Fuck. Maybe she needed a longer break after all.
“Are you okay?” Lena was standing much too close. How had she snuck up? What the fuck was her mom’s tenant doing here at this time of day anyway?
For a second, Jess was tempted to say no and fall down on the lawn. Instead, she straightened to her full height, using the extra inches to glare down on the intruder.
Lena wore loose black yoga pants and a bright pink top proclaiming she had taken part in a charity race. Without staring at her breasts, Jess couldn’t tell which run. She wrenched her gaze upward and used her best scowl, honed through years of intimidating residents. “What are you doing in the garden? Now?”
The stare seemed to work. Lena took a step backward. “Um…I live here, remember?” She tilted her head, and the fine lines around her hazel eyes crinkled in concern. “I was about to start my morning tai chi routine. Do you need any help? Are you okay?”
Did she look as bad as she felt? Why did Lena keep asking that? Heat that had nothing to do with exertion shot to her cheeks, and Jess gritted her teeth. She’d rather fall flat on her face than accept assistance. Another lesson she’d learned in med school was to never show weakness. Jess turned on her heel and walked back toward the main house. Every step was a struggle as if she’d exercised wearing her lead apron in addition to a heavy backpack, but she made it without stopping.
Lena couldn’t keep her gaze from Jess as she dragged herself back to the main house. She watched because Jess looked exhausted, not because her running tights fit like a glove and revealed feminine curves that provided a direct contrast to her prickly demeanor. She was only making sure Jess didn’t collapse. Jess looked as if she had been training for hours despite the very early morning. Maybe she had. Who knew what that woman considered normal hours?
When Jess reached the patio, Lena shrugged and faced the rising sun. She was behind schedule but needed at least thirty minutes to focus and gather her strength for the coming day.
Afterward Lena showered and dressed in layers. Today she was working at the farmers market, and the weather was supposed to change frequently.
As she was about to cut some fruit for breakfast, a knock sounded on the door.
To her surprise, Maggie stood on her porch with a plate full of scones. They were still warm, judging by the steam rising from them, and smelled heavenly.
“Hi, come in.” Lena’s stomach growled. “I hope you want to share. Otherwise this is just cruel torture.”
Maggie chuckled. “I made them for us. Do you have time to eat with me?”
“About thirty minutes until I need to leave. I have some preserves I made last week and some fruit. Is that okay?” She didn’t have much more to offer since today was her shopping day. She always exchanged some of her preserves for vegetables and cheese. The sellers at the farmers market looked after each other.
“That sounds perfect.” Maggie carried the plate to the small semicircular table beneath the kitchen window and sat on one of the chairs.
“You want coffee or tea?” Lena set the table, then checked the water kettle. Still hot.
“Is the coffee Rachel’s? I can’t resist her roasts.”
“What else?” Her friend often gave Lena her leftovers, and Lena appreciated the quality, even if she seldom drank the stuff herself.
“Will you get me some today? I’m almost out.”
“Sure.” Lena inhaled the fresh scent of ground coffee as she measured a generous portion into the French press. “Do you want me to pick up anything else?” She carried the coffee to the table and took her seat opposite of Maggie.
“No, thank you. I put an order in at the cooperative, and they’ll deliver later. Jess never learned to cook and lives on takeout or crackers and cheese. I want to reintroduce that girl to healthy eating so she can store up a few vitamins that don’t come from a pill.”
Lena took one of the scones and buttered it before adding a spoonful of her strawberry peppermint preserve. “She doesn’t look unhealthy to me, just exhausted. This morning I saw her running.”
“What? Where?” Maggie paled, and her scone fell to her plate. “Oh, sorry, but…she shouldn’t be working out alone.”
“Why? I saw her in the garden when I got up for tai chi.” It was the safest neighborhood Lena had ever lived in, and she had never heard anyone say you shouldn’t jog alone.
“She had… Before she came to live here… I shouldn’t tell you, but…” Maggie’s lip trembled, and tears sprang to her eyes.
Lena took the older woman’s hand. “Is it because of her illness?”
Maggie swallowed and wiped her eyes with her free hand. “It’s so unexpected. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but Jess is extremely private and it’s not my place to tell. Let me just say, she needs rest and to get away from all the stress.”
“Let me know if I can help in any way.” Lena was no fan of getting sneered at, but she wanted to support Maggie. And her daughter obviously did need some help. Lena wouldn’t say so aloud, but Jess Riley didn’t appear to be someone who had taken rest and stress-free living to heart. Every time they met, she could feel waves of annoyance and anger emanating from her.
“Thank you. I think it would be enough if you keep an open mind about her. I know she sometimes comes across as abrupt and a bit rude, but when you get to know her, you see that she
