“I missed you at lunch today,” he murmured.

“I missed you too.”

“You look nice.” I could hear the question in his voice. “I figured you must have come home since Muffy was here when I got back.”

“We didn’t have anything for dinner. So I came home and showered and put on nice clothes for your momma. I don’t want her thinking I’m always grungy.” I laughed even though I felt bad for fibbing. “She’ll figure that out soon enough.”

“You sure I can’t help you with dinner?”

I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a long kiss. “Go talk to your mother, who you don’t call often enough. She misses you. And then after we go to bed, I’ll show you how much I missed you today.”

He groaned. “That’s hours from now.”

“Get!” I gave him a tiny push.

He grinned and my heart flooded with love.

Mason and his mother ended up helping me in the kitchen anyway. We ate at the never-used dining room table and sat talking and eating long after we finished. Mason’s mother was funny and sweet, and she regaled me with stories about Mason and his sister when they were kids.

I drank it in, so grateful I nearly burst. This was what I’d spent my whole life longing for—a loving family. Was that why I was so worried it was about to be snatched away from me?

We left the dishes in the sink and Mason stood on the front porch with me while we waited for Muffy to do her business. He kissed me in the moonlight…and in that moment, I was almost happy enough to take that stupid test I’d started to carry around in my purse. I just needed to get everything settled with my business first.

“Mason, I think I’m going to split my share of the business from Violet’s. It’s just not a good idea for us to work together anymore.”

“Rose, it’s your business. It may say ‘Gardner Sisters’ on the sign, but you’re the complete financial backer. If you want her gone, you can get rid of her.”

“That doesn’t seem right. She may be acting like a total witch right now, but she loves what she does. And honestly, I wouldn’t be doing what I love right now if she hadn’t goaded me into it.”

“So maybe you split it up and you take over full ownership of the landscaping portion and you’re the silent partner in the greenhouse side.”

“That might actually work. Only I won’t be full owner of the landscaping side.”

He leaned back and studied my face. “Why not?”

“I want to be co-owners with Bruce Wayne. He feels a sense of ownership already and the work makes him so happy. I realize he didn’t put any money into it, but neither did Violet and she—”

He kissed me for several long seconds, then lifted his head and gave me a grin. “If you’re worried about my reaction, you needn’t be. For one thing, it’s your business. You can go to work wearing clown suits without it being any business of mine. And if you’re worried about whether I think it’s a wise business move…well, Violet didn’t put any money in and she’s a great co-owner, your personal arguments aside. Bruce Wayne is loyal and hardworking; he’d be thrilled to have more of a stake in the business.”

“Thanks.”

“What are you and Violet doing about the missing money?”

Oh, crappy doodles. “We’re working on it.”

He took my chin between his finger and thumb and tilted my face up to his. “If I’m going to be living here, I need to start contributing to the expenses more than I currently am. And if you need money to help with the nursery, I can cash in part of my 401K to help.”

I gasped. “Mason! I can’t let you do that!”

“You love it and it makes you happy. I would gladly do it. Just tell me how much you need and I’ll have my financial planner put things in motion.”

Putting my pride aside, surely taking Mason’s money was better than getting in any deeper with Skeeter Malcolm. While Mason wasn’t as freaked out over my amateur sleuthing as Joe had always been, he would never approve of me doing business with Skeeter. “If I accepted your help, how long would it take to get the money?”

“Well, it will slow things down with Thanksgiving coming up, but I suspect we could have it by the first week of December.”

I rested my cheek against his chest so he wouldn’t see my disappointment. “I love you, Mason. Thank you.”

“How much do you need?”

I wasn’t sure what to tell him, especially since it would be too late. “I’ll figure it out and let you know.”

“Okay. Come on. Let’s go to bed.”

The next morning, Mason and I both went to work late so we could have breakfast with his mother.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do all day,” she said, carrying breakfast dishes to the sink.

“I haven’t talked to Violet for a few days, but she probably needs help getting ready for the open house on Friday. I suspect she’ll put you to work, though.”

“Oh, that’s perfect. I’d love to help.”

I gave her the directions to the shop, then texted Violet. I hadn’t talked to her since Friday, so I was almost sorry I’d made the suggestion, but Violet had met Mason’s mother when he was in the hospital. I knew the two of them got along well.

Mason’s mother is in town and would like to help you get ready for the open house. PLEASE be nice to her.