Page 47 of Must Love Flowers
Joan was pleased with the changes she’d made, too.
“Were there any eligible men attending the group?” Emmie asked.
Joan silently groaned. “Emmie, I’m nowhere near ready for any kind of a relationship.”
“But you will be in time, right?”
“In time,”Joan agreed, emphasizing the words.
They talked a few minutes longer, and then Nick and Maggie returned with Edison. Joan watched the two of them and smiled. If there was any romance brewing in this house, it was the one happening right before her eyes.
“Mom,” Nick said, coming into the kitchen. “You’ve got a visitor.”
“Oh.”
“She said her name is Ellie.”
Joan met Ellie at the front door.
Hands on her hips, Ellie asked, “Did you give Todd a cookie? Because Mom said he wasn’t supposed to ask for one.”
Joan tried hard to hide a smile. “I did. Would you like one, too?”
“I would,” she said with a hard nod, satisfied now that she hadn’t been cheated out of a treat.
“Do you want to come inside?” Joan asked.
“Okay,” Ellie said, eager now.
Joan opened the door and realized that, in the span of such a short while, she’d opened the door of her heart as well.
Chapter 18
Humming to herself, Joan carted the bags of groceries from her car into the house. When she opened the front door, she gasped. Edison was barking like crazy, and when she saw why, she dropped the bag. The grapefruit spilled out and scattered haphazardly, rolling onto the kitchen floor. Edison stood on his hind legs in his crate, leaning against the wire to look at the stranger who’d invaded the house.
“Steve,” she cried. “You scared the living daylights out of me.”
“Sorry, Mom,” he said, looking guilty. He must have let himself into the house, but she wasn’t sure how.
As if reading her thoughts, he answered the unasked question. “The key hidden in the rock was still there.”
“Of course.” It surprised her that he remembered, seeing that she’d completely forgotten about it.
“I told you I was coming into town for a conference, remember?” Steve said, grinning. “By the way, I like what you’ve done with the yard. It looks great.”
Joan couldn’t take credit for the lawn, but the flower beds were quickly taking shape. She’d planted annuals, and the burst of color they added uplifted her spirits every time she stepped out the door.
“I was able to catch an early flight, after all. The conference doesn’t start”—he paused and glanced at the time—“for another couple hours.”
“That’s great.” Still reeling with the shock of finding him at the house, she had yet to collect her thoughts. “It’s really good to see you.”
“You, too.”
They hugged, and then Steve went after the fallen grapefruit and set them on top of the kitchen counter.
Joan had ventured out to the grocery store run by Amazon for the first time. Maggie had casually mentioned it over dinner the night before. Curious, Joan had wanted to check it out. Since the pandemic, she’d almost always ordered whatever she needed online and had it delivered. With the possibility of exposure to the virus, it didn’t seem necessary or prudent to risk shopping in person when she didn’t need to.
“Is that all?” Steve asked.
