Embers in Bloom and Blaze by JB Lassalle EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: JB Lassalle
- Language: English
- Genre: Fantasy Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Marilena set her pearl-handled spade aside and slid her fingers
through the soil, just to let the sensation of it, silky smooth and
rich, run along her skin. It trembled beneath her fingertips, a cat enjoying a
good belly rub. She smiled, leaning into the sensation of connection.
She rubbed at her forehead with the back of her hand as a defiant trickle
of sweat ran too close to her bright green eyes. Despite the delightfully
crisp chill of an early January morning, gardening was hard work.
The row of beds she’d planted, a brightly colored array of winter
blooms, was near finished. Despite her aching body and filthy nails,
accomplishment brought a small smile to her lips. She grabbed the last of
her stock, holding the brilliant yellow flower up to her face. She turned it in
a circle, checking for insects or signs of decay. “You’re a lovely bud, aren’t
you?”
The flower’s pride mimicked her own, and her smile grew as she dug
her fingers into the edge of the green plastic pot to unearth it. She lifted the
flower, cursing as her knuckle grazed a sliced edge. Dropping the flower
into the soil, she brought her knuckle to her lips to stay the blood.
“Most people wear gloves.” Her grandmother Annalise hobbled over to
the small bistro table they’d set atop a patch of concrete in the back of her
overgrown yard.
The yard could use a good manicure, but Marilena had always preferred
the way it reflected Annalise’s spirit—lush, a bit wild, full of color. “I’m
not most people, Mimi.”
Annalise chuckled as she slowly lowered herself to the wrought-iron
chair. Her hip-length braid, once as flame red as Marilena’s but now
peppered with gray, fell over her shoulder as she leaned on the weight of the
table to support her. She winked at Marilena with joyful hazel eyes, wide
and round and filled with mirth. “That’s an understatement.”
“You know”—Marilena wiped her hands on the small towel affixed to
her sweatpants, wrapping it around her finger as she rose—“most people
would use their cane instead of trusting a tiny, creaky table to hold their
weight.” She balled two fists at the low of her back, opened her chest, and
groaned as her muscles stretched and unwound from an hour spent hunched
over dirt.
“I’m not most people either.”
Marilena kissed Annalise’s smooth cheek with a laugh. “There’s an
understatement.”
Annalise wrapped her aged fingers around Marilena’s wrist, pulling her
hand close to inspect it. “You cut yourself?”
“It’s a small matter, Mimi. Nothing a Band-Aid won’t fix. Coffee?”
“Strong and black. Finish your work first.”
“I’m done enough.”
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