One Black Rose Read online

  Chapter Three

  I stood where I was, looking after her in horror.

  "Carley, what are you doing?" I managed to ask.

  "Don't be silly. They're not here. And it's much faster to go through their garden. I do it all the time," said Carley over her shoulder. She was already walking away from me down those stunning gravel paths lined with flowers.

  I didn't move. I didn't want to follow her; I hardly dared to disturb the flowers. But I really didn't have a choice. Carley had left and she was the one who knew her way around town. I couldn't not follow her.

  With the blood pounding in my ears, I walked up to the fence. Gently I placed my hand on the warm wood, steeling myself.

  "Oh man," I muttered, and ducked under the fence after her. I hadn't been there an hour and already I was trespassing. This was definitely going to be an interesting summer.

  Being in the garden was way more overwhelming than just seeing it. Smells, both tangy and sweet, assaulted me. After a couple of steps, I was fully engulfed and taking deep breaths as I moved. Carley was so far down the path that I couldn't even see her, but I didn't care in the slightest. Who needed Carley when I had these wonderful flowers?

  I slowed down, enjoying the garden. I saw a bench nearby and thought that I should sit on it. Why not? I didn't have anything to do at the moment, or really for the rest of the summer. My parents were too busy hating each other to wonder about me. They probably wouldn't even miss me. Then I could stay here in the garden, sitting on the bench with the flowers . . .

  A rough hand grabbed my arm and I yelped. Carley was glaring at me.

  "What is wrong with you?" she demanded, looking at me as if I was deranged. "You're acting like you're high. Come on."

  While I protested that I was completely fine, she propelled me along after her, muttering something about annoying friends who probably smoked stuff. I tried to tell her that I'd never smoked anything in my life, but she wasn't listening.

  The path led around the back of the house, which wasn't visible from the road but was every bit as beautiful as the front. The massive back yard stretched in front of me in every direction. I could easily have gotten lost in the amazing paths. Involuntarily I gasped, inhaling the wonderful smells. I could stay here forever.

  Carley snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Stop that. You're acting addled." She put her hands on her hips and frowned.

  "Well, you're the one who brought me in here," I retorted, trying to get myself oriented to the real world again. It was hard. Really hard.

  "It's way faster to get to Mrs. Fritters' place if we go this way," Carley replied, starting to walk again but putting a hand lightly on my arm to make sure that this time I stayed with her.

  As I followed her through the back yard I drank in my surroundings. The same stunning riot of colors from the front yard was mirrored here, except that the flowers might have been bigger, if that was even possible. As an afterthought I said, "I didn't know anyone could get high on flowers."

  Carley looked back at me and rolled her eyes.

  Ignoring my friend, I reached out to touch the blossoms. As I followed my hand's movement I saw the flowers bend to meet it, as if they had the same desire to embrace me that I had to embrace them. I wanted to feel their smooth grace under my fingers; I wanted to be closer to them.

  Feeling light-headed and wonderful, I let Carley pull me along while my free hand trailed against the petals. Carley knew where we were going, and all too quickly we were at the far side of the garden. I could see the white fence and beyond it the outside world. Despite Carley's attempt to snap me out of my trance, I had forgotten that the outside world even existed. Seeing it and knowing that I was headed toward it filled me with a profound sense of sadness and loss.

  Without hesitation Carley pulled me over the fence and back onto the street. I staggered a little, then found my footing. Looking down at the hand I had used to touch the flowers, I was only mildly surprised to see that it was covered in a rainbow of sparkling colors. Without thinking, I held it up to my mouth and was about to lick my fingers when Carley smacked my hand away.

  "What are you doing?" she demanded. "You can't eat flowers."

  "It's not the flowers," I said indignantly, angry that she'd kept me from what I wanted to do and embarrassed that she'd found me out. "It's just . . . what they left on me."

  "Well," said Carley, eyeing me as we started to walk down a street that looked much like the one before, "that's really weird."

  I didn't know how to respond. I just looked at my hand and back at Carley.

  Carley shook her head. "You can wash it off when we get to Mrs. Fritters'."

  I didn't want to wash it off. Never in my life did I want to clean my hand again, but I didn't say that to Carley. I just followed her down the road. She was my friend and my host, after all. My mother would insist that I be nice.

  As we got further down the street and further away from the Roths' garden, my head started to clear up. Without much effort I began to realize how silly I was being. What was I thinking, obsessing over flowers and devouring their wonderful smells as if they were candy? I had never cared about flowers before today. Two years ago a guy had given me flowers and I had forgotten to water them and they had all died. And it's not like I ever kept plants in my room. No one in my family had a green thumb. And yet here I was, visiting my friend and talking to her, and suddenly I couldn't stop thinking about this random garden we'd just walked through.

  Maybe it was jet lag. Shaking my head at my own foolishness, I tried to pay attention to Carley and what was going on around me, even though it took all my concentration not to stare down at my rainbow-colored hand.

