by Rachel Hanna
“Ah, yes. The Whiskey Ridge gossip mill is still working well, I see.”
“Well, are they right? Were you a ‘problem child’?”
“Depends on what you mean by that phrase,” he said coyly.
“I mean, as a child did you cause problems?” she replied sarcastically. Cameron took a sip of his coffee and let out a loud, frustrated breath.
“I was a kid who had lost his parents, Piper. I went from living with my super smart and high class parents to living here on a big piece of farm land with a bunch of old biddies constantly trying to discipline me. It was a tough transition.”
“Not much of a country boy, I see…”
“Actually, you’re wrong. I love Whiskey Ridge, but I didn’t as a teenager. I wanted to see the world, be something big.”
“Sounds like you succeeded. Aren’t you some hotshot author in New York City?”
“No. I’m just a publisher,” he said. The sound of his voice had changed. She couldn’t tell if he was getting irritated by her questions or if he had some hard feelings about the business he was in.
“Lola was really proud of you,” Piper said, knowing that Lola would want her to say it. His face changed and a slight smile broke through his hardened expression.
“Oh yeah?”
“Of course. She missed you, though.”
He looked pained for a moment. “I know. I missed her too.”
“So, you’re a publisher. What does that mean exactly?” she asked as the waitress put their plates in front of them. Piper took the chance to grab a fry and munch on it while she listened.
“Well, I work with authors and get their books published. That’s about it,” he laughed.
“And you get a cut, I would assume?”
“Yes. Although, it’s not much after the costs of formatting, getting book covers designed, printing and marketing. But it’s a living, I guess.” He took a big bite of his hamburger.
“You never wanted to write books yourself?” she asked.
Suddenly, Cameron looked like he was a million miles away, as if he was looking into the future or maybe the past. “I’ve always wanted to write the great American novel, but I think everyone wants to do that.”
“Not everyone. I sure as heck don’t,” she said laughing. “I’m more of a reader than a writer.”
“What do you like to read? Romance?”
“Stereotypical much?” she asked, biting down on another French fry.
“Most women like romance, right? The whole knight in shining armor thing?”
“Well, I haven’t met any knights in my life, so no. Not every woman believes in the whole happy ending with the handsome prince on a white horse.” Piper hadn’t believed in those things since she was a small girl, before life had knocked her around a good bit.
“Okay, so what do you like to read?” he asked.
“Mostly paranormal stuff, along with some sci fi.”
Cameron looked a little shocked, but smiled. “I have one author who writes some amazing paranormal stuff. Maybe you know him. Daniel Creighton?”
Piper almost choked on her sandwich. “You work with Creighton? He’s my favorite! His stuff is so cutting edge. I have all of his books in paperback and on my tablet.” She was totally fan-girling now, but she didn’t care.
Cameron was chuckling. “He’s a good guy and one of our biggest sellers. And then there’s my problem child.”
“Who’s that?”
“Jasmine Blake.”
Piper crinkled her nose up. “Ugh. I hate her books. So predictable and full of drivel. I’m surprised you’d want your name associated with her.”
“Jeez, tell me how you really feel.”
“Well, come on. She’s the epitome of trashy, and her books are ruining the paranormal sci fi genre.”
Cameron smiled. “I agree. But her fans are psychotically obsessed with her.”
“So why is she a problem then?”
“She can’t be tamed. She misses every deadline and costs me way too much money and time to maintain.”
“Why keep her then?”
“Because when she actually releases a book, sales go through the roof.”
“Okay, so you publish other authors’ books, but what about your dream of being an author yourself?” she asked.
“Paying the bills outranks dreams,” he said simply.
She nodded. “I know what you mean.”
“What’s your big life dream, Piper Williams?” he asked with a genuine smile.
She thought for a moment. “I just want to be happy and raise a happy son.”
* * *
The rest of their lunch was pretty non-eventful, although Piper got the distinct impression that the wait staff was watching them closely. More specifically, they were watching Cameron closely, almost like he was some kind of sideshow.
She was thankful to get back to the orchard after they finished eating because the stress of getting ready for the apple festival was starting to get to her.
“Miss Piper! I’m so glad you’re back!” Hector called out as he ran toward her and Cameron in the gravel driveway. He looked flushed and stressed out himself.
“Hector, what’s wrong?” Piper asked, putting her hands on his shoulders as he leaned over slightly to catch his breath.
“It’s the pies,” he said through ragged bursts of air.
“Pies?” Cameron repeated. Hector shot him an irritated glance.
“Yes, pies,” Hector said, squinting his eyes at Cameron. Out of the corner of her eye, Piper could see Cameron hold up his hands in surrender and take a step back. “The pies are a big part of the apple festival. The public will expect them.”
“And?” Piper still was’t understanding the problem.
“We have no pies! Our baker, Miss Ella Sue, has pneumonia. She’s in the hospital down in Atlanta. We need at least one hundred pies made before Saturday morning!”
