Page 57 of Two Steps Ahead

Kayleigh had smiled at the small outdoor furniture set on the back patio where he liked to have his coffee in the morning. He wondered if she’d join him out there. What would it feel like to start and end the day with her at that little table?

He wanted nothing more than to find out.

He led her down a path that cut through the backyard furthest from the house. It was secluded and, though he knew she trusted him, too much had happened lately to let her walk into the situation blind. She was tensing, her breathing becoming slightly more labored, although she tried to hide it.

“If you’re planning to kill me, this is a pretty place to do it,” she said with a wobbly laugh.

“Wrong types of nutrients for these kinds of plants, so you’re safe.” He offered her a smile, glad when she relaxed. “Actually, I’ve never taken anyone out here.”

She stopped, looking surprised. “What about your family? I thought you were close.”

He pulled her forward, just enough to get her feet moving again. “It’s not that I haven’t wanted to, but they wouldn’t really understand.”

“And you think I will?” He could hear the hesitation in her voice.

“I know you will.”

A few more steps and they rounded the higher shrubs and she could finally see it.

“Oh,” Kayleigh breathed, eyes wide as she stared.

The greenhouse wasn’t huge by any means, but it was quite unique. Weston had built it himself using old windows—an eco-friendly home for his plants. The back of the building was a regular room where he’d run electricity, but the main part of the greenhouse was full of greenery.

He nudged Kayleigh forward again, opening the door for her. While she took in the rows of plants and workbenches, he watched her face. The way she smiled at the bean pods crawling up one wall; the way she laughed at the white star clematis hanging from the ceiling, the vines dipping low to nudge at their heads as they passed.

Just being inside this place was enough to take some of the weight off Weston’s shoulders. It had always been like that for him, as though the greenhouse stole his stress with its very air. He loved it.

Kayleigh bent over to sniff the sweet pea. “God, this smells amazing. Did you build this?”

Weston shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yep. After I had my yard landscaped the way I wanted, I decided to build this.Traveled to estate sales all over Texas to find the windows that would work and then pieced it together.”

“And the plants? Any rhyme or reason to them?”

He looked around. “No. Just whatever struck my fancy.”

She smiled hugely at that.

As she looked around, he tried to see things from a newcomer’s perspective. A random assortment of flowers and herbs growing in the room gave it a heady smell. The potted mint in the corner pierced the savory scent of the rosemary the next row over.

A bundle of lavender grew in a bucket in the far corner, a test to see how the plant would handle being bound in a smaller space. His mother’s favorite marigolds were bright against one wall, the orange and yellow petals lightening the area.

“It’s beautifully-cared-for chaos. Each flower and bud tended to. It’s wild in every way, Weston.”

Kayleigh’s eyes flicked to his. When she looked at him that way, he felt like he could see all the way to the artist’s soul that made up so much of who she was. It was the closest to magic he’d ever been.

He was a little sad when she turned away to study more of his precious plants. “I love everything about this place.”

Weston chuckled, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I knew you would. Let me show you the best part.”

He led her through the rows to the back wall so he could open the door there. Connected to the greenhouse proper was a small room he’d built for himself. It had taken him years, only putting in a weekend of work here and there, but the space was practically an oasis to Weston.

It was a simple room, hooked up for electricity but no water, phone or internet. A haven for him on his worst days. A place that was just his. The furniture was minimal—a bed and a huge old reading chair.

Sparse and simple, just what he needed.

“This is the coziest place. I don’t think I’d ever leave here!” Kayleigh said, sitting in the chair and peering through windows connected to the greenhouse they’d just been in. “It looks like a jungle in there.”

Kayleigh’s passion for life bled into everything she did, even mundane things like looking at plants. He wanted her close so he could revel in it andherfor as long as she’d let him.

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