I ran back into my place and went to the guestroom. Gilly and Christopher tried to do a hike—which made me laugh hard because Gilly didn’t do anything that made her sweat—but her onetime worn hiking boots were here. I grabbed them and a pair of my clean socks. She stood outside my door, frowning at her phone. She looked up when I came out, and the frown shifted. It was nice to see her smile at me.
“You found me boots! Oh, thank goodness. I was low-key freaking out worrying about fungus and broken glass. This is, like, my first time seeing a lake, and I couldn’t sleep last night because what if there are snakes? Or spiders? Or creepy-crawly bugs that go into my ears?”
I snorted. “Okay, for one, boots will prevent anything from getting your feet. So put these on and lace them up tight.”
“Okay, sure. Yes.” She nodded and took them from me. “Are these women’s boots?”
“Yes, they are my s—my ex’s. She wore them once.”
“Did you guilt her into volunteering, too, and then she left you?”
“Are you joking with me?”
“Perhaps.”
We shared a small smile before she bent down and started putting the socks and boots on. Her pink hair seemed brighter somehow. It was shorter than my own slop of hair, and I typically preferred long, dark hair on women. I liked how it looked and felt in my hands. But hers…I wondered if it was soft.
Which was weird.
I checked my phone to confirm if my buddy Steven was joining us when a ladybug landed on her shoulder. I reached over to grab it, but she must’ve sensed my hand because she smacked it with the reflexes of a ninja. “Uh, whoa.”
“Don’t kill it!” She stood, with one boot on, and got the ladybug onto the pad of her finger. “These are excellent for plants! Oh, Ollie was getting eaten alive. I’ll be right back.”
“Hm…now? Ollie?”
She didn’t respond. She went into her place, leaving her flats and the other boot on the ground, and for the tenth time, Nora Atwood left me with so many goddamn questions.
Chapter Six
“Puttingladybugs on plants helps them fight off their enemies.”
“The plants have enemies?” I asked as we were en route to Lake Brownstone. It was mainly country roads, and the crops still hadn’t taken off. My dad always mutteredknee-high by Julywhen we drove around together in the summer, and there was something majestic about the landscape here. It was all greens and browns with trees in the distance and so overwhelmingly large.
I sneaked a glance at Nora and found her staring out the window with an awed expression. “People don’t assume farm grounds are pretty, but—”
“No, they aregorgeous.I haven’t seen anything quite like this. Look at the colors! The large buildings. The hay bales! The cows! Are those all farms?”
“Silos. They store seed.”
It was totally inappropriate to think of driving around with Samantha, who complained how boring it was living surrounded by fields. She never would’ve said they were beautiful. I cleared my throat to rid myself of the unwanted intrusion. It just showed that falling in love was stupid. She had fooled me so damn much, played me, that my heart was off-limits. “I like the flat lands and how you can see it for acres.”
“Yes, I agree.” She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of her hands. “Back to my plants. Aphids, mealybugs, leafhoppers, and mites. They are a plant’s nemesis. They eat the leaves and damage the growth of the plant. Ladybugs feast on them. It is actually a sign of a very healthy garden when you have ladybugs there.”
“Uh, we don’t have a yard in our place, so when you say garden…you mean the patio?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes, like that was the simplest answer to ever grace the earth. “I have them organized by size and who needs the most sun. The sunflower is struggling. Oh! Did Gilly happen to give you a bag of hair? I swore I saw her car there the other night, but I didn’t stop by to check because I was watching a tutorial on the best ways to use the stove.”
Good gravy, she was weird. I shook my head. “Uh, nope.”
“Damn. Okay, I can find another way.”
“You going to explain the hair thing, or let me think you’re insane? It’s not normal to collect people’s hair. Just saying.”
“Hair is high in magnesium, Fritz. It is a great natural fertilizerandcan actually help break up clumpy soil. That’s why I started cutting my hair short. I’d use the clippings to help my plants grow.” She made a face and turned to look at me. “Did you think I just collected human hair?”
“Yes. You have some odd…hobbies,” I said the words carefully, wincing when she remained silent for a full beat.
“But I don’t collect hair.”
