Blue Dahlia

the green boots. Laughed. “So much for looking professional.”
    The laugh had Roz angling her head in approval. “You’re a pretty woman, and you’ve got good taste in clothes. That kind of image doesn’t hurt. You took the time to put yourself together well for this meeting, which I neglected to do. I appreciate that.”
    “You hold the cards, Ms. Harper. You can put yourself together any way you like.”
    “You’re right about that.” She walked back to the door, gestured, and they stepped outside into a light, chilly drizzle. “Let’s go into the office. No point hauling you around in the wet. What are your other reasons for moving back here?”
    “I couldn’t find any reason to stay in Michigan. We moved there after Kevin and I were married—his work. I think, I suppose, I’ve stayed there since he died out of a kind of loyalty to him, or just because I was used to it. I’m not sure. I liked my work, but I never felt—it never felt like my place. More like I was just getting from one day to the next.”
    “Family?”
    “No. No, not in Michigan. Just me and the boys. Kevin’s parents are gone, were before we married. My mother lives in New York. I’m not interested in living in the city or raising my children there. Besides that, my mother and I have ... tangled issues. The way mothers and daughters often do.”
    “Thank God I had sons.”
    “Oh, yeah.” She laughed again, comfortably now. “My parents divorced when I was very young. I suppose you know that.”
    “Some of it. As I said, I like your father, and Jolene.”
    “So do I. So rather than stick a pin in a map, I decided to come here. I was born here. I don’t really remember, but I thought, hoped, there might be a connection. That it might be the place.”
    They walked back through the retail center and into a tiny, cluttered office that made Stella’s organized soul wince. “I don’t use this much,” Roz began. “I’ve got stuff scattered between here and the house. When I’m over here, I end up spending my time in the greenhouses or the field.”
    She dumped gardening books off a chair, pointed to it, then sat on the edge of the crowded desk when Stella took the seat.
    “I know my strengths, and I know how to do good business. I’ve built this place from the ground up, in less than five years. When it was smaller, when it was almost entirely just me, I could afford to make mistakes. Now I have up to eighteen employees during the season. People depending on me for a paycheck. So I can’t afford to make mistakes. I know how to plant, what to plant, how to price, how to design, how to stock, how to handle employees, and how to deal with customers. I know how to organize.”
    “I’d say you’re absolutely right. Why do you need me—or someone like me?”
    “Because of all those things I can—and have done—there are some I don’t like. I don’t like to organize. And we’ve gotten too big for it to fall only to me how and what to stock. I want a fresh eye, fresh ideas, and a good head.”
    “Understood. One of your requests was that your nursery manager live in your house, at least for the first several months. I—”
    “It wasn’t a request. It was a requirement.” In the firm tone, Stella recognized the difficult attributed to Rosalind Harper. “We start early, we work late. I want someone on hand, right on hand, at least until I know if we’re going to find the rhythm. Memphis is too far away, and unless you’re ready to buy a house within ten miles of mine pretty much immediately, there’s no other choice.”
    “I have two active young boys, and a dog.”
    “I like active young boys, and I won’t mind the dog unless he’s a digger. He digs in my gardens, we’ll have a problem. It’s a big house. You’ll have considerable room for yourself and your sons. I’d offer you the guest cottage, but I couldn’t pry Harper out of it with dynamite. My oldest,” she explained. “Do you want the job, Stella?”
    She opened her mouth, then took a testing breath. Hadn’t she already calculated the risks in coming here? It was time to work toward the goal. The risk of the single condition couldn’t possibly outweigh the benefits.
    “I do. Yes, Ms. Harper, I very much want the job.”
    “Then you’ve got it.” Roz held out a hand to shake. “You can bring your things over tomorrow—morning’s best—and we’ll get y’all settled in. You can take a couple of days, make sure your boys are