Reap a Wicked Harvest (23 page)

Read Reap a Wicked Harvest Online

Authors: Janis Harrison

BOOK: Reap a Wicked Harvest
5.73Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Bailey lounged against the side of his desk. He was dressed in a pair of swimming trunks. A towel was tossed rakishly over his shoulder.
“Bailey?” I breathed. “I just talked to you.”
He pushed away from the desk and held out his hands. “I told you I would see you soon. Is this soon enough?”
Laughing and crying, I started toward him, but stopped when I saw something blocked my way. I froze, staring at the child's wading pool in the middle of the floor. Dabbing at my eyes, I took another step closer. I bent down so I could have a better look. The bright blue pool didn't contain water, but the smell of raspberries was stronger. I touched a finger to the cool, stiff, glutinous mass.
My eyes widened. My jaws dropped. After a moment, I said, “Bailey, is that what I think it is?”
“Your Jell-O fantasy come true, sweetheart. We had to guess at the flavor. Natalie and DeeDee seemed to think watermelon or grape would be your choice, but for some reason, I knew raspberry was your favorite.”
My voice trembled. “But why did you use a
child's
wading pool?”
Bailey's gaze was puzzled. “Is something wrong with that? It was the only thing I could think of that would fit in this
room.” Bailey came to stand next to me. Placing a finger against my lips, he whispered, “I did this because I love you, Bretta.”
I closed my eyes. I loved him, too, but—
Was this my sign from Carl? I'd hoped for something meaningful and profound. I wasn't sure a child's swimming pool filled with raspberry Jell-O qualified. And yet what could be more significant than a man who professed his love, trying to please me?
Shyly, I asked, “So you're ready to make my fantasy come true?”
He kissed me lightly on the lips. “In every possible way,” he said, pulling me into the circle of his arms.
I looked over his shoulder at the pool. We were standing quietly. There was no physical explanation, but the surface of the pool quivered ever so gently.
Some people come into your life for a reason. They are there to assist, to give you guidance, and support. They might aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They are there for a reason.
Some people come into your life for a season. They bring experience of peace or make you laugh. They teach you something you have never known. They give you joy, but only for a season.
This book is dedicated to my mother-in-law of thirty-two years. Pauline Chaney Harrison passed away on July 8, 2003. Her reason on earth was her family. Her season was much too short.
A Deadly Bouquet
Lilies That Fester
Murder Sets Seed
Roots of Murder
REAP A WICKED HARVEST. Copyright © 2004 by Janis Harrison. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
 
 
 
 
eISBN 9781429931878
First eBook Edition : May 2011
 
 
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harrison, Janis (Janis Anne)
Reap a wicked harvest / Janis Harrison.—1st St. Martin's Minotaur ed.
p. cm.
1. Solomon, Bretta (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women detectives—Missouri—Fiction. 3. Nurseries (Horticulture)—Fiction. 4. Women gardeners —Fiction. 5. Gardening—Fiction. 6. Missouri—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3558.A67132R43 2004
813'.54—dc22
2003058536
First Edition: January 2004

Other books

Seeing Things by Patti Hill
Love Condemned: Beginnings by Stephanie Brown
The Bad Things by Mary-Jane Riley
Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph
Asian Heat by Leather, Stephen
Sweeter Than Honey by Delilah Devlin
Against All Things Ending by Stephen R. Donaldson
Still the One by Lena Matthews