by Rachel Hanna
“For loving her when I couldn’t be there. I failed her. I don’t blame Hector for holding that against me because I hold it against myself every single day,” he said as he stood and tossed his plate in the trash can.
“What do you mean?”
“I chose my career over my grandmother. I thought I was doing it for her, but it backfired on me. See, my grandmother had lived under the shadow of my shenanigans as a teenager for years. Everyone gossiped about me, and I think it was one of the reasons she left Whiskey Ridge when she did. I wanted to make something big of myself so she could finally brag on me to these people, but what I ended up doing was abandoning her in the process. It kills me.”
Piper stood and put her hands on Cameron’s arms. “She was so proud of you, Cameron. She told me so. Nothing you ever did or didn’t do would’ve changed that. She missed you, but she loved you so much.”
“She had no idea…” he said softly.
“No idea about what?” she asked, her hands still touching his arms.
“My business… it’s a failure, Piper.” He sat back down on the bar stool leaving Piper standing alone. She turned to face him.
“I don’t understand. You have Creighton.”
“I’ve been in the red since the day I opened. A couple of popular authors doesn’t sustain a business, and certainly not in New York City. Plus, I just don’t love it. I always wanted to be an author like my father. I didn’t want to pimp other people’s books.”
“Then why are you still doing it?”
“I can’t just leave, Piper. I have contracts with authors and responsibilities and a life in New York…”
“It doesn’t sound like much of a life, Cameron.”
He looked up at her. “It’s not what I thought it would be. I had all these dreams of leaving my little country life behind and making it big in the city. I thought it would make my grandmother proud. I thought I could spend my time writing and being inspired by the beauty of New York City…”
“But that didn’t happen?”
“No. I spend my time fighting with authors, juggling my bills and trying desperately to keep the doors open. I feel like I’m constantly rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Creighton’s contract is up next month and he’s fielding other offers. I can’t blame him.”
“You know, the last conversation I had with Lola was about you,” she said softly.
“It was?” Cameron said, swallowing hard. “What did she say?”
Piper sat down on the bar stool next to him. “She told me she was worried about you, Cameron. She feared you were too wrapped up in work, too anxious and missing out on the life you should be living. And… I think she was completely right.” Her voice caught in her throat. Here she was judging his life when she barely knew him. She prepared herself for an angry response, but he just smiled.
“Two very smart woman, you and my grandmother.”
“Come on, country boy. We’ve got lots of work to do,” Piper responded as she tossed her plate into the trashcan.
* * *
After what seemed like hours of work outside preparing for the Apple Festival, Piper was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than a long soak in the tub, but the workmen were still finishing up inside the house and it was almost dinner time. She would get to sleep in her bed tonight, but for now she would just be a nuisance in their way.
“Tired of country life yet?” Cameron asked as he slumped down next to her on the front porch steps.
“Never,” she said, looking up at the ever darkening evening sky. Tonight it was streaked with pink and orange, and the cool Fall breeze was nipping at her bare arms.
“So you like it here?”
“No. I love it here,” she smiled. “I never thought a place could feel so much like home so quickly. It’s like I was…”
“Meant to live here?” Cameron finished her sentence.
“Yeah. Something like that.” She smiled and looked down. She noticed he was wearing a pair of black boots. They had some kind of symbol on the side, a sort of golden colored arrow in a circle.
“What’s on your boot?” she asked.
“Oh, these are my grandfather’s old boots. I found them in the attic,” he said with a smile. “He always wore these. Got them from some farming company he did business with. Wearing them makes me feel close to him, like maybe I can be even half the man he was.”
Piper nodded and smiled. Suddenly, she had a flash through her mind of the dream she’d had the night of the fire. Those were the same boots! How was that even possible? Her heart started to race as she ran the dream through her mind over and over again.
Maybe she’d seen them around the house. But that wasn’t possible. He’d found them in the attic.
They sat in silence for a few moments as a couple of workers walked back and forth from the house.
“Hungry?” Cameron asked, bringing her frantic train of thought to a screeching halt.
“Starving.”
“Care for some dinner company?” he asked with a grin.
“The diner?”
“No. I don’t want to be stared at again,” he said rolling his eyes and sighing. “I was thinking of something a little more… cozy.”
The comment sent some unexpected feelings up her spine. “Okay….”
“Meet me in the guest house in half an hour?” he asked.
“Sure. That’ll give me time to take a quick shower. I think I have farm funk on me,” she said laughing as she smelled the top of her t-shirt.
“Farm funk?” Cameron said as he stood up and dug his car keys out of his pocket. “Did you just come up with that?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “What can I say? I have a quick wit,” she responded as she headed toward the guest house.
* * *
Piper felt completely nervous, and she didn’t really know why. This wasn’t a date. This was a simple dinner. He was her business partner. And on top of that, he was being forced to be her business partner.
This wasn’t a date.
Only it felt like a date.
