Orchard Hill Volume One

by Kara Lynn Russell

  “And I promise to never shut you out again.” Lily hugged her mother, right in the middle of the houseware department.

  “What caused this change of heart, Lily?” her mother asked.

  “Well, I made a friend. He showed me that I needed other people—especially family.”

  “Is that why you started emailing your cousins?”

  Lily nodded. “I missed them, but I was afraid they wouldn’t want to talk to me after I’d shut them out for so long.”

  “But they did want to talk to you, didn’t they?”

  “Yes. Kenny even stopped to see me on his way home to Milwaukee last week.”

  “Do I get to meet this miracle worker who’s given me my daughter back?”

  Lily nodded. “He’ll be one of the servers at Easter breakfast. And there are some other people I want you to meet there, too.”

  Lily started telling her mother about Angel and Jeff and Riley. By the time she started telling her about the adoption fair, they had left the mall and found a quiet café for coffee and conversation.

  “All of this sounds wonderful, dear,” her mother said. “But you haven’t said much about the friend that started it all. What did you say his name was?”

  “Ian. Dr. Ian O’Neil.”

  “Is there maybe something more than friendship going on there?”

  Lily put down her mug and shook her head. Then remembering her promise not to shut her mother out, she said, “I’d like there to be more, but I don’t think he feels the same.”

  “You never know,” her mother replied. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  ****

  Easter Sunday dawned crisp and clear. There were cars in the Orchard Hill Community Church parking lot before the sun came up. The sky was just starting to turn pink when Ian parked his car there, and he and Riley headed into the church.

  It didn’t take long for the church basement to become filled with people, and Ian was kept busy clearing tables and offering refills on coffee. Not quite busy enough though to keep his mind off of Lily. He dreaded the moment she would appear with her “special guest.” He prayed that it wouldn’t be Ted. He could accept another man, but not the one who had treated her so horribly, the one he’d heard call her terrible names and who had made her retreat into herself, cutting off those who loved her most.

  As he carried another stack of plates to the sinks, Pansy tapped him on the shoulder. “Your turn to take a break. Grab a clean plate and go eat.”

  “Sure. Thanks,” he said. Grab a clean plate. What did she think? That he’d take one off the stack he’d just put into the sink? Shaking his head, he went out to get into the line for the buffet.

  He found himself right behind Lily. She wasn’t with a man, though. Maybe he hadn’t come. Then again, maybe he’d stopped at the rest room to wash his hands before eating.

  Lily turned around and greeted him warmly. “Ian, happy Easter. I’m glad you’re taking a break now. You can eat breakfast with us.”

  Ian wanted to smack himself in the head for walking into this. How could he get out of sitting with them?

  Before he could think of a good excuse—or even a bad one—Lily turned to the woman standing in line in front of her. She looked vaguely familiar. Where had he seen her before?

  “Ian,” said Lily, “I’d like you to meet my mother.”

  Automatically, he put out his hand to shake hers. He realized he’d seen the woman’s picture in Lily’s apartment. “Mrs. Robinson, I’m pleased to meet you.”

  She took his hand and shook it firmly. “Lily, is this the friend you’ve told me about?”

  “Yes, this is Ian O’Neil.”

  “I’m very pleased to meet you. Lily has told me that it’s you I have to thank for her invitation to join her for Easter.”

  Ian felt a bit slow on the uptake. How was he responsible for Lily’s mother being here?

  “Yes, Ian. You convinced me that I needed to reach out my family again. That’s why I wanted you to meet my mother.”

  It began to dawn on him what was going on. “This is your special guest?”

  Lily nodded. “You told me I should open up to my family again, and I did.”

  “I’m very grateful to you,” Mrs. Robinson said, “for giving my daughter back to me.”

  Ian was completely flabbergasted, a term he’d heard his grandfather use, but had never quite grasped the meaning of until now. Fortunately he didn’t have to think of anything else to say right then as they arrived at the head of the line. It was time to fill their plates. Pansy was serving pancakes. She looked very smug, but Ian had no idea what that was all about.

  His break must have come and gone, but Ian didn’t notice. He was so happy just to be sitting and talking to Lily and her mother, so relieved not to be talking to Lily and a boyfriend. How could he ever have thought she’d be stupid enough to reconcile with Ted?

  “The whole family is thrilled that Lily has come back into our circle, Ian. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “I didn’t really do anything,” he protested.

  “You must have done something,” Mrs. Robinson protested. “She’s been emailing all her cousins. Her cousin Kenny even felt welcome enough to come for a visit.”

  That explained the strange man he’d seen hugging Lily. Why hadn’t he just asked her? This put everything into a different light—especially the kiss.

