Chapter 9 Allie
ALLIE
Allie woke up the next morning feeling like something wasn’t right, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was.
As soon as she sat up in bed and saw the pink light of dawn streaming through the window, it all came back to her in a flash.
Pulling her blanket around herself, she gazed out at the sea of rose-tinted snow on the fields outside and wondered what in the world she had gotten herself into.
In spite of all her hard work and discipline, when push came to shove, she was still so impulsive sometimes. And this time it was going to cause trouble for more than just herself.
She’d rushed home last night to talk to her parents about Ash and Maya, but they had been over at the Robertsons’ place for dinner, which meant they would be out late. Doc Robertson was a talker and her dad delighted in his company.
Praying that the Robertsons hadn’t heard about her engagement yet, she had gone to bed, planning to get up early and corner her mom before the first milking.
But she must have forgotten to set her alarm somehow. By now, the milking was done and Mom would be scouring the farm for anything else that needed doing.
And it was a certainty that Mom had left the flip phone Tag bought for her last year charging in the laundry room, like always.
Dad might be getting things together for lunch by now, he liked puttering in the kitchen. But she hated to tell him without telling her mother.
Am I really so eager to lie to them both at once?
That idea sent her stomach twisting. But before she could think too much about it, her phone buzzed on the table by the bed, so she grabbed it and read the message.
Unknown
Hey, it’s Ash.
Little butterflies were suddenly fluttering in her chest. She smiled to herself as she reread the words before quickly adding him to her contacts.
Ash
We need to talk.
Reality landed hard.
Whatever was going on between them, Ash Tailor wasn’t feeling any butterflies. He was finally getting around to regretting her rash action as much as she was. On Tripp’s advice, she’d been willing to play along, but it was probably better to just give him the out he was clearly looking for.
how are we going to get out of this?
We’re not.
Allie frowned at those two words.
we’re not?
Where can we meet?
Allie thought about that. She would have said the diner, but there would be too many people close by, and Maya would be bored there.
how about the park?
Perfect. Meet you there in an hour?
see you then
She placed her phone back down slowly and tried to imagine what this meeting could possibly be about if he wasn’t looking for a quick exit. He probably just wanted to be sure they were on the same page.
Whatever it was, she had to shower and get dressed first. She hurried through her morning routine, dressing warmly for an early morning at the park.
When she got downstairs, she was surprised to find her mom and dad both standing at the counter. They were sipping coffee from the lumpy mugs her mom had made herself.
Mom was never inside at this hour.
“Hey,” Allie said, wondering how much they knew.
“Good morning, Allie,” her mom said with a loving smile. “Is there anything you’d like to tell us?”
“We’re happy for you, honey,” her dad said quickly. “Aren’t we, Maggie?”
“If you’re happy, we’re happy,” her mom said. “I’m sure he’s very special.”
Relief washed over Allie and she went to her parents. She had expected them to be upset with her, or at least question why she had been so insistent yesterday that she wasn’t going on a date.
Instead, they hugged her tight and she felt like a little girl again, being congratulated on a good report card or for making the softball team.
“We heard he has a little girl,” her dad said, a hopeful note in his voice as they all pulled back from their big hug.
I wish it were real, she thought to herself. I wish I were really about to give him another grandchild.
“Yes,” Allie said. “Her name is Maya. She’s my student, and she’s wonderful.”
“Well, we can’t wait to meet them both,” her mom said fondly.
“You’re not mad at me for not telling you about all this?” Allie heard herself ask them.
“I’m sure you had your reasons,” her dad said. “Besides, any woman with five older brothers probably likes to play her boyfriend card close to her chest.”
Allie laughed. He had a point.
“Bring them over tonight,” Mom said. “Everyone’s coming for dinner, even Cash.”
Allie’s brother Cash was a musician. He and his son had been out touring in support of a new album since Thanksgiving. It would be so good to see them and his wife, Bella.
I’ll have to lie to them too.
“I’ll ask him,” she agreed, wishing she could think of any reason not to.
“Wonderful, kiddo,” Dad said, patting her shoulder.
“I’m off to meet them now at the park,” she said.
“That’s lovely,” her mom said as she pulled out a tin of homemade frosted sugar cookies. “Bring a cookie for the little one.”
Allie grabbed one and smiled as she tucked it in her bag. Everyone else had to wait until after supper for cookies. Maya was already getting special treatment.
