Chapter 2 #2
The truck bounced onto the paved road, and Emily looked out the window toward the orchard, taking in the ancient red barn that Jake’s grandfather and possibly great-grandfather had once used to store equipment.
It now featured peeling red paint and seemed lonely where it faced the orchard entrance.
Emily and Jake had spent hours playing hide-and-seek in that barn back when they were kids.
They’d also discovered litters of kittens tucked into a corner of the barn every spring.
She pivoted to face Jake again. “I haven’t seen Dusty since I got here. Is she okay?” She always enjoyed seeing the black
cat that had adopted the Hughes family a few years ago—and not the other way around!
“Oh yeah. She decided she likes sleeping on my sofa more than prowling around the orchard. You’ll have to visit her later.”
He flipped on the radio. “I guess you want oldies, huh?”
She grinned. “Yes, please.”
He found her favorite station, and The Turtles began to sing “Happy Together.”
“I love this song!” she exclaimed before singing along at the top of her lungs.
Jake grinned and shook his head before switching on the air-conditioning. While she sang, she took in his profile—that blond
scruff lining his jaw and his messy sandy-blond hair sticking out from under that old Mets baseball cap. She noticed the way
his dark blue shirt hugged his biceps, and clearly his legs got an impressive workout lifting barrels of apples and heavy
equipment in the orchard. Good grief, the man was nothing but muscle!
She shifted in the seat and turned her attention to the road ahead. She had to stop ogling him. He’d friend-zoned her years
ago.
Now she just had to remind her heart and her head that they were better off as friends.
The song ended, and Emily turned down the volume as the DJ began talking about the hot and humid mid-August weather.
“Does Ms. Riley call you for help often?”
He slowed to a stop at a red light and rested his right arm on the steering wheel. “I do little jobs for her whenever she
needs me.”
“What’s the job today?”
“Changing a lightbulb.”
“Uh-oh,” she sang. “Think you can handle it?”
He gave her arm a push and accelerated through the intersection.
“Hey!” She snatched his hat and set it on her head before pulling her long ponytail through the back. She flipped the visor
down and checked her reflection. “Looks good on me, huh?”
“That’s because it’s broken in.” While keeping his eyes glued to the road, Jake shoved his free hand through his thick mane.
With his hair sticking up at odd angles, he looked somehow younger than twenty-nine and even more adorable.
Ugh! Stop obsessing!
Jake steered into the driveway leading to Ms. Riley’s modest brick ranch. A happy scarecrow sat on her porch next to a large
pumpkin and a hanging basket full of cheerful orange mums.
After killing the engine, Jake pinned Emily with a look that was supposed to be serious, but his twitching lips and the sparkle
in his blue eyes gave him away. “Gimme my hat.”
“Nope.”
She shifted away from him. He reached for her, and she yelped as he reclaimed the hat and pushed it onto his head.
Emily rolled her eyes. “You have to admit it looks better on me.”
“Get your own hat,” he quipped, and with his lips curving into the devastating smile she knew by heart, he climbed out of the truck.
They headed up the front path just as Ms. Riley appeared on the porch.
“Well, would you look at that? Emily Carmichael is back in Splendid Lake. Get over here and let me hug you, dear.” The petite
lady wrapped her arms around Emily’s waist, and the top of her head came to Emily’s shoulder. It was funny to think that Ms.
Riley had seemed ten feet tall when they were in second grade.
“It’s great to see you.” Emily basked in the elderly lady’s familiar scent of freshly baked cookies and lilac. It astounded
her that Ms. Riley also had the same gray pixie cut that she’d had when Emily and Jake sat in her classroom at Splendid Lake
Elementary. Had Ms. Riley been born with gray hair, or was she frozen in time?
Jake smirked. “I found Em wandering around the lake and thought I’d invite her to come with me,” he teased before pinching
the back of her arm.
“Ouch!” Emily swatted him away.
“You two come on in.” The octogenarian beckoned them into the house. “I appreciate you always making time for me, Jake.” She
led them into the kitchen where a platter of chocolate chip cookies sat. The delicious aroma filled the room as if they had
just come out of the oven.
And now Emily finally had the answer to one of her near lifelong questions—maybe Ms. Riley actually baked cookies every day. No wonder she was their favorite teacher!
“I hope you like chocolate chip.” She held up the platter, and Emily and Jake each chose one.
Emily took a bite and closed her eyes while her taste buds danced with the sweet goodness.
“So, light bulbs,” Jake began after swallowing a bite. “Which ones blew out?”
“Two in the master bath vanity and another in the hallway.” She snapped her fingers. “Oh, and there’s at least one out in
my craft room. I’ve been struggling to see while I’m sewing for more than a week now. These old eyes aren’t what they used
to be.” She tapped her tortoiseshell glasses and blinked her dark eyes.
“You should have called me sooner.” He jammed his thumb toward the doorway. “Are the bulbs still on the shelf in the garage?”
“That’s right. Next to the step stool,” Ms. Riley said.
Jake finished his cookie. “I’ll be back.” Then he sauntered toward the hallway.
Ms. Riley smiled sweetly at Emily. “Let’s have some tea with these cookies, shall we?”
A few minutes later, the two women were perched at Ms. Riley’s little table, sipping their warm drinks and enjoying the cookies.
A ceramic pumpkin surrounded by a few grinning ghosts sat in the middle of the table. It was still August, but Ms. Riley was
clearly excited to celebrate fall.
Emily glanced toward the window overlooking the lush green yard and garden filled with colorful flowers and vegetables. Soon
the humid days would fade into cool nights, and the leaves would transform into brilliant shades of gold, orange, and brown.
Fall was the best part of living in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
“So,” Ms. Riley began, “are you finally back for good?”
Emily shook her head. “No, ma’am. Jake asked me to come home to help him plan a centennial celebration for his family’s orchard. I’ll probably go back to Charlotte when it’s over.”
“What have you been doing to keep busy?”
“This and that.” She studied her cup of tea. “I was working in a coffee shop, and before that I taught art at the local community
college.”
“Why did you stop teaching?”
Emily met her elder’s surprised expression. “It wasn’t what I expected it to be.”
“How so?” Ms. Riley studied her.
“I guess I thought it would be more inspiring, but it just seemed so . . . mundane. I felt like I was going through the motions.”
“I’m sure your students were impressed with your talent.” Ms. Riley smiled. “I clearly remember you glowing when I took your
class to the art room. You were nearly bouncing off the walls when you came back to the classroom. You were always drawing
something.”
Emily chuckled. “I remember that too.”
“And I was very impressed with your senior exhibit in high school. I thought for sure that you’d become a professional artist.”