Community Gardens (Community Garden Series Book 1) by Karin Boutall Page B

rising. A pit rumbled in her
stomach. An aching sense of loss swept through her. If only the
Air Force hadn't transferred him to Colorado, would he still be here?
    She
could have stayed in Colorado after Chris' horrible accident. There
were plenty of opportunities to restart life and open a store. But in
Sand Hill Cove, she could raise Zack in a small town surrounded by
old friends and pleasant memories. She wanted to cloak herself with
happier times and drown the bitter wound of losing the only love she
had ever known.
    Joan
snapped to attention at the sound of clapping hands. “Are we
ready?” Roz asked.
    “Ready
as ever. This wouldn't have happened with out you and the girls.”
    “You'd
have gotten around to it someday, but it wouldn't have been as fun.”
Roz handed Joan a steaming cup of coffee, topped with thick cream.
Joan wrapped her manicured fingers around the oversized mug as she
watched Roz swirl a large gob of honey through her tea.
    “How
are the girls coming with the lettuce baskets?” Joan quizzed.
    “Over
fifty so far. The burlap made a great basket wrap. Lindsey and Chloe
choose Easter pastel colors for the ribbons. We'll sell out fast.”
    “I
hope so.”
    “You
know so.” Roz grinned and pushed her dark bangs aside. “Look
at everybody milling around the market. Even the blueberry truck made
it today.” Roz opened the front doors revealing a cloudless
blue sky. The rich scent of freshly pruned rosemary drifted in the
shop.
    “Fresh
blueberries are gonna draw crowds.” Roz said as she stepped on
the porch with Joan following behind her.
    Joan
waved to Buzz as he strolled across Town Park toward them. He waved
back with his baseball cap. “All the vendors made it. This is
gonna be busy. You ready?”
    Just
as Buzz reached the porch, Lindsey and Chloe stepped outside, each
carrying a tray of lettuce baskets. “Look at them. Aren't they
perfect?” Chloe chimed.
    “Lovely.
I see you're wearing matching ribbons on your aprons.” Joan had
a strict dress code; white t-shirts, light khakis and a denim apron.
No buttons or jewelery. She didn't want colorful clothes distracting
customers away from the plants and inventory. Even though she
preferred a uniform appearance, she admitted the ribbons were
adorable and decided a little distraction might actually help sell
those lettuce pots.
    “Not
exactly code,” Lindsey said. “But we thought it might
help.”
    Joan
stroked Lindsey's blond head. At twelve, Lindsey was the eldest of
the two girls. A budding artist, she took the lead designing floral
arrangements for the shop.
    “I
believe you are correct. How about the two of you, go carry your
trays through the market and send customers over here?”
    “Come
on, I'll take you girls over,” Buzz said. “Should Zack
come too?”
    Chloe
giggled. “Zack won't like carrying lettuce baskets. Besides,
he's on Xbox.”
    “Xbox?”
Joan hollered up the stairs and listened for a minute. When she heard
his feet shuffling, she knew he'd be down within five minutes. She
wanted Zack in the store with her where he could stay focused on
tasks instead of Xbox. She knew he'd sneak back upstairs and play
Xbox for hours if she didn't keep him busy. She started to tell the
girls to go on without him when she realized the mayor was missing.
    “Roz,
where's the mayor?”
    “She
should be here.”
    Joan
grabbed the phone from her apron and dialed. No answer.
    Zack
stepped onto the porch, blinking his wide brown eyes.
    She
glanced at her son for signs of life. His neat brown hair was combed.
His t-shirt was clean and right side out, but his shoes were untied.
“Hi sweetie. I want to ask you a favor. After you tie your
shoes, will you run over to Sara Coach's house? You remember her, the
mayor?”
    “Yeah.”
    “If
she's home, will you ask her when she's coming to the store?”
    “Sure
mom.”
    He
said hi to the girls, then jogged across the park toward the mayor's
house.
    Joan
turned to Roz. “We did agree we