Orchard Hill Volume One

by Kara Lynn Russell

  “Yes, I suppose she’ll have to eventually. She left Cherub with me until she could make arrangements to get her. She couldn’t take her on the plane, you know.”

  “I can’t believe she left that dog behind.”

  “She didn’t want to, but they absolutely refused to take her on that flight. We didn’t have the right sort of carrier.”

  Pansy Parker piped in, “Don’t worry, Jeff. I know a nice girl I could fix you up with if you want.”

  Misty dropped his hand and glared at Pansy. “He doesn’t need to be ‘fixed up’ as you call it.”

  “Well, it sounds like the bird has flown the coop, Misty. What is he supposed to do now?”

  Both women turned to look at him. “Well, what are you going to do now?” Misty asked.

  Jeff excused himself to go find some coffee. But instead of stopping at the refreshments table, he went straight on out of the door.

  He didn’t know what to think. He tried to call Angel’s cell phone, but there was no answer. He left a voice mail. A few hours later he left another one.

  He didn’t hear anything from her for a week. A week in which he couldn’t seem to get anything done. He had thought things were just beginning between them. Why had she chosen to leave—and without saying goodbye?

  He saw Susan several times that week. It was obvious she wanted to make up with him, but he didn’t plan to do that. Dating Susan had been a mistake he didn’t intend to make twice, Angel or no Angel.

  On the next Monday, he was half-heartedly shuffling through some paperwork when the phone rang. It was Tony. “What did you do to my sister?”

  “What do you mean?” asked Jeff. “What did she say?”

  “She says you were a perfect gentleman.”

  “Don’t you believe her?”

  “No. She says her trip was successful, but she’s been moping around and spends all her time designing sappy Valentine’s Day cards since she came back. I know you Jeff. I know you, but I thought I could trust you.”

  “You can trust me,” Jeff shot back. “Why don’t you ask her what she did to me?” Then he hung up and left the office. He heard the phone ringing as he slammed the door behind him. He walked across the street to The Grace Place for some coffee and a break. Half an hour later, when he went back to his office, he felt calmer. Not better, but calmer.

  Cherub was sitting on his doorstep, wearing that silly sweater Angel bought her. Her sad eyes looked up at him, and she whimpered a bit when she saw him. “She left you, too, didn’t she,” said Jeff, stooping to pat her head. Cherub briefly wagged her tail.

  “Come on, girl.” Jeff scooped up the little dog. “I’ll take you home.” He froze as an idea hit him. “Yes. I will take you home.”

  ****

  Angel spread out her paints and got ready to work. Another lonely night spent at home. Of course, this was how she’d been spending her nights for years, but now somehow it bothered her. With a sigh she reached for a tube of paint. The doorbell rang.

  She looked down at herself in her painting clothes. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail and a pencil was stuck through it. She shrugged and went to answer the door.

  “Who is it?” she called, and was answered with a shrill bark. Was that…? It couldn’t be. Angel threw open the door and saw Cherub. And Jeff. She froze.

  Cherub was dancing around her, jumping up and wagging her tail. Angel stooped down to pick her up. She focused all her attention on the dog. “Hey sweetie, I missed you. Yes, I did.”

  The dog wiggled out of her arms and went to sniff everything in the living room, and she was left alone to face Jeff.

  “Um. Thanks for bringing her. You didn’t have to do that.” She clenched the door knob in her hand and focused all of her attention on it.

  “She missed you. Don’t you feel bad for abandoning her?”

  “I didn’t abandon her. I was going to come back for her.”

  “What about me? You abandoned me.”

  “No I didn’t.”

  “You left without telling me.”

  “Um, I…”

  “You wouldn’t answer my calls.”

  “I…I didn’t think we had anything to say.”

  Jeff took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. “Why, Angel?”

  Under his gaze, something inside her cracked. Tears came to her eyes. “It was the best thing I could think of to do.”

  “If you didn’t want to see me again, all you had to do was say so.”

  Angel shook her head, pulling away from his touch. “I did want to see you again.”

  “Then why leave? You had work lined up. There was no reason for you to go.”

  She shook her head again and walked away. He came in and closed the door behind him. “At least tell me why. Then I’ll go.”

  She tried to think up a noble lie, but the shock of his arrival had chased away all rational thought. “I was wrong for you.”

  “What? What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh Jeff, look at me,” she pointed to herself in her paint splattered clothes and bare feet. “Would I ever fit into your parents’ world? No. But Susan would. I was wrong to come between you. You should be furious at me.”

