Wild Man Creek (Virgin River #14)(59)

Jillian never even suggested that Colin keep her most personal information secret. She knew she didn’t have to. One thing he did ask her was, “Have you talked to Harry since you left?” When she said there had just been a few emails between them, he said, “He was on your side, Jilly. I know you didn’t think you got what you needed at the time, but it sounds like he did the best he could for a trusted friend—the most important thing was, he believed you.”

She realized she’d been avoiding Harry because she didn’t want to show her weakness by asking how Kurt was doing. There was a tiny part of her that was afraid he was thriving.

She knew how to work her way around office gossip. Too bad she hadn’t thought that so necessary when she was seeing Kurt! But no way was she going to have anyone pass around the news that Jillian Matlock had called the CEO! She didn’t call his office; from the widow’s walk, she dialed up Harry’s cell phone from her cell phone. Her name would come up on his caller ID.

“So—you’re not dead?” he answered gruffly.

She laughed before she said hello. “I am very much alive and sitting on the top of a three-story, ninety-year-old Victorian house, on the widow’s walk, in the middle of a forest, because I have good reception up here. The view over the forest and farms is awesome. How are you, Harry?”

“I’m grumpy. I’m told I need a knee replacement. My wife has me on a diet for my cholesterol. She wants to go on a month-long cruise. I don’t think I could survive something like that. I want to send her on the cruise with her sister and go to Pebble Beach for three days. Think she’ll buy that?”

She laughed at him; he adored his wife. “You’d be better off on a ship with your bad knee. Besides, you could use a vacation,” she said.

“I could use a knee replacement, too, but who has time? Seriously, I don’t think I can be trapped on a boat for a month. I might throw myself overboard. Jillian, how the hell are you?”

“I’m better than I’ve been in a long while, Harry. You’ll never guess what I’m doing. I’ve started a very special garden….”

“Oh, God, please make this interesting soon, before I nod off….”

So she gave him the bullet points—she had started growing specialty, hard-to-find fruits and vegetables, the exotic kind that garnished meals at fancy restaurants, not something just any gardener could do.

“You going to grow in summer, read sex novels in winter?” he asked.

“You told me to relax and think. Some people go on cruises, some play golf even with a bad knee, some people go to the lake or the beach for the summer. Some even sky-dive for fun! And me? I’m going to spend the summer in the garden. And I’m not only relaxed, I’m having a blast! If I’m still here after September, I might buy smudge pots and experiment with a winter crop. I’m planting a lot of stuff right now just to see what works, what’s strong, what’s weak. I’ll have an idea what’s possible by late summer. I might end up with a wide variety or just a few special items. Then I’ll have to decide why I’m doing this.”

“Organic? What about bugs and worms?”

“Harry, you know about gardening?”

“Not a damn thing. These seem like obvious questions.”

She had to chuckle. This was how he’d gotten so far—he knew a little bit about a lot of things and a lot about a few things. Brilliant man. “I’m doing a lot of research and, so far, things are going well. We’re even making our own mulch now….”

“We?”

“I hired a hand. And I sold my town house—my goods will be delivered soon. I’m putting a little money into the garden. Call it research and development, but this is actually a low-cost operation.”

When she paused, so did he. The silence stretched out. Finally, in his gruff voice he said, “You sound good, Jill.”

“I am good, Harry. Is BSS doing all right?”

“All right. Stock’s up. Board’s a pain in my ass. One software product f**kup and recall but that’s only one of our many products and we can afford to eat it.” Another silence. “He’s not here anymore, Jill.”

“I didn’t ask,” she said.

“He’s—”

“I’d like it on the record that I didn’t ask,” she said emphatically.

“He couldn’t take the heat. He knew he was up against an enemy in me. Plus there was the incidental fact that he’s completely incompetent. I gave him a sterling recommendation to help him out of here—the only thing that could have made it sweeter is if it had been to one of our competitors. He skipped, got a title and a pay raise. And is blessedly gone.”

She actually dropped her chin and rubbed her temples. “I’m sorry. Feeling completely stupid once more.”

“Aw, give yourself a break. He probably drugged your herbal tea or some damn thing. I told you, Jill—you gotta have a little balance in your life. Work hard but have some good times. Drink a few martinis here and there, have men in your life sometimes so you don’t run the risk of getting lonesome, so the wrong one can’t come along and trip you up.”

“No chance of that up here,” she said.

“Well, he’s gone and we both know he’s not gonna make it. He’s gonna fall so hard he’ll leave a very big hole where he lands…. And you’re happy—just do the happy dance and come to see us. Come to the house, have a big meal, tell us about the gardens….”