15. Eden
15
EDEN
E den slipped on her coat, grabbed her bag, and jogged over to open the front door.
Axel stood under the porch light, looking taller and more gorgeous than ever in jeans and a leather jacket.
“Hey,” he said, giving her a slow smile.
She stared up at him stupidly for a second before recovering.
“Hi,” she managed, feeling her cheeks heat again .
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
He went down the porch steps first, and then offered her his hand, in what felt like an unconscious gesture of chivalry from a man who had grown up in a place where icy front steps were common.
She took it and almost shivered at the satisfying feeling of his big warm hand closing around hers.
He didn’t let go until he had opened the passenger door for her .
The big, sapphire-blue truck was clean and shiny on the outside, making her think that he must have just washed it. She was impressed to find it just as clean inside. The leather interior had a faint scent of something woodsy, and she wondered for a moment what it was.
When he got in a few seconds later, she knew for sure that the spicy, forest scent was Axel’s aftershave.
“What?” he asked, glancing over.
“Oh, nothing,” she said quickly. “Your truck is so clean.”
“Army habits die hard,” he said, shaking his head.
“I’m kind of a neat freak myself,” she admitted.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, starting up the truck. “Woman after my own heart.”
There was a quiet beat as he pulled out, and she felt like a teenager again, overwhelmed and excited.
“I haven’t been out in forever,” she accidentally said out loud.
“Oh, no?” he asked, non-judgmentally. “Why not?”
“I’m a homebody, I guess,” she said, wishing she could swallow back what she had said.
“You like being with Jack,” he guessed.
“We have a good thing going,” she said, smiling at the mention of her boy. “He won’t be a kid forever, so I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can now.”
“What would you have done tonight if we weren’t getting dinner?” Axel asked.
“Cleaned the house,” she said. “Gotten ahead on lesson plans, and maybe figured out a bit more about his Christmas.”
“He’s got a long wish list?” Axel guessed .
“Not really,” she said. “Normally, he has at least a couple of things, but he got a new bike for his birthday, and he’s so busy with things at school that he just seems… content.”
“This is a good place to be a kid,” Axel said, signaling and turning onto Ambler.
“I love those candy canes,” she said, gesturing to the decorations on all the lampposts.
“They’ve had those since I was a kid,” Axel said with a fond smile. “And everyone always goes all out on the decorations on their houses and shops too.”
“I don’t remember it being like this in the city,” she said, nodding.
“We don’t have as much going on out here,” he said. “So our traditions mean a lot. Everyone looks forward to all the special events, and just the general feeling in the air around this time of year. To me, it always seems like it’s magical—like anything could happen.”
He glanced over at her in the darkened car, and she felt a little shiver of possibility.
“I was thinking the same thing when I was walking home today,” she said quickly, turning her eyes to the scenery out the window. “There’s a focus on the simple pleasures here.”
“The traditions make it easier on farmers when they have a bad year too,” Axel said softly. “Keeping things steady is important for kids.”
She felt a pang. Life for Jack had been anything but steady so far… but that would be different now.
Be proud , she reminded herself. You’re standing on your own two feet .
Axel turned onto Park Avenue, driving slowly past the shops with their pretty lights. Eden especially loved the big dollhouse in the window of the real estate office, which was hung with its own tiny decorations.
“I’m kind of taking us in a circle,” he admitted. “But I thought you might like seeing the lights too.”
“You’ve got me pegged,” she said, smiling. “I feel like we’re in a snow globe.”
When they reached Harvard, he turned left and pulled up to what looked like a beautiful Victorian house, with light glowing from the windows. A little wooden sign hanging from a post out front said The Harvest .
“Oh, wow,” Eden said.
“This place is pretty new,” Axel told her. “A buddy of mine opened it recently. I thought we’d give it a try. Seems like a nice place to go talk shop.”
“Yes,” she said, feeling a little relieved that he remembered this wasn’t a date. “That’s perfect.”
He was opening her door for her by the time she had her seatbelt off. Once again, he reached for her hand, and again she watched it get swallowed in the warmth and strength of his.
This isn’t a date, she reminded herself. This isn’t a date.
But it felt an awful lot like a fairytale.
They headed up the steps and he opened the door, releasing a delicious scent, and revealing the most charming little restaurant Eden had ever seen.
“Welcome, welcome,” a handsome young man said, heading over to greet them. “Glad you came.”
“Thanks, Caleb,” Axel said, letting go of Eden’s hand to give the other man a handshake and a pat on the back. “The place looks amazing.”
