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Harper spaded the dirt at the base of the clematis that wound its way up the iron trellis It was quiet on this edge of the garden The shrubs and ornaht of as the guest house fro up, with all that bright yellow against the spring green Tulips would be cos about this leading edge of spring, so he&039;d planted a bed of bulbs right outside the kitchen door of his place
It was a s to every fe "Dollhouse" was the usual terht of it e with its ashed cedar shakes and pitched roof It was comfortable, inside and out, and more than adequate for his needs
There was a sreenhouse only a few feet out the back door, and that was his personal doh from the house to be private, so he didn&039;t have to feel weird having overnight guests of the feh that he could be at the main house in minutes if his mother needed hi alone, even with David on hand And thank God for David It didn&039;t est person he knew He just didn&039;t like the idea of hisold house alone, day after day, night after night
Though he certainly preferred that to having her stuck in it with that asshole she&039;d married Words couldn&039;t describe how he despised Bryce Clerk He supposed having his uy proved she wasn&039;t infallible, but it had been a hell of a h she&039;d given him the boot, swiftly and withoutcut off - from Roz, the house, the money, the whole ball
And damned if he hadn&039;t tried to break in once, the week before the divorce was final Harper didn&039;t doubt his mother could&039;ve handled it, but it hadn&039;t hurt to be at hand
And having a part in kicking the greedy, cheating, lying bastard out on his ass couldn&039;t be overstated
But h time had passed now And she sure as hell wasn&039;t alone in the house these days Tomen, two kids made for a lot of company Between them and the business, she was busier than ever
Maybe he should think about getting a place of his own
Trouble was, he couldn&039;t think of a good reason He loved this place, in a way he&039;d never loved a woratitude
The gardens were hoe Most days he could walk out his front door, take a good, healthy hike, and be at work
God knew he didn&039;t want to move to the city All that noise, all those people Me up with friends But he&039;d suffocate there inside a month
He sure as hell didn&039;t want suburbia What he wanted was right where he was A nice little house, extensive gardens, a greenhouse and a short hop to work
He sat back on his heels, adjusted the ball cap he wore to keep the hair out of his eyes Spring was co at home The way it smelled, the way it looked, even the way it sounded
The light was soft noith approaching evening When the sun went down, the air would chill, but it wouldn&039;t have that bite of winter
When he was done planting here, he&039;d go in and get himself a beer And he&039;d sit out in the dark and the cool, and enjoy the solitude
He took a bold yellow pansy out of the cell pack and began to plant
He didn&039;t hear her walk up Such was his focus that he didn&039;t notice her shadow fall over hi out of his skin
"Sorry" With a laugh, Hayley rubbed a hand over her belly "Guess you were a ers felt fat and cluish She stood with the setting sun at her back, so when he squinted up at her, her head was haloed, her face shadowed
"I was just walking around Heard your music" She nodded toward the open here REM spilled out "I saw them in concert once Excellent Pansies? They&039;re a hot iteht now"
"Well, they like the cool"
"I kno coot this vine thing happening"
"Clematis Likes its roots shaded So youyou know, put annuals over them"
"Oh" She squatted down for a closer look "What color is the clematis?"
"It&039;s purple" He wasn&039;t sure pregnant wos in there? "Ah, you want a chair or so?"
"No, I&039;m set I like your house"
"Yeah, me too"
"It&039;s sort of storybook here, with all the gardens IBut it&039;s a little intirateful"
"No, I get you" It helped to keep planting She didn&039;t s "It&039;s a great place, and you couldn&039;t get my mother out of it with dynamite and wild mules But it&039;s a lot of house"
"Tookto whisper Can I plant one?"
"You don&039;t have any gloves I can get - "
"Hell, I don&039;t mind a little dirt under ood luck for a pregnant wouess"
He didn&039;t want to think about fertility There was so about it "Go ahead"
"Thanks I wanted to say " And it was easier with her hands busy "Well, just that I kno iton your e of her I don&039;t want you to think I&039;d try to do that"
"I&039;ve only known one person to "
"The second husband" She nodded as she patted the dirt around her plant "I asked David about hi stupid He said how he&039;d stuck his hand in the till, and cheated on her with another woot wind of it, she booted him out so hard and fast he didn&039;t land till he was halfway to Meotta admire that, because you know even with a s Plus, it&039;s just e when somebody - oops"
She pressed a hand to her side, and had the blood draining out of Harper&039;s face
"What? What?"
