Forgiving You: A Bluebell Valley Novel

by

  Chapter Thirteen

  Austin

  Austin had been in Bluebell Valley for almost a week. Sam was at the bakery again and he jumped in his truck as he had lots of things to fix on his parents’ orchard. His week in Bluebell was almost over, but he didn’t want to think about that yet. It was Friday, and he would keep himself busy until Sam could join him.

  They’d have dinner with his parents, who had pressured him during the whole week to get Sam back in their house. He’d tried to protest, wanting to spend time with Sam alone, but he couldn’t always push the date further and further away. Today was a good day, though, as Sam finished working early. She would come to the orchard during the afternoon and they could pick peaches together first.

  He parked his car in front of his parents’ house twenty minutes later. Both of them were already outside, picking fruits from the trees. There were also a couple other cars, people from the city who came to pick their own fruits.

  Austin got out of his vehicle and headed toward the barn. He’d fixed the water pump early this week; now it was their lawnmower that needed to be repaired. His father had borrowed the neighbor’s until he could fix his own, but he hadn’t found the time to call someone. It was the perfect task for Austin, who knew more than enough about machines and engines.

  It was a hot, dry day. Austin flung the barn door open wide, enjoying the fresh breeze that came through. It was still not cool enough for him to work correctly, so he also removed his shirt, thinking nobody would come back there. The families that were playing around the orchard would stay far from the barn, so he didn’t need to worry about them.

  Feeling a lot better, he opened the top of the lawnmower, ready to get to work.

  “Showing off, are we?”

  Austin turned to where the voice had come from and he saw Sam smirking at him. She seemed to be having fun looking at his sweaty body. He couldn’t hide his smile as he dropped his tool, walking in her direction.

  “I’m so hot,” Austin said with a smile. He knew it wouldn’t be long until Sam was running away from him, not wanting to get his sweat on her. He was actually surprised that she stayed in place for so long.

  “I think you need to cool down,” she mumbled as she touched his arm. They were only a few inches from each other now, and she still hadn’t moved.

  “Come,” Austin said as he grabbed her hand. He knew exactly the way to cool down now that Sam was here.

  He started running and Sam followed him, laughing as they headed into the trees. He’d heard the two families leave earlier, so he knew it was only them in the orchard at this hour. His mother would be cooking and his father would be cooling off in the shade.

  It didn’t take them too long to finally arrive at the back of the orchard where the river ran. The current had slowed down after spring and it was perfect for swimming. As kids, they’d spent so much time here, splashing each other while eating juicy peaches.

  Austin made sure there was nobody around before removing his jeans.

  “What are you doing?” Sam giggled.

  “What do you think I’m doing?” Austin replied as he jumped in the middle of the stream. When he came back to the surface, Sam didn’t have a shirt anymore and she was removing her shorts. He couldn’t hide the smile on his lips as he watched her get undressed. A few seconds later, she was running his way and met him in the water, laughing the whole time she was in the air.

  Austin swam her way when she finally surfaced, wanting to be as close to her as he could. Looking into her perfect green eyes, he couldn’t imagine his life without her anymore. He needed Sam more than he wanted to admit.

  As he grabbed her by the waist, trying to keep both of them afloat, Sam’s hands explored his face, pulling it closer to her. Austin didn’t wait very long to kiss her, his lips enjoying the water on hers.

  They stayed in each other’s arm for a while until Sam went underwater. When she came back up, she was trying to float, but failing. Austin looked at her with a grin on his face.

  “Can you help me? Like you did when we were kids?”

  “Come closer to the edge,” Austin replied as he swam Sam’s way. When he could finally touch the bottom of the river, he stabilized himself. Sam came closer to him and tried to float on her back again. This time, Austin had a hand under her back and another under her legs. He kept her afloat as he slowly turned into a circle. He knew Sam liked that.

  She opened her eyes and glanced at Austin before looking at the trees over their heads. The river was partially hidden below a copse of willows, which made the place a lot more romantic. There was only a bit of direct sun coming in, as it was already starting to set. A few rays of sunlight made it to Sam’s face, giving it a lovely glow. Austin leaned to kiss her once more, not knowing what he was going to do when he would have to go back to New York City. He doubted Sam would want to come with him, but that was something he was going to have to ask her. Not now, though—he was enjoying their special moment.

  Austin stopped turning and Sam came back on her feet. They both stood in the water, locked in an embrace, silently communicating their love.

  Austin gave Sam his hand to help her out of the river. The temperature had cooled down already and there was a fresh breeze blowing through the trees.

  “I can’t really go into your house like this,” Sam said, looking at her wet underwear. Austin couldn’t stop smiling, even though he had to agree with her. They were going to have to change. All his clothes were in the house, and his parents were going to be there. He hadn’t thought of that when he’d jumped in the water.

  “Let’s dry off a bit, first. We’re not in a rush, anyway.” Taking Sam’s hand, he sat down next to a willow. Sam sat in front of him, her back against his chest. He put his arms around her, grateful for being able to touch her like that. There were so many times when he was a teenager that he wished he could have run his hands over her body like he was doing at this moment. It was the best feeling in the world.

