“The leaves pointed me to the Bonners,” she said. “What if we can get the answers we need from them? My vision had their cornfield in it. If Sylvia will let me behind the gate, maybe we’ll be able to sort this all out.”

“The Bonners,” Maura scoffed. “They made it perfectly clear that if we give them the chance, they’ll swoop in and take the garden right out from under us.”

Maybe if Maura knew what Addison had seen, she’d understand. Addison wasn’t ready to share the truth, but if it meant saving the garden, she’d do it. “After dinner I had a drink with Sylvia and—”

Maura cut her short. “I’m not letting a Bonner step foot onto our soil. The leaves showed you the Bonners as a warning. Mark my words, whatever is wrong with those plants started with them, and we don’t need their help to fix it.”

Addison let her hands fall to her sides and tried not to let the tears come.

“This is a family matter,” Maura said. “And we will solve it together, as a family.”

Chapter 34

Maura

After spending sixty-nine years on this earth, there were few things that surprised Maura, but her granddaughter’s magic was one of them. It was new at every turn. She’d never understood how Addison had taken what she had from River in the first place, much less how she’d now managed to pull it back from the garden. She’d always thought the plants broke down the pain that the Haywoods poured into their soil, and though she wanted to sit and think and sort through the possibilities, in that moment she was more concerned by Addison storming off and climbing into River’s car.

Granted, Maura might’ve come off a bit too harsh, but the Bonners had threatened to take her land. That was reason enough to crush any idea Addison might have about working with them. If they really did need to get into the Bonners’ cornfield for answers, Maura had a pair of wire cutters that would do the job just fine.

She rubbed at her temples as River’s tires rumbled over the gravel. What she hadn’t admitted to her granddaughter was her disappointment in herself at having missed what was happening in the garden. Somewhere along the line she’d stopped listening to the plants, and now she was paying the price.

She leaned her head back and groaned.

“I’m getting too old for this.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and started searching for Addison’s number when Irene’s face appeared on the screen.

“Irene?” she asked. “You didn’t come home last night.”

“I need you to come to the tea shop,” Irene said. “And for the love of all that is good in the universe, please get us some coffee.”