“You’re hardly old.” She laughed, stepping into the foyer. “You make it sound like you’re sitting in a rocker with a blanket over your hips waiting for company.”
He laughed. “That will be me eventually, girl, if I’m blessed. You look good. The work must suit you.”
“Suits me right down to my shoes, Uncle Phillip.”
Phillip covered his heart with his hand. “Oh, that does my heart good. What can I do for you?”
She shrugged. “I got out of work with some daylight left. I was hoping Auntie Rose was home.” Actually, she knew she didn’t tell the complete truth. She knew Brad had left the office early and hoped she’d catch him here, outside the work environment.
“She’s in her room.” He gestured toward the door to her parlor. “Go on in. She’ll be happy for the company.”
Valerie crossed the tiled floor, following the compass arrow telling her to head northwest. She noticed Rosaline had changed the flowers in the large vase that sat on the table in the middle of the room. Gone were the flowers from a few weeks ago, and in their place were some stunning pink orchids. She paused and touched the bloom of one of them, feeling her breath catch in her throat.
“Aren’t they amazing this season?” Rosaline said from the doorway of her parlor.
“I have no words. Wow!” She kept walking until she reached Rosaline and stopped to hug her. “When did you get into orchids?”
“Oh, maybe three, four years ago. One of the boys got me one for Christmas and the bug bit me.” She followed Valerie into the room. “I’ve started entering competitions now. It’s a whole new world that one.” She gestured at the couch. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’ll probably get some water in a few minutes.” She looked around the room then back at Rosaline. “I just didn’t feel like going home on such a pretty day. Maybe I’ll walk around outside for a bit.”
“I’d love to show you my greenhouse,” Rosaline said, immediately coming to her feet and crossing to the sliding door. “Would you like to see it?”
“Definitely.” She stepped out of the cool house and into the humid evening. Bright pink azaleas bloomed along the path. She knew in another few weeks, the heady smell of honeysuckle would fill the hot air. Now, though, she breathed in through her nose and only smelled freshly watered earth and cut grass. “I used to wish I could turn into a fairy and build a little fairy house right about there,” she said, pointing to the wide patch of a flowerbed at the foot of a magnolia tree. A hummingbird feeder hung from one of the branches.
“You could always move into your old house,” Rosaline said, grinning at her over her shoulder. “For now, it’s only ever used when my brother comes into town. I know you’d love it.”
Could she come back here? Would she feel safe here? Out of nowhere, she felt her throat start to close in on her and her hands tingled in panic. Would they find out how much damage Tyrone had done to her? Would they start looking at her differently if they understood the level of fear in which she existed every minute of every day?
Oh, but to be just a scream away from men who would protect her against any foe.
“We talked about it recently, remember? I’d rather live where I live than fight the traffic.”
“Phillip and the boys worked it out,” Rosaline said, stopping at the greenhouse. “It doesn’t have to be a stumbling block. The time is well used by them. I know Phillip and Brad use it to listen to Bible studies or their audio Bibles. Jon was telling me the other day about a book he’s listening to.”
Rosaline opened the greenhouse door. When Valerie stepped in, she immediately felt like she walked into a warm cloud. The smell of rich dirt and sweet flowers filled her nose. On a low table to her right, freshly planted seedling trays sat. She could see the dampness from a recent watering. On her left, a tall table filled with pots and buckets of bushes and flowering plants built a wall, keeping her from even seeing to the other side.
“Oh, Auntie Rose, it’s so beautiful in here!” She trailed her fingertip over a small tomato plant. “You must love coming out here.”
Rosaline smiled. “I’m very blessed to get to.”
They walked along the row, and Rosaline showed her plants, vegetable seedlings, and flowers. Along the back wall, a tiered shelf held pots of orchids. Valerie couldn’t believe the array of colors and sizes.
“You did get bitten by a bug, didn’t you?” She laughed.
“It’s crazy. I think Phillip might make me move in here.” She giggled and took a small pair of scissors off the shelf, using them to cut a dead flower from one of the plants. “But, he hasn’t yet.”
“He probably totally indulges you and buys you more plants.”
Rosaline winked. “And takes me to shows. But he’s starting not to enjoy that as much. I’m afraid the bug didn’t bite him as hard.” She paused as she set the scissors down. “Or at all.”
They discussed flowers for several more minutes. Finally, they started out of the greenhouse. “This is wonderful,” Valerie said, stopping while Rosaline secured the door.
“Thank you. I’m very pleased with it.” She gestured at the house. “Stay for dinner. I’m about to make some tortillas to go with the steak I have marinating.”
Should she? Her mouth watered at the tempting thought. “Sure. That’d be great.”
They went into the kitchen, and Valerie washed her hands while Rosaline went into the back room and returned with a tortilla press. “Remember how to do this?” she asked, plugging it in.