Piper’s breath caught in her throat. She turned and looked at Cameron.
“What?” he said.
“We need to start baking,” she said as she grabbed the edge of his shirt sleeve and started pulling him toward the house.
“Um, excuse me?” he said as he pulled back and stopped. “I don’t know anything about baking.”
“Well, you’re about to get a crash course, partner,” she said with a laugh as she pulled him up the stairs and into the house.
* * *
“Okay, so if we’re going to make that many pies, we need a system,” Piper said as she stood and stared at all of the ingredients spread over the island in the kitchen.
“Ya think?” Cameron responded with a wry smile. Piper shot him an irritated glance. “Hey, you’re the captain of this ship. I’m just a lowly crew member,” he said, bowing in her direction.
“Remember you said that in about an hour when you’re up to your elbows in dough. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. These pies have to look good, and I don’t exactly trust you with that part of the job so…”
“I wouldn’t either…” he mumbled,
“So, I’m going to assign you to mixing and rolling duty. Here’s the recipe we’re using…” she said, leaning across the island. For a moment, Cameron was taken away by her scent. It was a strange mixture of perfume and apple, but it was intoxicating. “Cameron? Hello?”
“Huh? What?” he stammered, embarrassed that he was basically just caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Are you even listening to me? We don’t have much time…”
“I’m listening. Mix and roll. That about sums it up, right?” She pursed her lips and raised one of her eyebrows.
“We can’t mess this up.”
Cameron walked around the island and put his hands on her shoulders without thinking. “Piper, it’s just an apple festival. I know it’s important, but maybe try to enjoy it without stressing so much?”
She tensed under his touch which made him wonder what her past had been like. Had some man hurt
her? The thought made him angry in the pit of his stomach, but he had no idea why. He barely knew this woman.
She took in a deep breath. Cameron dropped his hands to his sides.
“Sorry. I just want everything to go well. Lola meant a lot to me, and I just love Hector…”
“We’ll make it happen,” he said with a smile. She nodded.
“Right. I know we will. Let’s get started then,” she said, turning back to the recipe as she started to measure ingredients.
For the next three hours, they worked on pie after pie, freezing some of them for cooking later. The kitchen was equipped with two double oven units, which was a huge advantage since they could cook multiple pies at once.
“Hey, do you want to take a break?” Cameron finally said. He was willing to raise a white flag if he needed to as his hands were cramping up and exhausted.
Piper looked at him and then noticed he was massaging his hands. “Sure,” she said with a laugh.
They walked outside onto the big back porch and sat down on the swing. It was made with logs and looked like something that belonged more in a mountain cabin.
“Sorry I’ve been working you so hard,” Piper said with a smile.
“It’s okay. Who needs working hands anyway?” he said as he continued to massage them.
Piper reached over unexpectedly and took his right hand. She stopped the swing and started massaging his palm, which felt amazingly good and amazingly uncomfortable.
“How does that feel?” she asked softly without looking up.
“You don’t have to do that…”
“It’s no problem. I wouldn’t want these hands to be the excuse of why we don’t have one hundred pies on Saturday,” she said laughing.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” he asked without thinking. Piper looked up, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
“What?”
“I mean, I’ve been a jerk to you since the moment we met. What’s your angle?”
She stopped massaging his hand and looked at him. “Are you always this suspicious of people?”
“Pretty much.”
“That must suck,” she said, sitting back on the swing. He felt the void of her hand on his, and that alone was startling and worrisome to him. “I don’t have an angle, Cameron. I just want to get along. You apologized, I accepted. I thought we were becoming…”
“What?”
“Friends?” she said with a chuckle.
“I guess we are.”
They continued swinging for a few moments.
“Tell me about your son,” Cameron said.
She eyed him carefully for a moment before speaking. “Well, his name is Lucas and he’s the cutest seven year old I’ve ever met. Of course, I might be a little partial.”
Cameron smiled. “Maybe just a bit. So, what about his father? Were you married to him?”
“That’s a bit personal, isn’t it?”
“I thought we were friends?” he replied as he shrugged his shoulders.
“I never married his father. Lucas was… unexpected… but he’s been the greatest blessing of my life. His father bolted the moment he found out I was pregnant, and he never came back.”
Cameron could feel the anger welling up inside of him. “I’m sorry. He sounds like a real winner.”
“Yeah. What about you? Have you ever been married?”
“No.”
“Never found the right one?” she asked.
Cameron considered the question for a moment. “That about sums it up, I guess. I can be kind of hard to deal with.”
“No…. You don’t say!”
He leaned over and chucked his shoulder against hers. She was so petite, it felt like he might break her.
“Well, for what its worth, I think people just don’t get you. One day, you’ll find the woman of your dreams who really gets you.”
“Think so?” he asked with a smile.
“I’d bet on it.”
