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her was a large grassy area crisscrossed by old brick pathways. There were high walls on each side and what looked to be beds for plants. The weeds had been cut, so someone was taking care of the garden, but it still had a barren look to it. There were a few scraggly bushes, but not much else.
    She walked to the end of the wall and saw a long, narrow strip of land that ran perpendicular. It too was walled. At one end was a big red gate, but at the other end of the garden was a building with a vine-covered arbor attached to one side.
    She went down the old brick path to the small building. Thedoor was open, and inside was a lot of shiny new gym equipment. When Shelly had asked about rehabilitating an injury such as Jamie had, Hallie had been flattered. She’d been pleased to make a list of necessary equipment. Inside the little building Hallie found everything she had put on the list. Machines and free weights were in the center, and the walls were hung with rubber tubes and yoga equipment. When she went out the side door to the arbor, she saw a seating area and a lean-to that housed the massage table she would need. Overhead, grape vines had pretty, pale leaves that were beginning to unfurl. Massages under the arbor would be perfect.
    When she heard a cough to her left, she knew the man was letting her know of his approach.
    He stopped just under the edge of the arbor and leaned heavily on his crutches. “I apologize for my behavior,” he said. “I’m very sorry.”
    “And I for mine,” she answered. “It’s been a tough day and I took my anger out on you. Why don’t you take your clothes off and let’s start over?”
    Jamie lifted his eyebrows high.
    Hallie’s mind was so much on all that had happened that it took a moment to realize what she’d said. “I meant for a massage. To begin work on your knee.” She could feel her face turning red.
    “Darn!” he said with such feeling that Hallie couldn’t help but laugh, and he joined her.
    But he didn’t begin to disrobe. Instead, he made his way to a chair and sat down heavily. “That’s better.” He smiled at her as she took the other seat. “I would like to start over. I’m James, generally called Jamie.” He held out his hand across the little table separating them.
    “My name is Hyacinth, but thankfully I’m called Hallie.” When she shook his hand, his eyes seemed to be offering only friendship, and she was glad of it.
    Leaning back in their chairs, they looked out at the garden.
    “Isn’t Hyacinth the name of one of the original owners of the house?” he asked.
    “Yes. My father had only a small box of papers about his family. He didn’t talk about them, but my mother found them in the attic of the house I grew up in. She saw the name Hyacinth and gave it to me.”
    “And your mother’s name was Ruby, right?”
    “No. She was Shelly’s mother,” Hallie said tightly.
    “Sorry,” Jamie said. “I’m afraid I’m a bit confused about it all. I don’t know if Jared told you, but I exchanged some emails with a woman I thought was you. She said her mother was named Ruby and that Ruby had died when Hallie—or Shelly, I guess—was four.”
    “Part of that’s correct. My mother died when I was four, but her name was Lauren.”
    “My biological mother died when I was a baby,” Jamie said softly.
    We have that in common, Hallie thought but didn’t say, and for a few minutes the air was heavy between them. Shared tragedy did not make for happy conversation, she thought, and wanted to change the subject. “So where does that gate at the end lead?”
    “I have no idea. I just got here last night and I slept late this morning. When I got up, I looked around a bit, then came out here to see the gym. I was just returning when Jared found me.”
    “But I saw you with an older woman. You looked like friends.”
    “That was Edith and we’d just met. She lives in the B&B next door, so the gate probably leads there. Her son and