"That's not what I was asking. I mean would it make a difference in the way you see me? Would you still... care for me?"

Jody pulled Ellen closer and wrapped her arms around her. "Yes, I'd still care for you. But we aren't going to have to worry about that, because I'm sure the tests are going to come back negative. As you said, it'll probably be a cyst." As she held Ellen, Jody imagined she could feel heat radiating from Ellen's breast. She suddenly recalled a science experiment she had witnessed as a child. The experiment demonstrated the effects that heat had on yeast. In her mind she saw the ball of dough start to expand, more than doubling in size. She fought the urge to break contact with Ellen's body, to reduce the body heat generated between them.

They talked about Ellen's work and reminisced about things that had happened in their past. Dinner was forgotten as they made love again, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

The following morning, Jody woke to Ellen's stirrings.

"Go back to sleep," Ellen whispered. "I'm going to shower."

Jody squinted at the red dial on the clock. It was five in the morning.

"Why are you up at this hour?" she asked.

"I need to go in early and try to get some work done. I was out of the office most of the morning yesterday, and I had planned on going in during the weekend but didn't."

"You shouldn't have put in all those hours at the shop." Jody started to sit up.

"No, don't get up. I enjoyed those hours working with you and Mom at the shop. Now, go back to sleep. You're on vacation, so rest."

Jody slipped back under the blanket. "Wake me before you leave."

"I will," Ellen promised and kissed her cheek.

A few seconds later, Jody heard the shower turn on. She snuggled deeper into the bedcovers, but it was useless. She was awake. She gave up trying to sleep and started planning her day. The first thing she should do was call her parents and let them know she would be visiting for a couple of weeks. Then she needed to call the airline for reservations. Jody sat up in bed and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. Maybe she should postpone the trip to see her parents until the results from Ellen's tests were back. Even though Ellen didn't seem concerned over them, Jody would feel better if she waited until the results came back. Besides, it wasn't like she would be wasting the time. There were several things around the house in need of attention.

The rose garden, she decided. She'd been wanting to put a rose garden in her backyard for over a year.

She heard Ellen in the shower and thought about joining her but knew if she did, Ellen would be late for work. So instead, Jody called and ordered breakfast.

By the time Ellen came out of the bathroom Jody had breakfast arranged on the small table.

"What's this?" Ellen asked, smiling. She was dressed in a pale blue linen suit.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Jody mimicked the popular television commercial from her childhood.

Ellen laughed.

"I thought you might be hungry since we never got around to having dinner."

"As a matter of fact, I'm famished. What do we have to eat?"

"The ail-American heart-attack-producing breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon and a pot of coffee."

"Um, let's start with the coffee."

Jody leaned over and kissed Ellen quickly. "Your wish is my command."

"I'll have to remember that," Ellen said, wiggling her eyebrows.

After Ellen left for work, Jody took a quick shower and dressed. Since her favorite garden center didn't open until nine, she had a couple of hours to kill. She dug through the desk drawers until she found a piece of hotel stationery and began sketching a rough plan for the rose garden.

Chapter Seventeen.

Leti and Maricela were still arranging the outside displays when Jody pulled into the parking lot.

Leti, a tall, lanky woman in her mid-fifties, glanced up as Jody approached. "h.e.l.lo," Leti called. She set a tray of petunias down and waved.

Maricela's short, heavy-set form was bent over a water fountain that she was in the process of a.s.sembling. She saw Jody and frowned. Jody waved and said h.e.l.lo anyway. Maricela had been angry with Jody ever since Jody dated Maricela's sister, Pat, a few years before. The short affair hadn't ended well, and Maricela still blamed Jody.

Only a pleading look from Leti budged Maricela away from the fountain long enough to be civil.

"I haven't seen you two since the Christmas party at the community center," Jody said as she gave Leti a hug.

"We've been here," Maricela said, heading into the store.

"What brings you out so early?" Leti asked as she watched Maricela disappear inside.

"I want to put a rose garden in my backyard, but I'm not sure how much room I need for the plants. I thought I'd drop by to see if you had any suggestions as to which varieties I should plant and how much room they'll need."

Leti pulled her cap off and brushed her arm across her forehead. "The size will depend on the number of plants you want. It's best to decide how large you want the garden to be and use that to determine the number of plants. You can plant any of the varieties we carry. Some do a little better in certain locations but, of course, drainage is the big issue. Along with how much sun will be hitting the plants during the heat of the day, and how good your soil is."

Jody pulled her crudely drawn plans from her pocket. She used it to point out where the trees and other flower beds were in her yard, and which area of the rose bed would get afternoon sun.

