Page 54 of A Touch of Spring Magic

“No way—bamboo is invasive,” Jessica automatically objected.

“You wanted a maze. That would give you a maze.”

“I want a niche nursery, not a bamboo forest.”

“You could have pandas.” Chloe made a cute puppy dog face and did something weird with her arms like she was pretending to be a panda.

Jessica laughed and pulled out her phone. “Sure. I’ll order a pair off Amazon.”

“You could have planters for the bamboo around the gazebo,” Sarah said thoughtfully. “Are you going with an around-the-world theme with your botanical garden?”

“I’m not sure if I’m that organized,” she admitted, finding herself looking at Storm, but dang it. It was her business. She didn’t need to start looking to anyone else for permission.

Except my sisters.

But they were sisters so it didn’t count the same way. “I’ve really been collecting plants and looking at pictures of plants over the years that I like, but also plants that are medicinal. I’ve always been fascinated by ayurvedic medicine.”

Everyone was staring at her. “What?”

“Why are we just learning this now?” Meghan demanded.

“No, Jessie, don’t stop. Meghan, let her talk. This is important. Just brainstorm,” Chloe suggested. “Dream big. Freestyle it.” She held her phone out like it was a microphone and Jessica was a celebrity talking about her latest project.

Sarah and Meghan had been crouched down, looking at the tiles of the mosaic, that Jessica had finally cleared off all the overgrowth and finished cleaning last night. They had their heads together, and Meghan was talking with her hands, clearly brimming with ideas. But Jessica felt oddly blank. She’d wanted to have a garden. She wanted to work with plants. She wanted to create spaces of beauty, but she hadn’t spelled out the details. It had all been in her head.

Safe.

She shook off the doubt and fear of being judged. She would be no matter what she did—not by her sisters, and probably not Storm, and wasn’t it wild that she felt safe with him? Other people would have opinions but so what?

“Bamboo in pots around the gazebo would frame it, so that there would be shade and the illusion of privacy and the bamboo wouldn’t become invasive,” Storm said.

“Then we could create a path with some of the wood circles—the path could lead to a different focal point, with plants from tropical climes. I’d love to have the gazebo look out over planted tea plants. I’ve visited tea gardens in the Charleston area and out near Mars Hill,” Jessica shared. “I don’t want to have a tea estate, just a small garden where I can offer specialty blends of teas, and also sell some plants, but that is just one area I intend to develop, and this area gets plenty of sun.”

“The gazebo would be a great place for customers to sip tea and relax,” Chloe said.

“I don’t want to be a barista,” Jessica said. “And I’m not looking to hire a lot of staff, especially at first.”

“Self-serve,” Chloe jumped down beside her. “You can have a tea or drip coffee service area—sweet tea too that you sun-brew, and guests can get a cup using the honor system and stroll around and sip and savor. And maybe on weekend afternoons some wineries might want to come and pour their wines. You could probably sell wine grapes. People can eat wine grapes right? That’s kinda niche—feels so Napa. Oh, and Rustin and I went to a winery not too far away to discuss a wine dinner they wanted to hire him for. We got to do a whole tasting for free and talk about food and wine.”

Jessica stared at Chloe as she brimmed with ideas—no fear. But as she listened to Chloe dream big for her, something in Jessica unfurled. She’d been so focused on cleaning up the garden and having a blank slate, that she hadn’t allowed herself to enjoy the possibilities. Storm had tried to do that, but she’d been so worried he’d take over, yet now she was seeing in real time how one idea sparked another.

And with Chloe bouncing beside her and Sarah offering a few ideas while Storm and two crew members began installing the curved benches inside the gazebo, Meghan wandered off toward the former orchard and berry fields that were so far down on Jessica’s list she’d not begun to think about them.

“Grandma Millie,” Chloe called out and ran down the brick path toward the house where Grandma Millie stood on the porch, looking left and right as if searching for them.

As Chloe bounced more than walked beside Grandma Millie, Jessica noticed that Grandma Millie seemed thinner, a tad slower, and Jessica’s stomach lurched. Grandma Millie wasn’t old. She was more active than any of them.

Well, maybe not me now.

“Incredible progress, Jessica.” Grandma Millie joined them in the gazebo. “I will no longer be fielding calls from film production companies wanting to use this property for horror movies.”

“Have you really? That would be so cool. Maybe I could be an operatic zombie next Halloween,” Chloe enthused, making a dead face and staggering around, arms straight in front of her while launching into what Jessica thought was ‘Quando m’en vo’ fromLa bohème.

“I think that’s an operatic mummy,” Storm said, earning a barely veiled snort from Jessica, and without thinking about it, she knuckle-bumped him, and his wide smile and the warmth in his eyes nearly had her tripping over her own feet.

“Summer concerts would be a lovely addition if you have an open lawn or patio,” Grandma Millie mused. “Perhaps your students could perform along with the high school and college music groups.”

“Brilliant, Grandma Millie.” Chloe clapped and skipped a little.

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