Opal gave a little nod and stepped farther onto the porch, eyes drifting toward the distant shimmer of glass. “Can we go inthere?” she asked, her voice carrying faintly across the yard. “We haven’t splored yet.”
I was still processing the fact that both my brothers had already known about Rhodes buying this property and hadn’t mentioned it. Rhodes looked back at the structures, then at the contractors still moving around the main house.“We can go exploring in just a little bit. Remember the rules about exploring on your own, okay?”
Her shoulders slumped with disappointment, and she bit her lip as she looked at her dad. It wasn’t really my place to interfere, but I spoke before I could stop myself. “If you want,” I called to her, “I can show you how to tell if plants are sleeping or just pretending.”
Her gaze snapped back to me, curiosity rekindling, but Rhodes gave me a look that I could only categorize as suspicious.
“Five minutes,” I added, lifting my hands. “If you want to come along with us, then you can supervise.”
“Can we, Daddy?” Opal looked excitedly between us. I guessed that she was more interested in the greenhouses that she hadn’t gotten to check out yet than anything else, but Rhodes’ face immediately softened.
“Sure, sweetheart.”
We walked toward the first greenhouse, Opal skipping ahead, before Rhodes gently called her back, reminding her to wait. I noticed the way he scanned the grounds as we moved, gaze sweeping the tree line, the drive, the workers.
The door creaked when I pushed it open, rust flaking from the hinges like brittle leaves. The air inside was warm, which wasa good sign. It meant that, overall, it was still in good shape, even though I could hear whistling through a few cracked panes. Sunlight filtered through the glass overhead, casting fractured patterns across the gravel scattered across the floor.
Opal moved next to me, staying close like her father had told her to.“Are all the plants dead?” she whispered, eyes fixed on a row of drooping vines tangled along the far wall.
“Probably a lot of them are,” I admitted, crouching beside a clay pot half-hidden under fallen leaves. I scraped gently at the stem with my fingernail, revealing a thin line of green beneath the brown. “But this one’s not. It’s just sleeping.” Her face lit up. “See?” I said, guiding her closer. “If there’s green under the bark, then there’s still a chance.”
Rhodes stood near the doorway, arms crossed, watching us with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher.
“You can’t always tell,” I continued softly. “Sometimes things look worse than they are. You have to look a little closer sometimes and then be patient.”
Opal nodded solemnly, as if I’d handed her a secret. Glancing up at Rhodes, I was surprised to find his eyes on me instead of his daughter. Somehow, the air felt charged suddenly as I looked between him and his little girl as I dusted off my hands. “When you and your daddy are ready to clean this out, I can give you tips about what kind of plants to put inside.”
“I like plants.” Opal’s eyes lit up. “Especially the ones with the holey leaves that look like cheese. It’s really big in here.” She looked up at the ceiling and down the pathways that led off through the building.
“It is big in here. When it’s warm, some of these windows open, I think.” Her eyes lit up when I pointed out the winches, but I didn’t make any move to try them. Even I wasn’t that dumb or brave. They’d been sitting a long time, and even if the structure had been sound, there was no telling about the glass, especially with Opal below me. There was no way I’d risk it. “You and your dad can decide what kind to put in here. Flowers or plants. It’ll be up to you.”
“That’ll be fun. Won’t it, Daddy?” She pulled his big, giant hand into hers and swung it. “He’ll let me pick the plants,” she confided as we moved back outside. “Because he loves me.” She gave me a sideways look. “More than even unicorns.”
If my heart hadn’t already been goo when she’d taken his hand, it melted right out of my chest in that moment.
“That’s right.” His whole focus was on her as if they were the only two people there, as he bent and kissed the tips of her fingers. “I love you the mostest.”
She nodded happily before darting off across the lawn, stopping here and there as if she was soaking everything in. I didn’t blame her one bit. There was a lot to see, and so many great hiding places. The grounds were an absolute joy for a kid. Granted, it would take a lot of work to get into shape after sitting so long, but it would be worth it.
“Thank you,” Rhodes finally said quietly as we neared the driveway.
“For what?” I was conscious of his large frame moving in the space next to mine, dwarfing me.
“For being good with her. That was kind.”
My heart gave an unexpected thud. “Of course. I love kids. They’re easier than adults most of the time, and she seems great.”
“She is great.” His mouth flattened into a line, and the words were stubborn as if I was going to refute them in any way (which I wasn’t).
A truck door slammed, jolting us back into the present. I stepped past him toward my van, careful not to brush against him. Opal skipped a little closer, circling her father as if she wasn’t letting him out of her sight, making me wonder what the story was.
“Bye, Opal,” I called. “Nice to meet you. Come by my shop sometime. I’ll give you a plant for you to take care of all on your own.” Her eyes widened, and she clutched her dad’s hand, making my heart squeeze. Her eyes were just like his, and I wondered where her mother was.
Unknown Sub
I crouched in the underbrush and watched Sage as she went up the trail. It led to the small waterfall a half mile from the Castleton Estate, and it was one of her favorites. Her hands had floated over bushes and grasses, plucking samples as she went, and she hummed softly to herself as she walked, leaning to examine a plant and poking at it with her fragile fingers.
She had hair like autumn leaves, sparking and crackling like a campfire. Maybe I’d cut it all off and keep it in a jar.