In just a few days, they’d gone from mortal enemies to him saving her from a fire, keeping her warm and making her feel things she hadn’t felt before.
This wasn’t a date.
She kept telling herself that over and over as she dried her hair after a quick shower. Thankfully, the guest house had some basics including a blow dryer and curling iron, so she was able to be presentable. And after a quick run to the house, which was almost ready to be livable again, she had snatched her makeup bag and a change of clothes.
“Hello?” she heard Cameron call from outside the bathroom door.
“Be out in a minute,” she called back, taking a deep breath and checking herself in the mirror one more time.
When she made her way into the kitchen, she saw two steaks, two baking potatoes and a bunch of what her mother would call “fixin’s”.
“Hope you aren’t a vegetarian?” Cameron said with a worried look.
“Nope.”
“Thank God. I totally forgot to ask. Seems like every woman I meet in New York is vegetarian or vegan,” he said laughing.
“I don’t think I could give up my steak… or chicken… or eggs…” she said. Why did she sound so nervous. This wasn’t a date. “So, speaking of women in the big city, do you date a lot up there?”
Why was she asking this? Now she felt completely awkward. He smiled and shook his head as he used a knife to open the package of steak.
“No. Not lately anyway. Too busy trying to keep my head above water.”
“You know you’re going to be okay now, right? I mean financially. You have half of this place.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.”
Why did that statement make her heart hurt?
“What do you mean?”
He looked at her quizzically. “I have a business in New York. I don’t know how I can manage half of this place too. But I’ll stay as long as I ne
ed to make sure I don’t lose my half, of course. That’s what my grandmother stipulated.”
For the first time, Piper realized he had no plans to stay and be her business partner long term. He just wanted his cut. She couldn’t blame him, really. All of this had been thrust upon him, and he had a whole life back in New York. Why would he choose the tiny town of Whiskey Ridge over that?
“You okay?” he asked. She hadn’t realized that she’d gone quiet and was staring ahead for a few moments.
“Huh? Oh… Yeah. I’m totally fine. So, can I help with anything?” she stammered as she stood up and started fiddling with the potatoes. His hand reached over and stopped hers.
“Piper? What’s up?” His blue eyes bore into hers as she struggled to take a breath. How could he be so good looking? Just a few days ago, she found him as unappealing as a rabid raccoon.
“It’s nothing really. I guess I just thought…”
“That I was staying here permanently?”
“Yeah.”
“Look, I’ll find someone to help out here after I’m gone. I won’t leave you in the lurch.”
This was her out. She could pretend that was the issue. “Oh. Well, good then. I was worried…”
He eyed her carefully for a moment before returning to his steak preparation. “We’ll get things up and running together, and then when I go back to the city, I’ll make sure we have some extra labor here.”
She nodded and smiled before walking to wash the potatoes.
“Or maybe I’ll sell my share and fund my publishing house. That could change my entire business…” he said off handedly. Piper turned swiftly, her mouth gaping open.
“What the heck? Are you kidding me?” she shouted.
“Whoa, whoa… What did I say?” he asked, putting his hands in the air.
“Your grandmother left her heart and soul to you here, and you’d sell your share? After fighting me and giving me that line about this being important to her and to you? It’s all just been about the money. I can’t believe I bought it,” she said, seething with anger. She struggled not to tear up. Why did women do that when they were emotionally charged in any way? It was so frustrating.
“Piper, it was just an idea. I just have some decisions to make. My situation isn’t as easy as yours,” he said softly.
She turned back to face him. “Oh, I get it. The poor girl had no other choices, but you do.”
“I have never called you ‘the poor girl’. Don’t put words in my mouth, especially when they aren’t what I think,” he said with a stern tone in his voice.
“I want to know when you’re going to get a backbone, Cameron,” she said with her hand on her hip.
“Excuse me?”
“You want to be an author. Your grandmother left you this place that would support you in those efforts. You’re miserable in New York and could sell that business off, but instead you’re thinking of selling your piece of Blue Ridge Orchard to fund something you already hate?”
He stared at her for a moment before laughing. “You’ve got a point. I’ll give you that.”
She smiled in return. “I’m sorry. That was totally out of line. I have no business telling you what to do with your life.”
He reached out and touched her shoulder, sending chills down her back. “You have every right. We’re partners, and I shouldn’t have blurted that out. I was just thinking out loud. Can we just start this night over?”
He had the most genuine smile of anyone she’d ever met. Of course, it had taken days to see it the first time, but she liked it.
“Sure,” she said. “Hi and welcome to the guest house. My name is Piper.” She held out her hand to shake his. He took it, lingered a moment longer than needed and laughed.
* * *
Piper leaned back against the soft leather chair and felt tempted to unbutton her jeans, but she wasn’t quite that comfortable around him yet.
“Man, you know how to grill a steak,” she groaned. He was a fabulous cook, and that wasn’t fair given how good looking he was on top of it.
