At the end of another hour, she realized they would use everything she'd brought with her, and then some.
"Harper?" She swiped at her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. "You got your cell phone?"
He stopped working the vines onto the trellis long enough to pat at his pockets. "Somewhere. Truck maybe?"
Like mother like son, she thought, sent him a wave, and went around front to find it. She called Stella, rattled off another list of needs - having no doubt her manager would record them all, invoice, inventory, and deliver.
She planted cannas at the back fence, along with blue salvia and African daisies. Then sat back on her heels when Cissy walked to her with a tall glass.
"I made lemonade, from scratch. For my sins. My manicure is wrecked," she said as she handed Roz the glass. "And I'm already aching in places I forgot I owned. I don't know how you do this. "
"I don't know how you play bridge every week. "
"Well, to each his own, I suppose. I
owe you a lot more than the check I wrote. "
"Oh, you're going to be writing a couple more before it's over. "
Cissy just closed her eyes. "Hank's going to kill me. He's going to take his nine iron and beat me bloody and dead. "
"I don't think he will. " Roz got to her feet, handed the empty glass back, then stretched her back. "I think he's going to be pleased and proud - and touched that you'd go to all this trouble - ruining a manicure on top of it - to make your home more beautiful for his mother's visit. To show her, and him, how much you value the home he's provided you with. "
"Oh. " A slow smile spread. "That's damn clever of you, Rosalind. "
"Just because I don't have a husband doesn't mean I don't know how they work. I'm going to warn you, you don't take proper care of all this, I'll come over here and beat you senseless with Hank's nine iron myself. "
Cissy looked around at the dirt, the half-planted beds, the shovels and rakes and bags of soil and additives. "It's going to look really nice when it's finished. Right?"
"Trust me. "
"I am. Completely. And this is probably not the best time to tell you that son of yours is one handsome devil. I swear, my heart nearly shut right down when I handed him that lemonade and he flashed that grin at me. God almighty, he must have the girls at his feet, four layers deep. "
"Never known him to have trouble finding one. Doesn't seem to keep them long, though. "
"He's young yet. "
IT WAS DARKwhen she got home. Dirty, a little achy, she poked her head in the library before heading upstairs. She'd seen Mitch's car out front.
"Working late?" she asked.
"Yeah. You, too?"
"I had an amazing day. Time of my life. I'm going to go up and scrape several inches of that day off me, then eat like a pig. "
"Want company? I've got a couple of things to run by you. "
"Sure, come on up. "
"Been playing in the dirt?"
"Most of the day. Gardening emergency. " She shot a grin over her shoulder as she started up the stairs. "A friend, an unexpected visit by in-laws, passive-aggressive tendencies, and a desire for one-upmanship. This resulted in a hell of a profit for my business and a terrific day for me. "
She walked straight into her bathroom, stripped off her shirt. "Been a long time since I got seriously involved in the design and landscaping end of things. I'd nearly forgotten how much I love to get my hands into somebody's dirt and create something. "
She undressed while she talked, in a practical sort of way, dumping her clothes in the hamper, leaning in to start the shower and test the water temperature, while he stood in the doorway, listening.
"A lot of the place was virgin ground - unrealized potential. I should feel guilty for charging her when it was such a good time for me - but I don't. We earned it. "