Flowers

Chapter 4

I woke up peacefully with Riley right by me. Sun shone through the mesh curtains of the window. I groaned sitting up, stirring Riley. I got up and got ready for the day. Janet was coming over for tea so I wanted to make sure had everything done by two.

I put on a purple tank top and black jeans. Walking out of the room I put my hair up and headed out the door. Riley followed me around the property as I watered and fed the animals.

My sprouts were still small but a few had begun to get taller. Some peaked through the dirt while others were still under. I cut off a few dead leaves from the winter plants.

Two o'clock had come fast and soon Janet and I were sitting on my porch. We each had a cup of ice tea and a small bowl of cut up fruit between us.

"So tell me about this military man." Janet leaned in, curiosity in her voice. "Well, he's very tall, at least 6'5. Bulky and a lot of muscles." I reminisced on how he looked. His eyes, the way his shirt clung to ever move of his muscles, how he could easily over power me. "He has the most beautiful eyes." I felt heat rise to my cheeks remembering how he looked back at me before leaving. "Honey, you're in love." Janet said it like it was nothing. "No, we don't even know each other." I fought back.

Janet stayed silent for a minute. "If you truly don't like this man then why do you describe him like that? Clearly you like this man." He put her hand on my leg, shaking it slightly. "Maybe I do. I don't know. It's hard not knowing him. I like his look." I huffed out. "Ok listen to me. When you see him next, ask him to stay for dinner. If you can't bring yourself to it then you don't love him but if you do it shows that you want to be near him." She chuckled. "I could," I thought.

Janet had left as the sun began to go down. Throughout my final chores along with dinner I couldn't help but think about what she said. "I do find him attractive but what if he has someone or maybe he won't return the feelings." I talked out loud. The empty house said nothing in return.

As I went to stir my night tea I saw I was out of sugar. "Dammit," I whispered. I didn't drink tea often but when I did I liked some sugar with it. I used sugar more often then I would've liked so that meant a trip to town.

"I'll go Saturday. That gives me four days without sugar." I spoke to Riley who was gnawing on an old bone.

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I began to dig up an old garden bed. I ment to do this yesterday but Janet came over instead. Using the rusty shovel my dad used I placed shovelfuls of dirt into a barrel. The planter box had begun to rot due to the wood not being cured properly. Lucky for me I had some extra planks from Bill so I could have a smaller one in its place.

Riley chased butterflies around the garden as I struggled with praying the old wood off each other. "God dammit." I huffed. The nails weren't coming out and I was starting to become impatient.

"Seems like you could use some help." A fimilary deep voice said from behind me. I jumped startled, letting out a small yelp. I held my chest as I looked up. "Oh jeez you scared me." I stood up, dusting off some loose dirt from my jeans. "Sorry, you said come by and I saw you back here." he stood still.

He wasn't in his usual camo clothes. He wore simple blue jeans, which gripped his thighs nicely making them stand out. His black shirt sat tight on his body showing off each muscle and when he moved they appeared clearer.

"It's no problem I must of not heard you come to the gate." I glared at Riley who continued to run after a white butterfly. "Whatcha up to." He looked behind me at the mess of broken wood and barrel of dirt. "Well this wood has rotted out so I'm trying to take it all out and replace it with these," I pointed to the cured planks, "but this wood won't come out." I kicked it slightly. The wood didn't move an inch.