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.
Also by Janis Harrison
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.
www.minotaurbooks.com
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
Reap a Wicked Harvest Page 22
