When Ryan made it downstairs Wednesday morning, he found out Merrick had already left for work. There was a note on the kitchen island telling him to help himself to whatever he wanted for breakfast. At the bottom, it said, “I’ll have them send all the plants tomorrow morning. Take today off. You’ll need it.” It was signed with a smiley face.
Ryan shook his head in amusement, made eggs and bacon, then went up to the studio. I might not be working on the garden, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have other things to do.
They consisted of planning out the paintings for the ‘old people and children’ series. He shuffled through the sketches he’d made, pairing the elders with a child until he was satisfied. Then, he set to work limning out one of the watercolors. By the time he had to leave for wor