  “I am furious with you,” he shouted, “but not because of Susan. Breaking up with her was the second best thing I ever did.”

  Angel yelled back. “I’ve done nothing but screw up your life since you met me. Why would you even follow me here?”

  “Because getting together with you was the best thing I’ve ever done. Can’t you tell I love you Angel?”

  She wrinkled her brow. “What did you say?”

  “I love you Angel.”

  She burst into tears.

  “That’s not quite the reaction I was going for.” He put his arms around her and held her tight.

  She was crying too hard to answer.

  “Angel, stop. I’ll go away if that’s what you want.”

  She shook her head and took a couple of deep breaths. “I love you, too.”

  He wiped away the tears from her eyes. “Then why are you putting us through this?”

  “I wanted to do the right thing. I thought Susan was the better match for you.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Angel shook her head.

  Jeff took a deep breath of his own. “Angel, do you really love me?”

  “Yes.” She nodded.

  “Then do me a favor. The next time you think you know what’s right for me, let’s talk it over before you do something like this.”

  “The next time? Does that mean you’re still talking to me?”

  “No. I’m done talking to you for now.”

  “Oh.”

  “Now I’m ready to move on to kissing you.”

  “Oh.”

  That was the last thing said for a few minutes. Eventually, Cherub started to whine.

  Angel raised her head. “I think she wants to go out.”

  Jeff slid out of Angel’s embrace. “I’ll take her. I think I could do with a bit of cooling off myself.”

  “Have you eaten?”

  “No, how about you?”

  “No. I’ll start making something while you take Cherub out.”

  “I have a better idea. You clean up and get changed and I’ll take you out to eat.”

  “That sounds great.”

  “In fact,” said Jeff, “why don’t you call Tony to see if he can join us? I’d like to meet his fiancée.”

  “Even better.”

  “Ask him if I can stay at his place tonight.”

  “Just tonight?” Angel tried to keep the disappointment from her voice. “Does that mean you’re going back tomorrow? That’s so soon.”

  He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. “Yes, I’m going back and so are you. You have clients to see, remember?”

  She smiled. “I guess I do.”

  “And we’re invited to my parents’ house for dinner on Saturday, just the four of us
this time.”

  “They really want me to come back?” She couldn’t believe they would want her rather than someone of Susan’s type.

  “Yes. I showed them some of your greeting cards and they want you to do a painting of their house.”

  “I didn’t give you any of my cards.”

  “I bought Grace’s entire supply.”

  “Are you sure they aren’t just being nice?”

  “You really are talented, Angel. You shouldn’t have to ask that.”

  “I may have to stay for a while, then,” she conceded.

  “I think you will. In fact, I think you should see if your brother would like to buy this house. A married couple needs their own place.”

  “Where will I live then?” Her head was spinning with all these new ideas he kept throwing at her.

  He shrugged. “You could get an apartment in Orchard Hill. You can paint. You can get a part time job for a while, until your painting takes off.”

  “Since you seem to have all this worked out, just where will I get a job?”

  “Well,” said Jeff, innocently, “I have been thinking of getting a receptionist and since you already know your way around my office…”

  Angel took a deep breath and searched his eyes. “This is moving so fast. Are you sure about this Jeff?”

  He reached out and caressed her cheek. “I’m a decisive kind of person, Angel. Once I know what I want, I go after it.”

  Warmth rushed into her face.

  He sighed. “And I am definitely going after you.”

  Cherub barked at the door.

  “All right,” Jeff said. “Let’s get this show on the road. You have your duties, I have mine. I’ll walk the dog.”

  “I’ll change and call Tony.”

  “Meet you back here in ten minutes.”

  Angel smiled. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

  He returned her smile with a wicked one of his own and kissed her once more. “I know you will.”

  He took Cherub’s leash from his pocket, snapped it on to her collar and led her outside. Angel shut the door behind him, a big smile on her face.

  And a lightness in her heart that was all joy.

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  Epilogue: Pansy

  Pansy Parker frowned as she saw Jeff and Angel walk into the sanctuary together for Sunday service. She’d been sure when Angel left that Misty’s match between Angel and Jeff would fail. But Jeff had gone after her and brought her back. She had to admit—to herself, at least—that the two made a nice couple. Perhaps Misty hadn’t done too badly on that one.

  “Oh, well,” Pansy consoled herself. “It will take more than one match to win this contest.” And she was already working on her next pair. It was past time for Lily Robinson to get over her ex-husband and find someone new. Poor Ian had been pining for her since she moved to Orchard Hill. He wasn’t making any progress with Lily so Pansy supposed she’d have to help him out a little.

