For Carmen.
Wiping his eyes, he felt Barry nuzzle him. The dog walked expectantly towards the car. “Nice search and rescue, Barry. You just want to go home and have dinner.”
The dog trotted forward, looking back to make sure his master was following.
Evan followed the dog to his car. Someone was standing there.
It was Juan, leaning down to pat the dog. “Your dog woke me up. I fell asleep.”
Evan laughed, praising his dog profusely. Barry lapped up the affection, looking between the two men happily, as if his work was done.
The old man talked as though they’d run into each other on the street. “I went to see if my old amiga Crystal was okay, and then I decided to check in on Mercedes.”
“Where’s your truck?”
“Around the corner. I had it parked on the street facing downhill in case I needed to pop the clutch while it was running. Didn’t work. Might need a new starter.” He shrugged. “I took a little siesta.”
“A siesta?” Evan didn’t care what the other man would think. He walked right up to him and hugged him, patting him vigorously on the back. “Your girls are looking for you.”
Juan nodded, looking baffled. He patted Evan’s back awkwardly before they separated. “They worry too much.”
“They called the police.”
Juan raised his eyebrows. “The police? Maybe we can leave the truck here and you give me a ride home.”
Evan laughed. “Maybe I should.”
They got into the fancy yellow car with the slobbering dog poking his head between them and started down the road.
Sometimes, Evan thought as they wound down the hill, life was simple.
Sometimes you went looking for something and you found it.
At the winery, Evan opened the kitchen door for Juan, letting him simply walk through Orchard House into the living room. He was close enough on the old man’s heels to see Carmen jump up from the couch on her sprained ankle and shriek, “Ow! Owwwwww!” as she hobbled over to fall on her father, who caught her.
“What happened to your ankle?” Juan asked.
Carmen laughed with tears in her eyes. “What happened to my ankle? Papi! Who cares what happened to my ankle? Where were you?!”
Her father looked around the room at his excited children, perplexed. “I went to see Mami. I wanted to make sure the cemetery wasn’t going to burn down.” He couldn’t understand all the fuss. “It’s not,” he added, even though his children clearly didn’t share his concern.
Adella hugged her father. “You had us worried, Papi.”
Juan waved his hand in front of his face. “Hijas, your Papi isn’t going to do anything crazy.” He smiled contentedly. “You were the ones always making me loco.” He clapped his hand over his heart. “Now you know what it’s like to have teenagers. One heart attack after another.”
The sisters clustered around him, hugging their father in one tight, teary knot. The sight warmed Evan’s heart and made him a little wistful. While his parents cruised around the world on luxury liners, families like the Alvarez hugged and kissed and cried together. He wanted this, he decided. Exactly.
Evan’s phone pinged. A notification on the forest service app. The evacuation for the south side of the lake and all of Chelan, Manson and surrounding areas was now mandatory. After taking Adella aside and agreeing that they should leave as soon as possible, Evan slipped out the back door to pack dog food, turn on his irrigation system and pack a few things if he had time.
Outside, he let Barry out of the Lamborghini, letting him run up the hill to his own patio while he drove down the winding orchard driveway and back up the neatly terraced Hollister Estate road. Barry greeted him, slobbering joyfully, his long tail thumping the car door. Evan bent down to reassure the dog, who seemed uneasy, crowding against him as if he sensed Evan’s anxiety. Barry followed him up the hill, staying close as Evan flipped on every switch controlling the vineyard irrigation. Designed to minimize evaporation, the water system wouldn’t help in a fire, but it could save plants during a prolonged absence.
In the quiet kitchen Evan measured dog food into Ziploc bags before feeding the dog, filling his water bowl before he hurried upstairs to pack. Evan heard the dog climbing the stairs, his nervous panting as he entered the room. He circled the room, his nails clicking on the tile as Evan shoved T-shirts and a clean pair of jeans into a duffel. “Dude, you need to eat. You’re going to be packed into a van. I know it’s early but it’s chow time.” Evan ran to the bathroom, grabbed his leather Dopp kit, tossing on his clothes and zipped it up. “Go. Eat.”
