Page 11 of A Light in the Dark

ELEVEN

Sure enough, it was a buffet perfect for a luna moth.

The garden store turned Joel into a hyperactive child, one who needed adult supervision else he might buy the entire thing. I pushed the cart through the aisle, realizing we’d need multiple trips within five minutes of arrival.

We hadn’t been in the store for ten minutes, and the man muttered about how he needed hundreds of plants to restore his home to rights.

His exterior garden had been completely eliminated, and his interior garden featured primarily annual plants, mostly in the form of vegetables and herbs.

If he wanted his leafy green things to eat sooner than later, he needed to plant his garden, and he needed to plant his garden now . A suspicion roused, and while Joel hummed over the assortment of herbs, I scouted the internet for what sorts of foods luna moth shapeshifters consumed.

Not only did they love fruits, they were categorized as a species of pollinator, sticking their noses in every flower to cross their path. Nobody knew why shapeshifting luna moths had evolved to be pollinators, but a colony of moths could cover an entire city in a night when hungry for nectar.

I checked the cart against the list, and sure enough, it was a buffet perfect for a luna moth.

My neighbor’s last name appeared to only be the start of his secrets, and I could understand how he’d gone from keeping to himself to inviting me to go shopping with him. It didn’t matter if Joel was the luna moth from the rescue; according to the site, luna moths formed colonies in cities, of which Stonecreek was listed as having a small but closely knit population of the shapeshifters.

Joel’s knowledge of what was going on up the street pointed at the same general place: my handsome neighbor had a shapeshifting habit, and he’d been on guard when he’d spotted Gabriella. Roger’s intel made it all the more likely that Joel was the same luna moth.

Until then, my neighbor hadn’t had much interest in me at all, keeping to himself and being secretive.

That pointed to him being a luna moth, too.

Add in the fact that Joel knew some Hunters and wanted to engage in computer gaming with them, and many of the puzzle pieces fell into place. The Hunters could talk to Joel about the situation, Joel could keep an eye on me—and if there was some conspiracy going on in Stonecreek, nobody would think the handsome man living on the corner was involved with trying to safeguard the refugees.

I would serve as the bait, a role I was content to play.

After checking the list, which happened to list the top ten favorite flowers and herbs for luna moths, I pointed at a plant described as a chocolate mint. “Chocolate and mint are a match made in heaven.”

Joel’s gaze followed my finger to the plant, and the man licked his lips. “I see you speak my language, Valerie.”

“Have you tried this variety of mint before?”

“My garden doesn’t have mint in it right now,” he admitted. “I have been told mint takes over everything, and once it enters my home, it will never be leaving. I will forever be battling mint.”

I picked up the tray, which contained six baby plants, and held it his way. “But it’s not just mint. It’s chocolate mint.”

He swallowed, took the tray, and sniffed at the leaves.

Judging from the way his eyes crossed, his nose informed him he beheld heaven.

Before the poor man could make a fool of himself further, I took the plants out of his hand and set them in the cart. “As penance for forcing mint upon you, I will come and help contain it to its section of the garden.” I turned and pointed at the yellow and orange marigolds, which had made a strong showing on the list of plants favored by luna moths. “Those are pretty, and I bet you could make a little shield wall around your mint. Plant the marigolds in a circle around your mint, and when the mint encroaches upon your marigolds, trim them back. Then you’ll have a pretty combination of colors, too.”

The marigolds also came in strong reds, and I pointed at those as well. “You could circle them in color gradients around the mint to be extra pretty.”

Joel abandoned the herbs to attack the marigold supply, grabbing entire flats of the flowers and loading the bottom rack of the cart. When that filled, he moved the mint plants to the top little section, which would have carried my purse had I not been aware that he would need every inch of space.

Once he filled the cart with marigolds, he heaved a sigh and said, “I’m going to have to make more trips.”

Aware my garden would need some love—and some treats for the neighborhood luna moths, I went to the mints, selected six plants for myself, all different types, and put them in the upper section with his precious mints. Then, as there were still some marigolds left, I selected a yellow one, an orange one, and a red one for myself. “This will be the start of my garden.”

I made sure to segregate my mints from his mints using the marigolds as a divider, moved the cart to the intersection, and turned it around. “Do you need any actual supplies to plant your stuff? Dirt? Plant food?”

“I’m actually somewhat okay on that, but I’m going to need a pot for the fairy house.”

“Take us to the pots.”

Joel pointed at the far side of the garden store, and amused that we had to navigate through an obstacle of plants, we worked our way over. We almost made it when a small rose bush, sporting sunset orange and red blooms, drew his eye. While the man stared at the plant, I checked the list for roses, determining luna moths viewed them as sacred treats, often not keeping them because they had a somewhat intoxicating effect on the shapeshifter.

More than a little amused over the idea of a shapeshifter getting drunk off a rose plant, I managed to make enough space in the cart for the rose. I pointed at the spot. “If it fits, it sits.”

Joel jerked his head up, and his eyes widened. He regarded the space, then the rose, and with the same sort of excitement I expected from a child, he snatched the plant, hugging the plastic pot to his chest. “Do you know what this is?”

