Claire placed a hand over her chest and exhaled, obviously relieved. “Don’t give me heart attacks like that. It’s not nice.”
He smiled and apologized. “I’ll tell him you asked about him.” With only a year’s difference between them, Zach had experience with girls using him to get Carter’s attention. Once he became famous, the manipulations had only increased. But he hadn’t expected Claire to be one of Carter’s groupies.
She waved off his comment. “No need. I have Isabella coordinating the book signing. It’s the first big assignment I’ve given her, and it would have devastated her to think she’d messed up.” Her expression added credence to the statement—it wasn’t the eager, star-crazed one he’d learned to expect. “But do say hello to your mother for me.”
Claire’s attention snapped to the front door and her newest customer. Immediately, her eyes sparked with interest—though not recognition, Zach guessed—of the dark-haired man with the air of being far away. Half a moment later, she seemed to collect herself, returning back to their conversation. “Thanks for helping—or rather, the suggestion,” she corrected herself, still distracted by the newcomer. In fact, her gaze never drifted from him long, as if no one else existed.
Amused by her obvious attraction, Zach tried his best not to chuckle. Had he just witnessed good old-fashioned love at first sight? Instant attraction like that had never really been his thing, but he found himself hoping for his friend’s sake that that was the case. Though Claire had always been a bit too bookish for him, she was a great person and deserved all the happiness of finding the right person—even if watching it play out in front of him served as an echo chamber to the emptiness in his own chest.
He was a simple man. There were only a couple of things that he wanted, probably the same things everyone else wished for: a job he was passionate about and a love of his own. Was it that much to ask for a woman to see him and not be blinded by his older brother?
4
The cucumber in Zach’s left hand slipped and almost went flying. He shifted his hold on the vegetable peeler so he wouldn’t inadvertently slice his hand instead of the vegetable, and he started peeling again. Family dinner would be in a few minutes, and it was his turn to make the salad.
“Your grandparents just pulled up. Could you grab the door for them, honey?” his mother said from behind him.
He felt the heat of the oven warm his back as she extracted the lasagna, the oven rack shrieking at being pulled out. With her hands full, he could certainly get the front door. Setting the peeler and cucumber down, he wiped his hands on a nearby dish towel and stepped out of the way for his sister Marnie and the stack of plates she carried. “Looks heavy.” He lifted his hands to take her burden.
“I got it.” She gave him a patronizing smirk.
“Just practicing my manners.” He lifted an eyebrow at her. “Of course, your husband could have offered.”
She gave him a shocked look at his playful censure. “Don’t you dare even suggest it. He’s dealing with Ezra’s meltdown. There’s no way I’m switching him places voluntarily.”
Zach shrugged. Come to think of it, the earsplitting wailing that had welcomed Zach when he’d arrived was now subsiding. “Don’t blame you there.” He swept past her and into the foyer. He opened the huge heavy wooden door just as the doorbell rang. “You know you don’t have to ring the bell when they’re expecting you.”
“And you know I always will.” Mikki, his grandmother, grabbed Zach by the shoulders and hugged him as if they hadn’t seen each other in months rather than at church a couple of days before.
Zach gave her a peck on the cheek and then stepped forward to hug his grandfather. He’d seen him only a few hours ago at work. “Glad you could make it,” he said without the slightest bit of sarcasm. Getting all four of the Hughes men to the same family event was practically historic. So much so, his grandmother would insist on a picture after they ate.
“Uncle Eddy is on call tonight,” Moose explained as he sauntered through the entryway. “Where’s my little Leah?” His voice boomed with love for his four-year-old great-granddaughter.
“Grampy Moose!” Marnie’s daughter, Leah, came barreling out of the playroom, some kind of action figure doll being strangled in her clasped fist. Leah threw herself at Moose’s thighs, flinging the toy to the side.
In that instant, the answering smile took ten years off Moose.