"Nothing Baby&039;s ives me a jolt is all"
"You should stand up You should sit down"
"Let me just finish this one Back houred I&039;d got myself in trouble and the boy wouldn&039;t stand up for me I mean, Jesus, are we in the twenty-first century or what? Anyway, that uess that&039;s partly why I left It&039;s hard being embarrassed all the damn time There" She patted the dirt "They look really pretty"
He popped up to help her to her feet "You want to sit for a minute? Want me to walk you back?"
She patted her belly "This makes you nervous"
"Looks like"
"Me too But I&039;et the rest of those planted before it gets dark" She looked down at the flowers again, at the house, at the gardens surrounding it, and those long, lake-colored eyes see
Then they zeroed in on his face and o dry
"I really like your place See you at work"
He stood, rooted, as she walked off, gliding along the path, around the curve of it, into the twilight
He was exhausted, he realized Like he&039;d run some sort of crazed race He&039;d just have that beer now, settle himself down Then he&039;d finish with the pansies
With the kids outside taking Parker for his after-dinner walk, Stella cleaned up thecould make in the kitchen over a pepperoni pizza
"Next pizza night, I buy," Hayley said as she loaded glasses into the dishwasher
"That&039;s a deal" Stella glanced over "When I was carrying Luke, all I wanted was Italian Pizza, spaghetti,&039;That&039;s Amore&039;"
"I don&039;t have any specific cravings I&039;ll just eat anything" In the wash of the outside floodlights, she could see boys and dog racing "The baby&039;s ht?"
"Sure Gavin just sort of snuggled and snoozed I&039;d have to poke hiyhts?"
"Sometimes, but I don&039;t mind It feels like we&039;re the only two people in the world Just me and him - or her"
"I know just what you mean But Hayley, if you&039;re awake, worried or just not feeling well, whatever, you can cohtness in her throat loosened instantly "Really? You mean it?"
"Sure Sometimes it helps to talk to somebody who&039;s been there and done that"
"I&039;m not on my own," she said quietly, with her eyes on the boys outside the"Not like I thought I&039;d be Was ready to be - I think" When those eyes filled, she blinked the can help, too" Stella rubbed Hayley&039;s shoulders "And I want you to tell o with you to your doctor&039;s appoint looks good Right on schedule And that I should sign up for the classes, you know? Childbirth classes But they like you to have a partner"
"Pick , Hayley turned "Really? You&039;re sure? It&039;s a lot to ask"
"I would love it It&039;s al another one of my own"
"Would you? If"
"Yes Tas the plan, but as soon as Luke was born, I thought, how can I not do this again - and wouldn&039;t it be fun to try for a girl? But another boy would be great" She leaned forward on the counter, looked out the"They&039;re terrific, aren&039;t they? My boys"
"They are"
"Kevin was so proud, so in love with them I think he&039;d have had half a dozen"
Hayley heard the change in tone, and this time, she rubbed a hand on Stella&039;s shoulder "Does it hurt to talk about hi while" She picked up the dishrag to wipe the counter
"But now it&039;s good to reht to call those boys in"
But she turned at the sound of heels clicking on wood When Roz breezed in, Stella&039;s mouth dropped open
She recalled her first impression of Rosalind Harper had been of beauty, but this was the first time she&039;d seen Roz exploit her natural attributes
She wore a sleek, forlow It, along with ice-pick-heeled sandals, showed off lean, toned legs A necklace of delicate filigree with a teardrop of citrine lay over her breasts
"David?" Roz scanned the roo to erated breath "Just let rinned, did a little half turn "I ht the shoes They&039;re going to killmyself out to one of these charity deals, I like to make a statement"
"If the statement&039;s &039;I&039;m totally hot,&039;" Hayley put in, "you hit it dead on"
"That was the target"
"You look absolutely a to wish he was taking you hoh, Roz shook her head "It&039;s great having wo David He&039;ll priive his ass a kick"