Page 49 of A Brambleberry Summer

“Yes. Of course. That would be great. Thank you.”

Addie frowned. “Why are you pulling all the flowers, Rosa? That’s naughty. My mommy says I can’t pick the flowers or they die.”

She smiled, charmed by the girl even as she felt a little ache in her heart. “I am not pickingallthe flowers. Only the ones that have finished blooming and have started to die. This way the flower plant has more energy to make new blossoms. You can help, if you want to. You just pop off the flower if it’s brown or the petals have come off and put it in the bucket there.”

“I can do that!”

Addie began the task, humming a little as she worked, which made Rosa smile.

“I have a confession,” Jen said after a few moments. “After my interview, I probably could have come in and worked this afternoon. Instead, I picked up Addie from day care early and we played hooky for most of the afternoon.”

“Good for you,” Rosa said, feeling a twinge of envy. “Did you do something fun?”

“Yes. It was wonderful. We made a huge sandcastle and then played in the water a bit, then took a hike around the state park near Arch Cape.”

“Oh, I love that area. It is so beautiful and green, like walking through a movie, with all the ferns and moss.”

“Yes. Addie thought it looked like a fairy land.”

Oh, Addie was cute. She had such an innocent sweetness about her. Rosa hoped she could keep it forever.

“So,” Jen said after a moment. “You and Detective Gorgeous. Is that a thing now?”

Rosa, yanking out a nasty weed that had dug its roots in deep, almost lost her balance.

She could feel her face grow hot. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“Imighthave heard two people going up the stairs together in the early hours of the morning.”

Rosa could only be grateful they had kissed in his apartment and not in the stairway for her friend to overhear.

“So are you two...dating or something?”

She had a sudden fervent wish that she could say yes. The idea of doing something as ordinary and sweet as dating Wyatt seemed wonderful but completely out of reach.

“No. We are not dating. Only friends.”Who kiss each other as if we can’t get enough, she wanted to add, but, of course, she couldn’t say that to Jen.

“He needed someone to watch his son last night while he went out on an emergency police call. His sister is out of town and he did not have anyone else to ask. It was an easy thing for me to help him.”

Jen made a face. “Too bad. I was thinking how cute you two would be together. And it’s obvious his son likes you.”

Rosa could feel herself flush. She was coming to adore both Townsend males, entirely too much. “I am not interested in dating anyone right now.”No matter how gorgeous.

Jen nodded and carefully plucked away at a rose that had bloomed past its prime. “I totally understand that and feel the same way. I’m not sure I’ll ever date again.”

Her emphatic tone made Rosa sad. Jen had so much love inside her to give. It was a shame that one bad experience had soured her so much on men.

“Your husband, he was a good man, yes?” Jen and her husband had met after college and Rosa had only met him at their wedding, and the few times they had socialized afterward, before she moved to Oregon.

“Oh, yes,” Jen said softly. “Ryan was wonderful. After he died, I never thought I would find anyone again.”

She plucked harder at the rose bush. “I wish I hadn’t ever entertained the idea of dating again. I obviously don’t pick well.”

Rosa frowned. “You did well with your husband. Nothing else that happened to you is your fault. I wish I could help you see that. You had no way of knowing things would turn out like they have.”

“That’s what I tell myself,” Jen said quietly. “Most of the time I believe it. In the middle of the night when I think about everything, it’s harder to convince myself.”

“You did nothing wrong,” Rosa repeated in a low voice so that Addie didn’t overhear. “You went on three dates with this man then tried to stop dating him when you began to see warning signs. You had no way of knowing he would become obsessive.”

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