A Root Awakening: A Flower Shop Mystery Read Free

distance away to watch the proceedings. I checked my watch. It was noon. What were the kids doing home from school?
    The woman wore a thick brown cardigan over a white blouse and jeans, and white athletic shoes. Her long dark-brown hair hung flat against the sides of her head. She had small brown eyes and a wide nose set in a round face devoid of makeup. She was holding her children’shands as though she was afraid some danger might befall them. They must be the current occupants of this house, I thought.
    The boy, who appeared to be around ten years old, had jet-black hair with a heart-shaped face and vivid blue eyes. He was wearing a quilted navy jacket, jeans, and black sneakers. The girl, whom I pegged at six years old, had wide cheekbones in a tiny face and long black hair. She wore a deep purple hooded jacket and black corduroy pants with purple-and-white sneakers. Oddly, neither child seemed interested in the accident. Instead, the boy was watching my dog, while the girl seemed more interested in me.
    I was accustomed to people staring at Seedy, one of the homeliest dogs I’d ever seen. Her big pointed ears had tufts of hair on the ends, her lower teeth protruded, her muzzle was grizzly, the ridges of her spine showed, her brown, black, and tan fur was uneven, her tail was bushy, and she was missing a hind leg. But the first time I’d gazed into her loving brown eyes, I’d been captivated.
    Considered unadoptable, Seedy had been at the top of the list to be euthanized when I’d found her at the animal shelter. I’d worked hard to find her a home, thinking that Marco wouldn’t want to start married life with a new pet, not to mention that his landlady didn’t allow them, but to no avail. In the nick of time, my intended had swept in and rescued her. Taking her had been the second best decision we’d ever made. The first, naturally, had been to marry each other.
    I wasn’t used to people staring at
me
, however. Maybe it was my bright red hair that drew the girl’s attention.
    Seedy wagged her tail and gave a little yip, tugging asthough she wanted to go see the children, so I walked her over to where they stood.
    “Hi,” I said, and received shy smiles from the children. Their mother was watching the paramedics work, a look of alarm on her face, so I said, “Do you know what happened?”
    She shook her head. “I was in the kitchen.” Her voice was like soft cotton.
    “One of your painters fell from way high up.”
    “Is he dead?” she asked.
    “He’s unconscious. I can’t tell how serious his condition is.” I stuck out my hand. “I’m Abby Knight . . . Salvare. I own Bloomers Flower Shop.”
    She let go of the girl’s hand to shake mine. “Sandra Jones.” She put her hand on top of the boy’s head. “This is Bud”—she put her other hand on the girl’s head—“and this is Daisy. What do we say to Miss Abby, children?”
    “Hello, Miss Abby,” they replied in unison.
    “Your dog has three legs,” Daisy said. She pointed toward Seedy, but her vivid green eyes were still on me.
    “Yes, she does, but she doesn’t let that stop her,” I said.
    Daisy reached out to let Seedy sniff her hand, but her mother pulled her back. “You don’t want to get bit, honey. Remember our rule? We never pet a strange dog.”
    The girl gazed at the dog with such longing that I crouched down to show her how friendly Seedy was. “My dog’s name is Seedy. She likes children. She won’t bite.”
    “Unfortunately, Daisy is allergic to dogs,” Sandra said.
    The child gave her mother a puzzled glance, as though that was the first time she’d heard that information.
    The boy stepped forward. “I’m not allergic,” he said almost defiantly, and crouched down beside me to run his hand along Seedy’s back. “She has really sharp bones.”
    “She’s a rescue dog,” I said. “She was badly abused. But now she has a good home and gets lots of food and attention; don’t you, Seedy?”
    Seedy