Orchard Hill Volume Two

by Kara Lynn Russell

  Why had they sent him this picture? Wasn’t the bride’s dress supposed to be a secret? Then it came to him. Knowing Sarah as he did, he guessed she’d refused to buy the dress. This was probably her friends’ way of getting him on their side.

  He took one last look at the picture of Sarah and then shut down his computer. This whole mess with Beverly would be over soon, and then he could think about a real relationship with Sarah.

  He went over the situation in his mind, as he had constantly since Beverly had delivered her threat. What could he do to resolve this situation more quickly?

  There was one thing he could do, but he was afraid it might make things worse rather than better. Still, he didn’t have any other ideas. With a sigh, David reached for his cell phone. He was about to call in a favor.

  TITLE

  Orchard Hill: volume Two

  Chapter 7

  The picture of Sarah in the wedding dress stuck in David’s head all through the week, but it had nothing to do with his decision to catch an earlier flight back. At least that’s what he told himself. He drove into Orchard Hill in the wee hours of the morning. The house was dark when he pulled into the driveway, but he noticed a flickering blue glow that told him the television was on.

  He slipped into the back door quietly and set down his luggage and laptop case. Moving into the kitchen, he saw Sarah sleeping on the couch, the TV remote still clutched in her hand.

  He tugged on the remote, planning to turn off the TV, but the movement disturbed Sarah. Her eyes popped open and she sat bolt upright.

  “Sarah.”

  She blinked a couple of times. “David? What time is it?”

  “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He took the remote from her and shut off the television. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

  “Aren’t I?” She still seemed dazed.

  He rested his hands on her shoulders. “Sarah, are you awake?”

  She stared at him for a few moments, and then shook her head. “Yes, I’m awake. What are you doing home already?”

  “Can I help it if I missed my girls?” She looked adorably cute, all rumpled and sleepy-eyed. He squeezed onto the couch next to her.

  “You missed who?”

  “My girls. You and Charity.”

  “I’m your girl? I mean…”

  Unable to resist, David put his arms around her. “Yes, Sarah, you’re my girl.” He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled up to him in a way he was sure she never would if she were fully awake. This was bliss.

  But it was also temptation. “Sarah, I think you should go to bed. We’ll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow. Later today, actually.”

  “Aren’t I in bed?”

  “No, you’re on the couch.”

  “What am I doing here?”

  He couldn’t help it. He laughed at her confusion. “I have no idea. You were sleeping here when I got home.”

  “Why are you home?”

  David wondered if she was always this hard to wake up. “Come on, I’ll help you to your room.” He stood and pulled her up off the couch.

  Putting an arm around her, he steered her down the hallway.

  “Now I remember,” she mumbled. “I had a bad dream. I didn’t want to go back to sleep. Came out to watch TV.”

  “What was the dream about?”

  “Beverly took Charity. She found out about me.”

  David’s arm tightened around her shoulder. “There’s no way she could find out about the engagement.”

  “Not the engagement. About me.”

  They’d reached the little room that Sarah used when she stayed with Charity. She dropped down onto the bed and David sat beside her. “What about you?”

  “I got into trouble when I was 14. My little brother is hard of hearing. He always got picked on in foster care. I tried to take care of him when Mom was sick. I lied to the social worker and told her everything was all right. We didn’t want to go back into foster care. But the kids in school picked on him, too. I got into a fight and they called my mom. They found out about everything.”

  “What happened?”

  She shrugged. “I got suspended from school and they split us up. So I ran away.”

  “That’s awful. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

  “They wanted to send me to juvenile hall.”

  “Why didn’t they?”

  “My foster mother at the time spoke up for me. She told me she’d take both my brother and me. But I had to promise—no more fighting and no more lying. I kept that promise until I told Beverly we were engaged.”

  “Did you like this foster mother?”

  Sarah nodded. “Yeah, she was the best one. I still write to her. She took us to church. It was the first time I ever went.”

  “But you know that this won’t affect our case against Beverly.”

  “I didn’t think so either, at first. I guess I’m just a worrier at heart.”

  “That’s because you try to take care of everyone. You need someone who’ll take care of you for a change.”

  David thought he was exactly the right person for the job. He started by tucking her back into bed. “No more bad dreams, Sarah. Dream something good now.” He couldn’t help adding a quick good night kiss. Then he left, shutting the door behind him.

  While he got ready to climb into his own bed, he thought about what Sarah had told him. It certainly explained a lot about her. Without anyone to encourage her as a child, she’d never realized her true worth. She’d found faith and doubtless that was responsible for a lot of her success, but David guessed that inside she was still a scared child trying to hold her family together and blaming herself when she failed.

