Orchard Hill Volume One

by Kara Lynn Russell

  He shrugged. “I know. But it makes me feel better.”

  “Ha! You complain about me being too kind. You’re just as bad.”

  He blushed. “Yeah, but it’s different with me.”

  “Why is that?”

  “It just is.”

  Grace smirked. She had him, and he knew it. But they were at her car, and there was no time left to gloat. “Will I see you at the dance tomorrow?”

  “I don’t know, Grace. Probably not.”

  She frowned. “Please, Riley.”

  He stuck his hands in the pockets of his coat and looked away. “I can’t.”

  “Why not? Are you busy?”

  “No. I just can’t…I can’t be with you anymore. You know how I feel about you and…”

  She wished she could see his face. “And what?”

  He drew in a big breath. “And it hurts to know you don’t feel the same.”

  “So we’re not friends any more?” Tears welled up in her eyes.

  He opened her car door for her. “I don’t know, Grace. I don’t know what we are.”

  She slid behind the wheel of her car. Riley shut the door and walked away. It was the first time in years that he’d called her Grace instead of Gracie.

  If she had to lose Riley, was this way better? Would it hurt more if she were his girlfriend and he broke up with her? It didn’t matter how your heart got broken, you still had to pick up the pieces, thought Grace.

  Maybe it was time to take a chance? But then again, maybe she’d already missed the opportunity. Grace wiped the tears from her eyes and turned the key in the ignition. Forget supper. She was stopping at the store for a carton of ice cream.

  TITLE

  Chapter Seven

  Riley had no intention of going to that dance. He held firmly to his resolve until, on New Year’s Eve day, Pansy came into O’Neill’s Handy Hardware.

  “Good morning Mrs. Parker,” said Riley as she came up to the checkout. He never could bring himself to call her Pansy.

  She presented him with three nails. “I’ve been planning to hang some pictures.”

  “That’s nice. Is there anything else you need today?”

  “No. I suppose you’re very happy for your friend Steve.”

  “Why? What happened?” Riley put the nails into a small paper bag.

  “He’s going out with Janice from the grocery store.”

  “Oh, that. I knew about that. That will be seventeen cents.”

  Pansy took out a coin purse. “I suppose you know they’re going to the New Year’s Eve dance together. Janice is very excited. Spent fifteen minutes telling me about her dress when I stopped to get milk. She doesn’t seem to realize that some people have things to do other than gossip.”

  Riley arched an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Of course I feel bad for Grace. It will be hard for her to watch them. At least she’ll have friends there. I’m sure you’ll keep her company.”

  “No, I’m not going.” Riley carefully kept his voice neutral.

  Pansy’s eyes widened in shock. “But you’re on the decorating committee. You have to go.”

  Riley handed her the bag. “No, I don’t. That’s seventeen cents, Mrs. Parker.”

  She handed him the coins. “But what about Grace?”

  “Grace will be fine.” Hopefully. But she didn’t want his help even if she wasn’t, he thought miserably.

  “I suppose you would know. I just hope you’re right. It was bad enough when Steve ducked out on their wedding. Now he’s going to parade his new girlfriend in front of the whole town while Grace watches—all alone. Oh well. You have a good New Year’s, Riley.” With that Pansy ambled back out of the store.

  At home, later that evening, Riley paced. The dance would be starting soon. He repeated to himself over and over that he didn’t care. He wasn’t going. He told her he wasn’t going.

  But then, he thought of Gracie, alone at the dance, watching Steve and his new girlfriend while everyone whispered about it behind her back. He let out a very bad word, one that Grandma O’Neil would have set him in the corner for saying. Then he went to his closet to see if he had a clean dress shirt.

  An hour later, Riley found a parking space a couple of blocks away from the Community Building. The dance seemed to be in full swing already.

  Next to him in the passenger seat, Ian scowled. “I don’t know why I have to go to this thing.”

  “I don’t want to go by myself,” Riley explained with a hint of impatience. They’d already been through this about forty times.

  “Why do you want to go at all? Last week you told me you weren’t.”

  “Yeah, well I changed my mind. Let’s go, or do I have to arm wrestle you again?” Worry about Gracie made him want to hurry. Why did Ian have to pick tonight to be difficult?

  “It’s so nice to know we can decide things in a grown up fashion,” grumbled Ian.

  “You’re just mad because you lost.” Riley got out of the car.

  “I should have chosen rock, paper, scissors.” Ian opened his door. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “It’s just a dance, Ian. It’s not like I’m asking you to give me a kidney.”

  “That might be less painful,” he mumbled. Riley shook his head in disgust and dragged Ian with him toward the door.

