The First Gardener by Denise Hildreth Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

disbelief swept across Maddie’s face about the time her bottom lip started to quiver. “Hey, hey now.” Mack took her arms. “This is your big day, remember. You’re a big girl now, and Lola isn’t quite big enough yet to go to school with you. But Mommy will take good care of her, and when she gets to be a big girl like you, then we’ll think about taking her to school too.”
    The pool of tears had already settled in the bottom of Maddie’s eyes. “You’ll take her everywhere?” Her voice quivered.
    Mack nodded solemnly. “I’ll take her everywhere.” If he knew Mack, by nightfall there would be a full report on the adventures of Lola.
    “She gets hungry for cookies after lunch.”
    Tears now welled in Mack’s eyes too—or so Gray thought. But it was hard to tell because his own vision was a little blurry.
    “Cookies after lunch for sure.” Mack held out her hand and waited patiently until Lola was in it. Then she put the doll in the car and closed the door. “I’ll take perfect care of her.” And with that they headed into the schoolhouse.
    When Gray finally went to pull Mack from the classroom, he found Maddie engaged in dialogue with two little girls, oblivious to the fact her parents were even still there. He watched her for a long minute, then took Mack’s hand and headed back to the car. When he opened the door to let Mack inside, Lola sat staring at them.
    Mack and Lola cried all the way home. Gray had to change his suit when they returned to the house. Syrup it could handle. Mascara not so much.

 
Chapter 6
    Mackenzie didn’t think of herself as a covetous person. But the five miles of gorgeous chocolate leg swinging under the hem of Jessica Ryan’s khaki pencil skirt made her reconsider. She would pay her for just two inches of those legs. She had even told Gray that if plastic surgeons ever offered leg stretching, that was the surgery she’d pay for. She figured if she could have a greater area of distribution, then all the sweet tea she liked to drink wouldn’t be an issue and she wouldn’t have had to switch to unsweetened.
    Her mother told her she was buying into Hollywood voodoo by believing sugar wasn’t good for you. She would pat her thighs and say, “Your daddy loved these. And it was sugar and Crisco that got them here. Worked out pretty good for me, then, wouldn’t you say?”
    How could you argue with that? But Mackenzie still coveted those legs.
    “We’ve had a change in the schedule for today, Mrs. London.” Jessica placed the pink and white folder next to Mackenzie’s place on the kitchen island.
    This was what they did every morning. Jessica reminded Mackenzie of all her commitments, and Mackenzie fulfilled them. Enjoyed most of them. Tolerated a few of them. And almost always looked forward to the end of the day and having dinner with her family. Whenever Gray’s schedule allowed, it would be all three of them. But even when Gray couldn’t be there, she and Maddie would eat together, then curl up on the sofa to read a book and dip Rosa’s oatmeal raisin cookies into a glass of milk.
    Right now, though, it was a long time until dinner. And Jessica meant nothing but business.
    “Want some chocolate gravy and biscuits?” Mackenzie asked her assistant, slowly putting another forkful in her mouth and watching Jessica’s reaction.
    Jessica’s lip turned up slightly. “No. No thank you. I ate already.”
    Mackenzie looked at Rosa and gave her a wink. Rosa turned away as a smile swept across her face. If it wasn’t made of some kind of leaf, Jessica wouldn’t eat it. Rosa had patted her own plump frame one morning and speculated in her broken English that Jessica juiced spinach for breakfast. That had really cracked Mackenzie up.
    Not that she didn’t appreciate healthy. In fact, she had drastically changed her family’s eating habits in recent years, stressing organic foods and trying to phase out simple carbs and saturated fats, much to Rosa’s