"Other than. All right, honey. " As Lily squirmed, Hayley put her down and began to walk her, holding her hands, up and down Harper's patio. "There could be things in the diaries that implicate her. "
"Then why didn't she burn them?"
"Oh, I don't know," she snapped. "It's a theory. We've got to have a theory and a hypothesis so we can work to the solution, don't we?"
"If you say so, but my solution is Cousin Rissy's just a sticky-fingered, black-hearted, selfish witch. Look here, sweetie-pie. " He plucked one of his moss roses, held it out at Lily's level. "Isn't that pretty? Wouldn't you like to have it?"
Grinning, she released her mother's hands, reached out.
"Uh-uh, you come on and get it," he told her.
And when he held it just beyond her fingertips, she took three toddling steps.
"Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Did you see? She walked. Did you see that?"
"Sure did. " Harper steadied Lily when she closed her fist around the flower. "Look at you. Aren't you the one?"
"She took her first steps. " Hayley sniffled, knuckled a tear away. "She walked right to you. "
Always uneasy with tears, Harper looked up. "Sorry. I should've had you hold out the flower. "
"No, no, that's not it. She took her first steps, Harper. My little girl. I saw her take her first steps. Oh, we have to show everybody. " She did a quick dance, then scooped Lily up, making the baby laugh as she turned circles. "We've got to show everybody how smart you are. "
Then she stopped, sighed. Leaning down, she brushed her lips over Harper's cheek. "She walked right to you," she repeated, then hurried toward the main house with the baby on her hip.
ROZ LOVED HAVINGcoffee on the patio with the awakening gardens spread out around her. She could hear Stella's boys playing with the dog, and the sounds turned back her memory clock to when those shouts would have been from her own sons.
It was pleasant to sit out like this in the early evening, with the light soft and blue and the smell of growing things quiet on the air. Pleasant, too, since she was in the mood to have company. She drank her coffee while Logan and Stella, David and Mitch talked around her.
She'd wanted Harper there, too, and Hayley. But Harper wasn't answering his phone - not a rare occurrence - and she hadn't been able to find Hayley or the baby.
"She said he was so happy with the way everything looked, he took her out so she could buy new patio furniture. " Stella drained her glass of iced tea. "I've rarely seen a more satisfied customer - or a landscape design done and executed so quickly. Logan better keep his eye on you, Roz. "
"Knew the yard, and the woman - and both well enough to be sure Cissy would love the changes. And hire Logan to keep it looking good. "
"I'd hate to be that unhappy and intimidated by my mother-in-law. " Stella smiled at Logan. "I'm getting a jewel. "
"She feels the same, which is going to make my life a hell of a lot easier. " He tipped his beer toward Stella. "Your days are numbered, Red. "
"Two weeks, and counting. There's still so much to do. Every time I think I've got it all under control, something else pops into my head. Planning a small, simple wedding's full of complications. "
"You say 'I do,' then you eat cake," Logan said, and earned a bland stare from his future bride.
"Jolene's been an enormous help," she went on. "So have Logan's mother and sister, by long-distance. And I just don't know what I'd do without you, David. "
"Throw me the bouquet, and we're even. "
"Speaking of your stepmama," Roz put in, "I spoke with Jolene today. "
"You did?"
"If there's anyone who knows everybody in Shelby County, it's Jolene Dooley. And I recalled she had a friend who runs a nice little gallery and gift shop downtown. Jane's got a job interview next Wednesday afternoon. "
"You work fast," Mitch said.
"That girl needed a break. Now we'll see what she does with it. Jolene also has a friend whose sister works at a rental management company. Turns out there's a one-bedroom apartment downtown, about six blocks from that gallery. Its current tenants are moving out in a couple weeks, and the lease fell through on the people who were going to move in. "
"I should've said you work miracles. "