regarded him warily. When strong men got that helpless look, they were usually up to something. When they started talking about mysterious favors, alarm bells went off.
“Oh?” she said. “What exactly is this favor?”
“You mentioned something the other day about gardening, and I was hoping you could give me some tips.”
She frowned. “I’m not an expert. You could talk to Doug at the nursery just west of town and get better advice. His family’s owned it forever. I think they’re all master gardeners.”
He shook his head sorrowfully. “You must not know much about men. We hate admitting to other men that there are things we don’t know.”
She regarded him doubtfully. “But it’s okay to admit it to me?”
“Sure. You’ll just think I’m charmingly inept. Don’t all women love feeling superior to the men in their lives?”
“To be honest, I’ve never had that experience,” she said. “That certainly wasn’t the way the balance of power worked in my marriage.”
He gave her a questioning look, but didn’t pry. She gave him points for that.
“Will you at least think about giving me some advice?” he asked.
“And what do I get in return?”
“I bought a lot more plants than we’ll ever find room for in my yard. I thought you might want some for here.”
A tiny spark of forgotten excitement stirred to life inside her, and then reality hit. “I can’t accept them,” she said, unable to hide her disappointment.
“Why?”
She scrambled for an excuse, rather than admitting that it would be impossible for her to plant the garden, no matter how badly she might want to. “This isn’t my house. I’m not sure Sarah would appreciate it if I suddenly started landscaping around here.” The excuse sounded hollow to her ears, especially since she knew that as soon as Sarah and Travis set their wedding date, this house was likely to become hers. Hopefully Carter knew nothing of that plan.
His gaze met hers and he waited, clearly anticipating more.
Raylene sighed. “I thought you understood. I can’t leave the house, and I can’t expect Sarah to plant a garden to indulge some whim of mine.”
“But I could do it,” he said. “You could tell me what to do and I’ll provide the labor. You’d probably enjoy bossing me around. My sisters certainly do.”
She considered the possibility. Even if she let him do all the planting, who would care for the garden? In this heat, it would need frequent watering, to say nothing of weeding.
“It’s a lovely offer, but I don’t think so,” she said with real regret.
He studied her intently, then muttered what sounded like a curse under his breath. “It’s about the upkeep, too, isn’t it? Don’t worry about that. I’ll come by. So will my sisters. Let us do this for you.”
Pleased by his determination and too delighted with the idea to keep coming up with excuses, valid or otherwise, Raylene slowly nodded. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I weren’t. Do we have a deal?”
She couldn’t help the rush of excitement that stirred when she imagined having a garden again. If she closed her eyes, she could even imagine a time when she’d be able to sit outside and enjoy it.
“I would love it,” she admitted eventually, “if you’re sure you don’t mind doing all the work.”
“I don’t mind,” he confirmed. “You can pay me back with advice and lemonade. Shall we give it a try? I have the plants in the truck.”
She regarded him with amusement. “You were awfully confident you could talk me into this, weren’t you?”
He grinned. “Pretty much. Something told me you’d be a pushover if I dangled the promise of a few flowers in front of you.”
“Don’t get the idea I’m a pushover, Deputy Rollins,” she said with mock severity. “You’d be wrong.”
“Every women has a few weaknesses,” he commented with a wink. “I just happened to figure out one of yours.”
He walked toward the truck and left her wondering why he’d even given the matter so much thought. Most men, knowing her circumstances and the unlikelihood of anything approaching a normal relationship, wouldn’t have bothered. Rather than worrying about his motives, though, she told herself to be grateful for this impulsive, sweet gesture of his.
While Carter unloaded the plants and carried them around back, she woke the kids and brought them into the kitchen. “You want to help Deputy Rollins with the garden?” she asked, knowing they’d be safe with him and would enjoy the freedom of being outside. It would also give Laurie time to run to the store to look for the dress she wanted for her date tonight.
Tommy immediately raced for the kitchen door, but Libby hung back. Rebuffed once too often by her own father, whose entire focus seemed to be on her big brother, she’d only recently begun to feel more comfortable around men. Thankfully, Walter himself was responsible for the change. He’d finally realized what a treasure she was and started giving her a fair share of his attention. That, plus undisguised adoration from Travis, had been a huge boost to Libby’s confidence, but she still hung back around other men until she was sure of her welcome.
Raylene pulled a chair over to the doorway and lifted Libby into her lap. “You and I get to supervise,” she told her, loudly enough to be overheard by Carter. He cast a grin in her direction.
“Oh, great! Now I have two women bossing me around,” he grumbled with mock dismay. “Tommy, you’re going to have to help me stand up to them.”
“Okay,” Tommy agreed at once, eager to please. “What do we do?”
Carter shrugged. “Beats me.” He turned to Raylene. “Any ideas?”
For the next two hours, he and Tommy dug where she told them to and trimmed the yard with tall sunflowers and vibrant hollyhocks, patches of bright impatiens in partially shaded areas and even two fragrant rosebushes for either side of the kitchen doorway. The result was a far cry from the carefully tended garden at her home in Charleston, but it was bright and cheery and brought a smile to her face. Looking at the results, she had to blink back tears.
Standing in front of her, Carter seemed shaken by her display of emotion. “This was supposed to be a good thing.”
“It’s a wonderful thing,” she said, impulsively reaching out to give his hand a squeeze. “Thank you. It was wonderful of you to think of doing this. Even if I can’t take a single step outside, I’ll be able to smell the roses from right here.”
“No big deal,” he insisted, looking uncomfortable with her gratitude.
“Now, what can I do in return? Of course, I want to pay you for the plants.”
“Absolutely
