I left before I regretted my decision.
Harper and Reina had been inspecting vintage cocktail shakers and glassware two stalls away, but somehow managed to overhear the conversation. I assumed running a bar had honed that particular skill.
“You better watch out before you adopt the girl,” Harper said.
I shrugged. “Not likely, so don’t worry about me.”
“Good.” Reina linked arms with me. “Let’s go rein in Ange while my wife pays for our purchases. Last we saw her, she was checking out gardening equipment. A lot of it.”
We found Ange steering an ancient wheelbarrow in a circle. Spades and rakes with large wooden handles and two watering cans stood to one side, guarded by a young man with a ponytail and a green apron.
“This one handles really well,” Ange said. She put the wheelbarrow in front of me. “Give it a try.”
“I have all the equipment I need. I don’t even use half of it as it is,” I protested.
“Exactly. These could be just what you need, and apart from the wheelbarrow, there’s two of everything. Perfect, if you take gardening lessons from someone who knows what he’s doing, because identical equipment makes it much easier to get a similar experience.” She grinned at me.
“I’m not –” I looked at the young man and pulled Ange aside. “If you mean Sam, he’s just a friend and I don’t intend to try a spot of couple’s gardening to romance him.”
“Did I say that? All I’m saying is, your yard cries out for love and attention, and these things might help you. Also, it can’t be easy to run into your ex-husband’s fiancée and, according to Reina, end up doing her favors five minutes later.”
Both statements were true to a certain extent. My yard was a mess, and the fact that among other still unfolding talents I had the makings of a garden witch was no good. I could make plants grow like crazy, but thanks to my lack of knowledge that was exactly what happened if I tried a spell. I’d be able to cover Sleeping Beauty’s castle not just in roses, but in a jungle faster than you could say fairytale.
And running into Candice might have stirred up insecurities, except that I was done with the old Bex Merriweather, the one before my divorce. The new me could handle encounters, especially when they became normal business transactions. I’d do my job, and then I’d send my invoice. End of story.
When I told Ange exactly that, she shushed me.
I gaped at her in confusion, until she motioned me to turn around.
Squeezed into a corner stood Candice. Her face was flushed as a man tenderly ran his hand through her hair.
“Trouble in paradise?” Ange whispered.
I had no time for a reply, because Candice pushed the man away, or at least she tried to.
Without hesitation, I swerved past the wheelbarrow, to come to Candice’s aid, but I didn’t need to. The man let her go. I saw his face as she stalked off, half fuming and half sobbing. It was Corvette guy.
Ange, who popped up beside me, saw him too. “Isn’t that Tim Boyd? I didn’t recognize him yesterday, but this whole raking through hair is his signature gesture. He thinks he’s the cream of the crop, with a cherry on top.”
Usually, Ange’s peculiar expressions brought a smile to my face. Now, I was too worried. Candice had been genuinely upset.
Ange continued. “I thought he was hot and heavy with the henna artist in the new tattoo parlor.”
“In Willowmere? I haven’t met either of them.” I admitted. Although it seemed that Candice had, begging the question when that had happened.
“You need to get out more, then you'll soon be in the loop with all the gossip again.” She steered me back to the gardening equipment. “Yes or no?”
Chapter 5
We left Cannon Hill with the Tiffany lamp, a blue Lalique vase I’d earmarked as a gift for myself, Harper’s cocktail shaker and vintage glasses, and a collection of old music records for Reina. The wheelbarrow had stayed behind, but only temporarily. Ange had arranged for it to go out to Bert’s Antiques' Barn after the fair closed tomorrow night.
We rolled down all the windows on our drive back, only to close them when the cold wind whistled past us. No point in risking a chill. Being young at heart would have to do for us.
Ange dropped Harper and Reina off first. TheBlue Moonparking lot had only a couple of spaces left, not surprising for a Saturday night.
“Do you want to come in for dinner?” Harper asked.
Ange and I both declined. “The dogs are waiting for me, and Nick promised to take care of the cooking,” she said.
