Orchard Hill Volume One

by Kara Lynn Russell

  “I thought I was so lucky when Ted asked me out. He was my literature professor in college. When the semester was over and our class was finished, he asked me out to a movie. I was thrilled. We were married a few months later, after I graduated.”

  “Is that why it seems to bother you that Riley and Grace are engaged already.”

  “How did you pick up on that? I didn’t tell anyone!”

  Ian shrugged. “I don’t know. I just did. Maybe it was the look on your face when we had brunch with them after they made their big announcement.”

  “I know they’ve known each other forever, but it still reminds me of how I rushed into things with Ted. I didn’t really know him when we got married.”

  “I guess you proved that adage, ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure.’”

  Lily nodded. “Definitely. I think Ted’s problem is that he’s basically insecure. I first realized that when I received a scholarship to continue my studies in English Lit as a graduate student. Since it was his field too, I guess he felt threatened by my success. He was always reading my papers, belittling me, pointing out errors. It became such a problem that I dropped out and went to beauty school instead. Even Ted couldn’t be jealous of my shampooing skills.”

  “That’s how it happened. Grace mentioned you were an English major. I wondered how you went from Shakespeare to shampoo.”

  “Okay, now I’ve revealed one of my deep dark secrets. It’s your turn.”

  She’d opened up to him. It was only fair that he should do the same. He took a deep breath. “I felt guilty because I didn’t drop out of school.”

  “What?”

  “My father died when I was close to finishing. Riley dropped out instead and went home to take over the family business.”

  “Does Riley resent that?”

  “He doesn’t seem to, but I still feel bad. I would never have cut it as a hardware store owner, though. I don’t know a wood screw from a finishing nail. Riley worked there all through high school. I worked on my uncle’s farm.”

  “It sounds like Riley was the better candidate for the job.”

  “Yeah, I know that. But he was so young. I wish I could have supported him more. I should have come home and worked at the store a while before going on to grad school.”

  “Did Riley ask you to do that?”

  “No. I offered, and he refused. But I should have anyway.”

  “Anyone can tell that Riley loves you, Ian. You guys are always together.”

  Ian smiled at her. “You’re an only child. Maybe you don’t realize how love and resentment can go hand in hand.”

  Lily laughed again and the mood lightened a bit. Ian decided to let the conversation go. He’d learned a lot about Lily tonight. He needed time to think it all over.

  They talked about the movie they’d seen, and that lead to talking about favorite movies and books. Their sodas were finished, and the ice melted, before Ian realized how late it was getting. “I guess I should be going, Lily.”

  Her eyes flew to the clock. “It can’t really be that late, can it?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Ian got up, grabbed his coat from the chair, and put it on. Lily followed him to the door.

  “I had fun tonight. Thanks, Ian.”

  She was looking up at him, and he detected a shyness in her eyes as well as a softening of her demeanor. He wanted to kiss her, but even now, he doubted if she’d allow it. But maybe a hug?

  As Ian put his arms around her he was surprised that Lily reached up and put her arms around his neck, hugging him back. Leaning down, his cheek rested against hers. They stayed that way for a few moments, and he wondered if he dared to turn his head and kiss her cheek.

  Then they heard a loud meow. Maria was standing in the middle of the floor, eyeing them warily. He could feel Lily’s gasp of surprise.

  The phone rang, and Maria shot back under the bed like a bolt of lightning.

  “Oh darn,” Lily muttered as she walked over to the phone and picked it up.

  Her expression changed, and Ian instantly knew who was on the other end. He took a step toward her, and she held out her hand and shook her head.

  Ian stood there undecided. He wasn’t going to leave while Lily was on the phone with her ex-husband, but he wasn’t sure what to do to help.

  “Just a minute, Ted,” Lily said. “Ian, please go,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. “I’m staying.”

  “I can handle him.”

  “I know you can, but I’m still staying. Moral support.”

  Lily stared at him and finally nodded. She put the phone back to her ear. “Now what is it you want, Ted?...Yes, there is someone here with me. A friend…I’m not giving you a report of my social life. What is the purpose of your call….I thought so. No, I’m not sending you money, Ted. My inheritance from my uncle was small, only a few hundred dollars, and I’ve already invested it into my business.”

  She frowned and held the phone away from her ear as he began to shout obscenities at her.

  Ian’s fingers itched to take the phone from her and take on this loser for himself. But Lily didn’t want that, so he stayed where he was and clenched his fists to keep his hands still.

