Orchard Hill Volume One

by Kara Lynn Russell

  Angel pulled away from him. “I’m fine.”

  He didn’t look convinced, but he backed up and closed the door. Then he came around the car and slid behind the wheel. “We’ll take the dog to Ian’s clinic. It’s just on the other side of town.”

  “Is that far?”

  “Don’t worry. This is a small town.”

  Jeff was right. They arrived at the clinic in under ten minutes. He opened doors for Angel as she carried in the dog.

  The receptionist took one look at them and yelled, “Ian.”

  A tall man with thick, auburn hair and glasses answered the call. “What’s up?”

  “Looks like someone hit a dog.”

  Ian hurried into the waiting room. “Jeff? Is this your dog?”

  “No, I don’t know who it belongs to.”

  “It’s not yours?” Ian asked Angel as he took the dog from her gently.

  “No, she’s with me. This is Angel Marcel. Her brother is a friend of mine.”

  Ian acknowledged the introduction with a nod as he took the dog back to his examination room.

  “Well, let’s go,” said Jeff. “She’s in good hands now.”

  He started to move toward the door, but Angel wasn’t following. “Don’t you want to wait and see how the dog is?” She couldn’t believe he could walk away and leave the injured animal without a second thought. How could Tony be friends with such an insensitive jerk?

  “We can leave Misty’s number with the receptionist. Ian will call you.”

  Angel silently acknowledged that that would be the sensible thing to do, but she thought about the dog’s sad pain-filled eyes, and she just couldn’t leave.

  “You go ahead. I’ll wait. Misty can pick me up later.”

  “What about your appointment with Grace?”

  She had completely forgotten about that. “I’ll call her on my cell and reschedule.”

  Jeff shook his head at her. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive.”

  “I would wait with you, but I’ve got appointments this afternoon.”

  All right, maybe he wasn’t an insensitive jerk. He was just being a responsible businessman, she supposed.

  “That’s all right. I’ll be fine.” She sat down on one of the plastic chairs and smiled brightly.

  “I’ll drop your stuff off at Misty’s.”

  “Great. Thank you so much for picking me up. Tell Misty I’ll call her when I’m done here.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Jeff rubbed the back of his neck and eyed her speculatively.

  Angel could tell he was feeling guilty about leaving her, and she didn’t need to feel like anyone’s burden. She would feel guilty if he stayed. She could tell he didn’t really want to. If he stayed, it would be because he’d promised to baby sit Tony’s dim-witted little sister. “I don’t want you to be late for your appointments.”

  He sighed. “Right. I’ll see you around.”

  “Okay.” She watched the door to the clinic close behind him then slumped in relief.

  So much for Jeff Bradley. She pulled out her cell phone. She had a few choice words for her dear, sweet, meddling, overprotective brother.

  But first she had to call and reschedule her appointment at The Grace Place.

  ****

  Jeff spent the next couple of hours showing houses to a young couple whose growing family had them seeking a larger home. Usually he loved the challenge of trying to fit the right house to the right family, but today he was preoccupied.

  And he didn’t want to be. There was no reason he should have stayed. She may be irresponsible enough to miss her business appointments but he wasn’t. He was determined to make his business a success.

  Still, when he had finished with the couple, he found his thoughts turning to Angel.

  At the airport, he’d been expecting someone who looked like Tony in a dress. Had he been wrong! Then she’d tripped over her suitcase and got—what was it she said—flustered. It was a good look for her, Jeff decided, the color filling her cheeks and those big hazel eyes looking up at him…

  Those big hazel eyes that filled with tears over a stupid dog. Maybe he’d better make sure she was all right. After all, he had promised Tony. And she had hit her head. Maybe he should have insisted on taking her to the emergency room. What if she had a concussion?

  Jeff called Misty. “Is Angel there? I wanted to make sure she got to your place okay.”

  “No, honey. She hasn’t called yet. She must still be at the clinic.” Misty seemed awfully cheerful—overly cheerful—and Jeff felt the odd sense that he’d been left out of the loop on something.

  He shook it off. “Oh. Okay. I’ll try again later.” He hung up the phone and walked over to Grace’s for some coffee.

  Grace was behind the counter when he got there. She was talking to Lily from the beauty shop down the street.

  “…and she hit a dog on her way into town. She called me from Ian’s to say she wanted to wait to see how it went.”

  “Poor girl,” murmured Lily. “That’s a rotten introduction to Orchard Hill. Now she’s spending the afternoon sitting in Ian’s clinic. That can’t be much fun.”

  “Oh, hi, Jeff,” said Grace as he approached. “What can I get for you today? Your usual?”

  Grimly Jeff shook his head. “Two coffees to go. And can you fill a baggie with some ice for me?”