He ran downstairs, gathered the kibble bags and dashed outside his car. Barry followed at his heel so closely that Evan nearly tripped. Evan threw the duffel and food into the trunk and opened the car door for Barry, putting the seat down. The dog sat there, staring at him before looking away.
“Barry, get in the car.” The dog lowered his head, backing away and whining. Evan’s grew annoyed, snapping his fingers. “Barry. Car.” He lunged for the dog’s collar, but the dog refused, running away, barking. “What’s gotten into you? You love car rides. Barry, please. Get in the goddamned car.”
“Help, I’m falling!” a voice shot out of the dusk. Evan was crouching down, dangling a piece of lunch meat as bait, trying to lure Barry within arm’s reach.
It was Carmen. Evan tossed the lunchmeat to the dog, muttering that this wasn’t over yet and ran from the driveway to the side of his patio. Carmen was sliding backwards off the hill that divided their properties. “Ow. Ow. Ow.”
“Carmen, the evacuation is mandatory. Really not the time to be hiking.” He looked at his watch. “I was just heading over.”
Carmen pinwheeled her arms, trying to stay upright. “Don’t let me fall.”
He slid down the hill. “Stay there. I’ll come get you.”
Carmen looked like she had no intention of moving. She was balanced precariously, trying to keep her weight off her ankle, wrapped in an elastic bandage. He slid down the hill, wondering why she struggled up here on a hurt ankle when they should be fleeing.
By the time he reached her, Carmen was sweating from the effort of staying on the hill. He grabbed her arm by the elbow, pulling her up. “We should stop meeting like this,” he quipped.
“Don’t make me sorry I came over.”
“You’re not over yet.” He pulled her up to the patio as she awkwardly hopped, wincing in pain. “There, now you are. I see you’re taking good care of that ankle.”
Carmen crossed her arms. “I wanted to thank you in private. So, thank you, from the crazy Latina.”
He looked at his watch, offering his arm. “I never said that.”
She declined, following him with a slow limp to the car. He waited, opening the door, glaring at the dog still at a safe, cautious distance. “You most certainly did. You also ruined my wedding business, hired away my cook—”
He lifted in a finger. “My housekeeper. Not me.”
She ignored the distinction. “And never bothered to tell me while we were swimming in the moonlight. Every time I think I can trust you, you do something completely deceitful. And yet, I find myself here, thanking you for saving my father.”
“You’re welcome. If you really want to show your gratitude, you can get Barry into the car. He’s been—”
Carmen simply snapped her fingers and pointed at the car. The dog obediently leaped into the back seat. “Anything else?”
Evan grinned at her. “Do you know how long Barry was running around here making trouble?”
“No idea, but we should be going.”
He bent into the car to lift the front seat to make space for her. “Yes, we should. Thank you. I wasn’t about to leave him behind.” When he stood, she took his arm to get into the car. “Unfortunately, at this moment, Barry is the love of my life.”
Carmen looked around his shoulder at the dog. “He’s pretty adorable.”
“Yeah. But in times lik
e this it becomes painfully obvious what’s important in life.”
She looked up at him. “Such as?”
Her brown skin glowed. Her dark curls framed those Alvarez brown eyes. He leaned down until they were inches apart. Close enough to smell her lemony perfume. His throat was so tight he could barely whisper. “Carmen, we should go.”
“Yes.” She kissed him. One playful little kiss. Her eyes glinted mischievously as she leaned back against car door. “We should go.” She wobbled unsteadily.
“Yep.” He grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her up, kissing her with an intensity that blacked out his rational brain. She responded, kissing him, running her fingers through his hair and down his back.
She kept kissing him, muttering. “Should. Leave. Now.”
“You’re right.” He placed his hands on either side of her face just as Carmen pulled herself away.
Her face flushed pink. “Okay. Wow. That was—”
He rubbed his chin, grinning. Every cell in his body wanted to kiss her again and forget everything. “Yeah. Exactly.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.” She slapped a hand over her eyes, hiding.