“I appreciate that,” Caleb said. “I’m just about ready to open up officially. I’ll be glad to get your thoughts when you two are done, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Axel said. “This is Eden Wilder. Eden, this is my buddy, Caleb.”
“Hello, Caleb,” Eden said. “I would never have guessed that this place was new. It’s so charming.”
Caleb looked around and Eden joined him, drinking in the decor. There were old black and white photos in wooden frames—some seemed to be of happenings in town long ago, others were of families posing formally. Shelves of books, figurines, and souvenirs from all over lined the walls, making the whole space feel cozy. Each table had a tea light in a jar flickering at its center.
“This place belonged to my great aunt,” Caleb said reverently. “I knew I wanted to open a little restaurant here, but I couldn’t bear to get rid of her things. Then I realized her things were the best part of the place.”
“She seems like an amazing woman,” Eden said, smiling at the idea of the person whose belongings were interesting enough to be considered decor.
“She never married or had any kids,” Caleb said. “But she traveled and volunteered and basically made the world a little better for everyone whose life she touched. She was a real inspiration to me.”
“Caleb has traveled the world too,” Axel said.
“Yeah,” Caleb said. “And I came right back home to cook the same kind of food my family has been making for generations—more or less. ”
“I can’t wait to try it,” Eden said.
“You’ll be among the first,” Caleb said. “And you’ll have the place to yourselves tonight.”
Eden looked to Axel in absolute wonder.
“Now you see why I wanted to talk over dinner,” he said, giving her a twinkly eyed smile.
“Sit wherever you’d like,” Caleb said. “I’ll be out shortly with your meal. Feel free to grab a drink out of the fridge if you want.”
He disappeared into the back and Eden wandered over to the old-fashioned Coke machine with Axel following. She grabbed a Coke and he did the same, before gesturing to the empty restaurant.
“By the window?” she asked.
“Perfect,” he said. “We can watch the snow.”
They headed over and he pulled out the chair for her before taking a seat himself. She gazed across at him. In the candlelight, he was more handsome than ever. She wondered what it would be like if this were a real date.
It’s not. Get down to business.
But there was something that she had to say first.
“Listen,” she said quietly. “Before we get started, I just want to thank you for taking Jack under your wing. It means so much to him.”
“He’s a great kid,” Axel said, smiling.
She waited for the second part, the part where he told her what he thought Jack needed to work on to meet his approval, but Axel had nothing more to say. Without warning, tears prickled her eyes.
“You okay?” Axel asked softly .
“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “The past kind of sneaks up on me from time to time.”
He nodded, not saying anything. But his eyes were filled with compassion.
“Jack’s father is an impressive person,” she said carefully. “He’s very demanding of himself. But he was demanding of Jack and me too.”
“I see,” Axel said softly.
“He would never have just said that Jack was a good boy,” she went on without meaning to. “There was always a caveat— if only he worked harder, or if you didn’t coddle him so much, he could be doing so much better…”
“I’m sorry,” Axel said simply. “That must have been hard.”
“Plenty of people have it much worse,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t mean to complain.”
“No one should have to feel like they can’t measure up,” Axel said simply. “Especially a kid as great as Jack.”
She nodded, afraid she might actually start crying if she spoke.
What is happening to me?
Normally, she had a pretty good handle on her emotions. Teaching required it. There had been plenty of nights when she had cried herself to sleep, but she was always able to hold it together in public.
“I’ve been feeling kind of rudderless since I got home,” Axel admitted softly.
“You have?” she asked. It was a strange idea. The big man always seemed so comfortable in his own skin.
“I came back here because I thought my aunt and uncle’s farm was in trouble,” he said. “There were roof leaks at the main house, the other buildings were falling apart, and there’s hardly enough family left to run the place.”
“That’s the Williams Homestead, right?” she asked. “I think I’ve heard the kids talk about a field trip they had there.”
“Every kid does,” Axel said with a proud smile. “Back when Josiah Williams established it, all the kids and grandkids in a farming family were expected to stay and work the family land. The house where my aunt and uncle live is one of the oldest in Trinity Falls. But as the generations moved on, kids didn’t want to live on the homestead anymore, and understandably, a lot of things fell into disrepair.”
“So, you wanted to come home and do the repairs?” Eden asked, impressed.
“Something like that,” he said, frowning.
She had never seen that line on his forehead before, it seemed like there was something more he wasn’t saying.
But that was silly. The man was such a straight shooter.
“They’re doing a big project over there, aren’t they?” she asked after a moment.
“Yes,” he said. “My cousin Logan and his wife Caroline decided to open the farm for tourists and school groups from the city. It’s a bit like what the Cassidys do on their farm, except more educational. They even got a grant to help develop some of the stuff for the kids.”