“Dinner’s ready!” Zach’s father, Bill, carried the lasagna to the dining table.
“Not quite yet,” his wife corrected. “Where’s Carter? He’s got the rolls.”
“I’m here!” Carter stepped forward, holding a plastic bag aloft. “When I went to get the usual dinner rolls, Ginger convinced me cheesy garlic and herb would be better.” He inhaled, visibly pleased with the spicy Italian aroma. “Who told her we were having lasagna?” He looked around the room for an answer, but every head shook a no. He pegged Zach with a stare.
“Don’t look at me.” Zach stepped back. “I had no idea what we were eating when I was at the bakery this afternoon.”
“You went to the bakery?” Trina, Zach’s mother, looked over her glasses at him.
Carter gave him the I warned you look.
Zach let his eyes grow wide with innocence. “I misspoke because it was easier. Technically, I was at the bookstore.” The two stores opened into each other through their shared wall. “I’m just saying I didn’t run into Ginger.” As the café owner, Ginger likely hadn’t left her shop when he’d been around.
His mother gave him a slight nod of forgiveness before turning to take the rolls from Carter. “I’m sure no one told her. You know Ginger’s uncanny abilities.”
“A little more than uncanny,” Zach’s grandmother said, hinting of having real experience in the matter.
“The rolls were baking when I first talked to her, but she assured me they would be fresh and hot when I drove past on my way to dinner.”
The family dropped into seats around the table, Zach between Carter and Grandma Mikki. Despite this being a weekly tradition, no one had assigned seats. Mixing up who you sat beside each time only added to their family cohesiveness.
“Are you traveling this weekend?” Zach accepted the roll basket from Carter. He could practically taste the garlicky, buttery goodness through the scent alone.
“Chicago.” Every hint of his body language communicated his excitement about it.
“In the winter?” Zach could think of few places he’d want to visit less, especially if the wind chills would be freezing the pollution in his lungs. He was a small-town guy through and through.
“It’s not winter.” Carter accepted the salad bowl from Marnie on his other side.
“Fine. I’ll concede the calendar corroborates your assertion, but are you sure Mother Nature got the memo?” The first official day of spring had been a few days ago, but much of the eastern United States had been surprised by a late-season winter blast.
“It’s not like I’ll be outside long enough to notice,” Carter said. “I’ll be working, remember? This time it’s for one of the major airline execs—speaking of, I’ll miss dinner next week. I’ll be in Seattle at Dihedral Aeronautics.” Carter looked at their mom, making sure she heard.
She nodded, her expression gentle and understanding. It wasn’t like he made it to the weekly family dinner often. “I’m grateful you have the work.”
“I am too.” Carter’s smile seemed to slip the tiniest bit.
There were things about Carter’s job Zach wouldn’t have minded. Being stuck in an auditorium on stage sounded torturous, and what was the point of traveling if you didn’t get a chance to explore? But when was the last time Zach had left New England? The idea of taking a break not only from a job he didn’t exactly love but from the confines of his hometown called like a siren. His sudden wanderlust surprised him. “All the travel sounds amazing.”
“It’s not always, though. Sometimes I wish I had a reason to stay.”<
br />
Grandpa Moose handed Ezra his sippy cup of milk but then looked at Carter. “Then why don’t you?”
As if it were that simple to follow the desires of your heart. While Zach might not know Carter’s exact hurdle, he could sympathize as he thought of his own. This wasn’t the kind of thing he discussed with his brother. Carter would probably respond with one of his motivational platitudes. Probably something predicable and cliché like life’s too short and all that.
“It’s my job—” Carter justified.
“For now,” Moose mumbled, almost inaudibly while Carter finished his thought.