  “When do you have to go back?” Sam asked after a minute of silence. He hadn’t wanted to think about it too much, but it was probably a discussion they needed to have. He had to go back to New York on Sunday, even if it was the last thing he wanted to do.

  “I have a meeting to attend on Monday morning,” he admitted.

  “Are you coming back?”

  “Definitely.”

  “When?”

  “I don’t know,” Austin murmured. He would have a bigger workload than usual next week, since he’d taken a week off. That wasn’t something he usually did, and he couldn’t tell how his company had fared without him. He would only see the extent of the damage once he was back in his office.

  “Would you come back with me?” Austin asked, knowing the chances were slim. Still, he had to try.

  “I wish I could, but… You know I have the bakery to take care of.”

  Austin nodded. Sam cared a lot about her family business, and he could absolutely understand. He cared about his own business, too, even though it wasn’t as challenging for him as it once was.

  “I wish you could stay in Bluebell with me,” Sam said as she rested her head on his chest.

  He could hear the sadness in her voice, but they still had two full days together and he wanted to make the most out of them. He knew it wasn’t much, but it was the best he could offer until he returned.

  “It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure it out,” he said as he placed a sweet kiss on her cheek. Austin didn’t know how they were going to do it, but he wanted to make things work with Sam, whatever he had to do.

  “We should probably go back to the house now and get you some dry clothes,” Austin said. “Actually, I might have an idea…”

  They both stood up and Austin led Sam behind the house, telling her to stay put behind the trees as he tiptoed closer. His mother had done some laundry today and she was drying her clothes outside. There happened to be a couple of towels that were dry already, which was exactly what he wanted. G
rabbing them, he went back under the trees and gave one to Sam.

  “We’ll dry your underwear in the machine and you should be good for dinner in half an hour,” Austin said with a smile, his brain replaying the scene of Sam getting undressed and jumping into the water.

  “What?” he asked as he saw the smile on Sam’s lips.

  “Nothing,” she replied as she put the towel around her body and walked toward the house. He couldn’t be sure, but he had a feeling she was thinking about the same thing he was.

  “Austin?” his mother called from the kitchen.

  The door closed behind the two of them and Sam ran upstairs without being seen by anyone while Austin diverted his parents’ attention.

  “Hey, Mom,” he said as he entered the kitchen.

  “Dinner’s going to be ready in half an hour,” she said, stirring a pot full of broccoli. When she turned around, she finally noticed the towel around Austin’s waist and his wet hair. “What happened to you? Did you… You jumped in the river, didn’t you?”

  Austin smiled before leaning in and kissing his mother on the cheek. “We’ll be ready.”

  “We? Did Sam follow you in the river?”

  Again, he simply smiled before leaving the kitchen. He could hear his mother’s sigh as he went up the stairs.

  When he arrived in his old bedroom, Austin found Sam sitting on his bed, her towel still around her body, but her underwear next to her. His brain kept focusing on what was under the towel when they had more important things to do.

  “Here, I’ll put that in the dryer for you. Hopefully, it’ll be ready soon enough.”

  He grabbed her clothes before leaving the room again, opening the doors in front of the bathroom. The laundry machine was on the second floor, which happened to be very convenient. He put everything in, including his wet towel, before going back in the bedroom. When he came back in, Sam was standing in front of a shelf, looking at old pictures of him.

  “I remember this one,” she said, pointing at the far right frame. It was a picture of him during the chess tournament they’d had at school when he was fourteen. The picture had been taken during the final game and the teacher had given it to him after. He was concentrating very hard on the match, deciding which move would be his next one if he wanted to win.

  Even though Austin had always been a shy boy, he was a very competitive one. He liked winning, no matter what he did. He always knew what he was good at and wanted to prove the world what he could do. That was what had driven him to lose touch with Bluebell Valley during all those years, thinking it was the right move to make if he wanted to win at life.

  But he hadn’t won anything. He’d only made himself miserable.

  “This one’s my favorite,” Austin said as he grabbed a frame in the middle. The picture was of him and Sam, with their faces painted for the Fourth of July festivities. “Our parents bought us ice cream and I dropped mine, so you shared yours with me.”

  “You looked so sad, I couldn’t have done otherwise,” Sam replied with a smile.

  “You’ve never been able to resist me,” Austin said as he grabbed Sam by the waist, turning her so she was facing him. He kissed her on her forehead, her nose, and finally, her lips.

  Maybe dinner was going to have to wait a little while…

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sam

  Constance Cole was a woman that Sam admired. Even if she was the same age as her own mother, there were a lot of differences between both women. Constance was a warm and protective mother, but she also knew how to let people breathe in a way that Gemma never learned. That was one of the reasons Sam always loved to hang out in the orchard, so she could spend some time with Constance.