  He sat with the two ladies during the church service. Easter Sunday had never felt so joyful as it did today.

  But after the service, Misty Green caught up with him.

  “Since you skipped out early on serving, you can help with the dishes, Ian,” she told him.

  Before she could drag him away, Ian managed to tell Mrs. Robinson that he’d enjoyed meeting her. He wanted to tell Lily he’d come over later, but Misty was stronger than she looked. She hauled him back to the kitchen where she teamed him up with Hope Velasquez to scrub egg pans. He knew Hope was the librarian at the elementary school, and not just pretty, but bright and vivacious. Still, Ian hardly noticed her as he scrubbed away at the pans.

  By the time he escaped from the kitchen with hands that he didn’t think would unwrinkle before the next weekend, it was already early afternoon. He made a quick stop at home, checked on the guinea pigs and George, grabbed the surprise for Lily, and then headed back into town.

  When she heard the knock on her door, Lily thought it must be her mother. She had left just a few minutes before. Maybe she’d forgotten something.

  She couldn’t keep the surprise from her face when she saw Ian standing there. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to do something with you.”

  Lily stepped back and let him in. “Okay. What do you want to do?”

  He had a portable CD player in hand. “Where can I plug this in?”

  Lily showed him an outlet in the living room. He took a CD from his pocket and put it into the player, then hit play.

  Slow, soft music filled the room. “That’s beautiful, Ian, but I don’t understand.”

  “Dance with me.” He swept her into his arms, and they moved together in the small space as they had at the New Year’s dance.

  Lily felt content for the first time in a long time, but she didn’t understand what was going on. “Why are we doing this?” she asked.

  “I’ve been dreaming about this since we danced at New Year’s, and I wanted to see if it felt the same.”

  She pulled away far enough so that she could look up into his face. “I’m different than I was at New Year’s.”

  “I know. What I don’t know is: are we friends?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Could we be more than friends? Would you go out with me?”

  “Go out with you—like on a date?”

  “Date me, be my sweetheart? My steady girl? Let me court you.”

  Lily stopped, forcing Ian to stand still, too. “Do you mean it? You aren’t teasing me, are you?”

 
He took her hands. “Lily, I’ve never been more serious in my life. Will you go out with me?”

  She nodded.

  “Is that a yes? I want to hear you say it.”

  “Yes, Ian I’ll go out with you, be your sweetheart, your steady girl, whatever you want.”

  “When you said you were bringing someone special to Easter breakfast, I thought you were bringing a date.”

  Lily’s mouth gaped. “How could you think that?”

  “I don’t know. I must be an idiot.”

  “Great, I’m dating an idiot.”

  “Yes, I am an idiot. You just agreed to be my sweetheart, and I’m standing here talking to you when we could be dancing again.”

  Lily’s face lit up. “Or you could kiss me.”

  Ian smiled and said, “Obviously, you’re the brains in this relationship.”

  He did kiss her then, and it was better than a whole basket full of chocolate bunnies.

  She felt something soft brush against her leg, and she broke the kiss to look down. Maria was rubbing against the two of them and purring.

  “She finally came out from under the bed,” Ian exclaimed.

  Lily laughed. “Well, you are very good at convincing people to come out of their shells. Even when they’ve been nothing but nasty and rude to you.”

  Maria wandered away and settled herself on a sunny windowsill.

  “Honey, you were worth it all,” said Ian as he twirled her around and they started to dance again.

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  Epilogue

  Misty took a look around her living room. Usually it appeared, as she liked to think of it, comfortably lived in. She hated the sterile showroom look of a perfectly tidy room. But her father believed in order—a place for everything and everything in its place. And she would try to keep up that appearance for the scope of his visit.

  Misty loved her father, and she wanted to enjoy his visit, not listen to him lecture her on tidiness, so she’d just put up with it for a few days. He never stayed longer than a week. She could handle a week of putting every book back on the shelf the moment she finished reading it, of hanging up her coat instead of draping it on the chair in the kitchen and of keeping the coffee table scrupulously bare.

  Misty decided there wasn’t another thing she could do to improve the tidiness of her living room just as she heard a car pull into her driveway. She ran out to help her father with his bags.

  Her father got out of the car and stretched. “That drive gets longer every year,” he said.

  “You could fly,” Misty suggested. “I’d pick you up at the airport.”

  “Fly? I’ve never flown in my life, and I’m too old to start now. So, how about a hug?”

  Misty gladly hugged her father. “Can I help you with your bags?”

  “You sure can, sweetie.” He popped the trunk.

  Her mouth dropped open. “Dad, why do you have so much stuff?”

