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to think of us as
respectable if you keep telling them our sordid past, querida.”
    “Lord help us if we ever start worrying about
being respectable.”
    “Lord help us indeed,” he shook his head and
chuckled.
    “So have you decided what you want to do
tomorrow?” Anjelita swatted away Manny’s hands and shoved the bowl
of potatoes at him with the instruction to make himself useful.
    “I have,” I brightened at the thought.
“Charlie and I are going to be partners in a new venture.”
    “Really?” Anjelita’s curiosity was piqued.
She called Isabel in for dinner then quickly turned her attention
back to the conversation.
    “Charlie mentioned something about
dandelions,” Manny nodded. “It’s driving him nuts trying to figure
out what you’re up to.”
    “You’ll all just have to wait and see
tomorrow,” I wasn’t just toying with them. I figured it would be
easier to show them than to explain anyway.
    “Yeah, well, he’s already cancelled all of
his appointments so he can stick around and figure it out.”
    “He hasn’t,” I gasped.
    “He has,” Manny smiled at me. I wasn’t sure
how I felt about that news. Alone all day with Charlie. There
wasn’t much else the conversation could do to hold my attention the
rest of the evening. I was too busy alternating between looking
forward to morning and dreading it.
    Whichever emotion won the evening, morning
came surely enough. I was awake and ready long before the sun
peeked over the horizon. Gray haze still clung to the countryside
as I walked down the dirt road to Charlie’s house. A basket swung
by my side, loaded with a trowel and a steak knife: the two best
tools any gardener could ask for.
    I let myself into the field, trying not to
spend too much time staring at the house as I set about my work.
This part was easy enough. I knew I would be physically tired by
the end of the day, but my mind would be wonderfully clear. That’s
the beauty of working the earth.
    I dug each dandelion up, careful to leave
some root so the plants would regenerate. Those still sporting
clocks I left alone. Maybe Cara could come out later and help me
spread the seeds from them. If Charlie didn’t mind me reneging on
my promise to plant grass seed, that is.
    By the time Charlie wandered out to the field
to offer me a cup of coffee, my basket was overflowing with
dandelions. I hadn’t even made a dent in the crop.
    “Did you sleep well?” I wrapped my arms
nervously around myself as I struggled to sound natural.
    “Are you chilly?” His brow creased with
concern.
    “I guess a little,” I lied. Truthfully, I was
just unsure what to do with my hands since Charlie was carrying my
basket full of dandelions.
    “Here…,” Before I could process what he was
doing, he’d slid his robe off and was draping it over my
shoulders.
    “You don’t have to do that,” I protested,
secretly relishing the scent and the warmth that clung to the
garment. I’d actually been pretty warm already from the work I’d
put in, but the robe offered a different kind of heat. It felt like
him.
    “Can’t a guy be a gentleman anymore?” he
teased.
    “Thank you,” I acknowledged. Now I had the
added bonus of watching him walk across his lawn in nothing but
pajama bottoms. He was built better than any small town lawyer had
a right to be. I bit my lip and admonished myself for having such a
one-track mind. Oh, but the man was fine. Had I really thought him
average just a few days ago?
    “I didn’t sleep well, by the way,” he went
back to my original question.
    “I’m sorry,” I frowned with concern.
    “I never sleep well when Cara’s gone,” he
explained. I thought maybe he had something else to add, but he
apparently decided against it.
    “How long will she be with her grandparents?”
I resisted the urge to lay my hand on his shoulder in a comforting
gesture.
    “A whole week. It’s stretching out in front
of me like a year right now.”
    “Well, I can certainly keep you