When a Rose Blooms — Tarah Scott

This is a twenty page short story.

On the fifth year anniversary of Margaret Moncreiffe's death, her husband Nathaniel kneels at her grave, asking the questions he fears were answered the night she died of a mysterious fever. As the evening progresses, however, a flesh and blood woman enters the battlefield he has created around his heart, forcing him to choose between life among the living, or life with nothing but memories of the dead.

Where Ms. Scott truly excels with this book is in the ambiance--mist-shrouded hills and cemeteries that are the prevailing images. The image that will stay with a reader is that of a tortured man kneeling on the ground by his wife's grave, mourning two women he loves--neither of which he can have. Let the mood of the book wrap around you. Because when you can allow yourself to get lost in the story, the resolution comes on you the same way as her painted images--fully formed, without being completely aware how you know.
Sweeter Romantic Notions