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really confused,” Brady
confessed to Amanda.  He met her gaze wearily.  “And to be honest, I really
don’t have time for this.  I need to get back to work.”
    She checked her watch.  “I don’t have the time
either, but what can we do…?”  Her words trailed off.  They couldn’t very well
walk away when they’d yet to locate their grandparents.
    Brady turned in a slow circle.  “I don’t see
them, do you?”  He raked a hand through his hair.  “What possible reason could
they have for bringing us here?  And since when does my granddad use a cell
phone?” he muttered.  “He hates them.”
    “Speaking of cell phones, I’m going to try to
reach my grandma again,” Amanda said.  She dialed the number of her
grandmother’s new phone, only to go directly to voice mail.  She’d tried to
reach her from the car on the drive over, with the same results.
    She shook her head and began walking down a
flower-lined path.  The roses, in a myriad of gorgeous hues, stood like thorny
sentinels along the narrow walkway. Amanda had always loved roses.  She
remembered that when she was a child, her family had lived in a home with a
small rose garden out behind their house.  She had spent countless hours there,
admiring the roses, or curling up with a good book on a bench within the
garden. 
    Wow.  She hadn’t thought about that tiny garden
in years.  How long had it been since she’d even noticed a rose, let alone
inhaled the heady scent of one in full bloom.  She paused beside a particularly
beautiful rose and inhaled its crisp scent.  The floral fragrance wafted around
her face, and she couldn’t help delighting in it.  It transported her back to simpler
times. “Beautiful,” she mused aloud.
    In fact, the garden was beautiful—the spring day
glorious.  She glanced up at the bright blue sky, and suddenly registered the
heat of the morning sun on her bare shoulders.  It had been so long since she’d
spent any time out of doors. 
    Brady came up beside her and gave the flower a
dismissive glance.  His eyes lit on her.  Amanda suddenly felt self conscious
under his scrutiny, and was glad when he turned away from her.  “What are we
doing here?” he wondered aloud.
    “They told us to come,” she informed
unnecessarily.
    “But why?”  He glanced around.  “And where are
they?”
    Amanda stepped away from the rose bush.  She
resisted the urge to cross the path and touch the silky petals of a soft pink
rose in partial bloom.  And there was a particularly lovely bud calling her
name…  Almost of their own accord, her feet started toward it.
    Brady cleared his throat.  “Maybe you can admire
the roses at a later time,” he suggested.  “We have a couple delinquent senior
citizens to find.”
    “Er, yes.  Okay.”  She gave an apologetic
shrug.  “I’ve always loved roses.”
    He only nodded in reply, as he continued
scanning the scenery for any signs of the runaway couple.  He abruptly
frowned.  “I don’t think I’ve met your grandmother.”  He frowned again.  “I …
haven’t actually met you.” 
    She gave a sheepish smile and thrust out her
hand.  “I’m Amanda Richardson,” she told him.  “And my grandmother is Liz
Sanders.”
    “Brady McKinney,” he said, accepting her
proffered hand.  His eyes did a distracted pass over her face.  Pretty, he
mused absently, but shook his head to clear it.  He needed to find his
grandfather and get back to work.   
    As the director of a security company that
specialized in big-name clients, he’d been called away from a meeting with the
representatives of a well-known celebrity who had signed on to a big film and
was in need of full-time security during the shoot.  The movie was being shot
in their town, and it would be his job to keep the crazed fans at bay.
      “It’s nice to meet you,” Amanda said, though
she wished they’d met under different circumstances.  Or heck, she wished they
hadn’t had