Rocco and Mandy: A Red Team Wedding Novella (Book #6.5)(8)

“You said life was a choice,” Rocco reminded her.

She looked back at him. His eyes were dark and desperate. “No. No, I said how you react to life is a choice, not life itself. Rocco, is this what you do up here? Think about ending your life?”

He tore his eyes from her and looked away.

Tears spilled down her face. She glanced out the window. Trucks were pulling up her driveway. She’d come here to tell Rocco about the garden—and to ask about his visit with Dr. Kimble. Never had she expected this. She was in such shock, she didn’t know what to do, what to think. She sucked in a harsh breath, then covered her mouth so that he wouldn’t hear that involuntary sound.

The garden contractors were starting to mill about her front yard. She needed to get over there. She turned and looked at him, standing frozen by his trunk. “I just came to tell you that I’m having a small garden put in over the next few days. Greer cleared the contractors. They shouldn’t disturb you much.”

Rocco’s gaze met hers. She went to the stairs, leaving because she was a coward. She hadn’t seen a gun, so perhaps what she thought she’d heard had been something different.

She was halfway to the new garden site when she realized she still had Rocco’s bullet in her pocket.





Chapter Four





Mandy wiped her tears away before she stepped out of the barn. The project foreman waved to her. She waved back. It hadn’t taken long to find a garden center that could begin work quickly, now that the busy part of the season had passed.

When she reached her front yard, the foreman showed her the plans. The whole garden would be done in a circle about forty feet across. Pavers would encircle a large, three-tier stone fountain. On the outer edge, there would be three benches with stone seats and colorful Mediterranean tiles on the base and seat backs. Between each bench would be a large cottonwood, with room for seasonal flowers in wide beds. Enclosing the whole thing would be some dense evergreen shrubs. The foreman pointed to them on the plan.

“They’ll grow about eight feet high and wide. You’ll need to trim them every year. But once they’re mature, which will take six years or so, they’ll form a nice privacy border and windbreak, so you can enjoy this space even in winter.”

“Sounds lovely. Just what I wanted,” Mandy said.

“We’ll start this morning. We should be out of here in a few days.”

“Terrific. I’m going to set out some iced tea for your crew. Please tell them to help themselves.”

Mandy started toward her house. One of the team’s SUVs was parked out front. Angel was standing next to it. She nodded at him as she went past, hoping he didn’t catch anything off about her. Unfortunately, he fell into step beside her.

“What’s up, Em?”

“I’m just going to make iced tea for the workers. Want to help me?” She knew Rocco was still in the barn and didn’t want him to see her having a deep conversation out here with Angel. Probably wasn’t any better that he could see them go into the house together.

She opened the screen door, then unlocked the front door and stepped inside. Every time she came back to the house that she’d inherited from her grandparents, she half expected to see them still hustling about, doing the things they’d done every day. Maybe she should change the furniture so she wouldn’t miss them so much.

She walked into the kitchen. Angel was close on her heels. He touched her shoulder, stopping her.

“Talk to me.”

“I went over to see him. In the barn.” She glanced at him. “I wanted to know how his visit with Dr. Kimble went. And I wanted to give him a heads-up about the garden work.”

“Kit already did that at this morning’s team meeting.”

Mandy fished the bullet out of her pocket. She held it in her fist a moment before peeling back her fingers to show Angel. “I found this in his trunk.”

Angel took it from her. “Was there a gun that went with it?”

“I didn’t see one, but I was certain I heard him dry-firing one before I went up to the loft.”

“I’ll talk to him. Again.”

“Not sure that’s a good idea. He visited Dr. Kimble this morning, then went straight up to play with his gun.” Her voice broke as a wave of tears choked her. “Should I stop the garden work, Angel?”

“No.”

She nodded, then lowered her head and let her tears take her. It was a relief when Angel pulled her close. He rubbed her back, patting her like he might comfort a weeping steer. She tried to breathe but snorted instead. He didn’t spook, just reached over and grabbed a paper towel, which he shoved toward her. She blew her nose.

“I’m afraid for him,” she said.

Angel nodded. “Give the shrink time to work with him. Rocco didn’t get this broken overnight. It’s going to take a while to unbreak him. In the meantime, we have to keep carrying on. He has to see that normal is still happening all around him.”

Mandy blew her nose. “Okay.”

“Let’s get that tea going.”

“I don’t mean to keep you.”

“You’re not. One or more of us will be over here while they’re working.”

“I appreciate that. The foreman said they’d be done in a few days.”