Page 45 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
“How about flower names?” Roe asked.
“I like it. Which flowers?”
“Can you tell me some flower names?”
“Well . . . there’s Rose, Iris, Lily, Peony.”
“Rhododendron,” Jess added.
“Row-da-nen-drum?” Roe giggled. “That’s funny. What else?”
“Delphinium,” he said.
She giggled again. Music to my ears, making my smile bigger.
“Del-if-ni-um? What else?”
“Chrysanthemum.”
Roe belly-laughed and collapsed against the floor. “Chris-thee-mum?”
My eyes met Jess’s. The huge smile on my face matched his, while Roe’s laughter filled the air.
Bliss.
“Thank you,” I mouthed.
He didn’t respond. My heart skipped when his smile just got bigger.
“Okay, little bit. Which ones are you gonna pick?”
“Hmm . . .” she said, taking a moment to get her laughter under control. “I think Rose and Peony.”
“Excellent choices,” I said. “What about the mom cat?”
“Jess, can you pick a name?” Rowen asked.
He stared for a moment, then rumbled, “Mrs. Fieldman.”
I laughed at the same time Rowen asked, “Mrs. Fieldman?”
“Yeah. After my fifth grade teacher,” he said.
“Was she your favorite teacher?” I asked.
“Nope. But she looked just like that cat.”
“You’re funny, Jess,” Rowen said through her giggles.
She went back to playing with the kittens and I resumed my appreciation of the evening’s sunset.
“Jess?” Roe called.
“Yeah?”
“Can you come to my recital tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