What was holding Zach back from quitting his own job? Duty? Grandpa Moose had started the funeral home in Hawthorne and then added his son, Bill, when he finished his mortician’s training. That was when the name had officially changed to Hughes & Son Funeral Home. When Bill had taken over and Moose stepped back to cherry-picking the hours and jobs he wanted, Zach’s father had added an “s,” making it Hughes & Sons, in anticipation of Carter and Zach someday stepping in to work beside him. When Carter’s speaking career had taken off unexpectedly, only Zach had been around to take on the position. He’d never been asked if he even wanted to.
It wasn’t like Zach hated the job, but he never woke looking forward to the day—but rather to the day ending. That was when he could step into his woodshop and create—bookcases, chess tables, custom cabinetry. He’d even built a pirate ship play fort for Ezra and Leah in his parents’ backyard. But that wasn’t—and couldn’t be—a full-time job. Not everyone was lucky enough to find a stimulating career they loved.
“Which reminds me,” Carter continued. “I got the oddest email today—an offer to speak at a community cleanup in a small town in Virginia. It’s not my usual thing, and the committee chair obviously has no idea of my typical speaking fee, but since I’ll be in the area . . .” He trailed off for a moment. “And since the town’s name sounded familiar …” He leaned forward around Zach to look at Grandma Mikki. Whatever he was about to say, he expected Mikki to have the best response. “ . . . Harvest Ranch?”
“Harvest Ranch, Virginia?” Mikki’s voice went up a full octave in her excitement. “Did you hear that, Moose? Carter’s going to Harvest Ranch!”
“Oh, now you’ve done it. Now it’s going to be all your grandmother can talk about.” Moose teased his wife, but he sounded almost as excited about Harvest Ranch as Mikki did.
Zach took another bite of his lasagna, sitting back to enjoy the lively conversation. “Dinner is delicious, Mom,” he said underneath the other conversation.
“Your father made it,” she said with an expression that showed her obvious enjoyment over both the meal and the fact that she wasn’t the only one who cooked.
“How did the committee chair know you were going to be in Virginia?” Marnie’s husband, Blake, asked.
“My assistant keeps a running list of my future engagements on my website, so she could have seen it there.”
Blake nodded.
Next to Zach, his grandmother hadn’t even started in on her dinner. She was too enthralled with the conversation that quite literally went around Zach. “It’s the perfect little town—”
“Better than Hawthorne?” Marnie asked.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Grandpa Moose said. Grandma Mikki shot him a warning look. He swallowed and smiled. “I wouldn’t say it isn’t.”
“What is it about Harvest Ranch?” Marnie asked.
“It’s cute and quaint, has the best people—” Grandma Mikki took a sip of her water.
“I missed something here.” Blake looked from Mikki to his wife and back again. “What’s your relationship to Harvest Ranch?”
“It’s where she grew up,” Moose volunteered.
Grandma Mikki hadn’t gotten that excited about Chicago when Carter had brought it up, even though they’d spent the better part of their married life there.
“It’s also where Moose and I met.” Grandma Mikki’s gaze softened on her husband of nearly sixty years. “Do you think they still have the drive-in where we had our first date?” She stopped herself and looked at Zach. “Do you kids even know what a drive-in theater is?”
An image came easily to his mind. “I’m not that young, Grandma.” He’d never been to one, had never felt deprived of doing so—until now. Did they still exist?
“I still can’t believe you took Mom to a drive-in for your first date,” Zach’s father, Bill, said.
“How scandalous!” Zach’s mom teased her in-laws.
“No wonder you never told me,” Bill said.
“Never you fear—” Moose held a finger up to his son and daughter-in-law. “—it was a double date. And we were in the front seat.”
Zach covered his laugh with a cough and then ripped off a bit of garlic roll. It melted on his tongue like butter on popcorn.
“He’s lucky he even got that first date,” Mikki said. “When I first met him, he was completely covered in mud, and I wasn’t sure he was the kind of man I should allow to court me.”
“What? Because I was hardworking?” Moose’s teasing was only showboating for the rest of the table.
“I didn’t mind farmhands who worked hard. I was concerned about the company he was keeping. They were a rough crowd.”
