Offed in the Orchids Read online

  “Do you think we need to go home then?” Mack asked in worry.

  “No, they’ll be fine for a little bit,” she said, “but I may ask you to take Mugs again, if you don’t mind.”

  He immediately held out his hand, and she passed the dog’s leash over to him. “And this time let’s see if we can keep Mugs in control.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t even know what he was going after back there in the greenhouse. It could have been anything from a mouse to a cat. Once we were outside, we did find another cat called Mona that Mugs and Goliath were not very happy to see,” she murmured. “We haven’t seen too many other cats in their own space, and I just realized how much training I need to do to get them to understand that they can only be jerks in their own home.”

  “They should never be jerks.”

  “No, that’s quite true.”

  “What will you do when they act up in the next home on this tour?”

  Doreen nodded. “Come on. Let’s take a quick look, and then we can go to the next place.”

  “That depends if you stop and visit with Smudge.” Mack tossed her a big grin. “But it’s all good. He’s a good man.”

  “The world needs a few good men,” she said.

  A man with a raspy hoarse voice said, “You’re looking at one of the best men around. What’s taking you so long?”

  She stopped in her tracks, as she looked at a grizzled old guy, who appeared to have two strands of dark hair sticking out of the top of his head and yet a thick beard on his chin.

  “Hi.” She felt a little awkward. “I’m Doreen.”

  “Yeah, I know who you are,” he said. “The animals told me that.”

  She stared at him. “The animals told you?”

  He started to belly laugh. “Oh, she’s a live one.” He snorted at Mack.

  “That she is.”

  She wasn’t exactly sure why they were laughing, but, hey, it was better than everything else that had happened so far today. “Are you part of the orchid show?” she asked quietly.

  “I am, indeed,” he said. “Come on in, and let me show you.”

  She looked around. “Are other visitors here too?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, they’re inside, wandering around on their own.”

  “And you didn’t give them a tour?”

  “Nope,” he said. “Why would I want to do that? Now you, on the other hand, are a different story.”

  “Why?” she asked in confusion.

  He chuckled. “You’re very interesting, so I’m happy to talk to you some more. Make sure you keep the animals in line though.”

  She immediately tightened her arms on Goliath. “I will,” she promised, hoping that she could deliver. As they walked in, she looked around to see none of the high-end open cedar, stone, and glasswork of Edna’s house nor a huge solarium either. But, as they headed to the back, she saw an open area, where a wood stove was set up for winter. In here were fruit trees—citrus, grapefruit, and lemons. She stared at them in surprise.

  He laughed. “Yeah, I do like my fruits.”

  “I think most people do,” she said in amazement, “but they don’t set aside a whole part of their house to grow them.”

  “You’ve got to make priorities in life,” he said, “and, once I got out of the compost business, at least commercially, I had to do something that made me happy, so this is it.”

  “And I understand that too,” she said, “because, wow, this is beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” he said, with quiet pride.

  She looked around, more confused than ever at exactly what he’d done, but it worked, and, if she didn’t look at the structural problems that he possibly created by opening up all this, then it looked even better. “I presume you had to get permits for all this, huh?” There was silence, and she turned, and he just glared at her. She held up her hand. “Sorry, just curious. Forget I asked,” she said. “I don’t work for the city. I just heard it’s hard to get them. I don’t care myself, and I figure that, if you did this work all yourself, you probably did a better job than anybody.”

  He looked at her and looked at Mack.

  Mack nodded. “She’s being real.”

  Smudge let out a big sigh. “Well, missy, you better learn not to open your mouth when it comes to these topics because nobody wants to hear that. Everybody keeps the city and all the city officials as far away as they can.”

  “I get it,” she said, “and I’m sorry.”

  He nodded. “I’ll trust you because of Mack. But, boy oh boy, if some of the other old-timers around here heard you talk like that, you’d be in some trouble.”

  She winced and whispered to Mack, “Sorry.”

  He just shrugged, and they kept on moving, as Smudge led her to where all the plants were.

  “Wow,” she said, “this is so lush.”

  “It’s the compost,” he said, “my own secret blend.”

  She nodded. “It’s doing the job in a beautiful way.” She shook her head in amazement. “I can’t imagine how hard it was to get that orchid so colorful. I mean, just look at how green and how vibrant everything is.”

  “Well, it took a bit.”

  Such obvious pride was in his tone that she knew she was slowly getting back on track with him. She smiled. “You’ve done a wonderful job. I’ve never seen anything like this.” There was just so much life to everything that it really stunned her. But, at the same time, she could also see that he’d spent a lot of his lifetime working on how to make this the best orchid that it could be, and the good news was, he had made it something special, and he deserved to be proud. And she couldn’t imagine any other way to be. She looked over at him. “You’ve really done something phenomenal here.”

  He looked at her, grinned, and, in a country-boy imitation, said, “Aw, shucks, thank you, ma’am.”

  Chapter 5

  After seeing Smudge’s gardens, Mack and Doreen finally said their goodbyes, but it was with a touch of sadness because she’d found some real people here on the tour. As they walked out to Mack’s truck again, he looked over at her. “Well?”

