already planning it in my
head, without even seeing the setup, when I started work on number twenty-one.
It was looking good. Three days
of hard work had left the front of the house with a more respectable exterior,
and I was pleased with my effort. All that remained were the finishing touches.
I’d taken my planner along and was busy making a list of the plants needed to
fill in the spaces left by the removal of dead ones, and a few annuals to add
splashes of colour, when Cora emerged for her morning run.
“Hi there.” I waved.
“Morning, Jonathan,” she said, as
she began to stretch.
Great. Just when I thought I’d
cracked that hard shell of hers, she was playing it cool. “The name’s Johnny.
Plain old Johnny. Not short for anything, so you don’t get to pull the polite
aloofness with me.”
She heard me but made no comment.
“It’s looking much better,” she said, her eyes pointedly avoiding mine as they
roamed from the driveway edge to the crab apple tree near the living room
window. “You’ve done a wonderful job. I’m very grateful.”
Yeah, so grateful you can’t even
look me at me. “It’s not finished yet, and you’ll be pleased to know, it’s time
for the best bit. We’re going to make this garden as pretty as you. Are you
free this afternoon? I’d like us to go plant shopping.”
“You don’t need me for that.”
“Actually, I do. I need to know
what you like.”
“You’re the expert. I’m sure I’ll
like whatever you choose.”
You’re not getting out of it that
easily, woman. I’d been thinking up ways to spend time with her, and there was
no way I was going to let her stub out one of my better ones. “I was taught to
consult the clients and work with their choices. I wouldn’t be doing my job
properly if I imposed my taste on you.”
“I really don’t mind.” She lifted
her arms behind her head, drawing out her triceps.
Damn. This was as hard as pulling
a stubborn root from the ground. “If you’re not free this afternoon, I’ll wait
until you are, but I insist we do it together.”
Her chest fell heavily. “Fine.
You win. But can we go straight after lunch and not take too long? I have a
hair appointment at three.”
I let out a breath of
satisfaction. “Twelve-thirty it is then. You have a date.”
Her head shot around with a
decidedly flustered expression, as she finally met my eye. “How did you know?”
My eyebrows shot up with
realisation. “I meant with me, buying plants. What did you mean? Do you have
another one I should know about?” My heart hammered in my chest, threatening to
explode out of my throat.
“I have a date, yes, not that you
need to know about it.”
“Humour me.”
She paused long enough for my
fists to clench with jealousy at the image forming in my head. “My friend,
Diane, has decided I need to meet her latest boyfriend’s work colleague. She
set me up without my agreement.”
“And you’re going? When? Tonight?”
She shrugged. “You were the one
who said I should be dating again.”
With me. With me. I wanted to
shout, but I swallowed the words. Stay cool, Johnny. “And I meant it. It was you
who insisted you weren’t ready.”
“Diane is very hard to say no
to,” she said, as she began jogging on the spot.
And I’m not? Jealousy seared up
my arms and into my chest. What if she hit it off with this random dickwad, and
I’d missed my chance? As far as I was concerned Cora belonged to me now, and it
killed me to think of another man putting the moves on my woman. “But …”
She ran down the driveway and
waved. “Twelve-thirty,” she shouted back. I stared after her, my whole body
tight with envy. Fuck.
I was still rattled when I
arrived home for lunch. Pappa was in the kitchen, polishing the silverware. He
had a whole bookcase full of trophies from local shows. His Largest Onion and Straightest
Cucumber were his favourites, and had pride of place in the centre spot, but it
was his Best Hanging
head, without even seeing the setup, when I started work on number twenty-one.
It was looking good. Three days
of hard work had left the front of the house with a more respectable exterior,
and I was pleased with my effort. All that remained were the finishing touches.
I’d taken my planner along and was busy making a list of the plants needed to
fill in the spaces left by the removal of dead ones, and a few annuals to add
splashes of colour, when Cora emerged for her morning run.
“Hi there.” I waved.
“Morning, Jonathan,” she said, as
she began to stretch.
Great. Just when I thought I’d
cracked that hard shell of hers, she was playing it cool. “The name’s Johnny.
Plain old Johnny. Not short for anything, so you don’t get to pull the polite
aloofness with me.”
She heard me but made no comment.
“It’s looking much better,” she said, her eyes pointedly avoiding mine as they
roamed from the driveway edge to the crab apple tree near the living room
window. “You’ve done a wonderful job. I’m very grateful.”
Yeah, so grateful you can’t even
look me at me. “It’s not finished yet, and you’ll be pleased to know, it’s time
for the best bit. We’re going to make this garden as pretty as you. Are you
free this afternoon? I’d like us to go plant shopping.”
“You don’t need me for that.”
“Actually, I do. I need to know
what you like.”
“You’re the expert. I’m sure I’ll
like whatever you choose.”
You’re not getting out of it that
easily, woman. I’d been thinking up ways to spend time with her, and there was
no way I was going to let her stub out one of my better ones. “I was taught to
consult the clients and work with their choices. I wouldn’t be doing my job
properly if I imposed my taste on you.”
“I really don’t mind.” She lifted
her arms behind her head, drawing out her triceps.
Damn. This was as hard as pulling
a stubborn root from the ground. “If you’re not free this afternoon, I’ll wait
until you are, but I insist we do it together.”
Her chest fell heavily. “Fine.
You win. But can we go straight after lunch and not take too long? I have a
hair appointment at three.”
I let out a breath of
satisfaction. “Twelve-thirty it is then. You have a date.”
Her head shot around with a
decidedly flustered expression, as she finally met my eye. “How did you know?”
My eyebrows shot up with
realisation. “I meant with me, buying plants. What did you mean? Do you have
another one I should know about?” My heart hammered in my chest, threatening to
explode out of my throat.
“I have a date, yes, not that you
need to know about it.”
“Humour me.”
She paused long enough for my
fists to clench with jealousy at the image forming in my head. “My friend,
Diane, has decided I need to meet her latest boyfriend’s work colleague. She
set me up without my agreement.”
“And you’re going? When? Tonight?”
She shrugged. “You were the one
who said I should be dating again.”
With me. With me. I wanted to
shout, but I swallowed the words. Stay cool, Johnny. “And I meant it. It was you
who insisted you weren’t ready.”
“Diane is very hard to say no
to,” she said, as she began jogging on the spot.
And I’m not? Jealousy seared up
my arms and into my chest. What if she hit it off with this random dickwad, and
I’d missed my chance? As far as I was concerned Cora belonged to me now, and it
killed me to think of another man putting the moves on my woman. “But …”
She ran down the driveway and
waved. “Twelve-thirty,” she shouted back. I stared after her, my whole body
tight with envy. Fuck.
I was still rattled when I
arrived home for lunch. Pappa was in the kitchen, polishing the silverware. He
had a whole bookcase full of trophies from local shows. His Largest Onion and Straightest
Cucumber were his favourites, and had pride of place in the centre spot, but it
was his Best Hanging
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