by Kaci Hart
“She is so right Tessa. I know we barely know you but we can both see how happy you are doing this.”
“You both sound like my father. What do you think I should do? Leave everything I know in New York and come on staff here. Thanks but no thanks. Besides, I’d be putting Ms. Celia out of a job.”
“Oh don’t worry about me. I can sacrifice it for food this good. Plus, I’ll never be as good of a cook as you.”
“Yeah, good pitch. Maybe you two should be the marketing reps. Regardless, this is just a leisure trip for me.”
“It was worth a shot. Either way, you are here for a decent amount of time still. You need to enter this shortcake recipe for the strawberry festival this weekend.”
“Not my thing really. I’m just an amateur cook.”
“Who has cooked the best meals this kitchen has ever seen, and we have had trained cooks working here before.”
“You guys really think my cake is that good?”
“Better. Don’t take our word for it. You should let Connor taste this.”
“Oh I don’t know. Connor and I got off on the wrong foot. Up until yesterday, I had the feeling he was avoiding me.”
Ms. Celia chuckled.
“Pay that boy no mind. He’s a good guy.”
Libby added her two cents.
“Cute too.”
“Is that so? I hadn’t noticed.”
Tessa blushed as the two women continued to push her.
***
Connor always enjoyed the Strawberry Festival that the town hosted every year. It was an all-day event that was more than just the prerequisite picking of strawberries that some imagined. Activities ranged from the Emerson’s Ranch providing horse rides, to a few actual fair rides and games. For Connor, the desert contest was always the highlight of the night. People from all over the county came to participate so Connor couldn’t believe that the woman that won it all was staying in his house.
Even more unbelievable was the fact that he hadn’t tasted the winning cake at all. He wasn’t judging this year so he didn’t automatically get a slice and she must have only made one because he’d made sure to check out the kitchen on a daily basis since she’d been there. No snack, meat, or desert had made it past him.
Still he was happy that she had won. More so, he was happy that she seemed to be having a great time.
He was saw her head off the stage and he wanted to go over and congratulate her but for what seemed like the one hundredth time that day, he found himself boxed in by Jemma again.
Not again.
Connor had nothing against Jemma. She just wasn’t his type. He didn’t know why. She was nice, pretty, and smart. He just wasn’t into her but he wasn’t heartless. He tried his best to be nice about it, but she seemed to not be able to get a hint. Normally, he would have talked to her for a little bit before ending the conversation, but Tessa was getting away and he really wanted to talk to her in a different setting than just the house all the time. He was going to have to be a little more curt than normal with Jemma this time.
“Hi Connor. Want to maybe take a walk? It’s a pretty night out.”
“Jemma, I’m always flattered by the things you say but you know I don’t feel that way about you. I really gotta go now.”
He walked off quickly in Tessa’s direction, partly wanting to catch up with her before she went home and partly to make sure he didn’t leave an opening that Jemma misunderstood. Luckily for him, Tessa looked like she saw him coming in her direction because she, Libby, and Ms. Celia had stopped and were looking at him.
“Hey. Congratulations.”
“I know. Can you believe it?”
“Well, before I ate your food every day, no. But now, how could I not believe it. I didn’t even know you were entering. A slice would have been nice you know.”
“A slice? Didn’t you get the mini cake I baked for you? I left it with you guys yesterday didn’t . . .”
He watched as she looked around and chuckled under her breath.
“Isn’t it funny how those two just disappear at the most interesting of times?”
“Maybe so, but from my vantage point, it just looks like you owe me a cake.”
“I’ll get on it tomorrow. I guess I can’t be too mad at them for eating the whole thing. It was their idea that I enter in the first place. I never thought I had a chance at winning.”
“I don’t know why not. Everything you cook is delicious even if I had to taste it myself to believe it.”
“So you’re done underestimating me huh?”
“Oh believe me, that will never happen again.”
“Good.”
“Actually I was hoping to catch you tonight to talk about that. I never really took the chance to apologize for all the assumptions I made about you.”
“I don’t know. It kind of sounds like you have done that multiple times.”
“Yeah, because I keep assuming things about you based on my expectations. That’s not right and I’m sorry.”
“Well I did have my part in it. I could have been a little more understanding and less snooty at our first meeting. I just assumed you were going to try to swindle me out of my money. Maybe we just agree that we both are at fault and move on.”
“That, I can do. So, walk and talk with me?”