“And you know how to eat one!” She glared at him. “Seriously, for such a tiny woman, I’ve never seen…”
“Stop right there,” she said, tossing a pillow across the room. “I was hungry. Sue me.”
Cameron slid down the sofa to get closer to her. “This was fun.”
She smiled. “It was. I haven’t had a relaxing night like this in… Well, maybe never,” she said, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to recall a nicer time.
“Well, I’m glad we could share this nice relaxing evening together,” he said. There was a moment of tension hanging in the air as they looked at each other. Then the sound of a cell phone ringing pierced through it like an unwelcome salesperson at the door.
“Oh, that’s me,” Piper said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. “Excuse me.”
She stood and walked to the kitchen before answering her mother’s call. They coordinated all the things that would need to get done before she arrived with Lucas in just two more days. After tomorrow’s Apple Festival, Piper would have barely enough time to get Lucas’s room ready.
When she made her way back to the living room, Cameron was sound asleep. He looked so peaceful sitting in the darkened living room by the fire. She stood there for a moment trying to imagine that kind of life - a sleeping husband, a stable home for her and Lucas.
A sleeping husband? What was wrong with her? This wasn’t a date!
She decided not to wake him and instead covered him with a fleece blanket that was slung over the back of the chair. After their run-in with fire, she opted to turn up the heater and turn off the fireplace before she headed for the door.
“Goodnight,” she whispered as she, without any logical reason, kissed Cameron on the forehead. She wanted to believe she was doing it for Lola, like she was standing in for his grandmother at that moment. But she knew, deep down, that she was doing it for herself… and she didn’t feel one bit bad about it.
Chapter 9
It was a crisp Fall day and people were already starting to line up outside of the orchard, ready for a day of family and fun. This was the biggest event Blue Ridge Orchards had all year, and Cameron found himself excited by it.
And he was still confused and groggy from last night. He’d found himself wrapped in a blanket on the guest house sofa this morning with Piper nowhere to be found. And truthfully, he’d felt a void. He’d wanted to wake up with her there next to him on the sofa and he didn’t know why.
Or maybe he did.
And he couldn’t shake the feeling - almost like it was a vision - that she’d kissed his forehead. Probably wishful thinking.
And then he saw her walking toward him from the house. She was wearing jeans, a plaid flannel shirt, cowboy boots and the cutest cowboy hat he’d ever seen.
“Wow,” he said without thinking as she walked closer.
“Wow?”
“Look at you…”
“Yeah. Too much? I was just trying to look the part…” she said as she looked down at her boots.
“Not too much. Perfect,” he said with a smile. Was he blushing? Good God, men don’t blush, he chided himself.
“Oh. Thanks,” she said, and he could swear that she was blushing too.
“So, what do we need to do?” he asked, but Hector interrupted them.
“Oh, good. You’re here. Piper, I need you on the cash register, sweetheart,” he said with his thick accent. Sometimes Cameron heard the faintest hint of a Southern accent mixed in, especially when Hector would slip up and say “ya’ll”.”
“And me?” Cameron asked, hesitant about what Hector would say. The two men had barely spoken since he arrived back at the property. Reluctantly, Hector allowed a slight smile on his face.
“You go to the hayride. Help the women and children up into the trailer,” Hector said, turning on his heel and running back toward the line of people.
Cameron laughed as he looked at Piper. �
�He reminds me of a very bossy Mexican wedding coordinator.”
Piper giggled and jogged away toward the tented area with the cash registers. And dang if he didn’t find himself watching her as she ran.
* * *
It had been a busy day so far, but a fun one. Piper had gotten to meet so many people from the community, and she was starting to feel like “one of them”. This was becoming her home more and more each day.
The excitement she felt knowing that her son and mother would be there the following day was almost overwhelming. She felt like a kid on Christmas Eve, waiting to open her presents and sitting on pins and needles.
From her vantage point, she had been able to watch Cameron for most of the day. He’d caught her looking once or twice, she was sure of it. In fact, once he had even smiled and waved, and she was almost certain he remembered her kissing his forehead the night before.
She still wasn’t sure why she did it.
He was growing on her, but she knew getting too close was a big mistake. After all, he’d made it clear that he was leaving as soon as he could. New York was his home; Whiskey Ridge - and she - would soon be a distant memory.
“Excuse me,” a man’s voice said from behind her. “Do you have this apply jelly in a bigger jar?”
Piper turned around and felt her legs almost give way. A hot flush feeling came over her, and she grabbed onto the makeshift counter holding the cash register. And then anger took hold, and she got her bearings back. It all happened in a few seconds, but it seemed like hours as she got herself to stand straight again.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” she seethed as quietly as possible, hoping that no one around her could hear the anger in her voice.
“Oh, come on now, Pipes. What kind of way is that to greet me after all these years?” he said. She grabbed the edge of his flannel sleeve and pulled him off to the side of the canopy behind a tree.
“Don’t call me Pipes. And how do you expect me to greet the man who abandoned me and our son over seven years ago without a word and without any support all these years, Johnny?”
