The fluctuating weather allowed plenty of leaves to cling stubbornly to a few of the trees, and lay about on the property. Ethan used clearing them as an excuse to hang around near the house. Sapphire Gardener had driven up not half an hour before. Shortly after, a window up top at the front—what he believed to be Sapphire’s bedroom—opened. Rosie would have aired the room if certain of Sapphire’s arrival, but as the woman never showed when she said, no doubt she found her bedroom stuffy. The idea Sapphire used a habit of being late to be cantankerous made him grin. Fortunately, there was no one around to see him beaming like an i***t.
Peace descended, broken by a shout and a scream so loud, Ethan started toward the house before coming to a faltering halt. The window to Sapphire’s room ban