"The house will shade the entire plot until about midmorning," Jody explained.

"How's your soil?"

"Not very good. I'll probably have to dig out the area and then fill it in with a topsoil mixture like you recommended I do for the flower beds."

"Why don't we start you off by preparing the soil and after you get it ready, you can choose the rosebushes. People don't realize that roses are hardy plants. They'll grow almost anywhere." Leti motioned for Jody to follow her. "Let me show you a few things you can use to enhance your current soil, and if you don't care for them, then I'll load you up with some topsoil and get you started."

After listening to Leti explain the various fertilizers and soil products, Jody decided to stick with her original plan to dig out the area and replace it with a much more fertile topsoil. She rented a garden tiller from them and purchased several bags of sand, topsoil and mulch. Since the tiller would not fit into Jody's Wrangler, she made arrangements to have everything delivered. Leti promised the items would be delivered before noon that day.

Jody went home and changed into an old tank top and shorts. She walked out onto the flagstone patio and surveyed the backyard. She loved the yard. Her property consisted of a double lot. The house stood on one lot and the backyard was the other. A large portion of the yard was covered in St. Augustine gra.s.s, which provided a deep, rich carpet of green. To her left was an oak tree that had stood there well over fifty years. Toward the back of the yard were two towering pecan trees and several smaller fruit trees. Since moving in, Jody had added four small flower beds scattered throughout the yard. Some had been planted merely for color, but the majority were for the purpose of attracting b.u.t.terflies and hummingbirds. The rose garden was to be purely for her own enjoyment. She wanted it to be visible from both her bedroom window and the large bay window in the kitchen. She went back inside to check the view from both windows and to ensure she'd chosen the perfect location. She then measured off the garden's dimensions and used a couple of garden hoses to mark the layout. As a final precaution, she went back inside to view the area outlined by the hoses. Satisfied with the layout, she got a shovel and began digging the gra.s.s from the area. She would save the gra.s.s and transplant it to the far side of the tool shed where the St. Augustine hadn't yet reached. The removal of the gra.s.s was back-breaking, but she already had a large section removed by the time Maricela backed the truck up to the side gate.

Grateful for the break from digging, Jody went to help her unload the tiller and bags. They worked in silence.

After they finished unloading the truck, Maricela handed her a copy of the delivery receipt.

Jody decided it was time to get the problem between them out into the open. "You're never going to forgive me for breaking up with your sister, are you?"

Maricela braced her solid frame against the back of the pickup. "You really hurt her."

"Maricela, we only dated for a couple of weeks."

"She thought you were serious. She didn't realize it's all a game to you."

"I'm sorry she was hurt, but I never pretended it was forever."

"She was at a bad spot in her life and your breaking up with her didn't help. I'll pick up the tiller tomorrow. If you decide you'll need it longer, just give Leti a call. If you aren't going to be home, leave it by the gate," without waiting for Jody's response, Maricela climbed into the truck and drove off.

Why did things always have to be so complicated? Knowing there was no answer to her question, she went back to work on her rose garden.

By late afternoon, she had removed all the gra.s.s and several inches of dirt from the designated area. She was ready to replace extracted soil with the more fertile mixture and begin tilling.

Before beginning that task, she decided to take a break and made herself a sandwich. She took her lunch out to the patio to view the work she'd accomplished. As she studied the area, she suddenly envisioned a swing in the middle of the garden, with an arbor covered by lush climbing roses shading the swing. She raced inside for a pencil and pulled the sweat-dampened plans from her pocket. She added a crude sketch of a swing with an arched arbor over it. She realized the new additions would require a larger area. Her back ached as she thought about the additional digging that would be required, but she knew the extra work would be worthwhile. She tossed the half-eaten sandwich aside, picked up the shovel and went back to work removing more gra.s.s. It was late afternoon before she ripped open the first bag of sand and dumped it into the enlarged area. Leti had explained to her that the sand would provide drainage for the plants.

After dumping in all the sand, Jody realized she only had enough for the original smaller version.

She glanced at her watch. It was after six. Leti and Maricela's shop stayed open until eight, but they were all the way across town from her. Feeling slightly guilty, but determined to complete the soil preparation today, she jumped into her Jeep and headed for the nearest home-improvement center.

When she returned home, she checked her messages and experienced a stab of disappointment that Ellen hadn't called. She toyed with the idea of calling her but decided to wait and call later. She unloaded the additional bags of sand and topsoil, then went back to work.