“You and me? Are you sure that’s okay with your girlfriend?”
Connor stopped and looked at her.
“I see what you mean. Yeah, now that you mention it I don’t think my girlfriend would take too kindly to me leisurely strolling through the grass with a pretty girl on a clear night like tonight. I know I wouldn’t like it if the shoe were on the other foot. It’s too romantic, you know what I mean?”
“Kinda what I was thinking.”
“Well here’s a line I never thought I’d say but I guess it’s lucky for me that I don’t have one.”
“You don’t have one what? A girlfriend?”
“Right.”
“Really. What about the perfect blonde I saw you with earlier?”
“Blonde?” Connor crinkled his eyebrows.
“About five eight. Summer dress and cowboy boots. Come on Connor, you were just talking to her a few minutes ago and she’s been swarming around you like a moth to a flame all day long. Maybe this will help you remember.”
Tessa started to giggle playfully at Connor while curling her hair around her index finger and batting her eyelashes.
“Oh. Well when you put it like that, how could I not know who you were talking about.”
“So she’s not your girlfriend.”
“Her? No way. That’s Jemma. She’s just a friend.”
Connor didn’t want to get full of himself but he could swear he just saw a little smile form on her lips.
“So you are saying that there really is nothing between you two?”
“Nope.”
“Oh. I guess I just assumed when you bought the flowers the other day and I saw her all over you. You know two plus two.”
“Good math but no. I don’t talk about this a lot but the flowers were for my parents’ grave. I put fresh ones on the first Tuesday in every month.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. You didn’t know. Besides, I’m okay with it. I know my parents appreciate what I do and that’s all that matters so don’t go getting all self-conscious about that. So can we take that walk or what?”
“I think I’d like that.”
“Good. So tell me about you. I mean besides the obvious that you are perfect in every way.”
Tessa scoffed.
“Connor I already promised to make you the cake. You don’t have to lay it on so thick.”
“Not pouring it on thick at all. It’s funny but I remember that night I first met you. I had finished talking to the bank about a loan on the building and got denied. How does my day end? With a cute little rich girl--or some variation of what I called you--who I thought was too full of herself. Now I just think
you’re being too humble.”
“So your opinion of me changed so quickly?”
“Think about it. You come here on vacation from your job, and all you do is out cook all the women who have been doing this for years. I bet you’re the best at what you do back home too.”
Her countenance changed and he could tell that he’d broached a sore subject.
“Well if by what I do back home, you mean be unemployed, then yes you are right. I am the best person I know at it right now.”
“So you don’t have a job to go back home to?”
“Not yet. I mean I’ll get one or start something of my own. I’m still figuring that one out but I got fired right before I came here.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s the only reason I left. For quite a while now, all the people who care about me have taken turns telling me that I needed to take a break. It was finally forced upon me, and you know what? From my little time here so far, I’m starting to wonder what I’ve been missing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Maybe it’s the town or the people but there’s something special about Stanton Falls that makes me want to enjoy life just like it is right here. It’s a different kind of living. I don’t know . . . maybe fuller. Like there’s a point to it all. I don’t feel like I had a lot of that in my life before.”
He looked into her eyes and she stumbled over her words.
“Listen to me just babbling on. You probably have no idea what I’m talking about.”
“Of course I know what you mean. I’ve been living here all my life.”
Connor stared in Tessa’s eyes for a bit longer and he was pretty sure that he was having the best time that he’d had in forever. The only reason he pulled his gaze away from her was the explosion in the sky above them.
“Fireworks?”
“End of the festival.” He smiled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. “Come on, let’s go.”
They ran around to the lakeside where it seemed like a lot of people were already meeting up. After finding a spot on the ground, they sat and watched the fireworks together. Occasionally, he would catch her stealing glances in his direction. The whole time his mind thought back to what she’d said minutes before. That there was something about the town and the people that made her want to stay.
He knew it was silly and that he’d only known her for a short amount of time, but that didn’t mean anything right then. As they sat there looking at the kaleidoscope of colors decorating the sky, she lay her head on his shoulder and he found himself hoping that he was one of the people that made her want to stay.
Chapter Seven
Tessa looked at the pictures on the wall as she made her way to Connor’s office in the back. Connor had told her some history on the old great house the day before. It turned out that his grandfather was very much into civil rights when he bought the house, refusing to buy a place that had ever had slaves working the land. It took him a good amount of time to find the property but he was highly satisfied with it and Tessa could see from the rich stories the pictures told that the families that lived here in the past were interesting ones.
