by Joan Kilby
“Hey, Dad.” Robert clapped Nate on the back heartily, casting a lightning glance at Alex. “I see you’ve met our newest picker, Alex.”
Alex let out a gust of air. He could not believe his father was denying him to his grandfather.
“I may be old but I’m not a fool,” Nate said sharply. “How long before you were planning to introduce me to my grandson?”
“Dad, can you keep your voice down?” Robert glanced over his shoulder but no one was close enough to overhear. “This isn’t the time.” He turned to Alex. “You said you wouldn’t say anything.”
“He figured it out himself,” Alex said coldly.
Robert touched Nate’s arm. “Let’s talk. No, over there. Excuse us, Alex.”
Impotent with rage and humiliation, Alex watched them walk off. If he wasn’t so angry he might have felt sorry for his father. Having his secret son revealed at a party among family and friends would suck. But goddamn it, why was he a secret? Couldn’t he even talk to his own grandfather? This charade had gone on long enough. He was out of here.
“What’s wrong?” Emma touched his arm. She followed his gaze to Robert and Nate. “Are those two fighting?”
“No idea. I don’t care.” Alex took the clean plate from her and loaded it up with burgers and hot dogs. He felt like dumping it in the garbage can but he controlled himself long enough to hand it to Emma. “Tell Will I need a break.”
Her wide green eyes searched his face. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No.” Alex ripped off his apron and tossed it on a nearby lawn chair. “I’ve got to go.”
“Wait! Where are you going? Aren’t you staying for the party?”
Not for the party, not for the dance, not for the festival. Not for another second in this shit hole of a town.
He stalked off without replying, heading around to the front of the house where he’d parked his car. He started the engine and roared down the driveway. A glance in the rear view mirror showed Emma watching him go, her jaw dropped open, her arm upraised as if to call him back.
A pang sliced through him. He wasn’t going to see her again. He should have said goodbye, at least. Then he hardened his heart. Better to cut it short. Why prolong the inevitable when he was just going to leave next week anyway? He would send her a text once he was on the road.
He turned right at the bottom of the driveway and headed through town toward the motel. He would pack up and leave tonight before the streets were blocked off for tomorrow’s parade. He could make Spokane before nightfall. Hell, he might even salvage a week in Cancun.
Wherever he ended up, he needed to put Cherry Lake and his father as far behind him as possible.
Chapter Eight
‡
He was leaving for good. The thought struck Emma as Alex’s sports car pulled out of the driveway and onto Route 35. Not just the party but Cherry Lake. He was going back to Seattle. How could Robert and Nate have made him that angry?
Emma ran down the driveway and across the road to get her car. She had to go after him. Goddamn it. He wasn’t leaving town without at least telling her what was bothering him. Behind the banter and teasing she could tell he was troubled. She wanted to help. Although first she might strangle him for running out on her.
She sped through town, her mind racing. If she offered her assistance he would simply brush her off. Mr. Magnificent would never admit he needed anyone. No, she needed to be creative, to appeal to his sense of chivalry. Because as much as he tried to pass himself off as a macho asshat she wanted to believe he was one of the good guys.
When she pulled up outside his cabin a few minutes later he was locking the door behind him, a suitcase on the porch at his feet. Luckily she’d parked directly behind him, blocking his exit. Unless he wanted to drive across the lawn, which she was guessing he wouldn’t since it was still soggy from the rain yesterday, he wasn’t going anywhere yet.
“Where do think you’re going?” She marched up the steps and got between him and his suitcase. “You can’t just blow me off. We have a date tomorrow night.”
His dark eyes flashed as he brushed past her. “I can’t stay here. It’s nothing to do with you. I’m sorry about the dance. Do you want to come to Mexico? That’s where I was headed before I took a wrong turn to Cherry Lake.”
Her heart leaped. The offer was so unexpected that she almost said yes. Almost threw common sense, responsibility and tradition out the window to run away with him. Then she remembered who he was, and who she was. Self-preservation and practicality reasserted themselves.
“I can’t just up and fly to Mexico on a whim,” she said, grabbing his arm. “The festival is on tomorrow.”
“So? You can miss it for once.”
She shook her head. “I’m the pack mule for Linda’s one hundred million jars of cherry jam and for Mom’s tea towel mountain.”
“Someone else will do it.” He picked up his suitcase and headed down the steps.
“I don’t want anyone else to do it. That’s my job. I help every year. I’ve never missed a Cherry Lake festival in my entire life.” That sounded pathetic, even to her, who loved the festival. But this wasn’t about Cherry Lake versus Mexico. It was about Alex and whatever demons were chasing him around the continent.
“Doing the same thing every year sounds to me like a damn good reason to change.” A lock of dark hair fell across his forehead as he threw his suitcase in his trunk. “Can you please move your car?”
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Maybe he was right about change and she would think about that later. Right now, she had to stop him. “You’re not addressing the issue.”
“What issue would that be?” he snarled.
“You’re running away.”
He threw up his arms. “I don’t even belong here. How could I be running away?”