  When Ted’s tirade wound down, Lily put the phone back to her ear. “If you’re going to talk to me like that Ted, I’m hanging up. Don’t call again until you can hold a conversation like a civilized person or call at a decent hour. In fact, don’t call again at all if it’s about that money. You aren’t getting any.” She hung up the phone.

  “Wow, you really can handle him.”

  Lily smiled. “You doubted me? Actually I’m usually not so assertive with him. I guess your support helped.”

  “Do you think he’ll call again?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Ian waited around another half hour, and when Ted didn’t call back he reluctantly decided to leave.

  This time it was Lily who initiated the hug. “Thank you for everything, Ian,” she told him as she hugged him tight. “I’m glad I took a chance on being friends with you.”

  “I am too,” he slipped out of her embrace, and then said good-bye. He left quickly before he did something that would jeopardize their new friendship. The urge to kiss her had been overwhelming. He wanted to be more than friends with Lily, but if she didn’t trust him as a friend, she’d never trust him as a boyfriend.

  TITLE

  Orchard Hill: Volume One

  Chapter Eight

  As March wore on, the weather warmed, and winter began to give way to spring. The snow started to melt, leaving the town slushy, muddy and grey. But as far as Lily was concerned, everything was sunshine and roses. She felt her heart opening slowly, day by day, like the petals of a flower.

  Encouraged by her friendship with Ian, Lily decided to extend herself a bit more, to come out of her shell. She invited Angel to have coffee with her at Grace’s. Grace ended up sitting with them, and the three of them had a wonderful time talking and laughing.

  Ian began teaching Lily and a couple of other volunteers to groom the animals to get them ready for the adoption fair. In between lessons, Lily practiced on Cherub until she was the best groomed dog in town, right down to her painted toe nails. Angel incorporated Cherub’s picture into the posters she was designing for the fair.

  Lily emailed some of her cousins and was pleasantly surprised at their friendly responses.

  And, she decided to invite her mother to Orchard Hill for Easter.

  Only one thing spoiled Lily’s new found joy, and that was Maria’s refusal to come out from under the bed unless Lily was gone or sleeping. She had begun the habit of sitting on the floor beside her bed every night and talking to the cat, hoping Maria would get used to her and come to accept her.

  She was telling Ian about this one Sunday before church, and he applauded her for her gentle approach. “Don’t forget she was probably abused and lived wild for a while before she was brought in to the shelte
r. It may take a long time for her to trust you.”

  Lily sighed and made a face. “That’s all right. I can wait.”

  Ian started to chuckle and then stopped. Lily could see he was looking at something over everyone’s heads.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “It’s nothing. It’s just that Pansy Parker and Misty Green were both looking this way a minute ago. Pansy sure seemed happy, but Misty looked pretty mad, and she was staring right at me.”

  “Did you do something to offend her?”

  “I don’t see how I could have. I haven’t even spoken to her in weeks.”

  Lily shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t even you she was looking at.”

  “Maybe.” Ian cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Can I come over after church?”

  “To my place? Why?”

  “I…” Ian looked uncomfortable.

  “What is it? Is something wrong?”

  “No. I just hope you won’t be mad at me.”

  “For what?” She was asking questions and getting too few answers.

  “I bought you something.”

  She cocked her head and looked at him, puzzled. “You bought me a gift?”

  “Sort of. It’s a gift of the practical kind though.”

  “Really.” She should have pushed him to tell her more, but for the moment she was fascinated with the sudden wave of shyness that had swept over him. His face was turning red, and his hands were stuffed into his pockets, his shoulders hunched. He looked like a little boy who’d just been accused of eating cookies before supper.

  “We’d better go sit down,” Ian muttered and, silently, Lily fell into step with him. In the sanctuary, they found seats next to Riley and Grace. For once, the pair was not holding hands, and Lily noticed the tension in Grace’s shoulders. What had gone wrong?

  There was a coffee hour after the service. When Riley and Ian got caught up in a discussion of the upcoming baseball season, Lily pulled Grace aside.

  “What’s wrong? Did you and Riley have a fight?”

  She nodded. “Is it obvious? I thought I was hiding it well.”

  “The fact that you two are not billing and cooing for the first time since New Year’s is a dead giveaway.”

  Grace’s shoulders slumped. “It’s this wedding, Lily. There’s so much to do, and Riley is getting tired of it. He says the wedding is more important to me than he is.”

  “I thought you were going to keep it simple.”

  “I was. I am, but there’re still so many details. And complications keep popping up.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like how many guests we invite. We were going to limit it to close friends and family. Well, you know what Riley’s family is like. Then, my dad keeps asking if he can invite some of his clients. I wanted a pianist, but Riley’s mom insists we have to have an organist. I was going to print our own invitations, but my mom says that will be tacky. Then there’s the whole question of where we’ll hold the reception—”

  “Whoa, hold on, Grace; I get your point.”

