Hearts In Bloom

Her chin jutted forward at the observation.

“I’m stronger than I look right now,” she insisted, “but I always manage to find some willing hands for the heavy stuff. A service details the lawn, but it’s all under my direction. I’ve intentionally put in lots of perennials, and the rock garden takes care of itself.”

“Sugar, don’t you dare downplay the miracles you’ve done with this place.” Valentine stepped close and looped her arm through Jessica’s, linking spotless linen with grimy fleece.

“Why, you should have seen it before she took over a few years back. The hedges were full of bag-worms and there wasn’t a flower in sight. What you see now is this sweet child’s magic touch.”

Lush green fescue grounds were studded with terra-cotta containers filled with myriad colorful springtime blossoms. With a soft sound, dripping water fell from a Japanese-style bamboo fountain into a small shallow pond. Freestanding island beds gave the illusion of space even in the angular corner of the property. She’d carved out kaleidoscopes edged in rough stone and large boulders.

Nodding his approval, Drew appreciated the extraordinary breadth of knowledge along with the eye for design and balance it must have taken to produce such an inviting place.

“My mother would have been jealous,” he said. “She didn’t have the touch herself and could never find hired help capable of producing anything quite like this.”

Jessica bristled at the compliment. He wondered for the millionth time in his life why it was so hard to find the right thing to say to a woman.

“Thank you,” Jessica muttered. “I think.”

Drew admired the creeping ivy on the rock wall, pretending to miss the annoyance in her voice. He turned to face her, smiling once again, and extended his hand.

“It was nice meeting you.”

“My pleasure. And welcome to Sacred Arms,” Jessica replied without warmth. She looked as if she hoped his credit was bad.

“I’m so glad we ran into you, dahhhlin’,” Valentine interjected. “You’re getting around beautifully. It’s obvious that your little physical therapist is doing you a world of good.”

Before Jessica could respond, a yapping ball of white hair came racing down the incline, a bright blue leash flying behind it like a superhero’s cape. Suddenly the animal sat back on his haunches and threw out all fours as it slammed to a halt against Drew’s ankles.

He bent to give full attention to the pup as it quickly recovered, eagerly pawing dirty front feet at recently laundered khakis.

“Hey, buddy, you live around here?” With one hand Drew ruffled short ears covered with long silky hair. With the other he casually but firmly removed the dog’s paws from his knees. Too late. The damage was already done. Signs of the animal’s afternoon frolic in the spring grass would be on those slacks through numerous launderings.

Jessica half hid a smile behind her hand.

“Oh, I’m sorry. He’s mine. Frasier, heel.” She spoke the command and pointed to the ground by her left foot. The dog stopped his happy sniffing only long enough to give her a curious glance. Again she snapped her fingers and pointed.

“Frasier! Heel!”

Even though the dog showed no inclination to follow instructions, Drew released the pup’s paws so he could obey. Frasier made several quick and surprisingly high jumps, leaving even more stains on the front of Drew’s starched khakis.

“Frasier, heel.” The male voice was low and calm, but left no doubt who was in control. The little dog responded immediately, made a quick turn and stood at attention by Drew’s left heel. “Good boy.” The two beamed approval at one another as if they’d practiced the trick a hundred times.

“It figures,” Jessica said, annoyed. “I’ve been working with him for weeks and all he does is run around me in circles. But for a complete stranger, the little traitor behaves like he’s just come from the kennel club.”

Valentine spoke up. “That little cutie is Jessica’s new physical therapist. She’s moving around so much better since he came to live with her.”

“You mean since he showed up on my doorstep and refused to leave, don’t you?”

Her tone implied aggravation, but the look she gave the hairy pup said otherwise.

She gestured toward Drew’s slacks. “I’m really sorry about your pants,” she said, struggling to contain a smirk.

“I’m an old pro in the laundry room.” He shrugged and brushed at the marks.

“I never mastered that area myself,” she admitted.

Drew bent toward the waiting dog, collected the blue leash, handed it to her with a smile and said, “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

Jessica climbed the hill slowly, but faster than she had a month ago. Frasier really had helped. His constant demands for attention had forced her out of survivor guilt mode, off the couch and back into the sunshine. Back to the gardens, where she couldn’t resist the call of crabgrass. It was like a siren, tempting her to bend, reach, pull and then to find a way to gather up the mess and haul it away.

Like most able-bodied people, she’d taken the ability to perform those simple tasks for granted. Not anymore. Valentine said Jessica was blessed, but if that meant losing your career and killing a man in the process, God could keep His blessings.

As Frasier tugged at the leash, urging her on, she turned her face upward, enjoying the sun on her cheeks. The warmth suddenly deepened as she realized Rambo could still be watching. Just as quickly, she shrugged off the thought. Why would a handsome guy give her a second glance? And even if he did, the view from where he stood was certainly not much to see.

She snorted laughter at her own cruel joke. There was plenty to see. In this red sweat suit she must resemble the broad side of a barn.

Drew couldn’t resist watching as she trudged slowly up the incline. Red had always been his favorite color. Even filthy, it was perfect with her fair complexion and those challenging eyes.

“That precious girl has been through a lot in the past few months. But she’s a fighter.”

He turned his attention to the older woman. “I noticed.”

“Shall we get on up to the models? I know you’re anxious to see our homes.”

“I’d like that. And thank you for showing me the gardens. Everything I heard is true—they are magnificent.”

Taking the lead, Valentine sashayed up the long stone path, putting one small, fashionable pump in front of the other.

“Well, they’re a real source of pride. The landscaping is a special touch we think adds so much to the beauty of the property. We considered replacing the vegetable beds with a basketball goal.”

She waved her hand in that direction and sunlight danced off the many diamonds on her fingers and wrist. “But most of our residents objected. They enjoy the option to hoe a row of their own if they like, and Jess keeps the older folks up to their elbows in tomatoes and summer squash. Why, that girl can fling cantaloupe guts into her compost heap and accidentally grow melon better than anything that was planted on purpose.”

She tilted her platinum head back and smiled up at him in a beguiling way. “You’ll see.”

They reached the formal terrace and took a path lined with yellow-leaved hostas.

“Let me show you the three-bedroom model, Drew, honey. I’m certain this is exactly what you’re looking for,” Valentine said as she fitted the key into the lock. She swung the door wide and stepped aside.

He fell for the high ceilings, red oak floors, stark white walls and old-fashioned louvered windows in less time than it took to rotate a set of tires.

“Would you mind if we went to your office now?”

“Drew, dahhhlin’, we can do whatever you like,” she murmured agreeably.

She led him toward the end of the common hallway. Valentine stepped carefully around a bag of potting soil that had tipped over and spilled out onto the otherwise spotless floor. She appeared not even to notice, much less mind.

A door stood wide open and pop music, mingled with excited yapping, flowed from inside. He felt like a snoop for peering in as they passed, but he was naturally curious about his new neighbors.

Where the empty unit he’d just seen had appealed to him in its monochromatic, uncluttered state, this one couldn’t have been more different, more colorful or more alive with…stuff.