Thirty-One and a Half Regrets
Page 65

When I went downstairs, all the lights inside were turned off except for the one in the office. Mason was pacing behind the desk, his hands in white-knuckled fists by his sides.
Not wanting to disturb him, I hung back in the shadows. But when he glanced up and saw me, his look of irritation transformed into one of affection.
“Did you have a nice shower?” he asked. The look of surprise on my face made him flush. “I came up to check on you and heard the water.”
I grinned. “I did. But I can’t sleep so I thought I’d trying reading in bed. Are you going to keep working for a while?”
He inhaled sharply. “I don’t know. I’ve looked at the evidence again and again, but I still can’t find a commonality.”
I put a hand on his arm. “You’ll find it.”
“I wish I was so sure.”
“My grandma always used to say that sometimes you can’t see the yarn fibers for the skeins.”
Mason’s brow lifted with an amused grin. “Excuse me?”
“It was Grandma’s way of saying sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well…I’ve examined the trees too.”
“Maybe it’s something so minuscule you’d never notice. It’s like when I used to grow prize-winning roses.”
He sat in his chair and looked up at me, his eyes shining. “You grew prize-winning roses?”
“That’s not the point.” I rested my hip against the desk. “Out of nowhere they developed a virus. I did everything I could to stop the infection from spreading, but most of my roses died. The next spring I planted new bushes and they came down with it too. It wasn’t until I took a couple of steps back that I figured out the cause.”
“And what was it?”
“It was a spade in my shed. I didn’t even use it on the bushes, but it was in contact with the pruners I used. The virus had spread from the spade to the pruners. I had to disinfect everything and then I was finally able to grow healthy roses again.”
Mason’s mouth dropped open in shock, then he jumped up and pulled me into a hug. “Rose, you are a genius.”
“What?”
“You may be on to something.”
“You have an infected spade?” I teased.
“I’m positive I do. I just need to find it.”
I grinned up at him. His excitement was contagious. “You will. Like I said, take a step back.” I placed a hand on his chest and stood on my tiptoes, my mouth an inch from his. “I take it that you’re going to stay up for a while?”
“Yes, I’m eager to look at all of this from a new perspective.”
I kissed him softly then backed away. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Good night.”
His eyes turned serious. “If you need me, come find me.”
“Okay.”
“Sleep well, Rose.”
I headed upstairs and climbed into bed with my book, leaving the door cracked open and the lamp on the nightstand on. I propped up the pillows behind me and tried to read with Muffy curled up beside me, but my mind kept drifting to Daniel Crocker.
I jumped out of bed and went into the nursery, taking a seat in the rocking chair. I looked out the back window toward the barn and tried to get my mind to shift to something—anything—else. As I looked around the room, I tried to imagine what it would be like if I moved into this house.
The house was huge, so much so that I could fit Momma’s house in the first floor. Would it be wasteful if I lived out here by myself? But then I thought about how much Muffy had loved running around the fields earlier. She could do that every day if we lived here. And I could get cats to live in the barn, maybe a horse.
But the house needed work and I was cash-poor. Did I really want to move out to an old house that was out in the middle of nowhere? I wasn’t saying yes yet, but I wasn’t saying no, either.
The rocking made me sleepy, so I got up after a while and switched on the bathroom light before climbing into bed, thinking about what color I’d paint this bedroom.
My sleep was restless, and I dreamed of Daniel Crocker finding me in the barn. I awoke with a start, bolting upright in bed. My breath came in heavy pants as I tried to settle down.
“Rose?” Mason stood in the doorway, wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt. “Are you okay?”
“I had a bad dream.”
He came into the room and sat on my bed, pulling me into his arms. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m okay.”
“Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?”
“Would you mind?”
“No, of course not.” He scooted back so he was sitting upright against the pillows. He tugged me back with him so I lay in the crook of his arm, my cheek on his chest. His hand lightly stroked my arm in a soothing motion.
“Did you find anything?” I asked, yawning.
“Not yet, but I’m seeing new correlations. Now if I can just tie them all together…” His arm squeezed around me. “Jeff’s coming out tomorrow and I plan to fill him in. Maybe he’ll see something.”
“Good.”
I closed my eyes as I felt a vision coming, but I relaxed into it. I was with Mason and I was safe.
I was lying in bed, in this room. Golden sunlight made the room glow. I turned to my side and saw me. I was curled on my side, the sheet exposing my naked chest. Mason’s hand brushed some loose hairs that lay over my shoulder. I stirred and my eyelashes fluttered against my cheeks.