  “I really enjoyed Smudge,” she admitted. She helped Mugs back up into the truck. “He’s quite a character.”

  Mack chuckled. “That he is. Old Smudge has been terrorizing this town for a long time.”

  She could just imagine. And even Mack obviously didn’t mind it because only joy was in his voice. “I think we’re missing people like that,” she murmured. “People who act from the heart, even if they do walk that fine line between legal or not.”

  “We try not to worry about it too much,” he murmured. “There’s enough in this world that we need to keep close track of already, without looking for more trouble.”

  She nodded. “And you know what? That makes a lot of sense. It’s just so sad that so much of the stuff going on around here would have people tattling on them.”

  “I don’t know if anybody tattled on them, per se,” he said. “We just like to keep track of the plainly illegal stuff, without worrying about nitpicking at bits and pieces of stuff that’s just at the edge and not hurting anybody. What did you think of his orchids?”

  “Stunning. But also more surreal,” she said, “because of the setting.”

  He looked at her, as he started up the engine. “How?”

  “If you think about it, Edna’s place was stunning too, but the whole solarium just gave it a very elevated look. It’s not like people are being judged for their orchids alone here on the tour. In my opinion, it’s the whole setting. Whether that’s intended or not, I don’t see how you can avoid it.”

  “So you’re saying that people will judge not only the plants themselves but how the house is? That’s not fair.”

  “It might not be fair, but I bet you that it’ll happen. I mean, Edna’s place was unbelievable. But Smudge’s place is equally unbelievable, in a much more rustic country cabin in the middle of the woods scene. I mean, it was stunning, really gorgeous. But
because it was set up as it was, it added much more emphasis to the surreal beauty of his garden. Plus his were all oranges and golds, which seemed to blend into the surroundings, making it that much more natural looking.”

  “I hear what you’re saying,” he said. “We can hope that people wouldn’t judge it by that though.”

  “I don’t know. I think we’re asking a lot of people to have them separate the two.”

  “You don’t think people can?”

  “Well, they probably can,” she said, “but it won’t be easy. I don’t even think they’ll be aware of just how much that exterior look really affects the decision-making process.”

  He nodded and didn’t say anything more, as they pulled out and kept on driving.

  “He’d be a good source of compost though.”

  “Not anymore,” he said. “He’s out of the business.”

  “He might be out of the business,”—she chuckled—“but, if you were good friends with him, I’m pretty sure he’s got a steady supply of the good stuff.”

  Mack shot her a quick glance, before he pulled into traffic. “You could be right,” he said. “But you don’t need any, do you?”

  “I have to dress the garden somehow, and it’s definitely in need of some good loving care, so prime nutrients are where you’d start.”

  “Ah, well, you might get something from him, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “No, I wouldn’t either,” she said. “I’m sure you have to be part of his inner circle to get something from him.”

  “I would think so.” He laughed. “Besides, in this case, I’m sure trade secrets are a big part of what he doesn’t want everybody to know about.”

  “That’s very true.” She nodded, then chuckled. “When you think about it, when growing orchids—when competing especially—so much of that entails keeping things secret, so they can have the best and thus be the best.”

  “And you’re not like that?”

  “I don’t know that I’m competitive,” she murmured. “If you think about it, all my life I haven’t really had that opportunity, so I don’t know if that’s something that I am or not.”

  “It would be interesting to see,” he said. “Maybe you should enter one of these contests next year.”

  She burst out laughing, and Goliath switched his position on her lap, finally curling up in this massive ball, as if ready for a good nap. “It’s not so much that I’m not interested,” she said, “but I don’t have anything to show, and I won’t have anything decent to put in for a competition for years. And then, when I think about how killer these competitions can be, I’m not sure I’m the right personality for it.”

  “Just because you’ve seen some pretty ugly stuff with these contests,” he said, “that doesn’t mean that you’ll come up against it yourself.”

  “No, maybe not,” she said, “but I’d hate to think that anything was as competitive as what I saw before.”

  “Well, we would hope not.”

  “And, with the orchids, you don’t think they are?” she asked curiously. “I would have thought that whole competitive streak would come out in full force with something like orchids.”

  “Why orchids versus anything else?”

  “Because of the cachet that goes along with the orchids. They’re very high-end. They’re highly regarded all over the world. Some are extremely rare. I didn’t get to see the one of Edna’s that was incredibly rare. I hope it’s just missing, not stolen. And I would love to see it eventually, even though I don’t know that much about them. My ex would have a field day here.”

  “I hope he doesn’t know about the tour then,” Mack muttered, frowning.

  “Oh, I never even thought of that.” She stared at him in surprise.

  “Thought about what?”

  “If he even knows about it,” she said. “I don’t know, and I certainly haven’t told him.”

  “Good.”

  She frowned. “I know you have reason to not like him, but I don’t know that he’s that bad of a person.”