  Inside, people packed the community building. The room they were using was actually a gym. It was used for elementary basketball tournaments and recreation department classes, but tonight it was a dance floor, transformed by some blue and white streamers, a few balloons and low lighting. Riley scanned the crowd for Grace.

  Ian, the taller of the pair, could look over all the heads in the crowd. He spotted her first. “Over there,” he said, motioning to some chairs along the wall. Lily and Grace were sitting together and attempting to talk over the loud music.

  Riley led as he and Ian pushed their way through the crowd. They were forced to stop several times to exchange greetings with people they knew. Fortunately the music prevented them from starting any long conversations.

  When Grace saw Riley, her face lit up. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

  He slumped down in the seat next to her and mumbled, “changed my mind.”

  “Hi, Ian. Good to see you, too,” added Grace as Riley’s brother took the seat next to Lily.

  Lily stiffened a bit, but politely said hello to Ian.

  The song that was playing finished and there were a few moments of blessed quiet that allowed them to talk.

  “I’m surprised to see you here,” said Lily to Ian. “This doesn’t seem like your kind of thing.”

  “I’m surprised to be here,” answered Ian, scowling at his brother. “Riley made me come.”

  “You can’t spend all you time with your patients,” Riley shot back. He wasn’t sorry he made Ian go. The man never did anything but work.

  “Well, as long as you’re here, do you want to dance?” asked Lily, shocking Riley. The man-hater was asking his brother to dance?

  Ian’s surprise must have shown on his face because Lily laughed and said, “Yes, I know that’s strange coming from me. I still think all you men are pigs, but I don’t want to just sit here all night.”

  “As a vet, I happen to know several pigs that are very nice. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Lily laughed again. “It wasn’t meant as one, but if you’ll relieve me of my wallflower status, I won’t shatter your illusion.”

  Ian answered with mock seriousness. “That’s all I ask.” He led Lily out onto the dance floor.

  Riley stared after the pair. Had they been flirting? He didn’t think serious Ian knew how to flirt. And Lily responded to him. She’d even laughed, which made her face light up. Riley thought she should try it more often. The whole thing was beyond strange but he forgot about them as he saw Steve lead Janice out on the dance floor.

  He shot a worried glance at Grace. “Do you want to dance?” he asked.

  She sh
rugged. “Why not?”

  Together they walked out onto the dance floor.

  Grace was silent as they danced. Riley assumed it was because she was moping over Steve and Janice. He wracked his brains for something to say, something clever to distract her or something wise to comfort her, or just anything to end the silence, but it was Grace who spoke first.

  “Why did you change your mind about coming?”

  “No reason.”

  “Was it because of Steve?”

  She knew him too well. “I didn’t want you to be alone, watching him dance with Janice.”

  “Did you think no one else would ask me to dance? Am I that pathetic?”

  “No, no,” Riley sighed. “It’s just that…I thought you might need a friend.”

  “I have a friend. Lily came with me.”

  “Yes, but…”

  “Thank you for coming, but I’m okay with Steve and Janice.”

  Riley felt like banging his head against the wall. He’d made a fool of himself again. “Well, if you’re okay about this, I guess I can go home.”

  Grace moved closer to him. “Don’t.”

  Riley’s breath stuck in his throat as she snuggled up against his chest. He wanted to tighten his arms around her, but he was afraid of misreading her again. “Why shouldn’t I?”

  “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

  “I guess. I think the coat room might be the only place available, though.”

  “That’s all right with me.”

  Riley stepped off the dance floor and threaded his way through the crowd, forging a trail for Grace. The coat room was only slightly quieter than the great room, so Riley and Grace grabbed their coats and went out for a walk.

  “It’s a shame to hide that dress under a winter coat,” he told her.

  “I’m glad you like it. It’s new.”

  Outside, the air was crisp and cool, a refreshing change after the stuffy heat of the crowded hall. Bright stars sprinkled the sky, and a few flakes of snow were drifting down.

  They walked into the quiet park and sat on a bench near the band shelter. “What do you want to talk about, Gracie?”

  She didn’t answer right away, but gazed up at the night sky.

  Riley fidgeted with impatience. Every second he spent with her was torture. Was she going to tell him to leave her alone? Inside she said she had Lily for a friend. Did that mean she didn’t want his friendship anymore?

  “Grace, say something.”

  “I’m sorry, Riley.” Her eyes fell from the heavens to stare at the pavement. “It’s hard for me to say.”

