“Let’s call it a night,” I said.
“Good idea.”
She poofed into fun-size Tani and vanished in a flash—leaving me alone in the basement with a stack of questions and one bright, clear thread.
Moonpetal.
Alice had been planting them long before I came home.And now I needed to find out why.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sundayarrived,andmystomach twisted in knots.
Owen said he’d pick me up at noon, which gave me ample time to go to the flower shop and make an arrangement for his mother.I’d closed the shop for the weekend—a much needed break for me and Rylyn.While there, I paused outside the cooler and peered at the Moonpetal flower in the unmarked bucket.The open flower was exactly like the one in the seed catalogue.
“What was the plan for that, Alice?”I asked.
Silence answered me back.
Busying myself with making the arrangement helped keep my mind off everything I’d found in the basement.I’d chosen a tall, clear vase for a vibrant arrangement with orange roses, hot pink carnations, yellow snapdragons, Asiatic lilies and filled it in with assorted greenery and purple statice.It looked happy and cheerful and I was rather proud of it.
I gave one last glance at the Moonpetal—stopping to snap a picture with my phone—before I closed the shop.
Back at the house, I stared at the clock that said 11:53 like it was a dare.Sunday dinner—which is what good Southern folk called the midday meal—at his parents’ house was a big deal.I chose an airy sundress in pale blue, sleeveless, with a sweetheart neckline and my favorite strappy sandals with a kitten heel.I’d even shaved my legs which meant I was taking this more seriously than I should.
I reminded myself this was not a big deal.I knew the McAllisters.Had known them most of my life.But never had I been invited to Sunday dinner after church.
I was also bursting at the seams to tell Owen what Tani and I discovered last night in the basement.I was still wired about that because, despite my fatigue, I didn’t get much sleep.
I used my best concealer to fake rested human, swiped on my favorite pale pink lip gloss and hoped that was enough to keep me from looking like I’d been up all night.
The crunch of tires on the driveway caught my attention.Somehow, I managed to keep my composure calm as he rang the doorbell.The perfect gentleman.Impulse wanted me to bolt for the door, but I forced my feet to take normal steps.
He stood on the other side of the door looking far too handsome and far too cool for a hot summer afternoon—clean dark jeans, a blue button-down (funny how we seemed to match without trying), sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, and his favorite scuffed, well-loved boots.The collar was open at his throat, giving me a hint of what I knew was underneath.
He’d even shaved.
Which was frankly unfair to my raging hormones.
“Hi,” I said, which was a ridiculous opening line.
“Hi, yourself.”His appreciative gaze swept over me, one corner of his mouth lifting.“Maybe you should come to Sunday dinner more often.It’ll make the dinner table a whole lot prettier.”
I flushed at that.
“Ready to go?”he asked.
I waved him inside.“Yes.I need to grab my purse.”
I closed the door after him.He waited with his hands in his pockets as I slung the crossbody bag over my shoulder that contained everything I’d found last night plus the grimoire and the scrap of paper in Alice’s handwriting.I intended to talk to him about that on the way.
Then I picked up the vase of flowers.
“Flowers?”His brows lifted.
“Yes.I do own a flower shop, you know.”As he eyed them, I thought maybe they weren’t a good idea or it was too forward or too… something.“They’re for your mother.Is that okay?”
He stared at them for the longest time, then his gaze traveled back to mine.His throat worked once.“She’ll love them.Did Rylyn do the arrangement?”