“See you later,” she called as she headed out.
It was slightly less frigid than usual when she stepped out the front door and headed to her car, and the sun was fully up now.
She put on the radio and had to laugh when she heard her own brother’s voice singing a Christmas carol. Of course the local station loved playing Cash Law songs anytime they could.
The countryside melted away, and soon she was admiring the Christmas lights and decorations on all the houses in town. By the time she pulled up at the park, she was feeling a lot better, and maybe just a little excited to see Ash.
Only so we can get our stories straight, she told herself.
But when she spotted his tall, dark, and handsome form by the pavilion her heart started fluttering again.
Why am I such a fool?
“Miss Lawrence,” Maya called to her, running over.
“Hi, Maya,” Allie said. “It’s so nice to see you.”
“Do you want to play hide-and-go-seek tag?” Maya asked, her eyes bright and hopeful.
“Yes,” Allie said. “I definitely want to do that. But we’d better check with your dad first.”
“Okay,” Maya said happily, taking her hand.
The two of them headed over to Ash, and it was so easy to pretend to herself that all of this was real, just for a moment.
“Good morning,” Ash said, his deep voice sending a little shiver through her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes,” she admitted, feeling sort of surprised at herself. Shouldn’t she have tossed and turned?
“You wish you hadn’t?” he asked her, chuckling.
“Am I so easy to read?” she asked him.
“Miss Lawrence and I want to play hide-and-go-seek tag,” Maya said. “We need at least three players—”
“Maya,” a little voice called out.
They all turned to see Eloise approaching. Her parents sat on a bench at the center of the park with paper coffee cups.
“Hi, Eloise,” Maya said.
“Want to swing?” Eloise asked excitedly.
“Yes,” Maya said. “But I’m supposed to play hide-and-go-seek tag with Miss Lawrence.”
“You are?” Eloise asked, looking flabbergasted.
“No, no,” Allie said. “You two go swing. We can play after I chat with your dad, Maya. And maybe Eloise will want to play too.”
“Okay,” Maya said, and the two girls took off for the playground equipment at the corner of the park.
“Shall we go up to the pavilion so we can keep an eye on them?” she asked Ash.
“Sure,” he said with an amused half-smile.
“What?” she asked as she jogged up the steps.
“Just seems like a romantic spot,” he said, shrugging.
“It is, isn’t it?” she said, looking around the beautiful pavilion. It was hung with pine boughs, holly branches, and twinkly white lights for the holidays.
Allie had pictured herself standing up here with her true love about a million times when she was a teenager. She and the faceless man of her dreams would stand on the pavilion and he would propose, like she was the heroine of a Christmas movie.
Probably every girl in Sugarville Grove had the same fantasy. But real life sometimes turned your dreams on their heads. Standing here with her pretend fiancé was probably as close as she was going to get to hers.
She moved to the far end so they could keep Maya and Eloise in their line of sight.
The two girls were on the swings, talking and laughing. It warmed Allie’s heart to see how beautifully Maya had turned a tough situation and a mistake into a chance at a friendship.
“I’m so proud of her,” Ash said quietly.
She turned to find him gazing at the girls too.
“She’s wonderful,” Allie said, nodding. “You’ve done such a great job with her.”
“Not always,” he said, his smile disappearing. “But I’m going to do better now. Moving here was the first step.”
“That’s a big first step,” Allie said.
“It was the right one,” he said, nodding to the girls, who were off the swings now and taking turns on the slide.
Allie smiled.
“I have to thank you,” Ash said, his tone serious. “What you did yesterday… no one has ever done anything like that for me.”
She turned to look at him, thinking he might be teasing, but his expression told her he meant it. The big man looked humbled by her impulsive act of kindness.
“It was my pleasure,” she said. “But we need to figure out how to get out of it now. Maybe we can pretend to break up.”
“Do you want to pretend to break up?” Ash asked her.
His voice was a low rumble in her ear and when she met his dark eyes she felt a funny little rush, like lightning was about to strike.
“No,” she heard herself murmur.
What am I saying?
The corner of Ash’s mouth tugged up slightly, like he was happy with her answer.
“Then I have another idea,” he said. “I know that keeping this going through the holidays is more than you signed up for. You asked for help with the greenhouse for the school, and I’ll take care of all that. But let me also do something just for you. Whatever you want.”
Allie’s romantic feelings faded and she felt an awful twinge of guilt.