“I’m not sorry. Frankly, I’m stunned. What’s happening here?”
Carmen remained quiet a while. She peeked through her hands before finally looking up. “I don’t know. We’re getting in the car. We’re getting my family and we’re evacuating.”
She was right. Because of the situation with Juan, they’d ignored every sign until it was almost too late.
Twenty-Eight
Spright
As Evan turned the van around in the Alvarez yard, there was a faint glow over the darkening hill above the winery. Wind whipped the fire into a frenzy. Barry whined in the backseat as Lola tried to calm him, stroking his ears, murmuring into his fur. Adella had left on her own to join her family. The remaining Alvarez family, Evan, Paolo and Stella had all managed to pile into the one vehicle. There hadn’t been time to grab anything beyond a couple of photo albums.
Juan had been the one to insist they leave everything else behind. He kept muttering “Nos tenemos el uno al otro,” as they loaded into the van, leaving behind everything he’d worked so hard to build over his lifetime. “Nos tenemos el uno al otro. Nos tenemos el uno al otro.”
As they bumped down the driveway, Evan turned to Carmen in the passenger seat, whispering. “What’s he saying?”
A fat tear rode down Carmen’s cheek. “We have each other.”
By the time they reached Crystal’s property, she had released all her goats. They’d escaped to the foothills. Spright, still too sick to run, bleated plaintively on her leash.
“We can’t take her,” Evan said, pointing to the van. Every seat was taken.
Crystal firmly shook her head. “Can’t leave her.”
Lola insisted that everyone pile out of the van. “Come on, Spright.”
The goat charged into the van, hopping back out when Barry snapped and growled. Evan stuck his head into the car, yelling at the poor dog. “Knock it off, Barry!”
Barry whined unhappily but made no further protest. The reluctant goat was lifted into the car. Spright’s final protest was a spray of goat poop. It landed on Evan as he shoved the goat into the backseat. Carmen bent over in laughter.
“Not funny,” Evan said, brushing the stinky pellets off his shirt.
Lola tried unsuccessfully to hold back her laughter. “No. Not at all.”
“All right. Get in the car,” Evan snapped.
Juan said something in Spanish that had his daughters giggling hysterically.
“What?” Evan growled.
Carmen shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You don’t want to know.”
They fastened their buckles. Evan started the van. “Yes, I actually do.”
Carmen sniffed, snorting in an effort not to laugh. “Um, well, he said, ‘At least I didn’t poop on Evan when he rescued me.’”
Juan’s daughters burst into renewed laughter. This time, Paolo joined them. Evan drove off Crystal’s property, wondering how on earth he’d ended up ferrying a vanload of people, one dog and a goat through a wildfire.
It took three hours on winding back roads, some unpaved and pocked with fires, to make it to Wenatchee. Before they checked into a hotel, they needed to find a home for Spright. The shelters in Wenatchee wouldn’t take animals. They’d called every shelter listed by the Red Cross, but all of them required that the animals be dropped at emergency rescue sites. None of them took livestock.
“Spright isn’t livestock,” sniffed Crystal.
Unfortunately, the Red Cross didn’t agree.
Evan decided he’d throw his lot in with Crystal. Barry had grown fond of the goat during the journey. The two animals had slept wrapped around each other in the back seat, a tangle of cloven hooves and paws. The older woman clearly couldn’t be separated from an animal that was family. And Barry, for better or worse, was all Evan had.
Evan tried to convince the Alvarez family that they could spend the night in the East Wenatchee High School gym, where there were spots for groups of four. But Juan didn’t want the group to break up. They found a late-night burger place by the road, feeding the delighted animals their own meals and charming the small children at the road stop diner by walking the goat on a leash. Spright reveled in the attention, sneaking licks off ice cream cones and the occasional french fry. When dogs barked at him from cars, he turned back to Lola, who was walking him. After a few pets, he’d walk past, learning to conquer his fear.
Evan remained in the car, calling motels and hotels in the area. None would take animals. Finally, he called the Apple Inn. They had two rooms. “No. No pets. Just seven adults.”
