“Yes!” Zara exclaimed, much to his surprise. “We can plant flowers first then go for a bike ride.”
He was not about to discourage his children from helping someone else, especially if that meant he would be able to enjoy more time in Rosie’s company. Win-win, all the way around.
“Great idea,” Andrew said. “We can spend a few moments weeding and planting some flowers, then we’ll head to the park.”
The children exclaimed with delight.
“I might even have a few extra pairs of gardening gloves,” Rosie said. “Let me go put my lovely new gift in the kitchen and I’ll grab them for you.”
The children laughed at the chickens pecking around untilRosie emerged from the house with two pairs of small gardening gloves and one pair of large leather work gloves.
“You’ll have to show us what to do. I don’t want to pull up your prize pansies or something,” he said.
She pointed out a few of the more common weeds for them to identify. “If you’re in doubt about whether something is a flower or a weed, you can always ask me.”
The children took to gardening with far more enthusiasm than he might have expected. They seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as they might have at the playground.
Together they finished clearing out one small bed and were working on a second one when Rosie’s mother came out of the tiny cottage where she lived, hobbling on her crutches. Sylvia looked delighted to see them all.
“Someone is having a party without me,” she said.
Zara giggled. “Not really. We’re helping weed so you can plant some new flowers.”
“I’m afraid my planting days are still a few days away,” Sylvia said, gesturing to her crutches.
“We’re helpingRosieplant flowers, Miss Sylvia. Not you.”
He was about to chide Finn for the familiarity when he remembered that Sylvia was good friends with his mother. The children must have spent more time with her than he realized. They all seemed comfortable with each other.
“Oh, that makes more sense,” she said with a teasing grin. “Do you happen to belong to those fancy bikes I saw out front?”
His son nodded. “We’re going on a bike ride to Orca Park when we’re done helping.”
“That sounds fun. Let me guess. The purple bike is Zara’s and the big red bike is Finn’s.”
“No!” Fin chortled. “The red one is my dad’s. Mine is the green one.”
“Oh. I thought maybe the green one was your dad’s.”
Finn apparently thought it was hilarious to imagine his father riding the little green bike that was about half the size of Andrew’s.
Rosie smiled, and Andrew could only assume she was creating a mental picture of him trying to work the pedals of the diminutive bike with his gangly legs.
“You won’t believe this, but I just made a fresh batch of cookies. Would anyone out here want one? If it’s okay with your dad, anyway.”
“I would!” Finn exclaimed.
“I could use a cookie,” Zara said more sedately.
“The only problem is that I can’t carry them out here with these crutches. Why don’t you both come help me? Maybe you can also carry some lemonade out to your dad and Rosie.”
The children were enthusiastic about another opportunity to help, especially if it meant cookies. They followed Sylvia, chattering away to her about the present Finn had made for Rosie and about the art camp they had attended.
After they left, Andrew was painfully aware that he was alone with her. Well, alone except for her chickens, a few dozen birds singing in the treetops and countless bees buzzing from flower to flower.
“You really don’t have to help me. I appreciate the gesture, but I didn’t have that much left to do. When they come back, we can plant a few token flowers and you can be on your way.”
“I don’t mind,” he said and was more than a little startled to realize he meant the words. He found something quite enjoyable about being in this beautiful yard on a sunny afternoon, the scent of roses and irises mingling with the sea air.