Her enthusiasm was infectious but even as I allowed myself to imagine this all working out, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling building inside me. I didn’t know if I could keep my abilities controlled in a place that far from the towering concrete buildings and paved streets of the city, but it looked like I was about to find out.

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

Mom and Mo spent the next days planning our trip to Rhinebeck. When Jake came by, they went over everything that needed to be done while we were gone. Mo told him she’d come back on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays to help.

Mom insisted we keep up our regular order for most of our stock, but I told her I wanted to replenish our supply of red roses because we sold more of them than anything else. I stole away to the back garden and lined up pots, filled them with soil, and set fully bloomed roses in the dirt. Mom offered to keep me company, but I didn’t want her or Mo anywhere nearby if something went wrong.

Stirring the soil with my fingers, the familiar prickling brought my skin to gooseflesh. I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could on the warm feeling in my fingers.

Just grow. Only these flowers. Nothing else.

The stem of a rosebush pushed its way up through the dirt. My heart raced and my head pounded as I moved to each of the other pots. The back garden transformed into an oasis of crimson petals and dark green leaves and stalks. There must’ve been two hundred flowers ready for harvesting, so perfectly formed they looked fake. I knew they’d stay that way for weeks, maybe longer. I hoped Jake wouldn’t question the peculiar longevity of the roses.

My vision blurred. I was winded, like I’d run a mile, and so dizzy I couldn’t keep my balance when I stood up. I leaned against the back wall of the shop and slid to the ground, cradled my head in my hands, my palms damp with sweat. I just wanted this to work without having to be afraid of what might happen.

The door to the shop creaked open. Mo poked her head out, took one look at me, and pulled me inside. I slumped into a chair behind the counter and took off my glasses. Mo filled a paper cup with water and handed it to me. I sipped it slowly, worried it might come back up if I drank too fast.

“We’re done with that,” she said. “No more. We’ll be fine.”

“No, I can help,” I said. I stood up and a sweeping rush of nausea knocked me right back down. “I need a minute to get it together.”