Chapter 1 #3
He shook his head. “Anyway, I’ve been dealing with my dad’s hospital bills, plus Ally’s tuition. I have too much riding on
this place. I’ve worked here since I was a kid, and it’s all I know. It’s my family’s livelihood. And now I need to prove
to him that I can run this place as well as he has. That’s why I need you.”
She cocked an eyebrow as she absentmindedly moved her fingers over her mother’s rings. “I don’t understand how I can help.”
“The orchard’s hundredth anniversary is the last Saturday in September, and I want to do something big—really big.” He held his hands up. “This is my chance to prove to my dad that I can run this place, and it’s also a chance to show
that corporation they haven’t won. My family’s orchard has always been here, and it always will be here.” He pointed to her.
“You’re the most creative and talented person I know, and I need your help planning it. Will you help me?”
Her face broke into a bright grin. “Of course I will. You and your family are my family, the only family I have.” She studied him and tilted her head.
He could almost hear her thoughts. “What is it?”
“You were there for me when my parents died.” Her voice was soft, almost reverent, and he could barely hear her over the sound
of the waves lapping against the pier. “Why didn’t you call me when your dad had his heart attack? You know I would’ve been
here as fast as my ol’ Jeep could’ve driven.”
His throat thickened, and he swallowed. The memory of the ambulance sirens overtook him, and he could still hear his mother
frantically shouting, “Leon! Leon!” while his father lay on the floor, holding his chest. Jake sniffed and wiped his eyes.
“Hey . . .” Em shifted closer to him and rubbed his shoulder. “It’s okay.”
His breath hitched, and he tried to take a steadying inhale before he released it long and slow.
“It was awful. My mom was a wreck, and I was trying to hold it together. I had to be strong for her and also for Ally. She rushed home. Thankfully her boyfriend drove her. I didn’t want her coming all that way alone.
” He shook off the painful memories. “I thought about you, and I wanted to call, but it was just a lot. I didn’t want you to have to worry about it too. ”
She nodded, but he was almost certain he saw hurt or possibly disappointment in her eyes.
“So what happened with Steve?”
Laughter burst from Emily’s mouth. “Wow, way to change the subject.”
He grinned. “Well?”
She moved her hands over her jeans. “It just . . . didn’t work out. We wanted different things, and our relationship just
ran its course. I’ve decided that I’m better off alone.” She gave him a pointed look. “How’s Claire?”
He stretched his neck and blew out a breath. He and Claire Chapman had dated since they were sixteen, and they’d had a lot
of fun in high school—when things were easy. They’d managed to keep their relationship going even when she’d gone to college
more than five hours away at the beach in Wilmington, North Carolina. But things got complicated after she graduated. Life
happened, and they suddenly had different ideas about where their relationship would go, where they’d settle down, what their
future would look like. Still, they couldn’t seem to let go of each other—or the idea of what their relationship should be.
Emily’s dark eyebrows lifted. “Are you off or on right now?”
“That’s a good question. I’m actually not sure.” He focused across the lake toward the lights glowing at the Splendid Lake
Cabins and Marina Resort. “She’s been out of town for a while. I think she’s coming back soon.”
Emily guffawed. “You think? Like, you don’t even know when she’s coming back? Then maybe you’re ‘off’”—she made air quotes
with her fingers—“right now.”
He frowned. They’d been “off” for a while, but neither of them seemed to want to face the truth that they’d outgrown each other.
Or maybe she was holding on too hard. At this point, he wasn’t sure about anything.
“Her company consolidated, so she’s been home working remote some, but also going out to Nashville—that’s where the main headquarters are.
So she’s home for a few weeks and then in Nashville for a couple.
Back and forth. She’s in Nashville now.”
“Gotcha.” Emily cupped her hand to her mouth to shield a yawn.
“I think it’s bedtime.” He hopped up and held out his hand. She took it, and he lifted her to her feet.
The orchard was cloaked in darkness, and they used their phone flashlights to guide them past the tremendous trees stretching
their thick branches up toward the dark sky. When they reached the path that led to his house, he tapped her arm. “I’ll see
you tomorrow.”
“You sure will.” She grinned and started toward his parents’ house.
“Hey, Carmichael,” he called to her.
She spun toward him, her silhouette backlit by her flashlight.
“Thank you for coming.”
“It’s my pleasure, Hughes.” She bowed with a flourish, and he laughed.
He grinned as she continued toward the house. Emily was finally home again. Maybe, if he played his cards right, he could
convince her to stay. Because he needed her. And Splendid Lake wasn’t the same without her.