“You tell me.” She stalked down the steps. “Maybe everyone else buys your story about passing through Cherry Lake and deciding to pick cherries for a lark but I don’t. Men like you go to resorts for their vacations or fancy fishing lodges if they’re trying to be rustic. They don’t come to a falling-apart cabin on a lake in the middle of nowhere and climb up and down ladders for fun.”
“Really, you’re sure about that? What would you know about men like me?” he sneered.
She winced at the low blow but instead of backing off, she stepped forward, getting right in his face. “You’re just being mean to get me to leave you alone. I don’t need to have previous personal experience of entitled men to know that you’re better than that. I may be from the country but I’m not stupid.”
Alex didn’t back off an inch. “No one ever said you were stupid. I just don’t understand why you care what I do.”
She wasn’t going to answer that, partly because she didn’t know herself.
“You know what I think?” She jabbed him in the chest with a forefinger. “I think there’s a connection between you and Robert, something more than just a mutual acquaintance. You gave up a vacation in Mexico to come to Cherry Lake specifically to see him. Every time he sees you he acts very strangely. And tonight when you were talking to Nate, Robert rushed over to stop the conversation.”
“You’re imagining things.” But his gray eyes had turned wary.
Gray eyes. Gray, like Nate’s…. Oh my God. Could it be?
“I was coming out of the house with the unnecessary plate you sent me for, and the whole thing played out in the time it took me to walk from the back door to the barbecue.” Recalling the sight of the three men standing together, the truth was so obvious she didn’t know why it had taken her so long. Nate, Robert and Alex resembled each other in subtle but unmistakable ways—the breadth of their shoulders, the authoritative way they stood, the tilt of their heads. “Robert’s your father!”
Alex didn’t have to admit it; his expression revealed the truth, loud and clear. “Does Linda know, or Will? Have they said anything?”
“I don’t know. They
haven’t said anything to me. All we talk about these days is cherries. Picking, packing, processing, preserving….” She spoke absently, her mind still on the scene at the barbecue. “Let me guess. Robert doesn’t want his secret about you to get out and he warned you not to talk to Nate. You’re angry and hurt. After all, you put yourself out on a limb and traveled all the way to Cherry Lake just to see him. To find your long lost family.”
“You’re romanticizing. I don’t care about these people. I barely know Robert. He left when I was five, more or less. Haven’t seen him at all since I was twelve. He sent me a birthday card out of the blue this year. I was curious, that’s all.” He paced a few feet away to stare at the lake. “It hasn’t exactly been the return of the prodigal son.”
She noted the slump of his shoulders and the hands jammed in his pockets. How hard had it been for him coming here, meeting his half-brother and half-sisters—? Another, more devastating truth hit her. “Oh, my God! Will’s older than you. How did that happen? Was he carrying on with your mother and Linda at the same time?”
“Supposedly not but there were a couple of years when he was going back and forth between Cherry Lake and Castlegar.” Alex picked up a stone and chucked it into the lake, hard. “Before he made up his mind which family he preferred.”
“Maybe Will isn’t Robert’s son.” Even as she said it she knew it wasn’t true. Except for Will’s coloring, he looked just like his father. “I don’t know about Will’s early years. We traveled the rodeo circuit when I was little. When we settled across the road Robert and Linda were married. Will was eight, I think, and Linda was pregnant with Taylor.”
“Robert’s regular visits stopped when I was seven. Must have been about that time. But he came to see us for a few years after that. If my mother knew he was married, she didn’t tell me. He didn’t tell me.”
“Wow.” Emma sank onto the splintery steps of the cabin. The bottom had fallen out of her world. For her, the Jacksons had always been a role model of all that a family could be—loving and close-knit. Below that apparent closeness lay a big fat lie. “Did he…stay at your house?” A philandering Robert wasn’t the man she thought she knew.
“The first couple of years. Until Mom married my step-dad.” Alex paused. “He swears he wasn’t with Mom and Linda at the same time.”
“I would have found it hard to believe, knowing how Robert adores Linda and—” She broke off as pain flashed across Alex’s face and she bit back the rest of the sentence. And the kids. “Still, he wasn’t being honest. I don’t blame you for being angry.”
“I’m glad you see my point of view.” He walked over to the BMW and opened the driver side door, still seemingly intent on leaving. “Now, can you move your car?”
Emma got to her feet. “Running away never solved anything. Anyway, it’s not just your father you should be thinking about. You’ve got a half-brother and half-sisters. You have a relationship with them now. I think you should stay and have it out with Robert.”
He shook his head. “Not going to happen. I’m sorry. I should have told you I was leaving instead of just taking off. Should have told Will, too. Can you give him my apologies?”
Somehow she had to make him stay. If he left now he’d be bitter and twisted for the rest of his life. He was too good for that to happen to. “If you won’t stay for Robert, stay for me. I went out on a limb, too. For you.” She touched his arm, making him look at her. “I asked you to the dance. If you don’t show up I’m going to have to listen to my mother say, I told you so. All my friends will shake their heads behind my back and say, Oh, poor Emma. The old biddies in the town will purse their lips and tut. Of course it wasn’t going to work. Look at him and then look at her. He thinks he’s too good for her.”
