Page 242 of When Love Takes Root

Just . . . quieter.

Somewhere downstairs, I could still hear JJ laughing with Kayden as they argued over whether Hampton Heights or Langston had the better homecoming. Zuri was explaining to Skye why glitter wasn’t an acceptable packing material while Skye passionately defended her position. Every now and then, one of the girls dissolved into laughter, and the sound floated through the house we’d prayed for.

I found Celeste exactly where I expected.

In the garden.

She stood barefoot beneath the magnolia tree, one hand resting beneath her belly while the other brushed across lavender swaying in the evening breeze. Gardenias perfumed the air. Rosemary spilled over its planter nearby. The flowering shrubs we’d planted that morning had already settled into the earth as though they knew they’d found home.

She smiled before she turned around.

“I wondered how long it’d take you to find me.”

“I’ve been finding you since the day your salon lights went out.”

She laughed, shaking her head.

“You always know what to say.”

“No.” I stepped beside her and slipped my fingers between hers. “I just know what I don’t ever want to leave unsaid.”

The evening sun painted everything gold. The garden stretched around us in full bloom, each flower a quiet reminder that beautiful things rarely happened overnight.

Celeste leaned her head against my shoulder.

“I used to think healing would feel bigger than this.”

“What does it feel like?”

She watched a butterfly settle onto one of the hydrangeas.

“Peace. I kept waiting for this huge moment where I’d wake up and realize I was healed.”

“And?”

She looked around the garden before answering.

“I think God was healing me so gently I didn’t notice.”

I looked down at the plants we’d spent two years tending together, their roots learning the soil of our new raised garden beds right alongside us.

“That’s how roots work.”

She lifted her eyes to mine.

“They grow where nobody can see them.”

I brushed a little loose soil around the base of the newest shrub with the toe of my boot.

“They just keep reaching.”

She watched me for a long moment before looking back across the yard.

“He really did let love take root.”

I smiled and tucked one of her locs behind her ear.

“Good.”