Today, as was her habit, she whistled as she dug away, so caught up in her task that she almost missed noticing that she was no longer alone. It was that bright yellow hat that gave Barbara away. She would never be able to sneak up on a soul with that glaring thing on.
“Well, you’re in a good mood today,” she said as she walked around to the side of the house where Peggy had her patch of dug-up earth.
“And why shouldn’t I be?” Peggy straightened and began pulling the gloves off her hands. “Aren’t I always in a good mood?”
“Not really,” Barbara said, her tone dry as chip. “You’re happiest when you’ve been meddling in someone else’s business. What have you been up to? Who’ve you been messing with now?”
Her hands now free of the gloves, Peggy dropped the protective gardening gear on top of the cobbled pathway and jammed a fist on one hip. “I haven’t been messing with anybody, Miss Nosy Parker.”
“Maybe not since this morning, you haven’t. But what about poor Ryder? You almost scared him off with all your talk about weddings and babies.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the only one.” Peggy was frowning as she threw out the reminder. “From what I can recall you were the loudest one, singing praises for Blake.” She pursed her lips and adopted a simpering pose, one hand up and limp at the wrist. “She’s such a sweet girl,” she said in a high, falsetto voice. “A man would be a fool to let her slip through his fingers.”
“I do not talk like that.” Now it was Barbara’s turn to frown. “You take that back, Peggy Thatcher.”
Peggy laughed. “All right, all right. Maybe you don’t sound that bad but your voice does get squeaky when you get excited.”
Barbara gave her a rueful grin. “Maybe just a little bit.” She walked over to the garden bench that had been set in the shade of an apple tree. There she made herself comfortable, sinking down onto it with a sigh and stretching her legs out in front of her.
“But seriously, though,” she said as she stared at her sandaled feet with interest, “why were you giving Ryder such a hard time? If he likes Blake he’ll ask her out in his own time.”
“And that’s what I’m afraid of,” Peggy said and went over to join Barbara on the bench. “His own time could take forever.”
“But what’s that got to do with you? Shouldn’t that be Blake’s concern? And remember, he’s been in town just shy of a week. Apart from the fact that he’s handsome and charming, what in the world do we know about him?”
At those words Peggy gave a grunt. As usual, Barbara was the voice of reason. “You’re right,” Peggy said. “I’m an old fool and I got carried away. It’s just that Blake’s not getting any younger. I don’t want her to make the same mistake I did.”
“What’s in the past is in the past, Peggy. You don’t turn back the clock.” Barbara reached over and patted her friend on the knee. “And you can’t live your life through someone else.”
Peggy gave a soft grunt and then she looked away. “You know me better than anyone. You know what a mess I’ve made of my life. I don’t want it to happen to Blake. I’ve known her less than a year but she’s the closet thing I have to a daughter.”
“Yes, but she’s got to live her own life.”
“I know, but what if I help her along? If I’d had someone to guide me when I was young maybe I would have a husband and a family right now. Maybe some grandkids.” Her voice turned wistful. “I don’t want Blake to end up like me.”
“You have a pretty good life, Peggy. Everybody knows you and loves you.” Barbara gave her a gentle smile. “You’ve done well for yourself. You’re mayor of our town.”
Peggy shook her head. “But it’s not the same. You know that.” She drew in her breath then, slowly, she let it out with a deep sigh. “I could have had a family but I threw it all away. I was too independent.”
“You did what was right for you at the time.”
Lost in her memories of the past, hardly hearing what Barbara was saying, the words continued to spill out of Peggy’s mouth. “When Jeffery asked me to marry him I turned him down even though I loved him. I was so confident back then. I told him I wasn’t ready. I had too much to do. How could I tie myself down when there was so much to accomplish? I hadn’t even finished my degree yet.” She grimaced and then a smile crept onto her lips but it was a slow, bitter smile. “I actually thought he would wait for me. Can you imagine that? I did my first degree and then moved on to a graduate degree and even a second one, sure the whole time that I could count on Jeff to be there waiting when I was good and ready to settle down. What a laugh.”
Barbara, like the good friend she’d been over the years, sat there listening, not interrupting, just letting her spill her regretful thoughts all over the garden lawn. When she did make a move it was to shift on the bench and slide an arm around Peggy’s shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up about a decision you made when you were young. You thought it was the best decision and it worked out in your favor in many ways.”
“When I got back he’d left town,” Peggy said, hardly hearing what Barbara was saying. “He’d joined the army. I got on with my life, thinking he’d be back some day. He never did come back. Last thing I heard from his old aunt, he’d gotten married and had a family. He was the one man I ever loved and I let him walk away, just like that.” She sighed again then shook her head. “The stupidity of youth.”
For a while there was silence, Peggy lost in thought and Barbara letting her be. It was Peggy who broke that silence with a matter-of-fact click of the tongue. “But enough of that,” she said, her voice full of forced cheeriness. “That’s all in the past. Right now it’s time to look to the future. Blake’s future.” She hopped up onto her feet and when she looked down at Barbara she was smiling. “And I want to make Blake happy.”
But Barbara wasn’t smiling back. Gaze narrowed, she pointed a finger at her friend. “Peggy,” she said, her tone terse, “I’m warning you. No meddling.”
Peggy only laughed. “Who’s meddling? I’m only ensuring the happiness of my semi-adopted daughter. I just want her to have a chance with Ryder. All she has to do is check him out. After that, she can reject him if they don’t mesh. But I want her to have that chance.”