As she worked, grass staining her pajamas at the knees and dirt caking her hands, her early morning ennui seeped into the earth. Her mind cleared. She wouldn’t make any decisions about New York until she talked the whole matter over with Jennifer in person. In the meantime, she’d just have to stay busy. She sat back on her heels. Two-and-a-half acres of lawn and gardens were already in serious need of tending. No call for a house sitter now. Of course, she’d have no choice but to return to the Farmers’ Market for more plants. Maybe staying in Green Ridge all summer was worth it, if only to get an eyeful of Jonas the Amish dreamboat every Wednesday.

Pajama top plastered to her back, she blinked away sweat and settled in the last of the flowers. Shower time. She unfolded her legs and staggered to her feet, her right knee cracking in protest. The lilacs beckoned, and she made a quick detour on her way inside. Late this year, lilac season was one of her favorite times of the year. She had just buried her nose in a fat, fragrant flower, when inside the house, the landline rang.

She twirled and dashed across the yard. Maybe Jenn was calling to say she’d come to her senses and wouldn’t dream of breaking their sacred roomie bond for some boy.

Chest heaving, she snatched the phone just as the answering machine whirred to life. “Hello?”

“Tessa Meadows, are you all right?”

She drooped against the kitchen counter. “Yes, Mrs. Diefenderfer, thank you. I just dashed in from the garden.”

“Well listen, sweetie, I’m up a creek. Phyllis Kiefer—you remember Phyllis, don’t you? Curtis and Judy’s mom?”

She had a vague recollection of a surly football player named Curt who sat across from her in homeroom.

“Well, wouldn’t you know, Phyllis’ grandson fell off his bike and broke his arm. So, Phyllis can’t take care of the dessert table at the celebrity auction, after all. Now, I don’t know when you’re leaving for New York, but could you work some of that Meadows’ magic and help out in the treats department? It’s for a good cause.”

She wrapped the phone cord around her fingers. Little did Mrs. Diefenderfer know, she was not possessed of a single secret to the Meadows’ magic. Her diet in the past three years consisted entirely of organic frozen food, and despite her mother’s encouragement, she never learned to bake. Gazing out the window, she tightened the cord. Then again, she only had so many flower gardens to tend. “Actually, my move is temporarily on hold. I’d be happy to help.”