  “He physically and verbally abused you. He cheated on you while you were still living there. He tried to cheat you out of the monetary settlement that you deserve,” he said. “He had shady business practices that even you began to take notice of. He controlled everything you did, you ate, you wore. All good enough reasons not to like him. Stop making excuses for him.”

  His tone had turned just brisk enough that she realized it was a subject she wouldn’t discuss with him for quite a while. But then, maybe that was okay too. Mathew wasn’t exactly somebody she wanted to discuss in her world of genial conversation. And Mack was right; Mathew hadn’t treated her well. She should stop making excuses for him. But she also just wasn’t a vindictive person, as so many others were, and it bothered her in a way. “Do you think I’m too nice?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Wow, you didn’t take even a moment to think about it.”

  “Nothing to think about,” he said. “I’ve known a lot of people in my time, and a lot of them would have immediately eviscerated your husband the minute he showed up again.”

  “Ah. … Well, I don’t know how much of that is my inability to see my way out of this or just not wanting to confront him.”

  “It’s probably a whole lot of things.” Mack’s tone was gentle now. “And I shouldn’t harp on it.”

  “No, you probably shouldn’t,” she said thoughtfully, “but, at the same time, I guess somebody should tell me to grow a pair.”

  Startled, he looked at her, and then he laughed hysterically.

  She grinned at him. “See? Laughter is good for you.”

  “I laugh a lot,” he said, “especially since you came into my life.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “You’re the one who told me earlier that I needed to laugh more, so I’ll say yes.”

  She nodded. “I think you should laugh more. I think it’s good for everybody.”

  He pulled onto the main road. “Three more places. Are you up for it?”

  “Let’s try one,” she said. “The animals are looking a bit tired.”

  “We can do one and see.”

  “Maybe we should do the last one on the list,” she said impulsively. “I feel like people won’t make it through the whole thing, and I feel bad for anybody who’s waiting for everyone to show up.”

  He nodded. “That’s a good point, happy to go to the last one. But what if everybody else thinks like you did? Now, all of a sudden, the last one gets everybody, and the ones just before the end don’t get anybody.”

  “Oh, wow,” she said. “Now you’re making me feel guilty.” He chuckled, but she could see his point. “Fine, we’ll go to all three. Let’s just make it fast and not stay long.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that,” he said. “You’re the one who has the tendency to linger around.”

  “I do not,” she protested. They were still at it when he pulled up to another house. She looked at him. “Well, this doesn’t look all that awe-inspiring.”

  “But remember what we said. It’s not supposed to be about the location or the surroundings.”

  “And, for that reason alone, I’ll be curious to see what he is growing and how well he does.”

  “Do you really think it makes a difference?”

  “I don’t see how it can’t,” she said simply. “Whether we like it or not, people are still tuned to what affects them, and I think the whole picture, the whole presentation is what will make for the winner.”

  As they walked in, they were greeted by an older woman. Her face lit up. “Hello. My aunt will be delighted to see more people.”

  “Has the crowd eased down?” Doreen asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said. “It was pretty busy for a while, but I think people are getting tired. A lot of greenhouses were on the tour list.”

  “We were even debating whether we should come or not,” Doreen admitted.

  “I’m really
happy you came. This is her big day, as she would say.”

  “Has she been growing orchids for long?”

  “Many, many years. She has just never opened herself up to something like this before, so she’s pretty excited. She doesn’t have too much longer to live, so this is making her day.”

  “Oh.” Doreen felt a little odd at hearing that.

  The woman immediately noticed. “I don’t mean to make that sound bad,” she said, “because I know that she’s so thrilled that people are here.”

  Feeling a little better, Doreen walked ahead of Mack, carrying Goliath in her arms, as he had deemed himself too tired to walk.

  The woman looked at the cat, shook her head. “I’m surprised you’re carrying him. He’s huge. He’s got to be heavy.”

  “You wouldn’t be so surprised if you knew him,” Mack said. “He really does rule the roost.”

  The other woman laughed. “You know what? My aunt had a cat like that. It was pretty hard to do anything with him that he didn’t want to do.”

  “Exactly,” Doreen said, “and this one’s definitely a character, but he’s mine, and I adore him.”

  “Of course,” the woman agreed. “That’s how it should be.”

  With the fact that they were all animal lovers entrenched in everybody’s mind, they headed to the garden to have a look. A simple greenhouse was connected to the home and inside was one single orchid. It was bloodred. “Wow,” Doreen said. “What a color.”

  And, in many ways, because only one orchid was displayed, the sheer simplicity of the location really emphasized the glory of the striking orchid.

  “She’s been working on it for a long time,” she said, “but this is the only one that she’s cultivating right now.”

  “And is this her own unique one?”

  “It absolutely is. She wants to register it but is struggling with getting it recognized.”

  “Of course. I understand there’s quite an issue with it.”

  “They started to get fussy about it all and won’t let just anybody register an orchid anymore.” She rolled her eyes at that.

  “I’ve heard of that too,” Doreen admitted. Mack frowned at her. “My ex had some issues about it. He used to get quite irritated by it all.”