“Except I was neither.” Moose laughed. “I was on an errand for the funeral home when I got the hearse stuck in the mud. Those fine gentlemen helped me get it out.”
She tipped her head, conceding. “I know that now.” She smiled. “I’ve always wanted to go back.” She sighed wistfully. “After Moose and I married—oh—” Her eyes went wide as she looked back at Moose. “We could show them the church where we got married!”
“Wait, are we taking a family trip to Harvest Ranch?” Zach asked, still quiet under his grandmother’s story. He thought he’d better clarify, since somehow that part of the conversation had slipped by him.
“We could,” Zach’s mom answered just as softly. She looked at Carter with questioning eyes.
He shrugged his answer, even as Mikki continued to speak.
“Your grandfather and I married there in Harvest Ranch. It was after he completed his training at the funeral home that we moved to Chicago for his first full-time job, and we never had a reason to travel back, but . . .”
She didn’t have to finish that thought. She was asking for a trip, and not just with her husband. It didn’t matter what the destination or who it was with; Zach was in—assuming he could get the time off, and if it was a family vacation, his boss would have to let him go. His mom reached for his father’s hand, and Marnie and Blake looked at each other and grinned.
“When’s the speaking engagement?” Zach’s father asked Carter.
“Just over a month away.” Carter didn’t sound like he minded them tagging along. “Though if you’re seriously considering it, you’ll have to get on housing right away. The committee chair who invited me included digital flyers for events and attractions in the local area. The event she was engaging me for is at the tail end of their tulip festival, and there didn’t seem to be many lodging options.”
“A tulip festival?” Trina’s eyes lit up as she turned to her husband. “Oh, Bill!” She placed both hands on his forearm, stopping the fork from reaching his mouth. The lasagna noodles slipped off his fork and landed in his salad. She didn’t even seem to register what she’d done. “Maybe if we get there a few days before Carter speaks . . .”
“Is there enough for us to do in Harvest Ranch?” Blake asked.
He had a point. Zach was all for small towns, but if Harvest Ranch was anything like Hawthorne, they’d see everything the town had to offer in a day, two tops. Maybe they might want to branch out and take in more of Virginia’s sights.
“The drive-in, the church—” Grandma Mikki started naming them.
Grandpa Moose took over when she started to slow. “The funeral home where I got my start—we could take pictures for our website, and it would be
fun to show you around. And you know how your mother likes antiquing.” It seemed everyone was asking Bill as if he were the one to ask for permission. “Just a chance to get away,” Moose finished.
“It sounds lovely,” Zach’s mom said. She turned her gaze on her sons. “If Grandpa Moose found his love there, maybe you boys could too.” She tried to hold her neutral expression but broke into a huge grin. Zach’s mom wasn’t one to pester her unmarried children into relationships, and this comment was her way of teasing. She wouldn’t want either of her sons to marry someone outside Hawthorne so they’d be close to her if she could help it.
While the idea of meeting someone was intriguing, Zach had a few things to straighten out in his life before he was ready for that.
“Sounds like it’s settled,” Zach’s father said finally. “I’ll make sure Uncle Eddy is ready to cover that week so the three of us can get away. He’s been wanting to take a larger role at the funeral home anyway.”
Relief at hearing about the upcoming time off settled around Zach, and that had to mean something. Did it make him a terrible person that all he could think about was getting away from working at Hughes & Sons Funeral Home? Harvest Ranch could be the biggest mess of a town or the most boring place on earth, and yet he couldn’t wait to get there.
5
Harvest Ranch, VA
A month later
Lucy stepped from her condo, a soft breeze lifting a lock of her brunette curls. Though she hardly remembered her mother, for some reason, she always thought of this feeling as a whisper from the mother she only knew through the memories her father shared as bedtime stories.
While You Were Speaking: Spring Flings and Engagement Rings Page 4