  ****

  Angel leaned back and closed her eyes. Over the last few years, she had come to hate doctors’ offices. Waiting rooms were all the same: uncomfortable chairs, bad music and outdated magazines. It didn’t seem to make any difference whether the doctor treated humans or animals. She wished she’d thought to get her sketch pad from the car before Jeff had gone.

  But, her head was pounding from the bump on the dashboard, anyway, so drawing probably wouldn’t have been the best idea. Still, she would have loved to try to capture the expression of the little boy who’d so proudly brought in his new puppy for a check up. The puppy was his birthday present, he had told her.

  Now, the office was deserted. It must be getting near closing time.

  She heard the door open and shut, and her eyes fluttered open. Jeff stood in front of her with two steaming containers of delicious smelling coffee. She sat up—a bit too fast—and winced at the pain that shot through her skull.

  He sat next to her and handed her a cup of coffee.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I called Misty, and she said you were still down here.”

  Angel felt a flare of annoyance, but the aroma of the coffee tickled her tired nose, and she let go of her irritation in favor of sipping the reviving hot drink.

  “You didn’t have to check up on me. But thanks for the coffee.”

  “Wait. I have something else.” He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a baggie filled with crushed ice.

  If the coffee was nice, the ice was wonderful. She pressed the welcome coldness gently to her head.

  “It’s probably too late to keep it from bruising, but it should still make you feel better.”

  She peered up at him, suspicious. “My brother didn’t call you, did he?”

  “No. I told you, I called Misty to see if you’d gotten home all right. She said you were still here.”

  “It’s nice of you to check on me, but I’m fine, really.”

  “What’s happening with the dog?”

  “She doesn’t seem to be hurt too badly. She needed a few stitches but other than that, Ian is just holding her a little while for observation. Then I can take her home.”

  Jeff’s jaw dropped. “Take her home? She isn’t your dog.”

  “But if I don’t take her, they’ll send her to the shelter.”

  “That’s what the shelter is for.”

  “Jeff, if no one claims her, she’ll be put to sleep.”

  “She must belong to someone,” he protested.

  “I’ve given Ian my cell phone number. He can contact me if they find the
owner.”

  Jeff could see it was useless to argue with her. “How much longer?” he asked, sure that he couldn’t leave her here again without feeling the weight of guilt.

  “Not too much longer. I think they’re about to close up for the night.”

  He sighed and attempted to find a comfortable position in the unyielding plastic chair.

  “You don’t have to stay.” Angel gave him a little smile. “I’m very good at these waiting room vigils. Don’t worry about me.”

  Jeff remembered that Tony said she had nursed her mother through several years of illness before her death. He supposed she was experienced at this sort of thing. That only made him more determined to stay.

  “Really, I don’t want to be a bother.”

  She was a bother. She’d been a bother from the moment he’d laid eyes on her, but somehow he couldn’t just abandon her, even if it was in a place he knew to be perfectly safe.

  “It’s no bother.”

  “Well, that’s funny because you sure seem bothered.” She sounded thoroughly irritated now. “I don’t want to be seen as an obligation, and I don’t need a baby sitter. I’m an adult; I can take care of myself.”

  “Fine. You can take care of yourself. I’m still staying.”

  She glared at him with blazing hazel eyes, and he glared right back until the door to the examining room opened and Ian came out with the dog in his arms.

  “Here she is. Oh, hi, Jeff.”

  “Hi. How’s the patient?”

  “She seems to be fine. Just keep an eye on her for the next day or so. The stitches will have to come out in about two weeks.”

  “I’m not sure I’ll be in town that long,” Angel told him.

  “A veterinarian in your home town can remove them.”

  While Ian gave her instructions, Jeff cleaned up the remains of their coffee and the ice.

  Ian handed Angel the dog. “Are you sure you want to keep her? They have room for her at the shelter.”

  “I’m sure,” she said firmly. “You can call me if you find the owner. Otherwise, I’m keeping her.”

  “Send me the bill,” Jeff said.

  Angel’s head whipped around. “You don’t have to—”

  “I hit the dog. It’s my responsibility.”

  She looked as though she wanted to protest, but Ian broke in. “That’s fine. I’m going to close up now. I had my assistant write up those instructions for you. My home phone number is included. Call me if you need anything.”

  She gave him a radiant smile. “Thank you for everything Dr…”

  He smiled back at her. “Just call me Ian. Everyone else does.”

  “Yes, Ian. Thank you.”

  For some reason, Jeff didn’t much like all this smiling business. “Let’s go, Angel. I’ll give you a ride home.”

  She hesitated and Jeff swore if she turned him down he’d pick her up and carry her and that mutt out of here. Fortunately she relented. “I guess there’s no reason to make Misty come all the way out here for me.”