“Are you kidding? You’re worth ten of me. Anyway, who even knows we’re going to the dance together?”
“I told my mom. She no doubt told Lisa, the woman she works with at the motel. Lisa would have told all her friends. Zoe knows. She works in a beauty salon. Gossip is a hairdresser’s stock in trade. Probably all of Cherry Lake knows by now.”
“No way.” But a shadow of doubt flickered in his eyes.
Small towns weren’t that bad but she was playing this for all she was worth. “Plus, we were driving around town together. Necking in the park, for God’s sake. Together we viewed a house for sale…”
He gave a disbelieving chuckle. “Next you’ll be saying I have to marry you to save your reputation.”
“I’m saying, people notice. Taylor asked me if I wanted a ride with them to the dance. I said no, I’d be going with you.” She opened her car door and pretended to sniff. “Never mind. It’s okay. Everyone will be happy knowing they were right. Deep down I didn’t expect anything different from you. You’re just another guy who’s too rich and too good-looking to worry about anyone’s feelings but his own. Have a nice life.”
She started her car and rolled down her window, waiting for him to call out. He didn’t say a word in his own defense. Or try to stop her. Damn it, was he going to let her drive off?
She backed around and drove off slowly. Checked the rear view mirror. He waved goodbye. No! This wasn’t the way it was supposed to play out. She wanted him to work things out with Robert. Wanted to rid his sexy dark eyes of that haunted look.
And yes, she wanted to go to the dance on his arm, to feel the warmth of his teasing fill every part of her with light. Moreover, she wanted to make love with this man who undoubtedly knew how to please a woman. Now that none of these things would happen she felt to her core how much she’d wanted all of them.
Most of all, she’d wanted a man not to disappoint a woman, to be there instead of running away. Like her dad. And Robert. She swiped a hand across her eyes and blinked hard. Damn. She could not be seriously falling for Alex. Mom had been right.
*
Emma must have really gotten under his skin. Not many women could get him to change his mind once he’d decided on a course of action. Yet at dawn the next morning Alex found himself once again turning off Ralston Road onto the lane that led to the packing shed. The shed doors were open and Will was inside, talking to some of the pickers. Alex parked next to Will’s HiLux and turned off the ignition, mentally girding his loins to continue the charade.
Last night after Emma left, he’d stood there debating with himself for a good five minutes. Then he’d carried his suitcase back inside the cabin. Her accusations had stung and he had to acknowledge he’d acted badly by taking off from the barbecue. He wasn’t a quitter or a coward. More importantly, even though he suspected she was pulling his leg with all that guff about being stood up, he hated even the possibility that anyone might think she wasn’t worthy of his time and attention. If anything, he felt lucky she’d agreed to go with him to the dance.
True, she wasn’t his usual type. Unlike the female sharks he usually dated, she was sensitive, warm and caring. Plus she was the only one in this town, or anywhere for that matter, he could talk to about what he was going through with his father. She had a strong loyalty to the Jacksons, especially Robert, but her innate sense of fairness made her compassionate, possibly even on his side. He would be a fool to push her away.
For now, though, he had to go to work and pretend that Will was just another guy and not his half-brother. He got out of the car and walked over to the shed.
Will was organizing the pickers, one group to ride out to the orchard on the truck, and the second group to go on foot to a nearby section not yet picked. “We’ll pick till noon and then quit for the cherry festival. Same tomorrow. Sound fair?”
A general murmur of assent rose and the group started to split into two.
“Where do you want me?” Alex said, approaching Will.
“You can drive the pickers out to Section 6.” Will passed him the map of the orchard on a clipboard with the picked sections marked. “You okay? You ran off in such a hurry last night that Mom worried you were sick.”
“Yeah,
sorry about that. I had a…personal emergency.” He searched for a change of subject. “How’s the new software working out?”
“Awesome.” Will’s face brightened. “The ordering process has speeded up by fifty percent. It was truly our lucky day when you happened by.”
Alex just nodded. If only Will knew the irony of what he said. “Glad I could help.”
Will handed him the keys as they walked over to the tractor where the pickers were climbing onto the flatbed. “Say, did you ever hook up with your father?”
He dropped to tie his shoelace, letting the question hang for a moment while he thought of a suitable reply. “I’ve been in touch. Hope to talk more with him this weekend.” If Robert would meet with him. “Your grandfather is quite a character.”
“He’s great. Real old school, tough but fair. Dotes on all his grandkids.” Will paused. “Whereabouts does your dad live again?”
“Route 35, outside town.” He hated lying and covering for his father. And it couldn’t go on. Nate knew the truth and Emma had guessed. When Will found out he’d be pissed, not just at his father but at Alex, for lying to him. He felt really bad about that. Despite what he’d told Emma about these people not meaning anything to him, it wasn’t true. “Catch you later.”
Before Will could ask any more questions he climbed onto the tractor. “Everyone on? We’re heading out.”
*
The bright brassy notes of the high school marching band filled the sunny morning. The drum majorette twirled her baton and high-stepped her way down Swan Street, leading the parade. Flags fluttered in the warm breeze. Locals and tourists crowded the sidewalk all the way from First Avenue to the lakefront park.
