Orchard Hill Volume Two

by Kara Lynn Russell

  David broke in. “Ms. Van Huesen, I’m beginning to see why Maggie didn’t want any interference from your family.”

  Beverly’s head whipped around to face David. Her mask slipped back into place. “I only want what’s best for the child,” she insisted. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended.”

  “Apology accepted. Let’s talk about something else.” David said this for Charity as much as anyone else. He didn’t think she understood the argument, but she had definitely picked up on the tension between the adults. She looked as though she’d happily slide out of her seat and hide under the table.

  “All right. What can we talk about?” Beverly put a finger to her cheek, as if thinking. “I know. Why don’t we discuss your engagement?”

  Sarah and David exchanged looks.

  “When did you propose David? It must have been recently because Sarah doesn’t have a ring yet. Or have you been too busy traveling to get her one?”

  The waitress came then with their salads, so he was saved from answering. He had misjudged Sarah. Clearly she knew an unfit guardian when she saw one.

  The woman was a scorpion waiting to strike. The idea of Beverly Van Huesen raising Charity sent chills up his spine. There was no way he’d allow it.

  He’d never enjoyed a dinner less. He wanted it to be over so badly, he had to force himself to eat normally, instead of wolfing down his food so the torture could end. The only bright spot in it was looking across the table to Sarah. She was gorgeous tonight. Discovering that her outside was as beautiful as her inside was a gratifying experience.

  Sarah was great. She helped Charity cut up her food and showed her how to place her napkin in her lap, just as Maggie would have.

  While they ate, Beverly told them about the life she had planned for Charity. She was going to enroll her in a highly regarded pre-school, and then an exclusive private school. In fact, Beverly had her academic career planned all the way through college. She also had the details on her formal debut into society covered as well.

  David decided it was better to just let her talk until the meal was over. Then he’d tell her he’d decided to turn down her offer. But before that time could be reached, disaster happened.

  Charity began to choke and cough. She reached for her milk, but accidentally knocked it over. When the half-full glass tipped, a river of liquid headed right for Beverly’s lap.

  She shrieked and jumped up before the milk ruined her ridiculously expensive suit. Sarah grabbed her water glass and helped Charity to drink from that.

  “This is ridiculous,” she spat at David. “That child needs a firm hand.”

  David rose to look the woman in the eye. “Beverly, you don’t have a lot of experience with children, do you? She’s three years old. Three-year-olds spill their milk sometimes. It was an accident.”

  Some of the milk had spilled on Charity, too. While Beverly threw a tantrum, Sarah was wiping the child’s dress and speaking words of comfort to her.

  “I can assure you,” Beverly ranted, “that when I have Charity…”

  “Hold that thought,” interrupted David. “Sarah, will you do me a favor and take Charity home and help her get ready for bed? I’ll finish up here with Beverly.”

  “All right,” Sarah agreed. She grabbed her purse and took Charity’s hand. “We’ll see you back at Maggie’s then.”

  When they had gone, Beverly said, “I can’t believe you’ve relied on that woman to take care of our niece. I suppose you had no choice with all the traveling you do. I hope I won’t have to see her again when we go through the adoption process.”

  “You won’t need to see Sarah again and there isn’t going to be any adoption.”

  “What?”

  “I would rather let Charity be raised by wolves than by you.”

  “I suppose you think you can do better.”

  “I already have. Sarah is great with Charity.”

  Her lip curled into a sneer. “So you expect me to believe that the two of you are actually engaged, that you’re going to get married and raise Charity yourselves.”

  “Yes, we are. We won’t need any assistance from you.”

  “Fine. If that’s the way you feel, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

  “Your lawyer? Why?”

  “I intend to prove that you are an unfit guardian for Charity and then apply to adopt her.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “I don’t make empty threats, Mr. Daniels.”

  “Why is this so important to you? You never cared about Charity before.”

  “That is private. Thank you for dinner.” Beverly gathered her composure and her purse. Head held high, she exited the restaurant.

  ****

  There was a light on in the living room when David pulled up to the house. He found Sarah sitting on the couch alone, waiting for him.

  “How’s Charity?” he asked as he came into the room.

  Sarah gazed up at him. “She’s fine. She’s sleeping already.”

  She’d pushed her hair back with a headband, so for once he got the full force of those big, expressive eyes. It was devastating. He felt like he could fall in and drown in those pools of blue.

  He paced back and forth in front of her. “What a disaster. You were right about that woman.”

  “I guess you had to see for yourself. I know you only want to do what’s best for Charity.”

