Secrets and Roses

A/N - Hello again. I'm back with another story. My other two are on hiatus at the moment. I just figured out the plot for "My New Life" and I'm stuck at the moment. This one has been on my mind for a while, so I'm trying again. Any ideas and reviews are welcome. Thanks to Fairy-Princess139 for the title!

Chapter 1: Roses Are Red

Mary hummed to herself as she dusted the upstairs library shelves. Even though she had done them yesterday, she liked to make sure that they stayed clean. Just in case anyone came in to read them. Not many people came into the library these days, although the Doctor did like the books here on the second floor and Gray came in to get new books every week. She sighed and pushed her step-stool to another shelf. Other than that, it seemed that the town had forgotten there was a library. Maybe she should paint it bright pink. With orange trim. That would remind them.

She heard the downstairs door open and close. "I'll be right down," she called. She stepped off the stool and headed for the stairs. The lower level was quiet.

"Hello?" she called. She got to the bottom of the stairs. The lower level was empty. Almost. On her desk was a vase with an arrangement of roses in assorted colors. Roses were hard to come by here in Mineral Town. She wondered who brought them, then immediately thought of Jack.

She could feel herself blushing. Jack had moved to Mineral Town to take over his grandfather's farm. Mayor Thomas was giving him a tour, and they stopped by the library.

"Mary, this is Jack Deere. He's taking over Deere Farm. Jack, this is Mary Patrick. She runs the libary." Mary tried hard not to stare at him. He was definately the best looking guy she had ever seen. His brown eyes were the color of chocolate chips and he wore a cap backwards over his dark brown hair.

"Nice to meet you, Mary," Jack said.

"Hi. Welcome to Mineral Town," Mary replied, shyly. Jack looked around.

"This is a very nice library. You must have a lot books. Do you have any on farming?"

Mary nodded. "And I have several here written about the local flora and fauna. They were written by my father. Stop by anytime and borrow any books you want."

"I'll do that. See you later." He waved and followed Mayor Thomas out the door.

Since then, he had come in three times that week, to get and return books; always asking her what she recommended. Her best friend, Ann, teased her, saying that she had a crush on Jack. She supposed she did. She did look forward to seeing him everytime he came in.

She crossed the room to her desk and inspected the flowers. There was a yellow ribbon tied around the vase and a small card was attached to the ribbon. Mary picked it up and opened it.

To the most beautiful girl in Mineral Town.

The card had no signature. The most beautiful girl in Mineral Town? She frowned. Maybe these were for Karen. She was certainly the most beautiful girl in Mineral Town. She closed the card and saw her name on the bottom. Huh. She sat down. Well, it was Jack's day to come in today. She would ask him about the flowers then.

Jack walked toward the library, holding a bouquet of moon mist and toy flowers. Usually, he brought a stack of books back with him on his library days, but this time, he was going for a different reason. According to his calendar, today was the Spring Thanksgiving Festival. He wanted to ask Mary out on a date. It had taken all week to get up his courage. He had even practiced his lines in the mirror at home.

At first, he had thought that Gray was at the library all the time because he was interested in Mary, too. After a few visits, though, Jack could see that they were only friends. He smiled to himself. He remembered when he first met her. He had fallen in love the moment he looked into her big, smoky-grey eyes. Although she was quite shy, they had had some great conversations about his farm and the books he checked out.

He reached the library and took a deep breath before opening the door. The first thing he saw was Mary, sitting at her desk, staring at a bouquet of roses. He panicked. Was he too late? Had someone already asked her out? Then he noticed that she looked slightly confused.

"Mary?" he said quietly, not wanting to startle her. She looked up and immediately smiled.

"Hi Jack. How are you today?"

"I'm fine. What about you? You look a little confused."

"These flowers were on my desk. I was upstairs dusting and I heard the door open and close, and when I came down, there they were."

"Who are they from?"

"I don't know. There was no name on the card." She felt disappointed that they didn't seem to have come from Jack, but didn't say anything.

"Maybe you have a secret admirer," he teased.

'Yeah, right,' she thought. Then she noticed he wasn't holding any books, but some flowers instead.

"Where are your books? You usually bring them back when you come in."

"Oh, yeah, about that," Jack said, nervously. "See the thing is...well...I didn't come to bring my books back today. I...uh...came to ask you to dinner." There, he said it.

"You what?"

"Oh, yeah, and these are for you," he said, handing the startled girl the flowers he had picked for her. "Would you have dinner with me tonight at Doug's Inn?"

Mary took the flowers. She wanted to jump up and cheer, but managed to say, quietly, "Yes, I will. Thank you Jack." She pulled a vase out of the cabinet next to her desk and put his flowers in it. She placed it on her desk and moved the roses to one of tables.

"What time?"

"I'll pick you up at 7. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. See you then."

"Okay, see you tonight, Mary."

Jack left the library, smiling. But somewhere, down the street, someone else was not.