  ****

  In spite of the late hour that he went to bed, David was up early the next morning. He made a couple of phone calls and then, satisfied, sat down to enjoy a cup of coffee and the paper.

  Sarah stumbled into the kitchen not long after. She stared at him. “What are you doing here?”

  Choking back a laugh, David answered, “I got in last night. Don’t you remember?”

  “Why would I remember?”

  “You were sleeping on the couch. I woke you up. Or at least I thought I did. We had a whole conversation.”

  Sarah’s brow creased as she searched for the memory. “Sorry, I don’t remember. Is there any more coffee?”

  In response he got up and poured her a cup. “You don’t have much time. You’d better drink this quick before Hope gets here.”

  “Before Hope gets here? Why is she coming over?”

  “Because I asked her to.”

  “And why would you do that?”

  “You’ve done so much for Charity and me; I wanted to give something back.”

  “So you’re giving me Hope?”

  “No.” David let out the laugh he’d been holding in. “I’ve arranged for the two of you to spend a day at a spa, near Green Bay.”

  “What? I can’t possibly accept something so extravagant.”

  David pulled out his trump card—Charity’s welfare. “We go to court with Beverly this week. Don’t you want to look good for that? Not that you don’t look good already, but doing something special like this will make you feel more confident. We need all the help we can get to win this case.”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know.”

  David turned her around and gently pushed her out of the kitchen. “I do. You’ve earned this, Sarah. Just go get ready.”

  She stared at him for a few more seconds and then nodded. “Okay. I mean, since you’ve already got it arranged.”

  “Yes. I want you to enjoy yourself. Make sure you get my money’s worth out of it.”

  “Maybe I could pay you back.”

  He gave her a severe look. “No way. Now quit yakking and go get ready.”

  She took a few steps and then turned back again. “What does one wear to a spa?”

  David rolled his eyes. “You’ll be wearing your pajamas if you d
on’t get going!”

  “All right, all right.” Sarah hurried down the hall to her room, grabbed her towel and rushed back to the bathroom.

  As she hurried to get ready, she tried to remember talking to David last night. She had a hazy memory of him sitting next to her on the bed. Had he tucked her in? Didn’t he say something about her needing someone to take care of her? She wished she could remember.

  Hope arrived just as Sarah was running a brush through her hair.

  “Sarah,” called David. “Your ride is here.”

  “Coming.” She threw the brush on her bed and hurried to the kitchen. David was just letting Hope in. “Good morning,” Sarah greeted her friend.

  She saw that Charity was up now, sitting at the kitchen table and eating a bowl of cereal.

  Sarah stopped to give her a quick hug and kiss. “What are you two going to do all day?” she asked David.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Just hang out, I guess.”

  “Don’t let Charity watch too much TV.”

  “I won’t.”

  “We made some play dough this week. It’s made with peanut butter, so it’s okay if she eats some.”

  “Fine.”

  “There’s sun block in the bathroom. Make sure she puts it on if you go outside.”

  “Sarah, I’m not an idiot. Maggie trusted me enough to make me Charity’s guardian. You could at least consider that I can take care of her for one day.”

  Hope, who had watched the exchange in silence, now broke in with her laughter. “You two sound like you’re married already.”

  David grinned back at her and casually looped his arm around Sarah’s waist. “I can hardly wait until we are.”

  Sarah’s face warmed. Did he think he had to keep convincing Hope that their relationship was real? “Well, we’d better get going.”

  “All right.”

  When Sarah stepped away from him, he pulled her back. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I’ve got my purse.”

  David took it away from her. “You don’t need this. They’ve got my credit card number and orders to use it. But I need something from you.”

  “What?” She was truly puzzled.

  “Just this.” Sarah had time just to take in the mischievous smile on his face before he leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth, swallowing her gasp of surprise. He pulled back just enough to say, “Aren’t you glad I reminded you?”

  Sarah couldn’t move. Did he know what he was doing to her with these kisses? Fortunately, Hope caught her arm and pulled her away. “All right you two. Save something for after the wedding.”

  Sarah managed to stammer out “B-bye, Charity. Be good for your uncle,” before Hope had dragged her outside. She caught one last glimpse of David, looking supremely pleased with himself.

  “You guys are so cute,” Hope gushed.

  “Yeah, right,” mumbled Sarah.

  “And to think it was only weeks ago that you said this would never happen for you. Now you have a fiancé that just about worships the ground you walk on.”