“That’s wonderful,” Eden said.
“It is,” Axel said, nodding.
“But I guess I understand now why you’re feeling at loose ends,” she allowed. “It must feel like they’ve got it all under control without you.”
“Pretty much,” he said, nodding, his eyes downcast.
“Do you regret coming home?” she heard herself ask.
Axel looked up at her, his gaze intense in the candlelight.
“Not anymore,” he said softly.
Eden felt her heart skip a beat.
“Okay,” Caleb said in a joyful voice as he came out from the back. “I’ve got a nice platter of sandwiches for you, and two soups to try.”
Eden cleared her throat and leaned back in her seat, grateful for the interruption giving her some time to gather herself.
Caleb set down a platter of delicious looking sandwiches and two steaming bowls.
“This is rustic turkey with cranberry on whole grain, a Reuben with homemade sauerkraut, and a roast beef wrap with horseradish sauce,” Caleb said, pointing to each sandwich. “And these are French onion soup, and lobster bisque.”
“Oh, wow,” Eden breathed. “It all looks incredible.”
“Thanks so much,” Axel added.
“Enjoy,” Caleb said. “And if I can bring you anything else, just let me know.”
He disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Eden and Axel alone once more. Eden closed her eyes for a moment of thanks. When she opened them again, Axel was gazing at her fondly.
“This is incredible,” she said. “Thank you so much for bringing me. ”
“There’s no one else I’d rather be here with,” Axel said, his gaze softer now, but no less intense than before.
She felt her cheeks heat, so she looked down, busying herself spreading her napkin on her lap.
“You’d better stake out your territory here,” Axel said when she was finished, gesturing to the food.
“It all looks so good,” she said, trying to decide what to try first. “I think I’d like to start with a piece of the turkey.”
He placed half the turkey sandwich on a plate and passed it to her, taking a piece of the Reuben for himself.
They each took a bite and Eden hummed in ecstasy.
“Good?” Axel asked.
“Amazing,” she said. “Yours?”
“Unbelievable,” he said with a big smile. “He’s going to do really well with this place.”
They ate for a while, each of them trying bits of everything. She wasn’t sure if it was the good food, the charming surroundings, the flickering candlelight, or the snow out the window making her so comfortable, but Eden felt completely at home chatting about the food, the town, and everything in between.
It’s Axel. I always feel this way as soon as I’m with him.
“So,” she said at last, placing her hands on her lap at last to stop herself from eating another bite. “You said before that you’re feeling like you aren’t sure what to do with yourself?”
“That’s right,” he said, nodding. “But working with kids at the school helps.”
“I’m really glad,” Eden told him. “Because that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. ”
“Oh yeah?” he asked.
“I heard you with Nancy the other day,” she said. “And it got me thinking it would be nice if you could take the kids outside, and I’m sure you’ve got other good ideas too.”
“Well, they’re only in gym class for a little over half an hour,” he said. “And I have to warm them up.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “It’s not enough time or freedom to do the things you want to do. So, what if we started an after-school flag football club?”
“Oh,” he said, sitting back in his seat. “Wow.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s asking a lot of you. And I know you maybe just wanted to volunteer for a few weeks. But when I saw how good you were with the kids, I got to thinking about it, and I just had to ask. Feel free to shoot me down.”
“No,” he said right away. “No, I just have to get my head around it, that’s all.”
“You would probably still need a teacher with you at all times if it’s sanctioned by the school,” Eden said. “And there would be some limits to what you could do, of course. But if you decided you wanted to look into it, I’d be glad to volunteer to assist.”
“Let’s do it,” he said with a big smile.
“Really?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, then went silent for a minute.
Just as she was about to chime in with some details, he spoke again.
“There was something I wanted to talk to you about too.”
“Of course,” she told him.
“I want to take you on a date,” Axel said, his dark eyes serious. “A real one, not a sneaky one like this.”
Her heart surged, and all she wanted was to sing out yes . Not because of a sign, like a drop of coffee on her planner, or a shaft of light in his hair, or the snow flurries that always seemed to swirl down before she saw him—but because Axel Williams was a good man, and because he was good for Jack.
But she couldn’t date someone. She had made promises to herself long ago. It didn’t matter what her heart told her—she just couldn’t. She opened her mouth to tell him so.
“Yes,” she heard herself say softly instead. “But I want to take it very, very slowly.”
His smile in response sent shivers through her chest.
Though a million worries and doubts swirled in her mind like the flurries outside the window, in her heart she felt like a child on Christmas morning, filled with breathless hope.