couldn’t say what I wanted—that I never meant to bring him harm.
Wolf stopped eating. “Can we not talk about that? I spent most of the day reliving the biggest nightmare of my life. For just a few hours, I’d like to think about something else.”
I could understand that. It had been thoughtless of me to expect him to dwell on his problems. I wanted to know more, and I believed I deserved to know. After all, I’d been accepting of his simple explanation up to this point. But if we were going to continue dating, I had a right to be in the loop. I just had to wait a little bit longer before I pressed him.
“I’m sorry.” Wolf sat back in his chair. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come tonight.”
“It’s fine. This has been a horrible day for you. Let’s just focus on something else.”
“I never thanked you for the rosebush.”
“I hope we’ll get to plant it soon. Did you water it?”
“No. Maybe Kenner will do it tomorrow if I tell him the request came from you.”
I laughed, relieved the tension had been broken. “I’d like to see that!” I couldn’t imagine dour Kenner immersing his hands in soil or caring about a plant.
“When Anne planted roses, she watered them with diluted beer.” Wolf sipped his iced tea and smiled at the memory. “I used to tease her about it, but it worked.”
“I’ve heard of planting fish under tomato plants, but beer is a new idea to me.”
“Something to do with the yeast. She had a lot of old-timey tricks when it came to gardening. It was her passion. She had a thing for ladybugs. She was always releasing ladybugs and praying mantises in our yard. They eat bugs or something.”
He was speaking of her in past tense. Still, I didn’t dare launch into questions. It wasn’t easy for me to wait and hope he would talk about her disappearance.
He didn’t seem to notice me. “We were married in the azalea garden at George Washington’s River Farm. You know how women are about their weddings. I thought Mona would blow a gasket. She hated the idea of an outdoor ceremony, but the azaleas were in full bloom. It was unforgettable. Anne knew her plants.”
The pain in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.
“I could use some mustard.” Wolf rose and walked toward my house, while I studied our meal, noting that nothing required mustard.
He stopped, his head bowed, and turned to face me. I could see his discomfort. “I don’t want to be dishonest with you, Sophie. The worst thing is not knowing. It would be terrible if Anne were dead, but at least there would be a resolution. I look for her in every crowd, in every picture, on the news, and on Facebook. Until she turns up somewhere, or I die, I’ll be looking for her.”
He turned again and rounded the corner, headed in the direction of my kitchen. Maybe it would be good for him to have a few minutes alone. I certainly needed a minute to digest what he’d said.
For the very first time, I understood that there were three people in our relationship. Anne would always be there, unless he discovered what had happened to her and could move on. As hard as that was to hear, I appreciated his honesty. Wouldn’t I have felt the same way if Mars had disappeared?
Something scratched against the fence. Daisy whined, and whatever it was rustled in the dying light of day.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dear Sophie,
I’ve nearly given up on gardening. I love geraniums and impatiens, but every summer when they’re at their peak, a water shortage is announced, and we can’t water our plants. I fear it’s hopeless. Do you have any ideas?
—Withering in Dry Branch, South Carolina
Dear Withering,
We throw out a lot of clean water every day. Keep a bucket or a couple of gallon jugs in the kitchen. Fill them with water from the kettle, water in which you’ve cooked vegetables or eggs, the dog’s water bowl, and other “clean” water, instead of dumping it down the drain. Use that water on your plants! It’s recycling and green living at its best.
—Sophie
Daisy dashed toward the noise, running straight through the wet concrete. I heard a grunt on the other side of the fence as Daisy placed her front paws against the weathered wood.
“Francie?” I hissed.
Moving quietly, I skirted the wet concrete by balancing on the wood frame at the end closest to my house. Hopping off, I joined Daisy on the other side. I stepped on the old stump to peer into Francie’s yard. Her outdoor dining table had been set with hurricane lanterns. Open cartons of Chinese food were scattered about the table, and precisely on the other side of the fence from me, I could see Mars sheepishly rising from the grass and dusting himself off. In the growing darkness, I could make out Nina and Francie.
“Please tell me that you haven’t been eavesdropping.”
“Perish the thought!” said Francie.
“We’re just having dinner,” added Nina. “We would have invited you, but we knew you had other plans.”
Mars must have stepped onto a bench on Francie’s side of the fence, because I was suddenly face-to-face with him.
“Just know that you’re not alone,” he whispered. “Are you devastated?”
“By your nosiness?” I whispered back.
“Because he’s still in love with his wife.”
The notion caught me by surprise. It wasn’t as though I hadn’t known about Anne and accepted that he had loved her. But I never considered that Wolf might still be in love with her. Such a tiny difference in semantics, but in reality, the implications were mind-boggling. Wolf could never truly love me as long as he was still in love with Anne. Would he ever be able to be in love with anyone else? Would I always be second best?
I teetered off the stump and fell backward into the wet cement. Groaning, I tried to sit up without using my hands so I wouldn’t damage more of the slick concrete but Daisy immediately jumped onto the concrete, knocking me back. Her nose went down and her rump went up—universal doggy language for “Let’s play!” She barked happily.
“Soph!”
I twisted around to see Wolf running toward me.
“Are you okay?” He skirted the concrete exactly as I had, stood on the narrow strip of grass in front of me, and held out his hands.
I stood up with his help, the wet con
crete weighing me down. Fortunately, Wolf began laughing. I couldn’t help myself, I slid my finger over a gob of concrete and wiped it on his nose. We laughed hysterically, no doubt releasing tension and stress. Tears ran down my cheeks.
When I let go of him, Wolf said, “Hey, Mars! Get over here, and help me smooth out this cement.”
“How did you know?” I whispered.
Wolf kissed me, sweet and light and a little bit grainy from the concrete. “You’re totally oblivious about the men around you. Your discovery of Anne’s purse buried in my backyard triggered all the old suspicions. I knew your friends wouldn’t leave you alone with me.”
Of course, I wasn’t as unaware as he thought. But I’d done my level best to put a damper on the situation with Mars. I honestly didn’t think anyone else had noticed, except perhaps Nina.
The spotlights on my house turned on, illuminating the mess Daisy and I had made. Wolf grimaced. “You’d better hose that stuff off Daisy before it sets on her. Or on you.”
Mars, Nina, and Francie charged around the corner of my house. When their laughter subsided, Mars and Wolf found tools left by Troy’s crew and started smoothing the impressions we had made in the concrete.
Nina and Francie were all too happy to spray down Daisy and me with the garden hose. It reminded me of being a kid and playing in the yard. After the brutally hot weather we’d had, the cold water actually felt good. Daisy shook herself damp, but I dashed to the house and changed into a dry T-shirt and shorts.
When I returned to my yard, Mars and Wolf had finished smoothing out the concrete. As soon as they saw me, a cheer went up.
“Finally!” said Francie. “She’s here! Hit it.”