Apparently, it was the Holy Grail of rose plants. “It appears to be a rose plant.”

“This is an Earth bred Joseph’s Coat. It’s a red and gold heirloom variety, so to get it, it is bred in a closed warehouse so nothing else pollinates the roses. Then the seeds are gathered, new plants are grown, and the process is repeated. This variety is hundreds upon hundreds of years old.” Joel shoved his nose into one of the blooms and breathed in deeply. “I’ve been wanting one of these for years. ”

“If it fits, it sits,” I told him, gesturing to the spot again.

The probable shapeshifter refused to give up his prize.

I rolled my eyes, checked out the other roses, and spotted an even smaller plant with the same colored blooms. I went to it, checked its tag, and upon seeing it was, in actuality, another Joseph’s Coat, I picked it up, carried it to the cart, and placed it into the spot. “Very well. You can carry that one. But this one is mine, and if you want to indulge in illicit plant breeding, you will have to come visit my rose personally. You can also help me select a pot for it, because mine will be living indoors with a dedicated plant light.”

“You’re going to need a big pot for it,” he warned me.

“I am prepared to dish out for an insanely expensive pot that takes up a horrific amount of space in your SUV. If we pack plants into the pot, we can buckle it into the back so it won’t go on any unexpected adventures.”

“I’ll show you a good pot, and I’ll get one, too. I think I’ll grow mine indoors as well. This is too precious to leave to the weather’s whim.”

I heaved a sigh, understood my feet would be covered in rose plants by the time we left, and pointed where I was standing. “You wait here. I will get a second cart.”

“Get one of the flat ones,” he suggested.

I nodded, as large pots wouldn’t fit in the standard carts and we already had issues with the marigolds taking over. I headed off, acquired the appropriate cart, and returned to the rose section. Then, because I had issues and a garden to plant, I checked every single label for rose plants, with and without blooms, and put every last Joseph’s Coat onto the cart, leaving enough room for a sizable pot when finished.

All in all, we would be fighting over twelve rose bushes, and at least one would be mine.

“One would have been fine,” Joel muttered, still holding on to his prized plant.

“One would have been fine, but now you have eleven, so you can have a few that suffer through the weather’s whim while your favorite child lives indoors, safe and sound.” I pointed in the direction of the pots. “March, Joel. Pots need to be acquired, I need enough dirt to fill my pot, and we clearly have to unload the SUV and return, else your garden will consist of mint, marigolds, and roses.”

“I’m not seeing the problem.”

Yep. The roses he held likely worked their magic on him, and he’d be laid back and possibly high the rest of the day. The first thing I would do after he turned his back would be check if luna moth shifters could drive while under the influence of flowers. If he couldn’t drive, I’d take the keys, drive for him, and babysit the intoxicated man until he sobered up.

Somehow, I would cope with my situation, although I’d have to work to keep from grinning like an idiot all the while.

Fortunately for my sanity, probable luna moths under the influence of pretty flowers could drive. I emerged from the shopping venture, which involved seven trips to the store and a blitz trip to a fast food joint, with a better understanding of why Joel gardened. Most people needed hard drugs to get the sort of high he cruised on, all without any actual impairment.

Flowers made the man happy , and if he bounced any higher, I would have to tether him to the floor to keep him from entering orbit.

While Joel obsessed over his Joseph’s Coat roses, on the seventh trip, which was mostly dedicated to my needs, I bought two of every type of rose they had. To my amusement, a store employee found one extra Joseph’s Coat in the back, a teeny tiny plant that scored huge points for its wretched cuteness, which I claimed for my enjoyment. As it needed another massive pot of its own, I bought one to match the first along with the needed dirt and plant food to keep my new leafed children happy.

The Joseph’s Coats would live indoors, and the rest would brave the wild outdoors in my back garden. After unloading the plants and pots, I thanked Joel and sent him on home so he could begin his gardening adventures, well aware the man worried his new acquisitions would suffer in the time we’d spent going to and from the store. He thanked me for my patience before leaving, and I waited for him to disappear around the corner in his SUV to bust a gut laughing over the whole mess.

If he wasn’t a luna moth, I’d be shocked. If he wasn’t the specific luna moth paying me a visit, I’d be only a little less surprised.

With only a few buildings to fly over, he’d have no problems checking on me at his whim.

With an entire rose garden paradise to visit, I’d end up having to get a key, carry him home, and set him loose in his house. That thought kept me snickering through the entire process of planting the roses in their new places, setting up the plant lights and fixing their timers, and otherwise accepting that I would be spending a great deal of time tending to my flowers.

While I’d played decent adult supervision, Joel had encouraged and enabled my purchases.

Next time, I would demand he play the adult supervision.

Then again, if there was a next time, I’d have to reevaluate the entirety of my budget, as I’d done some hefty assaults to my extra spending account.

Joel had been right: big pots were not cheap.

