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“This was my mother and father’s garden,” Ariel explained. “And I left it here for so long like this because it hurt me to remember the good times we’d had in it. If it was ugly and overgrown, it wasn’t the same place that had existed when we’d all been happy as a family. So I could walk past and not remember those times. They hurt me before because I’ll never have them again.”
Emily put a hand on Ariel’s arm. “If this garden was special to you, I didn’t mean to—”
“No, you did a wonderful thing,” Ariel said. “You did the very thing to this garden that you need to do for yourself, and that I need to do for myself. Emily, you have grown so much. You’ve gone from the woman who wanted to spite her ex-husband to the woman who came to set him free, despite how it would hurt.”
Emily’s face was brightening now, and a smile was forming on her lips. “That’s true, too.”
“And I need to do that too.”
“Set Miles free?” Emily’s eyes widened. “Oh, goodness. Do not do that. I couldn’t live with myself if you had some kind of epiphany like that because of me.”
“No, no,” Ariel said, laughing while she felt a few tears well up in her own eyes. “I need to cultivate—this garden, my relationships. I need to feed them and tend to them and stop living in a place where I let other things grow over, or where I walk past and forget what’s come before. You showed me that.”
Emily looked out over the zucchini rows, her smile spreading. “I have no idea what to say,” she said. “I thought when you came to see me that we would end as enemies.”
“Well, how about friends instead?” Ariel asked.
“I would love that,” Emily said, her smile now a full grin. “And I think I’ll take your advice and start thinking about other places I could be happy.”
Ariel pulled Emily into another hug, rolling out one more garden pun, which she committed to telling Katie later, when they recounted the day together.
“You grow, girl,” she whispered, and Emily dissolved into peals of laughter.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
The next morning saw Emily leaving Leeside in a teary but sweet farewell. Ariel had hoped to get Miles to talk with her before she left, but he was still trepidatious, and Ariel didn’t want to force things. After a long hug and a walk down the steps to her waiting car, Emily slid an envelope to Ariel, pressing it into her palm.
“Can you give him this?” she asked. “They’re not the official papers. It’s just a letter, explaining the new terms. I can have the official ones sent if he agrees, I don’t want to seem pushy. He can take all the time he needs.”
Ariel nodded. “Of course. And please, travel safe. And come back.”
“Announced, this time?” Emily asked, climbing into the driver’s seat.
“Announced,” Ariel said, laughing.
As Emily backed down the drive, Ariel felt a wave of relief. She was glad that everything had been cleared up between them, and she was looking forward tomovingforward. Clutching the envelope, Ariel headed back into the kitchen to find Darcy.
***
The kitchen was quiet. It was still early, before breakfast, and the oatmeal buffet had already been laid out in the dining room. Now, the only sounds came from the clanking of pots and pans and the occasional hiss of a gas burner. But even in the early morning hours, there was one person hard at work, preparing for the day ahead. That person was the sous chef—her sous chef, Darcy.
Over the time he had been at Leeside, Darcy had become Ariel’s right hand, and she had been impressed with how he’d become responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the kitchen. In order for the kitchen to run smoothly, a lot of prep work needed to be done before the first order came in—and as a pair, they never failed to make sure that happened.
Each day, Darcy began by checking the inventory of the ingredients, making a list of what needed to be ordered for the day. Ariel would place the orders, and then, they started the time-consuming process of prepping the ingredients for the day's dishes.
She watched him now, starting the stocks and sauces. He’d pulled out the bones and vegetables for the stocks and began to roast them in the oven. While the stocks were simmering, he would move on to prepping the vegetables—peeling and dicing onions, carrots, and celery, which would be used in a variety of dishes throughout the day. Ariel usually took care of chopping herbs, mincing garlic, and cleaning mushrooms. Each ingredient was carefully prepped, weighed, and portioned, ready to be used as needed.
Next, Darcy always prepped the proteins—steak, chicken, fish, and shellfish, removing any bones or shells and portioning them into the appropriate sizes. Everything was then seasoned and marinated, ready to be cooked to perfection later in the day.
As the morning wore on, the kitchen started to come to life—Katie would wake, Charlie would visit, sometimes guests or their children would wander into the room with sleepy eyes and empty coffee mugs. But now, before anyone else was awake, and as the sound of chopping and sizzling filled the air, Ariel knew that the success of the day's service depended on the careful planning and execution of the man standing at her kitchen island.
“Boss?”
Ariel smiled absently, coming slowly back from her thoughts. “Hmmm?”
“Ariel,” Darcy said, and she snapped back to focus on him.
“Oh! Yes, sorry. What did you say?”