  “What should I do?”

  “I think maybe you should give yourself some more time. Why does the wedding have to be this summer?”

  “Because if we go later, it will remind everyone of…of…”

  “Of Steve leaving you at the altar.”

  Grace nodded. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m trying to recreate the other wedding.”

  “No one will. But what about a spectacular fall wedding? Autumn colors are great. Or what about Valentine’s Day? That’s when you got engaged, wasn’t it?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Yes, it was. That’s something to think about.”

  “And you can ask me for help if you need it, Grace. I am your maid of honor,” Lily reminded her.

  “I know, but I thought you were pretty busy yourself.”

  “With what?”

  “With the adoption fair and with,” Grace smiled, “with Ian.”

  Lily returned her smile with a frown. “What do you mean with Ian?”

  “Things seem to be getting pretty cozy between you two.”

  “Well, he’s my friend,” Lily said. She felt uncomfortable admitting that, but she didn’t know why. Why should it be such a news flash that she had a friend?

  “Yes, he’s your friend.” Grace’s mouth tilted into one of those teasing smiles again. “And maybe more?”

  Lily shook her head. “No. Just friends.”

  Of all people, Grace should understand what a big step it was for her to be friends with Ian. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in the more part, she just wasn’t ready yet. What was wrong with enjoying what they had for now?

  Just then Ian put his hand on her shoulder. Lily jumped, startled by his nearness. She thought he was still talking to Riley.

  “Are you ready to go now?” he asked.

  “Where are you two going?”

  Lily shrugged. “Just back to my house for a little while. Nothing special.”

  Again with the smile. “Okay then. You guys have fun.”

  When Lily looked back, Grace was already deep in conversation with Riley, probably explaining the proposed change of wedding plans to him.

  ****

  Ian followed Lily home. He tried not to think about the snippet of conversation he’d overheard. He didn’t know why it should bother him. He knew that friendship was all there was between him and Lily. He hoped for more. He dreamed of more. But he was starting to fear it would never happen.

  Lily got out of her car and waited for him to park before heading up the steps to her apartment. He carried the brown paper bag with the gift inside.

  When they got inside the first thing Lily did was to check Maria’s food dish to see if she had eaten anything while she was gone. With amusement, Ian watched her fuss over Maria’s things. Lily might have become a pet owner later rather than sooner in life, but she was a natural

  Then she turned to Ian. “So what is this all about?”

  Ian held out the paper bag. “I got this for you.”

  She reached in and pulled out a cardboard box. “A phone? I already have a phone. I have several in fact. One for the living room, one for the bedroom, and one for the shop.”

  “I know, but this phone has something the other phones don’t have.”

  “What’s that?”

  Ian took the box from her and pointed out an item in the list of features. “It has caller I.D.”

  He could tell from the look on her face that she didn’t understand so he continued. “You don’t have to miss any calls from clients, but if it’s someone you don’t want to talk to, you don’t have to pick up either.”

  Her eyes lit up. “You mean like Ted?”

  “Yes, like Ted.” He’d been afraid she’d be mad, but the gratitude in her eyes may have been worse. It made him want to take her in his arms. He held tightly to the box to stop himself.

  “Ian, you’re a genius! That’s such a simple solution. Why didn’t I think of that?” Lily launched herself at him and gave him a huge hug. The feel of her body pressed against his was more temptation that he could bear. He disentangled himself as quickly as he could without hurting her feelings. No matter how he felt, he didn’t want to push her if she wasn’t ready.

  “I’ve got to go now,” Ian said hastily. “Lots of stuff to do this afternoon.”

  “All right. Anything I can help with?”

  “No, nothing. It’s all stuff I have to do by myself. Paperwork…order supplies…take George for a walk.”

  “You have to take your dog for a walk by yourself?”

  “Yes,” Ian felt himself starting to babble. He had to get away before he did something that would take him from being “just friends” with Lily to being despised by her. “George is very jealous. He doesn’t even like Riley to walk with us. Just the two of us.”

  Lily looked at him as if he were a lunatic, and Ian was beginning to feel like one. “So, I’ll see yo
u at the meeting on Tuesday. Bye.”

  On Tuesday, Lily and Angel got to the adoption fair committee meeting before he did, but as he walked in, he overheard Angel speaking to Lily.

  “Are you and Ian doing anything Friday night?”

  “Well, I’m not,” Lily replied, sliding into the seat next to Angel. “But I don’t know about Ian. Why do you ask?”