  He stopped in front of her. “There was one bright spot in the evening.”

  “Really? I must have missed it.”

  “I got to see you dressed up. I didn’t know what a knock out you are.”

  “You’re trying to make me feel better. You don’t have to.”

  “No, I’m not. Can I ask you something?”

  She shrugged. “I guess so.”

  David reached out and pulled her to her feet. “Why do you hide a figure like that under all those shapeless clothes?”

  She frowned. “I know I need to lose a few pounds, so…”

  “What are you talking about?” he objected. “You’re perfect, just the way you are.”

  She smoothed her dress down, unconsciously outlining her generous curves.

  He’d never been so tempted to take a woman into his arms and kiss her senseless. But he couldn’t right now. He had to tell her about Beverly and how he’d backed up her lie about them being engaged. If he kissed her, she might get the wrong idea. Especially if he kissed her the way he wanted to.

  So he forced his gaze to move away from her neckline and put his hands in his pockets until he could trust himself to behave.

  “We have to talk.”

  “I thought we were talking.”

  A rueful smile crossed his face. “About something other than how great you look.”

  “Yes, let’s move on from that nonsense.”

  He shook his head. “You don’t believe me.”

  “Let’s just say I own a mirror. I know my limitations.”

  “It must be a fun house mirror.” He started to pace again. “Some day I’ll convince you otherwise, but for right now we need to talk about Beverly.”

  “Ugh,” Sarah visibly shuddered. “Do we have to?”

  “I’m afraid so. And I’m afraid you may be angry with me.”

  “Why?” Panic flashed into her eyes. “You didn’t agree to give Charity to her.”

  “Of course not,” he exclaimed. “In fact I told her there was no way I would ever agree to let her have Charity.”

  “And?”

  “And she questioned my ability to raise Charity so I…”

  “You what?”

  “I sort of told her that we were engaged.”

  Sarah slapped a hand over her open mouth. Then suddenly her shoulders shook and a giggle escaped. “You didn’t.”

  “It’s not funny,” he protested.

  “Yes, it is.” She could barely speak through her laughter. Sarah dropped back onto the couch and laughed until tears ran down her cheeks.

 
David sat down next to her. “Are you finished?”

  “I think so.” One last weak chuckle escaped her.

  “Because there’s more.”

  “More? Like what?” Sarah sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “She’s going to take the matter to court.”

  “What? How can she do that?”

  “She’s going to try to prove that I’m an unfit guardian for Charity.”

  Sarah stared back at him, eyes wide. “What are you going to do?”

  “That depends on you.” He turned toward her and took her hands in his. “Will you continue with the pretend engagement?”

  “You’d be a great parent on your own, David.”

  “Yes, but the question of my traveling so much will come up. I’d have a better chance if it appears that there’s going to be someone there for Charity when I’m gone.”

  “Oh. That’s true.”

  “And you’re truly wonderful with her. I know what a huge favor this is, and I’ve already asked a lot of you. I wouldn’t do this to you, except…”

  “It’s for Charity,” she finished for him. “Yes; I’ll be your pretend fiancée until this is over, but let’s try to keep it quiet.”

  “Right. That way it won’t be so hard for you—I mean the gossip and all when it’s…when it’s over.” For some reason he didn’t want to think about that. And he didn’t have to. There was too much to do before then.

  “Tomorrow’s Saturday. Let’s go shopping for the ring.”

  “David.” Sarah gasped. “You don’t have to buy me a ring.”

  “Yes, I do. You saw how Beverly jumped all over that tonight. If you don’t have a ring, people will question the engagement right away. You wouldn’t have to wear it all the time. Only when we’re going to see Beverly or the lawyers.”

  “I guess you’re right, but you don’t need to spend a lot of money.”

  “Don’t worry about it. What time should I pick you up?”

  After they’d finalized the details, Sarah declared that she was tired, and was going home. David saw her to the door. He realized that he wanted to kiss her good night, but he restrained himself. She’d just agreed to a totally phony engagement with him. If he kissed her, it would just confuse things. So he said good night to her like a perfect gentleman and let her go. Maybe when this was all over, he could ask her out for real.

  Then he shook his head. When this was all over he was going back to his apartment in Chicago. It would be too late to start a real relationship with Sarah then. He’d better just forget it.

  TITLE

  Orchard Hill: volume Two

  Chapter 4

  Sarah got up reluctantly the next morning when the alarm went off. For a moment, she couldn’t remember why she’d set it for such an early hour. Oh yes. She had to go shopping for an engagement ring.

