Hearts at Home by Lori Copeland

Author:Lori Copeland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2010-09-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Returning to her tiny office at Portland’s Southern Maine Technical College, Annie dropped her book bag to the floor, then leafed through a sheaf of pink messages the division secretary had stacked on her desk. Apparently her students had been delighted to have a week off from her class, but only five students had enrolled in “Herbaceous Plant Design” for the spring term. In a Maine February, the only herbaceous plants around lived in the college greenhouse.

She dropped into her chair and tossed the messages onto her desk. None of them were pressing; they could wait until after she’d gone through the mail.

A rap on her door made her look up. “Ms. Cuvier?”

A freckle-faced young man with hair the color of ripe apples stood in her doorway.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah.” The young man blushed. “I’m Jason Boggs. I wanted to sign up for your class.”

She lifted a brow. “You’re a bit early, Jason. Registration for the summer term won’t begin for weeks.”

“But the catalog says instructor approval is required for the summer lab. I wanted to come by early . . . you know, to make sure you approve of me.”

Annie had to smile when his ears went the color of strawberries.

“It’s not a hugely popular class, Jason. I think you’ll be fine.”

His tentative grin broadened. “Great! When I read the article, I just knew I had to get into your lab. I want to learn all about how to design plants like your tomatoes.”

“The class isn’t about designing plants, Jason, it’s about designing landscapes.” She frowned. “Um, what article did you read?”

“This one.” With a flourish, he pulled a magazine from his book bag, then dropped it on her desk. Aghast, she stared at a glossy copy of Tomato Monthly. The cover featured her smiling face, and in her hands she held one of her spindly, practically poisonous tomato plants.

Groaning, she dropped her head into her hands. “They were supposed to pull this story. I called them right after the incident.”

“What incident?”

“My tomatoes nearly poisoned an entire town. They’re worthless.”

Jason shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, really. The article says you’re a genius at hybrid plant design. The writer said he thinks you’re going to be a millionaire by the time you’re thirty.”

Annie laughed aloud. “Don’t believe everything you read, Jason.” She fingered the glossy cover. “Do you mind if I borrow this? No—wait. I don’t want to look at it. Take it with you.”

He picked up the magazine and turned, then paused at the door. “So I can sign up for your class?”

“If you want to learn about landscape design, sure. If you want to learn how to poison half the world’s population, why not?”

Jason Boggs threw her a grin, then walked away whistling. When he had disappeared around a corner, Annie dropped her head to her desk and covered it with her hands.

What had she ever done to deserve such a streak of bad luck? She’d been blessed with a rich imagination, but apparently she lacked the brainpower to make her ideas work.

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