  Riley’s stomach knotted. It would be hard for tender-hearted Grace to tell him to get lost. “I think I know what you want to say.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry about me Gracie. I’m done making a fool of myself over you. I won’t bother you anymore.” He got up. “I’ll find Ian and tell him we can go home. He’ll be delighted.”

  Riley quickly walked away before she could say anything. He was almost to the end of the park when he heard Grace running to catch up with him. He turned just in time to see her slip on a patch of ice and fall.

  “Gracie! Are you all right?” Riley was in such a hurry to reach her that he was careless and slipped on the ice himself, slamming onto the pavement beside her.

  He groaned. “So much for being done making a fool of myself.”

  She lay on her side, with her face away from him. “Gracie, say something.” He took her shoulders and gently lifted her up.

  As his arms went around her, Grace reached up and captured his face between her hands. She was looking at him intently, and he was struck by how lovely she was in the moonlight with snowflakes in her eyelashes.

  “What is it? Are you hurt?”

  A tear slid down her cheek, washing away the snowflake that had sparkled there. “Riley, I’m sorry.”

  “What for?”

  “For not trusting you. I was afraid that if our relationship changed I would lose your friendship. After tonight I know that could never happen. You’re always there for me, no matter what.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Maybe this will help. Do you still want to kiss me?”

  His eyes widened in surprise. That was the dumbest question he’d ever heard. But he didn’t tell Grace that. He just lowered his head and brushed his lips softly across hers. It was Grace who held on and deepened the kiss.

  It took a long time for the cold from the ground to overtake the warm feeling that was growing inside him. When the chill became too much for them to ignore, Riley got up and helped Grace to her feet, tucking her under his arm.

  “Come on, let’s go in. I don’t want us to start out the New Year with pneumonia.”

  All the stars in the sky, combined, were not as bright as Grace’s eyes. “I just want to start out the New Year with you, Riley.”

  They returned to the dance to find Ian and Lily still together. Janice and Steve seemed to be having a heated discussion in a corner. That was the last moment Grace and Riley noticed their surroundings. For the rest of the night they had eyes only for each other.

  When midnight came, and the church bell began to toll, there was no question of who Riley was going to kiss. It would be Gracie. It would always be Gracie.

  “Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?” asked Grace, distracting him momentarily.

  “Only one. To show you how much I love you,” he answered as their lips met again.

  “That’s a good resolution. I hope you keep it.”

  “Don’t worry, Gracie. This is one resolution I know I can keep all year long—and even after that.”

  “You know I love you too, Riley.”

  He smiled at her. “I kind of figured that.”

  The cheers and blasts of noisemakers died away and the music began again. Riley pulled Gracie out onto the dance floor again, where he could hold her close and dream of the future.

  TITLE

  Epilogue: Pansy Parker

  Pansy noticed with satisfaction that Riley and Grace were holding hands in church on the Sunday after New Year’s. Afterwards, at the coffee hour, they were still holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. Not one week into the new year, and she could already claim her first match. Beat that Misty Green!

  Speaking of which, where was she? Pansy looked around until she spotted the tall blonde. Misty was looking at Riley and Grace as well. She must know Pansy had been successful. The older woman sashayed over to Misty. In reality, she’d never actually sashayed in her life, but she felt like she was doing it now. “Well, what do you think?” She couldn’t quite keep the boastful note out of her voice.

  “You can’t count this,” Misty answered. “The contest was supposed to start in the new year. You were engineering this before that.”

  “Oh, does that mean you haven’t started yet?” Pansy tried to look innocent, but her acting skills really weren’t up to par today. She felt proud enough to bust her buttons, as the saying went.

  Misty’s mouth thinned into a hard line. “No. I was playing by the rules.” Before Pansy could protest, she added, “But I’ll give you this one. I have a feeling you’ll need it.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, really? I think at the end of the year, you’ll find this one won’t even matter because I’ll be so far ahead of you.”

  “You think so.” Misty glared back at Pansy and the animosity between them became almost palpable. Then the ladies recalled where they were and sheathed their claws.

  “Excuse me, Pansy,” said Misty sweetly. “I have to talk to Pastor Isaac about the music for next week. I think he wanted the choir to do something special.”

  “I’m sure whatever you pick will be lovely,” answered Pansy.”

  “Thank you. Happy New Year.”

  Pansy displayed a placid smile.

  “Happy New Year to you, Misty.”

  One thing was certain: It would be an interesting year.

>   Entertaining Angel

  TITLE

  Prologue: Misty

  “Hey Misty, how’s business?”

  Misty Green looked up from her computer, where she was debating over how much bean curd to order, as the postal carrier came into her store. “Just fine, Fred. Anything good for me today?”