Free Weeding Out Trouble by Heather Webber

well I was doing with the boundaries I'd set with him.
    Refocusing on my drawing, I smiled at what I had so far. Since Alice had said May loved whimsy, I was aiming for a fairy garden. Romantic and old-fashioned, with lots of fuss but little muss, because realistically the two women couldn't get around all that well anymore.
    I planned a sedum walkway and would fill in empty space with colorful delphiniums, hollyhocks, roses, dianthus, and ferns. I set a section aside for herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and saffron, to scent the air. I hoped my local nursery would have the perfect lichen-covered rock for added atmosphere.
    I'd spent the last hour scouring online catalogs for the right accessories. I found a tree-stump shaped as a chair, a weathered whitewashed bench, and a scalloped-shaped fountain complete with a perched fairy, wings spread as she poured water into the bowl, perfect for the garden.
    Lighting would be essential to this garden, so I colored in two- and three-stemmed mushroom-shaped lights made from copper I found on an artisan website. I made a mental note to ask Kit to look into—
    I stiffened.
    Kit.
    I tried to shove him back into that corner of my mind he'd snuck out of, but I couldn't. He didn't just loom large in real life, but in my thoughts too.
    What was he doing? Was he okay? Scared? Hungry? Grieving all alone?
    What had he thought about Kent Ingless? And what exactly had he been doing to help Daisy with her business?
    My cell phone vibrated, and I grabbed it and headed into the bathroom.
    "Where are you?" Ana asked. "You sound all echoey."
    "In the bathroom." I kept my voice low.
    "Do I want to know?"
    I peeked out my door, at my mother hogging the covers
    and BeBe hogging the bed. "No." Closing the door tight, I wondered how I was going to budge BeBe so I could get some sleep. "Where are you?" I asked. Filtered voices came across the line. "What's all that noise in the background?"
    "TSA warning about leaving baggage unattended."
    I sank into the empty bathtub. "You're coming home?"
    "How could I stay away? This is Kit we're talking about. The big galoot."
    "Galoot? Have you been drinking?"
    "Just a little. Listen, I'm stuck in Denver. There's a blizzard here, and most of the flights into Cincinnati have been canceled because of the snow there. I don't know when I'll be getting in. Can you pick me up?"
    I had to smile. Only Ana would ask me to pick her up when she didn't have a clue as to when that might be. "Of course."
    And only I would agree without a moment's hesitation.
    "How are things there?" she asked.
    I filled her in on Kevin, Maddie, Daisy's parents, Lewy and Joe, and the rooster fiasco.
    I could hear her pout. "I'm missing everything!"
    "Be glad."
    "Hmmph. Well, what are you doing tomorrow?"
    "Perry and I are going to talk to Kent Ingless. See what he knows."
    "Can't you wait until I get in?"
    "We'll see."
    "I miss everything!"
    We said our good-byes, and I climbed out of the bathtub.
    I yawned as I gathered up my drawing supplies and set them on my nightstand in the bedroom. Crossing over to the window, I knelt down and looked across the street. Then I glanced back at my bed, where there was no room for me.
    It made sense to go over there.
    Perfectly justifiable.
    It would be so nice to curl up with Bobby. There was something about being in his arms that made me feel safe and secure and . . . loved.
    But there were those pesky boundaries.
    What was a girl to do?
    Making up my mind, I went into the closet and pulled down an extra blanket. I wrestled my pillow out from beneath BeBe's head, hoping she didn't drool in her sleep, and settled in on the floor.
    As I turned off the lamp, I told myself my decision had everything to do with maintaining a healthy distance so my and Bobby's relationship could grow.
    But I knew as I fell into a fitful sleep it had more to do with not wanting to have to deal with Kevin on my way out.
    There were no corners left in my head to store away that