Read Online One Lavender Ribbon by Heather Burch - Free Book Online

stepped into the kitchen. “How was your day, Pops?”
    His grandfather placed a bunch of fresh-picked vegetables on the counter, examining them for signs of injury. “Fine. I’m glad you’re home. I was just starting dinner.”
    Will gestured to the greens. “Are you going to inspect every leaf?”
    Pops took as much pride in his garden as many men took in their children. Sometimes he would be out there for hours—meandering through the vegetables, checking for bugs, pulling weeds. Last summer Will had built him custom planters for the smaller veggies, so he didn’t have to bend over as far. He’d also built several resting spots, so Pops could relax and enjoy his time in the bountiful jungle of tall plants and tilled earth. Moist and rich, the fresh fragrance of whatever was ripe and blooming floated on the air.
    Will wished he could share his grandfather’s fascination with the growing process, but he didn’t. When sent to the garden, he was usually frustrated that all the inhabitants weren’t fully ripened. It was irritating to him to have to search out the best ones. Pops had given strict instructions on how to squeeze, sniff, and feel to see whether a candidate was ready. But they all felt the same to Will. He avoided the garden as much as possible.
    Pops, on the other hand, gloried in it. “I’m just glad there wasn’t any hail with the storm we got last week. It would have killed these.” He lifted a handful of lettuce greens to Will’s face and shook them at him. Particles of dirt fluttered to the open newspaper Pops had underneath them.
    Will nodded, leaning back slightly. He placed his cell phone, car keys, and loose change on the side table that split the kitchen area and living room. “What can I do to help?” He squirted dish soap into his hands and scrubbed them under the kitchen faucet.
    “I’ve got it all under control,” Pops assured him. “I’m going to pick a few red peppers, then slip down to the dock and check on my crab traps.”
    Will noticed the large pot of water on the stove. “I’ll go check the traps.”
    “No, I have a certain order I do it in.” Pops winked. “You’d probably mess up my system.”
    “Probably.” Pops did a lot of the housework. Will was constantly trying to help out, but he’d noticed how much more content the older man was when he was contributing like this. “So what should I do?”
    “Why don’t you go upstairs and change, and sit and read that novel I bought you.” His eyes twinkled. Will used to love to read fiction, but over the years it had slipped away from him.
    Why Pops felt it was important to become reacquainted with it, Will couldn’t fathom. When he took time to read for pleasure these days, he liked books on self-help. The Power of Positive Words in Business and How to Grow Your Field of Influence —these were the titles he preferred, not an adventure book about modern-day pirates on the high seas. But if it pleased Pops, he’d read the thing. “Sounds good.”
    Pops faced him, smiling and nodding. “I’ll holler when dinner’s ready.”
    “Okay, if you’re sure,” he said, as if he needed a little more convincing, “I mean, I feel guilty sitting and reading while you’re down here working so hard.”
    Pops beamed. “You’ve worked hard all day. I’m just throwing dinner together.” He brushed a hand through the air dismissively, but couldn’t disguise his pleasure.
    Will watched him leave through the back door, humming and swinging the crab bucket. What would he ever do without Pops? Will grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water and started up the stairs. After all, he had an exciting high-adventure pirate novel waiting for him.

    Adrienne hated admitting it, but she’d driven by the house twice since last week, when she was so rudely dismissed by Will Bryant, bank boy. She paused in front of the home, with her heart picking up beats. An admirable garden stretched alongside. Her vantage point gave her a good view, so