She hadn’t really been through this part of the house before since she had no reason to really visit Connor. He really had been avoiding her but in the past few days they were warming up to one another. She had hoped to catch him before lunch today. She wanted to make him a nice meal. Something special to let him know how much she appreciated his newfound hospitality to her. She knew it was dangerous ground but she found herself thinking that she just might add a little more time on to her trip.
That was before common sense and good logic kicked in. As much as she really did enjoy it there, Stanton Falls wasn’t her home. New York was. And no matter how much she was starting to like it here with him, she wouldn’t be here much longer. She had been here a week already and only had one week of time on her self-approved work hiatus. Of course she could add more time to her trip, and maybe she would, but at the end of the day, she couldn’t stay.
None of that meant that she couldn’t enjoy the time she was having already. She just had to make sure she wasn’t getting too overly attached. But then, Connor wasn’t making that easy. She was having a terribly hard time figuring out what to do and when that happened, she remembered her mother always saying when you can’t decide, eat. Now she just had to know whether Connor wanted meatloaf or a pot pie. She was hoping pot pie. She loved baking with dough.
When she got to his office, the door was slightly ajar. She got ready to knock on it but heard him talking on the phone, so she waited. She hadn’t expected to hear what she did though. From the sound of the conversation, and the frustration in his voice, she knew whatever he was talking about, it wasn’t going the way he would like it to. What she gathered from it was that he might have to consider selling the place. She couldn’t imagine what scenario would ever cause him to do that.
As much as it seemed like he loved the place, she couldn’t see why he would sell it. She made her way back to the front desk, careful to make sure that he didn’t hear her creeping around his office. She needed to find Libby.
***
“I had no idea things were that bad.”
“Yeah. Remember when I told you the chef left and all the other issues here?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well that wasn’t the worst of it. Last year things got so bad that he almost lost the place. He’d taken a loan out for repairs on the building but that was when things started drying up round here the worst. If this were a big town, he’d have lost this place back then.”
“I never would have guessed.”
“Yeah. It’s not as bad as it was then but that’s not really saying much.”
“Good point. So do you think he will really sell?”
“Connor? No. As easy as it might be to do so, he’s never been the one to take the easy route. He’ll stick it out but--”
Tessa wasn’t sure what scared her more, the way that Libby stopped and her eyes shot open in concern or the loud alarm that she heard coming from outside. She saw Connor run from the back and she only heard one word that he was shouting.
“Tornado!”
Then the lights went out.
***
It seemed like forever before the sirens stopped, and Tessa was scared beyond measure. She’d never been through something like that before. In New York City, tornadoes were extremely rare. Tessa was no fool though. She had seen enough of the before and after shots on the television news to know that she’d be better off listening to everything Connor told her to do, so she did. Actually she huddled as closely to him as possible.
That didn’t make it one bit less scary. It was just like what she’d heard. The loud winds, the hail hitting the roof, and all the rest. When it was over, she was so glad that it was done. It was the longest minute or so of her life. She heard Connor’s soft whisper to her.
“You ok?”
“F-fine, if you don’t count the fact that I’m scared out of my mind.”
“I understand. I promise to get back to you but I need to make sure everyone else is okay. Can I leave you here for a second?”
She wanted to say no and ask him to stay but there were people that could be hurt.
“Go.”
Seconds later she felt him pull away from her before she heard his concerned voice call out in the darkness.
“Is everybody okay? Anybody hurt?”
There were only a few guests in the hotel and it was a relief when everyone responded. She heard shuffling in the dark and then the door opened. She saw Connor’s silhouette in the door.
“Everybody come this way.”
When she got outside, she was shocked. Tessa brushed dirt off of the steps and sat on them, looking around in disbelief at how quickly nature could revolt. She smiled when Libby walked over and sat beside her, and put her arm around her shoulder.
“I know you’re shaken up. T
hey don’t ever get any less terrifying. Thank God it was a small one.”
Tessa was amazed at the statement.
“That was a small one?”
“Yeah. You gauge ‘em in part by how much damage was done. Sure, we lost power but that was the worst of it. Just a little paneling torn off and some shrubbery uprooted.”
Tessa saw what the other woman meant. She didn’t see the same level of devastation that she expected but then again, she was expecting pure catastrophe.