It was after eleven before she smoothed out the last of the topsoil. Exhausted, yet filled with a sense of accomplishment, she dropped into a lawn chair. The rich, warm fragrance of fresh soil filled the air.

She watched the bugs hovering around the large reflector light she'd hung from the tree to illuminate her work area and again thought about calling Ellen. She couldn't wait to complete the garden and invite Ellen over to see it. She angled her watch around until she could see the time. It was only a little after eleven. Ellen would probably still be up.

Jody went inside, grabbed the phone and a cold beer and took them back to the patio. She sipped the beer as she dialed Ellen's cell number and waited.

When Ellen answered, Jody heard the music of mariachis in the background. "Where are you?" Jody asked.

Ellen was a little slow in answering. "I'm having dinner with a friend from Los Angeles."

"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you. I didn't realize you had plans tonight. Not that you have to tell me if you have plans," Jody added, fl.u.s.tered. "I just meant that. .."

"I didn't know she was going to be in town. We kind of b.u.mped into each other."

"I see," Jody said, although she wasn't sure she did. She could sense Ellen's discomfort. "Look, I'll let you go. I was just calling to, you know, say hi. I'll talk to you later."

Jody hung up before she could make a bigger fool of herself. Immediately, she wished she could call back and ask Ellen why she was out with some other woman until nearly midnight. Maybe Ellen was already tired of her and was looking for someone younger. A mosquito buzzed around her ear. She gave a half-hearted swipe at it and wondered who the woman was. How did they happen to b.u.mp into each other? The mosquito buzzed against her cheek. Was it a friendly dinner? Maybe she was an ex-lover. The back of Jody's arm began to itch. She reached back and was numbly aware of a half-dozen welts from mosquito bites.

It's nothing, she told herself. If Ellen said she was only having dinner with a friend, then there was nothing else going on. Relationships required a certain amount of trust and distance, she reminded herself. Besides, she and Ellen were only dating. No commitment had been made. She felt a sharp stab over her eye. The mosquitoes were eating her alive. She swatted at the one above her eye and only succeeded in slapping herself.

She gathered up the phone and the now-warm beer. With a last glance at her rose garden, she turned out the light and escaped into the house.

As she dumped out the beer, she made a decision. She wasn't going to allow herself to get all psyched out over Ellen having dinner with an old friend.

She focused instead on her rose garden. Tomorrow, she would start looking for the swing and arbor. When she had them, she could start choosing her plants.

She showered and fell into bed exhausted but satisfied with the day's accomplishment. It took some effort, but she finally pushed away the nagging thoughts and doubts of what Ellen was doing and fell asleep.

Chapter Eighteen.

The following morning, Jody sat on her patio, having her first cup of coffee. She attempted to count the number of hummingbirds that were swarming the feeders. The phone rang, interrupting her futile efforts.

"Did I wake you?" Ellen asked.

"No. I'm outside enjoying my coffee and counting the hummingbirds."

"I'm jealous."

Jody watched a hummingbird approach one of the numerous feeders filled with sugar water. She wanted to ask about Ellen's dinner date but knew she shouldn't. To her relief, Ellen brought up the subject.

"I wanted to call and talk to you about last night. I couldn't really talk when you called, and it was too late to call after I got back to the hotel."

What time did you get back to the hotel? Jody wanted to shout. While traveling in Midland, Ellen had called Jody after midnight. Jody stiffened when she heard Ellen take a deep breath. She braced herself and waited for the bombsh.e.l.l that she instinctively knew would drop.

"Beth is in town."

Jody struggled to recall the name. Who the h.e.l.l was Beth? She bit her tongue and waited for Ellen to continue.

"She remembered my telling her about Petal Pushers. She went there and Mom told her where I was staying. She was waiting for me when I got to my room yesterday," Ellen said.

Before Jody could stop herself, she blurted out, "What does she want?"

"She wants us to try again. She says she still loves me and she's willing to see a counselor to work on her codependency issues."

"What did you tell her?" Jody cursed herself for asking a question to which she didn't really want an answer.

Ellen sighed and Jody felt her heart skip a beat.

"I told her I was seeing someone else, and that she and I didn't have anything to work out."

"So she's going back to California?" Jody prayed she was.

"Not exactly."

Jody knew she was going to regret asking, but a naughty streak of masochism forced her to. "What does 'not exactly' mean exactly?"

"She's taken a leave of absence from work and is staying here in San Antonio."

Jody breathed a sigh of relief. "Living in a hotel, as you well know, isn't cheap. How long can she possibly stay here without working?"

"She's not staying in a hotel."

"Where is she?"