“Mmmhmm. Three in particular.” She pointed her shears at the bushes in front of them. “We’re not certain, but Lola tells me that some of these rosebushes were propagated from antique roses growing in the cemeteries around this area. Rumor has it some of those older bushes came to this area with the original settlers of Divine. We’re working in the oldest section of the rose garden. These have been here a long time.”
Spencer nodded, noting the branches as thick as his forearm at the base of the rosebush he worked on. “I saw the plaque. The bushes look well-tended but the rest of the place needs some serious work.”
Maizy nodded. “There weren’t any funds this year…or last year or the year before that. It’s just not a high priority. All the work done is on a volunteer basis. Lola keeps us organized and on schedule but even she’s a volunteer. We could really use a few strong guys down here to help in the winter and the early spring when we prune more heavily and remove the deadwood.”
“I can help.”
Maizy kept working and said, “You’ve taken me by surprise here, Spencer. What happens now?”
This was what he’d hoped for. She wanted to make the choice so he’d let her. “I want to help you down here, or wherever the help is needed. Then I want you to come home with me. The deck and the outdoor room are finished. I want you to see it, if you’d like.”
“See it? That’s all?”
“I want you to see what I’d intended to build for you when we started it. The tub is set up and all the built-ins are finished. I want to make love to you out there tonight as the moon rises, if that’s what you want.”
“You missed one.”
“What?”
She pointed at his bush with the tip of her pruners. “You missed one. Yes, I’ll come home with you. I need to stop at my house to get clean clothes and my swimsuit.”
“Okay, but you won’t need the swimsuit,” he said with a sidelong glance at her and caught her smile.
“Will Cody and Heath be there?”
“No. They went to San Antonio to visit our foster mom. She still lives there. They won’t be home until late tonight.”
“Oh. She’s the lady you got your green thumb from, right?”
“Yeah. We were teenagers when Jean Goodman took us in and she could see that I needed something to do with my hands, to keep me out of trouble. She taught me everything I know about plants.”
“Won’t she be disappointed you didn’t go with them?”
“I explained that I had a prior commitment and she understood.”
“Did you have fun last night?” she asked. He smiled when he saw the little frown that crinkled her eyebrows.
“We didn’t go to the bachelor party, baby.”
“You didn’t?”
“Too many people we know at the Dollhouse. Just didn’t feel right…going there.”
“You mean you know a lot of the dancers that still work there?”
Spencer smiled, detecting her steely tone. He didn’t mind that she was possessive. “Yeah. That’s another life.”
“They’d be all over you if you went in there, huh? All nekkid and probably ready to do anything you want them to.” She whipped the deadhead into the bucket with enough force to make it bounce out.
He caught it in midair and dropped it in the bucket and then grabbed her by her upper arms and pulled her close. “Yes, but the only one I want nekkid and ready to do anything I want is a sexy little belly dancer.” She inhaled as she looked up at him and he saw her honey-brown eyes dilate a little before he kissed her right there in the rose garden.
She moaned softly and struggled to get loose from him. He refused to let her go and after a few seconds she wrapped her arms around his neck, crawled into his lap, kissing him with such fervency she shook in his arms. He tasted her sweet mouth, stroking her tongue with his and tugging at her lips with his teeth, teasing a blush into her cheeks.
Footsteps suddenly approached. “Maizy, I think I’m about done in the next—oh my!” Spencer groaned as he released her lips and they turned to see an older woman dressed in work clothes with a floppy hat on her head. She put her hand to her cheek and stammered. “Sorry to interrupt. Goodness gracious.”
“Mom, stop!” Maizy called out as the woman backtracked her steps. Maizy turned to him and he helped her stand. “I’ll be right back, Spencer. Mom!” She caught her mom as she rounded the corner and directed her back to where they’d been embracing. She smiled at him as she said, “Mom, I’d like to introduce you to Spencer Ketchum. Spencer this is my mother, Amelia Owen.”