  UP UP and Away wasn't far down the road. Carley pointed it out as soon as it came into view. The cobblestones that we were walking across led right up to Mrs. Fritters' door, and the street itself had a stunning view of the ocean. The smell of sea salt grew stronger the closer we got. Relief washed over me as it drowned out the smell of the flowers.

  Carley ushered me into the coffee shop. The inside was beautiful. We faced a bank of windows that overlooked the ocean, so one side of the room looked like it had bluish gray walls from where the waves met the sky. The gilded Victorian chairs had a modern twist of looking very wide and comfortable. The seats were a variety of colors, including blues and purples and greens. Most of the tables would fit two or four people, but there was one long table right by the door that looked like a party of ten could easily sit there. To my right was the barista station and to my left was a small stage where I assumed the musical acts played. On the wall were pictures of landscapes and shelves stuffed with books.

  "Hello, darlings," said a woman standing behind the barista station as we walked up and sat on stools. She was in her fifties, wearing a yellow sundress. Her dark hair was streaked with gray and pinned back into a severe-looking bun. Both her hands were moving rapidly, one taking change from a customer and the other pouring coffee.

  "Hello, Carley. I see your friend got here safely?" she asked, smiling.

  "Hi, Mrs. Fritters, yes, this is Autumn Lindley. Autumn, this is Mrs. Fritters," Carley said.

  "Ah, yes, darling, so nice to meet you. Don't mind me. We had one of our employees quit today. She's going to run off with her boyfriend. I did the same thing at her age, but I've been swamped ever since she left. I'll be back soon, loves." She finished what she was doing and bustled away.

  "Don't worry," said Carley, grinning. "She's like that."

  While the other girl behind the counter got us iced teas, I looked around the place. There were only a couple of other people there, including a boy Carley had waved to when we came in. He was sitting at a table with his laptop and a mug. He had red hair and a stocky build. The glasses he wore slipped a bit down his nose.

  "So, what brings you here tonight?" asked Mrs. Fritters, coming back.

  "We came for the music," said Carley, grinning. "And to see you, of course."

&nb
sp; "Well, now that the place is quiet I suppose we can talk for a bit," said Mrs. Fritters, wiping her hands off on a towel.

  For the next half hour the three of us chatted. Mrs. Fritters was very funny and animated. She never stopped moving. She told stories of her employees and how complicated it was to get musical acts a few times a week.

  "Now, Carley, you are going to come back and work for me this summer, right?" asked Mrs. Fritters, giving Carley a look that said: You Better.

  Carley smiled. "I'd love to, and I'm wondering," she said, looking over at me, "can I split some of my time with Autumn, like we talked about? She needs stuff to do, but we also want to have time to enjoy the summer."

  Mrs. Fritters looked at me, then looked back at Carley, her face serious. I could feel a nervous twitch in my stomach and shoulders. Had Carley just overstepped her bounds? She'd always said how nice Mrs. Fritters was, but maybe today wasn't the day to ask her about it.

  Mrs. Fritters burst out laughing. "Of course, dear. I'd love to have her. Plus, I need someone now that that girl has walked out. I'll get the paperwork," she said, and bustled out through a back door.

  "Doesn't she want to interview me or anything?" I asked, frowning. I didn't have experience working at a caf?, but all I'd probably do was work a register, and I didn't completely suck at math, so it should be okay. Plus, I was sixteen now.

  "She already did," said Carley. "Her criteria is whether or not you can handle listening to her talk for long periods of time, and you passed with flying colors."

  Mrs. Fritters came back with a small stack of papers and proceeded to spend the next few minutes helping me fill them out.

  "Oh, here, I just need to see your ID," she said, pointing to one of the slots that asked for it. "Do you have a passport, maybe? And look at those gorgeous brown eyes you have." Another minute and she was probably going to pinch my cheek.

  "Yeah, it's back at the house," I said, "in case we get to go to Canada while I'm here."

  Mrs. Fritters laughed. "Once you've spent some time here you won't ever want to leave."

  "Let's go get it," said Carley. "It's not far, and then Mrs. Fritters can have this out of the way." Mrs. Fritters nodded as if this was a good idea.

  "Okay," I said. Until that moment I'd forgotten about the garden, but now the thought of it slammed back into my mind. Very soon I'd be walking through it again. I felt light-headed with excitement, but I forced the feeling away. I was seriously worried that something was wrong with me.

  Carley was staring at me with raised eyebrows as if I had food on my face.

  "Darling, why don't you just go?" asked Mrs. Fritter. "That way this poor girl can rest after traveling."

  "I guess I could," said Carley.

  "Actually," I said, "I've been sitting all day. It would be nice to be up and walking about. I'll just go by myself." I stood up to emphasize this.

  Carley and Mrs. Fritters looked skeptically at me.

  "Are you sure you know the way? We've only walked it once," said Carley, starting to stand up too.

  "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just a couple of streets and I'll be right back," I said.

