Finished, she gave herself a mental pat on the back. Good Kit.

She joined Hawk as he lowered the tailgate. The entire bed was filled with her plants.

Aric clapped his hands at the pretty sight.

The pansy seeds she’d sown at summer solstice had been transplanted a couple of times into bigger pots. Now, in full, glorious bloom, some were dark blue and white, some purple and violet, the rest a vivid yellow. With inexpensive pots, paint, and macramé cord, she’d created attractive hanging baskets.

Her timing was excellent, since petunias, the usual plant for hanging baskets, were getting scraggly. Her cold-loving pansies would keep flowering for a long time during the fall.

“Which one for Dante, Aric?” she asked.

“This.” Her son liked the bicolor blue-and-white flowers.

“All right.” Nerves jittering, she picked it up.

Hawk held the grocery store door open, and Aric trotted in with her.

Behind the counter, Dante held up a hand in greeting. “Kit, Aric, y’all are looking good. That’s a beautiful pot. Pansies?”

“Um, yes.” She pulled in a breath, and her carefully rehearsed speech disappeared. “I-ah-I grew these for you”—her voice cracked—“t-to try to say thank you for helping get me and Aric out of the PZ compound.”

For saving us.

Blinking back tears, she handed him the basket over the counter. This was a lot harder than she’d thought it would be.

Hawk’s rough voice broke in. “She’s been growing them out at the Hermitage. Fixed up the pots. Did the macramé herself.”

“Hey, now, that’s a purely fine thank you.” Dante smiled at her, then Aric. “And you’re very welcome. Both of you.”

Aric piped in, “We can pick Ms. Lillian a pretty one to match yours. Cuz we are thanking her too.”

The white-haired Okie’s expression turned soft. “Happens that blue is her favorite color.”

Aric’s chest puffed out.

“She’ll be tickled to have a hanging plant on each side of our door. She loves fancy flowers.”

Consulting her list, Kit and her crew continued handing out flowers to the people who’d helped during the rescue.

To her delight, Hawk spotted Chevy and Knox at the post office, fixing a gutter. During the rescue, Kit had been unconscious, but Chevy was the one who’d carried her down the long trail away from the PZ compound. Knox had been there too.

Knox was a tall lanky guy with a bushy red beard. Chevy was short and stocky. She’d gotten to know them when Principal Jones hired her to landscape the new school grounds. The guys had been spending their off hours there building a playground.

Presented with the bright yellow pansies, the two handymen looked flabbergasted, then Chevy grinned. “The missus will love these. I’ll be a hero when I get home.”

“Yeah? A hero?” Knox studied his plant thoughtfully.

Hawk chuckled. “You still seeing Erica at the summer school?”