  “You exaggerate. Who’s driving?”

  “I am. David insisted that today was your day. And you don’t think he adores you. He was so cute on the phone this morning, setting this up.”

  Sarah wished one more time that she could remember what she’d said to him last night. Had it been the catalyst for this sudden trip? Or maybe he just didn’t think she’d look presentable without professional help.

  “What exactly did David say this morning?”

  “He said that you needed to do something just for you, that you’ve been spending a lot of time taking care of Charity lately.”

  That didn’t sound too bad. “So what did you two set up?”

  “Just a few things. Facial, massage, manicure and pedicure. Oh, and hair. He said he wanted you to stop hiding those beautiful eyes.”

  “David said I had beautiful eyes?”

  “Yeah, he kind of went on about them,” Hope admitted, with a little smile.

  Sarah put her head back against the seat. She didn’t know what to think. Could David’s feelings for her go beyond their arrangement to save Charity? No, she couldn’t start thinking like that. The higher she let herself soar now, the farther she’d have to fall when David left. She just had to hold on to the hope that she could convince him to let her keep Charity if he still wanted someone else to adopt her.

  In spite of her misgivings, a day at the spa turned out to be a blissful experience. It was difficult at first to sit and do nothing. But Hope convinced her to relax. “David will be so disappointed if you don’t enjoy this.”

  And she did enjoy it. By the end of the day she had looser muscles, tighter pores, a very classy French manicure and a new hairstyle with short, feathery bangs that didn’t cover up so much as an eyelash.

  “You’re gorgeous,” squealed Hope, when she saw her new ’do.

  “Thanks. You’re looking pretty radiant yourself.”

  When they went to change out of their spa robes, Sarah got another surprise. Instead of the capris and t-shirt that she’d arrived in, there was a dress hanging in the cubicle and a pair of leather sandals tucked beneath the chair. The dress was a soft coral, with a belted waist and a full skirt.

  “There must be some mistake,” Sarah told the attendant. “This isn’t mine.”

  “It was delivered for you,” she explained.

  “But…but…” Sarah sputtered, unsure of what to do.

  Hope took her firmly by the shoulders and pointed her back to the dressing room. “Go get changed. I think you have a hot date tonight.”

  “But how did he know what size to get?”

  “He asked me and I told him.”

  Sarah gasped. “You didn’t.”

  “Tell him your dress size? Why not?”

  “Well, if I was a size zero like you…”

  “A size zero? Hardly. What difference does it make what your dress size is? David loves you, Sarah.”

  Sarah bit her lip and stepped into the cubicle to change. What else was she going to do? Admit that her engagement was a charade? It seemed as if her spa day was to make her look presentable after all. She blinked back tears.

  The dress was beautiful though, and it fit perfectly. The color looked great on her, too. She could hardly believe that David chose something that suited her so well. The tags had been removed, but the label displayed the name of a popular designer, so Sarah knew the dress wasn’t cheap.

  Hope was waiting to ambush her when she stepped out of the door. “You look great, Sarah. You’re fabulous.”

  Sarah laughed. “You’re exaggerating, but thanks.”

  All the way home, Hope talked about wedding plans. She told Sarah what she had planned for music, scripture, flowers and decorations. She asked about Sarah’s choices for these same things, but Sarah only gave vague answers. She’d be glad when she didn’t have to pretend to be planning a wedding any more.

  Hope dropped her off at the house and waved as she backed down the driveway. Sarah waved back and then slipped into the house.

  Charity came running for a hug. Sarah picked up the little girl and held her tightly. When she put her down, David was standing in the doorway, looking at her.

  She twirled around in the dress so he could see. “Thank you very much, David, but you didn’t have to do all this.”

  He was strangely quiet and serious-looking. No teasing remarks or jokes. Maybe he didn’t think he’d gotten his money’s worth.

  David cleared his throat. “You look beautiful, Sarah.”

  “Will I be presentable in court, then?”

  “There’s no way you could not be presentable, sweetheart.”

  Her heart did a funny little jump when he called her that. “I’ll just go hang the dress up. I don’t want it to get wrinkled.”

  “Wait a minute. The dress is for tonight.”

  “Tonight? Surely you don’t want me to wear this for an
other cooking lesson?”

  He smiled, looking more like his usual self. “Of course not. We’re going out tonight.”

  Charity tugged on Sarah’s skirt and she looked down to see her holding out the skirt of her own new dress. “I see I’m not the only one you went shopping for, David. Charity, you look very pretty.”