“You kids really seemed to enjoy yourselves at the auction, so we thought it’d be neat, if you had time. Give me a ring!”

Panting, she lunged for the cordless. “Hello, Mrs. Diefenderfer? Co-chairing does sound neat, and I do have time.” The words just leapt out. In one impulsive act, she volunteered at the hospital yet again and, in so doing, dumped all her eggs in the Green Ridge basket. For now, anyway. She clutched the towel and shivered. Crazy as the idea was, it felt right.

“My stars, Tessa?”

“I’d be happy to help.”

“Wonderful! Claire will be so pleased. She’ll call you real soon to iron out the details.”

Water streamed down her legs and pooled on the floor. She tapped her toes in the puddle, making tiny ripples. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

“Those pies, honey pie—those were some pies.”

She ended the call and wiped the wet handset with a corner of her towel. Sploshing back to the bathroom, she paused in the doorway. The claw-foot tub was the same pearly white as Richard’s smile. Dropping the towel, she slipped into the water and sighed.

She could scrounge up a dress and borrow her mother’s earrings…but who’d be her date for the ball?

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Was Tessa hallucinating? Morning sun bounced off the hood of a black SUV, temporarily blinding her. Resting one hand on the garden fence post, she tugged down her baseball cap and peeked out from under the brim. Nope. Not a mirage. Richard’s swanky ride was parked in her driveway for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Moreover, the good doctor himself strode across the lawn, carrying a box of plants. She brushed dirt from her hands and waved. “You’re up early on a Sunday morning. What’s with all the flowers?”

“Isn’t it obvious, my darling? They’re for your garden.”

Turns out Richard was the kind of guy who could call a woman “my darling” after a brief acquaintance and sound completely natural—like someone out of a 1940s film. Dr. Suave, indeed. She stepped through the gate and met him in the grass. The wide, flat tray in his arms overflowed with foliage. She had a silly impulse to jump up and down. Repressing it, she bounced in place. “They’re all for me?”

“You and only you. Just tell me where you want them.” He shuffled a half step forward and back again. “Believe it or not, I’ve never really done this. Gardening. But I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. For you.”