  "Okay, I guess," said Carley. "I'm going to go sit with Nick while you're gone." She pointed out the redheaded boy she'd said hi to earlier. As soon as she looked his way, he started to wave frantically. Carley sighed. "Hurry," she mouthed to me.

  "I'll see you soon," I said, grinning, and took off through the door.

  Outside, the early evening was growing cool. Relieved to be in the fresh air, I squinted up the street. It was dusk now, the light having faded while we were in UP UP and Away. I could just see the Roths' house from where I stood. Without hesitation I hurried in that direction.

  With every step I got happier. Everything that was wrong - my parents' divorce, being sent away for the summer - faded away in a swirl of colorful flowers. Considering the reaction I had just had, I knew I shouldn't cut back through the garden, but my body told me there was no other choice, and every bit of me fizzed with excitement at the prospect of being among the flowers again. Plus, Carley had said that the Roths weren't home, so it wasn't like I'd get caught.

  Stepping back over the white fence and into the Roths' back yard, I felt the same rush I had gotten lost in only a little while ago. But now I could contain my emotions. They didn't threaten to swamp me as they had before; I was more prepared. It wasn't overwhelming like the first time had been, with Carley. I could feel the pull of the flowers, now cast in evening shadows, but I no longer had the stunning urge to build a flower crown, put it in my hair, and dance around as if I didn't have a care in the world.

  I looked at the house to make sure there were no lights on; it was completely dark. The garden was much bigger than I remembered it, even though I had just been through it a little while ago. There were more paths, and more of them seemed to lead to benches with canopies of flowers instead of back to the street. I kept trying to find my way out - it had seemed so simple earlier - but all I did was get more turned around.

  With dismay, I realized that I was lost in the garden.

  Just as I was starting to panic, a light popped on in one of the first floor rooms. I was so shocked at the idea of being discovered that I stumbled. I could hear a dog starting to bark frantically. Quickly righting myself, I looked around to make sure no one had seen me, and I almost screamed. Eyes were looking back at me out of the darkness.

  A man stepped toward me through the shadows. "Can I help you?" he asked in a strained voice.

  I forgot the noise of the dog as I realized I'd been caught trespassing and was probably in big trouble. Worry trickled down my back and shoulders. I could see only a dark outline of the man facing me.

  I definitely hadn't been expecting anyone, and certainly not someone whose hair was such a light blond that it looked like white gold in the moonlight. I had never had a physical reaction to someone that sent shivers up and down my spine, but now I was feeling that way even though I couldn't see the man's face clearly in the shadows. He had a silent intensity about him that pushed me away and at the same time made me want to know more. To make matters worse (if you could call it bad to be alone with an attractive guy, surrounded by flowers), I was pretty sure he was staring at me.

  I shrank away. "I'm sorry. Um, I'm new around here. Visiting for the summer. My friend said this was a shortcut, but now I'm lost." I drew breath so that I could continue my completely stupid rambling, but before I could say anything else he smoothly cut me off.

  "It's fine. Let me show you out." He made no move to touch me, but instead turned on his heel and continued up the path, leading the way so that I had no choice but to follow. I still hadn't gotten a clear look at his face.

  He knew exactly where he was going. His footsteps never hesitated as he chose one path after another. I followed numbly. Now the flowers I passed meant nothing. They were mere shadows in the night. I no longer heard the barking of the frantic dog or worried about being lost in the garden. All I concentrated on was the back I was following.

  He led me right to the place where Carley and I had come through earlier, resting his hand on the fence. He still made no move to touch me, and he didn't offer to help me over. In the open now, with the moonlight, I could see that he had green eyes with flecks of silver and a slight but strong build. I gaped. I knew this face. I'd just seen this face earlier in the day. I was looking into the eyes of Holt.

  "What are you doing on the Roths' property?" I demanded.

  That must have surprised him, because he threw his head back and laughed. "I'm a Roth," he said. "My name is Holt Roth."

  Feeling disoriented, I managed to get over the fence. When I was safely on the other side, standing one street away from Carley's house, I turned back to look at him. He was standing there, his hands in the pockets of his khakis, still watching me.

  "Sorry to startle you," he said. "I didn't want to scare you."

  "Oh, no, I'm great," I said. "I'm sorry again. For trespas
sing," I added, even though I knew it sounded ridiculous. I had trespassed. He could probably have me arrested. In fact, I was lucky not to have been shot, lucky he hadn't loosed the dog on me. He should have been furious that I might have ruined his garden. Hell, if he hadn't come along who knows how long I could have wandered around lost.

  "Don't worry about it," he said in a light voice, but he still didn't move away. "I told you we'd see each other again."

  "At least you have my name for the records if you want to have me arrested for trespassing," I said. I think I was in shock.

  A ghost of a smile passed over his face.

  "I don't think you have to worry about that. Have a good night, Autumn." And with that he turned around and disappeared among the flowers.