The sun set by the time I finished in my backyard, and right before I was about to go inside, take a shower, and flop from general exhaustion, the luna moth showed up. He headed straight for the largest of the rose plants, which had huge red blossoms, and made himself at home. Aware the shifter was getting a hit of rose goodness but I wanted to cover the fact I had some understanding of how he operated, I kept my expression neutral, went inside, washed my hands, and prepared an orange for him, setting the dish on the counter before holding open the door and saying, “Come on in, then. Your snack is in here.”

I suspected I broke the poor luna moth’s heart, taking him away from the big rose and subjecting him to the lesser orange instead, but he fluttered away from the plant and came inside, landing on the dish’s rim and helping himself to the fruit.

Closing the door, I went to work checking out my fridge for dinner, decided I would be having chicken breast, and set it on the counter before rummaging through my spice collection in my effort to eliminate the taste of chicken from my meal. As I needed fuel to recover from a hectic day of gardening, I dug out potatoes from their box, plunked a pair into my sink, and went to work eradicating the dirt still clinging to the skin. “Apparently, I own a rose garden now. Clearly, I’m going to have to get a little patio set so I can sit outside and enjoy the fruit of my labor. Unfortunately, I have less than a quarter of my available garden space gardened, and I’m going to have to go back to the store to see what’s involved with planting herbs and vegetables.” I heaved a sigh. “I don’t suppose you know how to lure a bunch of bees over, do you? I’m going to need an army of bees if this garden of mine is going to produce anything once I’m done with it. Do you know what I had planned for tomorrow? Reading. Do you know what I’m doing tomorrow? Catching a cab and going to the plant store to buy vegetable seeds. At least I’m not going to be late for the growing season.”

Nobody planted anything until after the spring floods subsided and the rain stayed gone for a week anyway. Nobody wanted their seeds to drown or wash away. Those with greenhouses planted whenever they wanted, but I refused to go that route unless my basement became an indoor garden.

I worried that might become an option, one filled with huge pots and pretty flowers for my enjoyment. If my guess on Joel’s nature proved to be correct, I could just entice the local luna moths into coming into my basement to pollinate everything for me if needed.

While I made my dinner, the luna moth ate his orange. After settling on the counter, he stilled, and I suspected he’d opted for a nap rather than going home. Amused, I used my new phone to take a picture, which I sent over to Roger along with a text informing him that my winged babysitter had gone on a rose bender in my garden before passing out following a fruit bender on my counter.

A moment later, my phone rang.

I picked up, giggling at the sound of Roger laughing his ass off. “I think he’s asleep, Roger.”

“I’m pretty sure he is, too. He’s not fluttering his wings much, right?”

“He’s still and quiet,” I confirmed.

“You bought roses?”

“I bought more than a few roses for my garden. I helped a friend at the garden store today, and he lost his mind. I ended up losing my mind, too. I have two indoor roses and a bunch of outdoor roses now. Tomorrow, I go back to the store to start my vegetable garden.”

“Anything strange happen today?”

“All has been quiet. I am engaging in a gardening competition with my neighbor up the street, and I’m pretty sure I have him beat on roses, but he’s got me beat so far on everything else. Is there something you want me to watch out for?”

“Actually, yes. Word on the street is that there’s going to be a job fair for refugees on the top of the hill next week. See if you can convince your boss to let you attend in an official capacity. That’d really help us out.”

I bet I could swing at least twenty good reasons to go to such a job fair. “You got it. Anything particular you want me to do?”

“Take pictures of those running the stands and the crowd with your phone if possible. It’ll be tricky, as the stands will mostly be for refugees, but you should be able to get a few pictures at least. There is a planned event for local companies to meet with refugees, and you should be able to register up until Friday. They’re making announcements in the paper and on the radio, so I’d grab a paper to show your boss to get the ball rolling on that.”

As I had a reputation for reading early and often, me checking out the paper wouldn’t faze anyone who knew me. “I’ll figure something out. What should I do with my guest?”

“If he’s that tired, just let him sleep it off. Luna moths technically count as a prey species, so they’re most comfortable sleeping with someone nearby to keep an eye on things. He’s a bit of a loner, so he doesn’t get many chances to do that. Just let him outside once he gets up. He’ll be fine.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep an eye on him and send him home in a few hours if he doesn’t get up.”

“Just work your hand under his legs. The moths will move even if asleep to keep their toes from getting pinched. You can then bounce him a little to wake him up. He’ll fly himself home after that. The moths get sleepy if they’ve had a busy day.”

Add in the roses, and the probable Joel had no chance of maintaining a relationship with consciousness for a while. “That’s good to know. Are the other local luna moths going to pitch a fit if they can’t find him?”

Roger snorted on a laugh. “If they notice he’s MIA they might. It depends on how long you keep him for. Just set him loose before you go to bed, and I’m sure his visit will go unnoticed. If you keep him until morning, then some of the other local shifters might realize he’s been captured by an enterprising woman with a garden.”

Not just a garden, a rose garden, one of the ultimate temptations for luna moths. “I’ll make sure he gets up from his nap and heads home. Thanks for your help, Roger.”

“That’s supposed to be my line. Text or call if you notice anything at all amiss, okay?”

“I will,” I promised.