  “Florida was getting boring,” he told her. “I need a break. I thought I’d stay with you for a few months. Fishing season is just getting started. I’d like to try out some of my old fishing spots.”

  She stared at her father. A few months? Months? “That’s a long time, Dad. Are you sure you can be away that long?”

  “Oh sure, I’ve made arrangements, got a house sitter, all that.”

  “Well…good. That’s good then.”

  There was no way she could keep her house so scrupulously uncluttered for that long. He’d drive her insane.

  And worst of all, how could she keep up with Pansy in their competition? Pansy was already one match up on her, and Misty had her next project already planned.

  She had her eye on Faith Fielding and Andrew Thomas. Faith was a regular customer at her store. Misty knew she’d been carrying a torch for Andrew for years.

  She shifted her attention back to her dad, who was pulling bag after bag out of his trunk. With a resigned smile she said, “Let’s get you settled Dad.”

  She’d find a way to make this match. She had to. She’d find something—or maybe someone—to keep her dad busy.

  TITLE

  Orchard Hill

  Volume One

  by

  Kara Lynn Russell

  TITLE

  Chapter Four

  Grace went to work on Saturday, but she was so distracted and clumsy that she’d probably have been more help if she’d stayed home. Her whole brain was still in shock. Riley O’Neil had kissed her. And it wasn’t an ordinary kiss—it was a passionate, full throttle ‘I definitely want to be more than friends’ type of kiss. It scared her to death.

  On Sunday, the worship service was led by the Sunday School, which presented their version of the Nativity. Normally Grace thoroughly enjoyed watching the children and seeing their own discovery of the wonder of Jesus’ birth. But today her attention kept drifting to the man sitting ahead of her and across the aisle: Riley O’Neil.

  She had never thought of Riley as more than her best friend. They had gone to elementary school and high school together. They’d started college together, but Riley left before long because of his father’s death. He said it didn’t matter because he would have taken over the family business eventually anyway, but Grace knew he missed the chance he would have had for a few years of freedom.

  Some people wondered why it was Riley who took over and not Ian. Even now, when Ian had moved back to Orchard Hill, the family still looked to Riley instead of to Ian, the eldest and technically, in Orchard Hill minds, the head of the family. Most Orchard Hill residents just didn’t understand.

  But Grace did. She knew, even though he tried to hide it, Riley was much more sensitive than Ian would ever be. He picked up on things like emotions and body language. It was hard to avoid telling him what was wrong because he always noticed when something was bothering you, no matter how hard you tried to hide it.

  Ian was a good guy, but he was analytical and logical where Riley was observant and intuitive. Riley was the kind of person you could tell things to.

  And even though she knew all these things about Riley that no on else knew, she had never once realized—not even suspected—that he had feelings for her other than friendship.

  Dating Riley. It was an idea that was both inviting and terrifying at the same time. She already loved Riley as a friend. But if dating didn’t work out, she’d lose his friendship, wouldn’t she? Now that she’d lost Steve, who had also been very much her friend, Grace didn’t think she could spare Riley.

  After the Christmas program, refreshments were served in the gathering space. She smiled and made small talk with her friends and neighbors. She complimented Joy Harper on the Christmas program. Joy, the church organist, always worked with the Sunday School children on the music for the program. Then, she asked Jeff Bradley how he liked living in Orchard Hill

  All the while, she had a strange feeling that someone was watching her. Glancing around, Grace noticed that Pansy Parker and Misty Green were together in a corner, looking at her and whispering to one another. That was odd. Usually that pair didn’t get along at all. And why would they be looking at her? Did she spill punch on her dress?

  Grace dismissed it and sought out her friend Lily. “How’s business?” she asked as a conversation starter.

  “It’s busy,” Lily replied. “Everyone wants their hair to look good in the family photos at Christmas.”

  “That’s coming up fast,” said Grace. “What are you doing over the holidays?”

  “I guess I’m going to my aunt’s in Milwaukee. My mom will be there. What are you doing?”

  Before Grace could answer, Pansy popped up in front of her, dragging Riley by the arm. “Grace, there you are,” she said with a hint of false sweetness. “We were just looking for you.”

  Grace tried not to notice that Riley looked ready to gnaw his arm off to get away. “What do you need, Pansy?”

  “Well, I was talking to Irene Nelson yesterday, and she was telling me that they need more people to
decorate for the New Year’s Eve Dance at the community center. So I was thinking about it, and I realized you and Riley would be the perfect team.”

  “What makes you think we’d do such a good job?”

  Pansy hesitated, as if thinking, then said, “Well, Grace, you’re so creative. You always do the nicest displays for your shop. I’m sure you’d be good at it.”

  “What about Riley? Where does he come in?”