Chapter 7
Piper was in the middle of the most peaceful dream. She was in a field full of roses, of course, and there was a beautiful white horse coming closer and closer to her. The wind was blowing through her hair and the sunshine was warming her skin as she walked toward the horse. There was a man on the horse, just like in a fairy tale, but she couldn’t see his face. She could only make out that he was wearing black boots with some kind of emblem on the side.
And then she smelled smoke. And heard a smoke alarm?
Suddenly, she was awakened from her dream to realize that her bedroom was filling with smoke. Piper jumped up and ran to her door, but when she opened it, the smoke was thicker in the hallway. She slammed her door shut, put a towel under it and ran for her cell phone. She dialed 911, quickly gave them the address and then climbed out onto the roof in front of her bedroom window.
There wasn’t much space to sit, and she had no idea where the fire was coming from, but jumping would surely result in her breaking a leg or worse.
Tears were streaming down her face as she came to terms with the idea that she might never see her son again.
“Piper? Piper?” she heard someone yelling from inside her room. It was Cameron. He had knocked her door down and was standing there with a towel pressed against his face.
“Oh my God! Cameron!” she said, instinctively reaching out and grabbing his hand.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said as he climbed outside with her. She was shaking and crying. He wiped away the tears on her cheek with his thumb.
“Take some deep breaths. Come on. In and out…. In and out…”
Piper followed his instructions and calmed herself down enough to think again. His hand remained on the side of her face for a few moments, and it felt good. Warm. Safe.
“What are we going to do?” she asked through a few more tears.
“I’m going to get us both out of here safely, okay? Just promise me that you’ll listen and do what I ask.”
“I promise,” she said through trembling breaths.
Cameron climbed in front of her and peered over the edge of the roof.
“Okay, I think I see a way down,” he called back to her. “Come on!”
She crouched down and crawled behind him a few feet over where there was a wrought iron trellis leading up to the second story - covered in roses, of course. For a split second, she felt really bad that they would likely destroy some of Lola’s roses on the way down, but the feeling passed quickly.
“You’re going to have to let me go first and then I want you to climb onto my back,” he yelled.
“Are you crazy?”
“Miss Piper! Are you okay?” she suddenly heard Hector calling from below them.
“Hector! We’re okay right now,” she yelled down to him.
“I called the fire department,” he yelled, but Piper wasn’t stupid. They were in the mountains, and it would probably take a little longer for help to arrive than if they were in the big city.
“Hector, do we have a long ladder?” Cameron called to him.
“Not that long,” Hector yelled back.
“The trellis is our only option. We can’t make it to another part of the roof safely. It could cave in for all we know,” Cameron said, looking into Piper’s eyes. “You’re going to have to trust me.”
She paused for a moment and then nodded. “Let’s go then.”
Cameron slowly climbed over the edge, his socked foot perched on the wrought iron trellis. He checked to see if it would hold his weight, and thankfully it appeared to be screwed directly into the brick around the fireplace. He worried that it might not hold him and Piper, but she was so petite that it was worth a shot.
But as he climbed over, his foot slipped and he started falling, trying desperately to grab on and break his fall. When he was almost at the bottom, he was able to grab on and stop himself from hitting the ground. He heard a snap in his shoulder, but he gritted his teeth through the pain, determined to get Piper out safely.
“I’m fine. I’m so sorry, Piper. I slipped. You’re going to have to climb over.”
“I can’t!” Truth be told, she was already terrified of heights, and now she wasn’t exactly fond of burning buildings. The thought of climbing down that trellis, no matter how sturdy it appeared, was beyond reason.
“Piper… trust me,” Cameron called up to her. She glanced down and saw the look in his eyes. Genuine. Concerned. Her only real hope.
She nodded quickly and took a deep breath, forgetting for a moment to let it out. Gingerly, she got onto her hands and knees and crawled backward over the edge of the roof, hanging on to some contraption on the roof as she slipped her bare feet onto the first part of the trellis.
“Good girl… You’ve got this,” Hector called up.
She stepped down until she was totally hanging onto the trellis, forcing herself not to look down to see just how far she was from the hard ground below.
“I’m scared…” she cried out like she was a small child. She was barely able to see anything through her constant stream of tears.
“I’ve got you, Piper. I won’t let you down,” she heard Cameron say with such strength that she almost had to look down just to see his face. Who was this guy? Certainly not the man she’d met at Mr. Dylan’s office the other day.
Her thought process was suddenly broken by a sound that was concerning. First it was a snap, and then it was a shout from below. Before she knew it, the trellis was unattached at one side and she was free-falling toward the ground below.
But she didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she landed in Cameron’s waiting arms, who stopped her about six inches from the hard Earth.
They both toppled onto the grass with her on top of him, knocking the wind out of Cameron with a loud thud. In the background, Piper could hear the firetruck coming up the driveway, and she could see Hector running toward it, waving his arms wildly.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly, her breath ragged and shaky. She couldn’t help but feel the beating of his heart against her chest, most assuredly from the high anxiety situation they both found themselves in at the moment.