  “No, there isn’t. Thanks again, Ian. Bye.”

  He settled her and the dog in the passenger’s seat and then took several deep breaths as he walked around to the driver’s side. He hoped Angel Marcel wouldn’t be in town much longer because if she was, he’d go crazy. He hadn’t wanted to be in charge of her welfare, but he’d promised Tony and now here he was practically begging her to let him give her a ride. How had this happened?

  Once they had pulled onto the road, Jeff turned to her and asked, “Why do you make it so difficult to help you?”

  “Why do you think I need help?” she shot back. “Because Tony called you and told you that his feeble-minded sister was on the loose and needed a keeper. And you’re a nice and honorable kind of guy so you end up feeling responsible for me.”

  “You’d rather be with a guy that isn’t nice or honorable?”

  “No, I’m saying that it’s insulting to be treated like a total idiot all the time. To be foisted on people as a burden rather than introduced as a potential friend.”

  She turned away then, but Jeff saw a tear slip down her cheek first.

  “I know that Tony has a point when he says I’ve been isolated from the world because of taking care of Mom, but I deserve the same chance to be independent as any eighteen year old—even if I’m twenty-two.”

  Jeff was silent for a minute thinking about what she’d said. “You’re right,” he finally admitted. “I won’t be your keeper any more. But I’d like to be your friend.”

  Her face lit up when he said that. “Thank you, Jeff. I accept.”

  She’d gone from anger to hurt to happiness in less than three minutes; she was one woman who was hard to keep up with.

  But something made him want to try.

  TITLE

  Chapter Three

  Jeff pulled up in front of Misty’s house. As he opened the car door for Angel, Misty came out onto the porch. “You’re here at last. How nice of Jeff to come and rescue you.”

  “Rescue me,” Angel said as she climbed the steps to the porch. “I’d hardly call it that.”

  “Well, at least he rescued me from having to make the trip out to Ian’s to pick you up.”

  “It was no problem, Misty,” Jeff assured her. Finally, a little appreciation.

  “It was a big help to me. You have to at least come in and have a cup of tea with us.”

  Would this torture never end? First he had to wait for Ian to release that scruffy mutt, and now he had to sit and have tea with the ladies. This was definitely going above and beyond the call of duty. He was going to have a talk with Tony about exactly what “checking up” on his little sister entailed.

  “I should be going. I still have some paperwork waiting for me.”

  Suddenly Misty lunged toward Angel, taking her face in her hands. “What happened, honey. You’ve got a huge bruise on your temple.”

  “It’s nothing, Misty. I bumped my head on the dashboard when Jeff stopped so suddenly.”

  “It looks ghastly. Do you think you should see a doctor?”

  “No, I bruise easily. I’m sure it looks much worse than it is.”

  “Well, if you’re sure.” Misty was looking at him, Jeff realized. Was she hoping he would insist on taking Angel to the emergency room?

  “Where should I put the dog?” asked Angel, and Misty’s attention switched to the canine burden.

  “I’m so sorry, Angel. It’s just that I was startled by that bruise. Bring her into the kitchen. Are you sure you shouldn’t be checked for a concussion?”

  “No, Misty, I’m fine. If I had a concussion I would have shown symptoms by now.”

  Jeff followed in the wake of the two women. He wanted to leave, but it seemed rude. Plus, what if, by chance, Misty was right and Angel really was hurt?

  Misty had fixed up a cardboard box for the dog. She must have brought it home from her store, because it said “eggplant” on the side. She’d lined the box with old towels. Angel gently laid the dog inside.

  “She’s a real cutie. What are you going to name her?” Misty asked.

  “I don’t know,” Angel replied. “Any ideas?”

  “Hmmm.” Misty cocked her head and studied the little brown dog. “She is as sweet as can be. How about Cherub?”

  “Cherub?” Jeff echoed in disbelief.

  “Cherub is a perfect name for an Angel’s companion,” Misty explained.

  “Yes, it is kind of cute,” said Angel. “Cherub it is.”

  Jeff studied the dog. “Doesn’t look much like a celestial being to me,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “You two hang up your coats, and I’ll put the kettle on for tea.” Misty motioned them back toward the front door where there was a closet.

  They found hangers in the overstuffed closet and put their coats on them. Jeff studied Angel from the corner of his eye. She looked okay, if you looked at her from the side that didn’t have the bruise.

  She must have not
iced what he was doing, because she said, “I’m all right, Jeff. It’s the curse of having fair skin: bruise easily, blush easily, burn like a lobster in the sun. Tomorrow I won’t pull my hair back, and no one will know it’s there.”

  Well, maybe she was right, then. He already knew how easy—and rewarding—it was to make her blush.