He glanced at Carmen, who whispered, “I don’t care. We’ll sneak in the animals. I just wanted to sleep and shower off the smell of goat.” And in a louder tone, “Great. Yes. On my Visa card.”
When he got off the phone and delivered the good news, Juan offered to pay for the second night. Evan waved him away. Juan insisted.
“Look, hopefully we won’t need a second night,” Evan said, glancing at Carmen and thinking the exact opposite.
Even with wildfire raging, a restless dog, a nervous goat and a van load of stressed people, being near Carmen Alvarez was turning into his lifelong goal.
The Apple Inn’s website did not do it justice. It was far from the roadside motel Evan had expected. The modern inn was tucked into a canyon, surrounded by stands of fragrant ponderosa pines. Two luxury suites, the only ones available, put a serious ding on his credit card. He didn’t care. When they pulled into the spacious parking lot, dotted by fluttering aspens and glowing clumps of end-of-season goldenrod and black-eyed Susans, a small hope fluttered inside of him. This might be exactly what they needed.
Small cedar-shingled units were spaced in a wide circle around a beautifully landscaped pool. The lobby featured a river stone fireplace, a deer antler chandelier and soft, deep red velvet couches. The night clerk offered to have someone show them to their rooms. Evan politely declined, intentionally neglecting to share that they were fire refugees. He didn’t want to be anything but a guest wanting to collapse on a well-made bed. A guest without pets.
Yes, he was sorry they’d missed the happy hour featuring local wine. They could have used it. On second thought, Evan mused, maybe it was a good thing, keeping Carmen away from local wine. It would only remind her of their rivalry.
Evan strolled back to the van holding two room keys, wishing one was just for him and Carmen. The math was against it. In the rush to escape the fire, they hadn’t had a second alone. He craved a private space to talk to her, nothing more. He reached the car, dangling a key in each hand.
Lola had sorted out the room arrangements. The men would have one room and the women the other. Evan nodded like it made sense. It did. It just wasn’t what he wanted. Barry loped happily alongside Juan, who had fallen hard for the goofy dog. Carmen
stayed behind with Spright, as everyone went to prepare a smooth transition for their noisiest guest. Evan lingered at the open door to the van. The parking lot was full of cars, which would make it easier to hide Sprite, provided he wasn’t stubborn and loud. Carmen rubbed behind the goat’s long silky ears. Spright shifted uncomfortably on the middle row of seats. It had been a long ride.
Evan leaned into the van to rub the goat’s head. The goat glanced between him and Carmen, a child between tense parents. Carmen hadn’t mentioned anything about the kiss, so he’d better mention it. He was sorry there hadn’t been more time. Everything had been so rushed. “Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry—”
Carmen cut him off, shaking her head without looking at him. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t talk about it, okay? We can just go on about our lives and pretend like it never happened.”
Later, Evan couldn’t recall what his response had been. He ducked his head, not wanting her to see the crushed look on his face. The tumult of emotions he was feeling. He stayed, pretending like he agreed, probably saying something to that effect. As if it didn’t feel like a chunk of him had been ripped away. He was far too good at hiding pain. He’d had a lifetime of pretending his feelings didn’t matter, starting with his parents. Continuing with various girlfriends.
This time, it was worse. This time he’d invested. Put more on the table. Carmen wasn’t a girlfriend, but somehow that had given him room to grow. He wasn’t playing a role. Carmen had seen him at his worst. Maybe that was the problem.
He’d wanted to say that he was sorry they got off on the wrong foot.
He’d wanted a fresh start.
When Lola opened the hotel room door and gave them a thumbs-up, it should have been funny, sneaking a goat through a parking lot. They held tight onto Spright’s collar, sticking to the path they’d agreed upon, behind a clump of trees with a water feature that would drown out the sound of clattering hooves on the cement. The goat bleated, lowering his head, trying to free himself from their grip.
Summer at Orchard House: An utterly compelling and heart-warming summer romance (Blue Hills Book 1) Page 25
