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so…sad,” J.D. said.
    “Since then, it’s been me and Stacey. And then Lisa. I’ve supported us on student loans, and Lisa helps out a lot. She offered to get me a job at the restaurant, but I didn’t want Stacey coming home to an empty house after school. I wanted her to have the closest thing possible to a normal—Oh. God. No.”
    I’d completely lost track of the conversation beyond J.D. and me. Frank was reaching into his Dockers for the ring. He was going to ask Lisa right here in front of everybody. I looked at Lisa. Her face was lit up with a smile and her eyes were closed, listening to the music. No clue what was coming.
    “Let’s dance.” I grabbed J.D.’s hand and jumped up. “Brad, you too.” I had to save Lisa—at the least, protect her privacy.
    “What?” Brad looked confused.
    “Come on, man,” J.D. said. “Do what the lady says.”
    I gave J.D. a grateful look. Together we dragged Brad down off the boulder out to the lawn and blended into the dancing crowd.
    Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain was playing. The grass was cool under my feet. The alcohol hit me as I raised my arms over my head and moved with the music, well aware I was dancing with two hot guys, Brad in front of me and J.D. behind. I swayed my hips and inched back close to J.D., my eyes closed, my body permeated by music and alcohol and desire.
    I called my reaction to J.D. lust at first sight, and it was. Easy to understand. Easy to deal with. I was in tune to his movements. Even with my eyes closed, I sensed his energy so near me. I wanted to feel his arms around my waist and lean back against his chest.
    But this was worse than simple lust. This was nothing so trivial. Safe, I thought . I’ve come home . It was survival instinct. I opened my eyes and turned around. J.D. wasn’t where I expected. He’d put some distance between us and was looking at me strangely.
    Once again I felt ridiculous. And humiliated. I’d obviously been flirting with him, and he was just as obviously repulsed.
    “Damn!” Brad said. “She said yes.”
    Brad was watching Frank and Lisa on the rock, and he looked sick to his stomach. Frank slipped a ring onto Lisa’s finger and they kissed.
    “Fuck.” Brad sounded defeated and miserable, and he turned away.
    “Brad, I’m so sorry.” I watched him cross the lawn to leave.
    I saw J.D. ahead of Brad, already halfway to the side gate. Disappointment rushed through me. I couldn’t stand it. I had to get away from everything. The noise. The people. I took off the other way, to the safety of my garden.

Chapter 7
    Paper lanterns in primary colors flickered in the trees as I fled the backyard, and solar lamps glowed at random intervals along the path to the gardens.
    We have two gardens beyond the lawn, out where there are fewer trees and long days of uninterrupted sun. At Lisa’s insistence, we’ve had a vegetable garden for the last three years. It’s great. We save on groceries, and it’s amazing how fantastic fresh-picked food tastes.
    My flower garden is next to the veggie garden. As a joke last year, Frank put in a topiary tableau of alpacas and bunnies where the two gardens meet.
    The fountain was on and joined with the wind chimes to serenade the roses, peonies, lilies, nasturtiums, and a few straggling daffodils. The wood nymph and fairy statues greeted me from their hiding places among the flowers.
    My rose garden is my serenity spot. Flowers save my sanity. They never fail me. I give them what they need to bloom, and they give my soul what it needs to survive.
    Someone had been in the flower garden earlier and left a single Peace rose, like an offering, in the iron fairy’s arms. It made me feel better knowing someone else in the world thought of such things. I picked up the rose and inhaled the flower’s fragrance then sat down on the iron bench to watch the stars and sort out my feelings.
    I was pinned between euphoria and despair, sorry for Brad, but so happy for Lisa. Frank too. At