In the Garden - 02 - Red lily by Nora Roberts

Author:Nora Roberts [Roberts, Nora]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

eleven

SHE FRETTED FOR the rest of the afternoon, and lavished attention on Lily. It was a strange and, she imagined, strictly maternal sort of juggling act to balance the fact that she’d missed her baby girl with the fact that she’d had the most wonderful time without her.

Guilt, she thought, came in many forms. By the time Roz got in from work, Hayley had built up a sputtering head of guilt.

“Welcome home.” Roz stretched her back, eyed Hayley who stood in the foyer. “Did you have a good time?”

“Yes. Wonderful. Beyond wonderful. I should start out saying you raised the most incredible man.”

“That was the goal.”

“Roz, I can’t thank you enough for keeping Lily that way.” Unconsciously, she covered the bracelet on her wrist with her other hand. “It was more than I could expect.”

“I enjoyed it. We all did. Where is she?”

“I wore her out,” Hayley said with a weak smile. “All but kissed the skin off her bones. She’s taking a quick nap. I got you a gift.”

“Isn’t that sweet.” Taking the box, Roz strolled into the parlor to open it. And beamed when she found the frame, already spotlighting a picture of her with Lily. “I love this shot. I’m going to put this on the desk in my sitting room.”

“I hope she didn’t give you any trouble last night.”

“Not a bit. We had ourselves a fine time.”

“I—we—Harper. Hell. Can we sit down a minute?”

Obligingly, Roz sat on the sofa, propped her feet on the table. “I wonder if David’s made any lemonade? I could drink a gallon.”

“I’ll go get you some.”

Roz waved toward a seat. “I’ll get my own in a minute. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Hayley sat, stiff-backed, her hands folded in her lap. “I got to know the mothers of some of the guys I dated. We always got along okay. But I never . . . it’s so surreal to be good friends with the mother of a man I’m . . . romantically intimate with.”

“I’d think, all in all, that would be a bonus.”

“It’s not that it isn’t. I suppose it would be less surreal if I’d gotten to know you, gotten to be friends with you after things became—”

“Romantically intimate.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how to talk to you about it, exactly, because the relationships are all tangled together. But I wanted to say, to tell you, that you raised an amazing individual. I know I did that, but I want to say it again. Harper went to so much trouble, took such care to give me something special. There aren’t many like that, at least in my experience.”

“He’s a very special man. I’m glad you see that, and appreciate it.”

“I do. He had this beautiful suite, and flowers and candles. Champagne. No one’s ever done anything like that for me. I don’t just mean the lavishness, you know? I’d’ve been fine with a plate of ribs and a motel room. And how crude is that,” she muttered, closing her eyes.

“Not crude.

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