Blue Dahlia

glossy-leaved bay laurels, the fountaining old-fashioned weigela, and a sumptuous range of azalea just waiting to explode into bloom.

And clever, she thought, creeping the car forward, clever and creative to put phlox and candytuft and ground junipers on the lowest terrace to base the shrubs and spill over the wall.

He'd planted more above in the yard—a magnolia, still tender with youth, and a dogwood blooming Easter pink. On the far side was a young weeping cherry.

Some of these were the very trees he'd hammered her over moving the first time they'd met. Just what did it say about her feelings for him that it made her smile to remember that?

She pulled into the drive beside his truck and studied the land.

There were stakes, with thin rope riding them in a kind of meandering pattern from drive to porch. Yes, she saw what he had in mind. A lazy walkway to the porch, which he would probably anchor with other shrubs or dwarf trees. Lovely. She spotted a pile of rocks and thought he must be planning to build a

rock garden. There, just at the edge of the trees, would be perfect.

The house needed its trim painted, and the fieldstone that rose from its foundation repointed. A cutting garden over there, she thought as she stepped out, naturalized daffodils just inside the trees. And along

the road, she'd do ground cover and shrubs, and plant daylilies, maybe some iris.

The porch swing should be painted, too, and there should be a table there—and there. A garden bench near the weeping cherry, maybe another path leading from there to around the back. Flagstone, perhaps. Or pretty stepping-stones with moss or creeping thyme growing between them.

She stopped herself as she stepped onto the porch. He'd have his own plans, she reminded herself. His house, his plans. No matter how much the place called to her, it wasn't hers.

She still had to find hers.

She took a breath, fluffed a hand through her hair, and knocked.

It was a long wait, or it seemed so to her while she twisted her watchband around her finger. Nerves began to tap-dance in her belly as she stood there in the early-evening breeze.

When he opened the door, she had to paint an easy smile on her face. He looked so male. The long, muscled length of him clad in faded jeans and a white T-shirt. His hair was mussed; she'd never seen it any other way. There was too much of it, she thought, to be tidy. And tidy would never suit him.

She held out the pot of dahlias she'd put together. 'I've had dahlias on the mind,' she told him. 'I hope you can use them.'

'I'm sure I can. Thanks. Come on in.'

'I love the house,' she began, 'and what you're doing with it. I caught myself mentally planting—'

She stopped. The door led directly into what she supposed was a living room, or family room. Whatever it was, it was completely empty. The space consisted of bare dry-wall, scarred floors, and a smoke-stained brick fireplace with no mantel.

'You were saying?'

'Great views.' It was all she could think of, and true enough. Those generous windows brought the outdoors in. It was too bad it was so sad.

'I'm not using this space right now.'

'Obviously.'

'I've got plans for it down the road, when I get the time, and the inclination. Why don't you come on back before you start crying or something.'

'Was it like this, when you bought it?'

'Inside?' He shrugged a shoulder as he walked back through a doorway into what might have been a dining room. It, too, was empty, its walls covered with faded, peeling wallpaper. She could see brighter squares on it where pictures must have hung.

'Wall-to-wall carpet over these oak floors,' he told her. 'Leak upstairs had water stains all over the ceiling. And there was some termite damage. Tore out the walls last winter.'

'What's this space?'

'Haven't decided yet.'

He went through another door, and Stella let out a whistle of breath.

'Figured you'd be more comfortable in here.' He set the flowers on a sand-colored granite counter and just leaned back to let her look.

It was his mark on the kitchen, she had no doubt. It was essentially male and strongly done. The sand tones of the counters were echoed in the tiles on the floor and offset by a deeper taupe on the walls. Cabinets were a dark, rich wood with pebbled-glass doors. There were herbs growing in small terra-cotta pots on the wide sill over the double sinks, and a small stone hearth in the corner.

Plenty of workspace on the long L of the counter, she calculated, plenty of eating space in the diagonal run of the counter that separated the kitchen area from a big, airy sitting space where he'd plopped down a black leather couch and a couple of oversized chairs.

And best of all, he'd opened the back wall with glass. You would sit there, Stella thought, and be a part

of the gardens he was creating outside. Step through to the flagstone terrace and wander into flowers

and trees.

'This is wonderful. Wonderful. Did you do it yourself?'

Right at the moment, seeing that dreamy look on her face, he wanted to tell her he'd gathered the sand

to make the glass. 'Some. Work slows down in the winter, so I can deal with the inside of the place

when I get the urge. I know people who do good work. I hire, or I barter. Want a drink?'

'Hmm. Yes. Thanks. The other room has to be your formal dining room, for when you entertain, or

have people over for dinner. Of course, everyone's going to end up in here. It's irresistible.'

She wandered back into the kitchen and took the glass of wine he offered. 'It's going to be fabulous

when you're done. Unique, beautiful, and welcoming. I love the colors you've picked in here.'

'Last woman I had in here said they seemed dull.'

'What did she know?' Stella sipped and shook her head. 'No, they're earthy, natural—which suits you and the space.'

She glanced toward the counter, where there were vegetables on a cutting board. 'And obviously you cook, so the space needs to suit you. Maybe I can get a quick tour along with this wine, then I'll let

you get to your dinner.'

'Not hungry? I got some yellowfin tuna's going to go to waste, then.'

'Oh.' Her stomach gave a little bounce. 'I didn't intend to invite myself to dinner. I just thought...'

'You like grilled tuna?'

'Yes. Yes, I do.'

'Fine. You want to eat before or after?'

She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, then drain out again. 'Ah...'

'Before or after I show you around?'

There was enough humor in his voice to tell her he knew just where her mind had gone. 'After.' She

took a bracing sip of wine. 'After. Maybe we could start outside, before we lose the light.'

He took her out on the terrace, and her nerves eased back again as they talked about the lay of his land, his plans for it.

She studied the ground he'd tilled and nodded as he spoke of kitchen gardens, rock gardens, water gardens. And her heart yearned.

'I'm getting these old clinker bricks,' he told her. 'There's a mason I know. I'm having him build a three-sided wall here, about twenty square feet inside it.'

'You're doing a walled garden? God, I am going to cry. I always wanted one. The house in Michigan

just didn't work for one. I promised myself when I found a new place I'd put one in. With a little pool, and stone benches and secret corners.'

She took a slow turn. A lot of hard, sweaty work had already gone into this place, she knew. And a lot

of hard, sweaty work was still to come. A man who could do this, would do it, wanted to do this, was worth knowing.