  Hitting the snooze button, she snuggled back under the covers. She needed a moment to think. Why did I say I’d do this? It was silly to ask herself that because she already knew the answer. She was doing it for Charity. She just couldn’t stand by and let that woman have her.

  And, to be honest, she was doing it for David, too. It was easy to see that he really loved Charity. He wanted to know how to be a better parent, how to help her. Even if he didn’t have confidence in himself, Sarah knew he would be a great guardian for his niece. He just hadn’t figured it out yet.

  Of course, the traveling would still be a problem, but not an insurmountable one. And, maybe he’d get a different job.

  But enough about them. She had to think of herself, too. What was playing this part going to cost her? If she was honest with herself, she’d admit to being totally in love with Charity and more than half in love with David already. But, this was a temporary arrangement. When it was over, he’d be gone. Could she keep her heart safe until then?

  Maybe just as important, could she keep the whole thing a secret from her friends? Somehow she doubted it. Their happiness for her would be hard to take, knowing that she was deceiving them. Their pity later would be even worse. Well, she’d have time to come up with a good excuse for the broken engagement. Hopefully one that didn’t make her look like a pathetic loser, abandoned by her boyfriend.

  The alarm sounded again, and Sarah hit the off button. But before she got up, she took a few minutes to talk things over with God. She knew He’d be there for her no matter what. If her heart got broken, He’d sweep up the pieces. Sarah truly believed that helping David and Charity was the right thing to do. She’d do her part and leave the rest in God’s hands.

  ****

  Sarah turned her attention to the ring David was looking at. It was huge. Every single diamond he’d looked at since they’d started their search had been huge. Why in the world would he want to spend that kind of money on a ring she’d only be wearing for a few weeks at most—and not wearing all the time either. She still hoped that she could hide this from her friends.

  But it was beautiful as well. If this engagement were real, it was just the kind of ring she would love to receive, a simple gold band with a square cut diamond. Regretfully, she pushed the ring away.

  “I don’t know, David. It seems a little…flashy. How about something simpler?”

  “Sarah, it’s a band and a stone. How much simpler can it get? And what’s wrong with flashy?”

  “It means more people will notice,” she whispered. “I thought we were going to keep this quiet.”

  This was the third jewelry store they’d visited and Sarah was beginning to get impatient. She thought this would be simple. They’d go into a store, look at the rings on the low end of the price range, pick one and be done with it. But David refused everything she suggested. And she turned down everything he suggested.

  “What are you trying to do? Go bankrupt?” she whispered to him.

  “No, it’s just that…” He reached up to cup her cheek with one hand. “Sarah, listen, you’re a beautiful woman and you deserve a ring that doesn’t look like it came from a crackerjack box.”

  “I hardly think…what did you say?”

  “I said I don’t want to give you…”

  “No, before that.”

  “You’re a beautiful woman?”

  “You don’t have to keep saying that to get my help.” What did he have to gain by flattering her like this?

  “I’m not…”

  “Well, fancy meeting you here.”

  Sarah jerked her head around. Misty Green was standing right beside her. The plush carpeting in the store must have muffled her footsteps.

  “Misty, what are you doing here?”

  “The same thing you are, honey. We’re looking for a ring.”

  Sarah saw that Misty wasn’t alone. Perry Parker, Pansy’s son, was standing with her.

  “You’re engaged?”

  Perry looked slightly embarrassed but very happy. “Yes, we are.”

  “I know I’m a little old to be a bride, but Perry just swept me off my feet.”

  “Don’t be silly.” Perry gazed at Misty with puppy dog adoration. “You’ll be a beautiful bride.”

  Sarah was so surprised she didn’t know what to say. She looked around for David, but he was talking to the saleslady. With a deep breath, she pulled her thoughts together.

  “Misty, Perry, I’m so happy for you. I’m sure your parents must be thrilled.”

  They exchanged guilty looks. “We haven’t exactly told them yet,” Misty admitted.

  “My mother and Misty don’t get along very well,” added Perry. “But we’ll tell them soon. We intend to make an announcement in church tomorrow.”

  Oh no. They were sure to tell everyone they’d seen her and David today. How could she stop this? “We…we’re trying to keep things quiet, too. You know, David’s sister just passed away and this is sort of sudden…”

  “I understand.” Misty patted her arm. “Your secret is safe with us.”

  “Thank you.”

  David joined her. He greet
ed Misty and Perry briefly and then turned to Sarah. “I think we’re done here. Let’s go.”

  Sarah hoped Perry and Misty wouldn’t notice their hasty exit, but they were so besotted with each other she doubted they’d notice if the building fell down around them.