I very much doubt that. We coexisted peacefully for twenty-six years of my life, and I hate living alone. But…I do miss having a place to share quiet evenings with Rowan.
Though privacy is probably the last thing we need with the bond pulling us together. My parents’ visit is likely a blessing.
Dad and I are almost to the edge of the property when we reach a white picket fence that wasn’t here when I moved in. It encloses two hundred square feet of space. It contains a new raised garden bed with several baby tomato and pepper plants, flowers, bushes, and a few trees. Many are newly planted, but Dad also incorporated plants that previously grew in this back corner into the new gnome sanctuary.
Everything is pruned and happy. I breathe in the green smell of summer, deciding I need to spend more time outside.
Dad opens the gate, ushering me in, and then closes it behind us.
“I built the fence to keep Chester out,” he explains, and then he points to a large maple tree that’s surrounded by bushes and purple coneflowers, eagerly awaiting my reaction.
A little gnome home peeks out from the fat lilac leaves at the very base of the tree. Constructed from garden stones, with a bark roof, it’s just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
“We got one?” I gasp quietly, so excited my heart starts racing. “Already?”
Dad grins, setting his hands on his hips, pleased with himself—as he should be. “I saw it when I came out this afternoon. They must have constructed it while I was at the garden center with your mother.”
“If one moved, then the others will follow, right?”
“That’s the way it usually works.”
“You’ve created a little haven for them,” I say, my heart overflowing. “I love it.”
Dad beams. “I do, too. It’s an honor, you know, to have gnomes on your property. They’re good luck.”
It didn’t feel like an honor or good luck when they moved into the tea shop garden and threatened my livelihood. But they are very welcome here.
Relieved that something is finally going as planned, I step out of the gate. “I’ll take good care of them.”
“We’ll need to start pumpkin seeds as soon as possible,” Dad says. “They’ll like those in the fall. They’ll tend their little garden, and maybe yours, too, if you decide to plant one this year. Though you can’t expect them to do all the work—and they’ll take their share of the produce.”
“As is fair.”
“Keep an eye on the squirrels,” Dad warns. “You know how they get along with gnomes.”
“They don’t.”
“Exactly. A few here and there won’t cause drama, but if you notice an unusually high number, we’ll need to look into getting you a hawk.”
“Or an owl?” I laugh to myself, imagining the unamused look Rowan would give me if I told him I was going to use him for pest control.
Dad frowns, thoughtful. “I wonder if his presence is why you don’t have many squirrels here on the property? They can sense predators, you know.”
“He hasn’t been an owl for a few weeks now,” I point out.
“That should be enough time for them to return. Perhaps it’s unrelated? Though you do have a curious lack of squirrels.”
I look around, realizing he’s right. I see plenty around Moss Hollow, but I don’t think I’ve seen a single squirrel on the property.
How bizarre.
My phone rings. For half a second, I get excited, hoping it’s Rowan. But it’s not. It’s another unknown Vermont number. Russell is getting desperate. He’s already left three messages today. I realized after I deleted the last that I probably should have saved them as evidence for the restraining order.
He doesn’t leave a message this time, though. It’s just as well. I don’t want to hear his voice again.
The rhythmic clop of a horse and cart catches my attention, especially when it sounds like it’s slowing. Chester notices as well and goes tearing for the front, yapping his fool head off.
“Nadine must be back,” I say to Dad.