  After Austin had left for college, she’d tried to get an explanation of his behavior from her, but she hadn’t been much help; she was getting the same treatment. Sam had stopped coming to the orchard after that. It had become too hard for her. She had to forget Austin, and to do that, she couldn’t spend all her time at the farm where she’d made so many memories with him.

  But that hadn’t stopped her from seeing Constance in town. She often came to the bakery, and Sam could see how hurt she was from Austin not giving any news, which had made Sam even angrier at him. How could he do such a thing to a sweet woman like his mother?

  But today, as she looked at Constance's face, she only saw pure joy. She was glowing with something that hadn’t been there in a while.

  “Sam, do you remember when the two of you wanted to build a treehouse in the willows by the water?” she said, bringing Sam back to reality. Everybody was done eating already, but nobody had left the table yet. Remembering the past was a lot more exciting than washing the dishes.

  “Yes! Benjamin tried explaining to us that there wasn’t any good spot in the tree, but we wouldn’t listen,” Sam replied with a smile, remembering precisely that moment.

  “So we stole some wood from the barn and decided to prove you wrong, except we didn’t have a clue what we were doing,” Austin added, glancing sideways at Sam. He grabbed her hand under the table and she held it tight, grateful for all those precious moments they’d experienced together.

  “I told you it was dangerous, and when you fell from the tree and broke your arm, we let you cry a bit longer than we should have so you would learn your lesson,” Benjamin laughed. “But two weeks later, you were back in that damn tree already.”

  Sam laughed too, remembering how stubborn Austin could be when he really wanted something. Usually it was a positive trait, but it had also driven him out of her life before.

  Looking at Benjamin, Austin’s father, Sam was happy to see him smile and talk with them. He’d always been a shy man, but she knew how many stories he was hiding behind his shyness. He had so much knowledge about so many things, and Sam was in awe of him. Most people would just walk past him, not even noticing that he was there because he was usually so quiet, but Sam had been intrigued by him since the first time she’d met him. As a child, it was easy to make the man talk, as he wasn’t afraid of her. As she grew up, though, it became harder and harder, but with perseverance, she had found a way to get into his heart and they’d been very close. That was, of course, until Austin had disappeared from her life and she had stopped coming to the farm.

  But that was all part of the past. Even if she wished she could have stayed in contact with the couple more, she knew she couldn’t do anything about it now. She couldn’t change the past, but she could certainly enjoy her present.

  “Do you guys remember that one―” Sam started saying, but was interrupted by the phone ringing.

  “Give me a minute,” Constance said as she stood up, going to get the phone. She disappeared into the kitchen, but came back a few seconds later.

  “Honey, it’s for you,” she said as she handed the phone to Austin. He looked at her, confused.

  He took the phone and left the kitchen table, leaving everybody wondering who was calling. When Sam looked at Constance, she said, “He didn’t introduce himself. He just said it was urgent and he needed to talk to Austin.”

  Sam sighed as the woman stood up, gathering the plates on the table. Their magical moment was gone.

  “I’ll give you a hand,” Sam said as she grabbed dishes on the table and followed Constance in the kitchen.

  A few minutes later, the kitchen and dining room were clean. Constance joined her husband in front of the TV while Sam looked around for Austin. Was he still on the phone?

  The only explanation for that phone call was work.

  She realized by now that Austin hadn’t received any other calls while they’d been together. She never even saw him check his cellphone, because he didn’t seem to have one on himself. But he obviously had one somewhere.

  After a long search, Sam still couldn’t find Austin. She was starting to get worried when she finally saw him through the window, sitting on the grass at the back of the house. He had his face in his hands. He didn’t seem to have gotten good
news.

  Sam went downstairs as fast as she could, heading to where she’d seen Austin. When she arrived, he was in the same position. She sat down on the grass close to him.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  “I have to go back tonight,” he finally replied.

  The words took a few seconds to register in Sam’s mind. But when she understood what he meant, she couldn’t help not believing it.

  “Why? What happened?”

  “Everything I’ve done, it’s all failing.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Thirty people…” Austin said, shaking his head. “The solar panels. There was an explosion on the top of a Chinese building and it killed thirty people. Three children and eleven women.”

  Sam couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Austin had grown his company so well. She couldn’t understand how something like that would happen.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him. She wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but she knew it would fall on deaf ears. Knowing Austin so well, she knew he felt guilty about that incident and there was nothing she could say that would make him change his mind.

  They stayed in that position for a while. Sam couldn’t tell what was going on in his mind and doubted she could ever guess it.

  “I have to pack,” Austin finally murmured. He sighed and stood up, freeing himself from Sam’s arms. “You should go.”

  “But―” Austin’s sudden shift in moods was starting to scare her.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” he snapped as he started walking toward the house again.

  “Get what?” Sam yelled as she ran after him, determined to not let him bully her and push her away again.

  “I can’t do this!” Austin yelled back as he stopped and turned around, facing Sam again. “I have responsibilities. People can die when I’m not there. I can’t be here, fooling around with you, and… and just forget about everything else. About everybody else.”