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attention. “What?”
    “Nothing. It’s just that I admire you. You never seem bothered by circumstances. You’re one of the most easy-going people I’ve ever met. Maybe if I keep hanging out with you, some of that peace will rub off on me.”
    Silence beat by. He sidled a glance her way. “Seems to me like you don’t need peace so much as you need strength. Perseverance. You’re like this reservoir people come to for support and care.”
    “Oh, come on.”
    “No. I mean it. I’ve been tracking you on your show. I’ve paid attention to the people who call in. You open your heart to them, and they reciprocate. You help them, Jodie, and that’s a gift.”
    “Hardly.”
    He ignored her attempt to downplay his words and delivered a smile that melted her bones. Snapping free of a delicious and increasingly familiar cloud of attraction, Jodie focused on the message he tried to impart. Rely on God. Rely on the comfort of faith, not outward circumstance. The result, she knew, would lead to hope, and renewal.
    How had she allowed herself to stray from the scriptural promises she espoused across the airwaves of southeast Texas each day? The basic answer was simple. The rush and crush of everyday life had run a jamming circuit through her spiritual life. That needed to stop, promptly. No more clinging to solitude.
    “Thanks for the support,” she began. “Truly, it means a lot to me. You’re a great guy, Kevin.”
    He chuckled lightly, continuing to cut his spade into the dirt. He upturned clumps of earth then nourished the planting spot with a fresh deposit of top soil. “Well, thank you, ma’am.”
    Silently, Jodie groaned at her awkward entrée into a conversation she wasn’t even sure she was ready to have. “No, really. What I mean is your friendship already means a lot to me.”
    “Ditto.”
    It was Jodie’s turn to chuckle and admire the way he didn’t press, stop awkwardly, or push for more. Rather, he dislodged a cluster of blue bonnets from their plastic cases, carefully extracting the blooms and settling them into the earth.
    “I admire your freshness of spirit. Kaci’s, too. The two of you are a pleasant antidote to the stagnant way I’ve been feeling. You’re helping to set me straight, and to be honest, I’m kind of embarrassed by my attitude. I should know better.”
    Jodie returned to planting, lifting a few white snapdragons from their plastic holders. Kevin was right. The rhythm of work made it easy to loosen up the mind and body.
    “Know what else might help?” he asked.
    “Hmm?”
    The barest hint of a pause skimmed through the air between them. “An exceptional Italian dinner at Viviano’s Taverna.” He shrugged those broad, wide shoulders, white cotton moving in time to his motions and rippling against a humid gust of air. “Really, it’s the least I can do to show you my thanks after working you so hard.”
    “You’ve hardly done that, and no thanks are necessary, but I’d love to have dinner sometime.”
    Hiding a thrill of expectation by taking on her assigned landscaping work, Jodie nabbed a nearby garden shovel and launched into the task of making a hole next to the steps of the gazebo where they would plant the first of two rose bushes.
    “Do you happen to have any plans for tonight?”
    Expectation doubled. No, tripled. Braving a look over her shoulder, giving him a sassy grin, Jodie answered, “It seems I do now.”
    Kevin’s shoulders relaxed and his laughter combined with chattering tree branches and bird song. “Great.”
    Jodie continued to dig, her back to Kevin. She grinned like a fool. Wedding preparations, hope, and promise. Anxieties ebbed away—not gone, but most certainly contained for the moment. A restorative breath of Spirit pushed through her body. She settled the rose bush, humming happily while she considered the way affection and friendship could push to life, given the right soil…and nourishment.
     
     
     
     

6
     
    Early that evening