  By the time the service was over, she had a plan worked out. It was simple and it would work. If Ian O’Neil knew what she had in mind, he’d be down on his knees thanking her. She smiled smugly to herself all the way home.

  She couldn’t pull into her garage because a truck was parked in her driveway. It looked like her son’s truck, but she wasn’t expecting him. He lived in Detroit and that was too far to drive for a surprise visit.

  Irritated, Pansy parked on the street and walked into her house. She could hear the television blaring the moment she stepped through the kitchen door. But she had to pick her way around two baskets of dirty laundry, a couple of suitcases and several boxes before she could get to the living room to see who was watching television.

  It was her son. “Perry Parker,” she exclaimed in exasperation. “What is all this stuff and what are you doing here?”

  Perry, a middle-aged guy who had less hair and more stomach than he had ten years ago, was lounging on the sofa, but sat up when he heard his mother’s voice.

  “Hi, Ma. Aren’t you happy to see me?”

  “Of course I’m happy to see you,” she said, with a clearly unhappy expression on her face. “But where is Jean, how come you didn’t you call first, and why aren’t you using a coaster?”

  Perry frowned and grabbed one of the crocheted coasters from an end table and quickly placed his soda on it. Then he stood. “I’m sorry, Ma. I meant to have everything squared away before you came home, but I got caught up in the basketball game on TV.”

  “What is all this stuff and why is it in my house?”

  “Um…It’s my stuff, Ma. Jean’s divorced me. So I thought I’d come home and stay with you for a while.”

  Pansy’s knees went weak, and she sank down into a chair. She looked around her orderly house, everything precisely in its place. Then she looked at the trail of Perry’s belongings spread from here to the door. She looked at Perry, hair uncombed, shirt tails hanging out and pizza stains on his jeans. Lord help her; her baby had come home!

  Considering Lily

  Prologue: Pansy

  Pansy Parker surveyed the disaster area that was her kitchen. When she’d left this morning, it had been pristine. She’d washed the cup, spoon and cereal bowl she’d used, and then put them away before leaving for work. While she was gone, it seemed there had been a tornado in her kitchen.

  The sink was filled with dishes. The counter had crumbs scattered across it, and the refrigerator was decorated with greasy smudges.

  “He’s one person,” she muttered as she grabbed a dish cloth and began wiping the counters. “How much mess can one person make in just a few hours.”

  “Hi Mom,” Perry said, striding into the kitchen. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll clean it up later. I made a cake for after supper tonight.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you,” Pansy said, trying to dredge up appreciation. What were the two of them going to do with a whole cake! Especially one that was made with the whole wheat unbleached flour that Perry had brought home from the grocery store yesterday.

  He had the classified section of the newspaper in his hand. No doubt the rest of the paper was scattered across her sofa. “Any luck in finding a job today?”

  Perry sighed. “No. But, I thought maybe I’d take out my own ad. See if anyone needs a handyman. It doesn’t seem like there are any construction companies hiring now.”

  Great. He’d never earn enough money as a handyman to get his own place. “I suppose you have to start somewhere, dear.”

  “It’s a long way from being a construction site foreman, but I guess I can’t afford to be choosy.”

  “Perry, dear, I don’t know why you quit your job in the first place.”

  “I needed a fresh start, Ma. I just had to put everything behind me.”

  “Lots of people get divorces, and they don’t quit their jobs and move in with their mothers.”

  “I don’t have to stay here if you don’t want me. I have a little money saved up. It could see me through until I get on my feet. I could be out by the end of the week. Just say the word,” Perry said, and the worst part was, she knew he meant it. He was a good boy, after all.

  Pansy forced a smile on her face. “Of course I want you here. I just feel bad for all that you lost.”

  Perry rubbed his forehead. “It was my own fault. I quit paying attention to Jean a long time ago. If I hadn’t, none of this would have happened.”

  “Do you miss her?” As annoying as living with Perry was, she did love him.

  “That’s sort of the worst part,” he admitted. “I don’t miss her. It just tells me how far apart we drifted before she found her new ‘Mr. Right.’ If I ever get married again, I’ll do things differently.”

  “Get married again? Do you think you will?”

  Perry laughed. “I’m fifty-three years old; I have more forehead than hair and no place to call my own. I don’t think it’s going to happen, Ma.”

  An idea sparked in Pansy’s head. “You never know, dear,” sh
e said. She’d find a match for Perry and count it toward the challenge. But who to match him up with? She’d have to think about it. She’d find someone by the time she finished with her current project—Lily Robinson and Ian O’Neil.

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