Anna peered over her shoulder at Joshua and then back at him. She fidgeted with her horse’s reins. “You see, my father is laid up for a while. His recovery will likely take a great deal of time, and I was trying to come up with a way to cheer him up. Encourage him, you know?”
He didn’t. He couldn’t imagine ever doing anything for his father.
When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “He used to always talk about how beautiful your garden was and would remark about all the unique flowers and plants you were able to grow. I’ve never been able to grow anything”—she winced—“so I was hoping you could teach me? That is, if you have time?”
What did she mean? “You want me to teach you ... how to garden?”
Her head bobbed up and down. “Yes. I’d like to start a lovely garden outside Dad’s window, so he can watch it grow.”
A tingling sensation started in his middle. Anna loved something that he did. Wanted to learn more about it. His favorite thing in the whole world. But he’d never taught anyone anything ever in his life. “It’s a lot of work and you spend a lot of time there.” He pointed out to the site where they’d been working.
“I know.” With a thumb over her shoulder, she pointed at Joshua. “He’s offered to help me, and Louise told me she could help with the watering and weeding.”
The hopeful look on her face was something he couldn’t deny. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Her shoulders lifted and her face beamed, her smile was so full. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He toed the dirt with his boot. “Just let me know when you are ready to start. I’ll order some plants and seeds for you if you’d like.”
“Oh, would you? I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea where to start.” She went to the side of her horse and Joshua assisted her up. “I can’t wait. I have a feeling this will help Dad with his healing.”
Joshua mounted as well. “Thanks, Julian.”
Anna turned her horse toward her home. “I’ll come see youthis afternoon to get started, if that’s all right? I’m sure there’s a lot we need to do to prepare the ground. Didn’t you say you brought in a bunch of better dirt?”
His mind spun with all the details of what needed to be done. A nod was all he could muster. He’d have to put his thoughts together after they were gone. Perhaps make a trip into town and wire in another order. He’d been wanting a few more things for his own garden too.
His two visitors rode back the way they’d come and Julian scratched his head.
More time with Anna would be nice. Talking about plants and flowers and getting things to grow out of the dirt was his specialty.
Wouldn’t Mother be happy for him?
Anna walked into her father’s room that evening and enjoyed hearing his hearty chuckle. Her eyes darted from him to Joshua.
“Our new paleontologist-in-training here ... was just entertaining me with stories from the site.” The twinkle in her father’s eyes was good to see and his speech was smooth and strong. Not all staggering breaths. Perhaps the herbal teas Doc recommended were helping.
“I didn’t know I was much of an entertainer, but then my blunders have been quite impressive.” Joshua’s amusement lit up his face.
She took a chair. “Don’t let me interrupt, it sounded like you were getting to the good part.” They shared a smile since she knew what he was about to say. He’d matured the last three years and grown into the man she always knew he’d be. Kind, intelligent, generous, strong, hardworking.
“All that work. And then your daughter informed me that I’d been chiseling around a smudge.” Joshua’s eyes twinkledwith merriment. “Apparently, she’d drawn on the rock with her pencil to show Zach something.” Shaking his head, his shoulders shook with laughter.
It was good for all of them after a long day. Especially Dad.
“I think this proves that I should stick with medicine.” He held up his hands and caught her eye.
They shared another brief smile.
The long days out in the sun were exhausting, but the team was making progress. About four o’clock today, she’d packed up her sketching supplies and headed over to Julian’s garden. With a notepad and pencil in hand, she’d walked with him around the garden and listened to him explain what he called the basics. Which was still more information than she could remember. Gracious, he’d named so many plants that she was tongue-tied when she tried to repeat one of them.
And understanding the soil? That was beyond her. But she was determined to do this for Dad.
When she’d left, she shoved the notepad into her satchel. She’d much rather be working with the bones. For one thing, they didn’t need her to keep them alive. Just the thought of growing something made her shiver.
However, she was not a quitter. Perhaps if she conquered gardening, she could move onto something even more adventurous. Like cooking.
It was unheard of for a woman of her age to be unable to cook. Or garden.
