But then again, neither was the movie.
“Did you enjoy the movie?” Brick asked, anxious to fill the truck with a sound other than the subtle sound of vibration accompanying Mandy’s texting thumbs.
“Yeah,” she said absently. “It was a good one. Dinner was good, too,” she said, finally looking up at him. But then her phone immediately began vibrating and he lost her attention again.
He subtly tried to check his watch. “We’re good on time. I’ll have you home with fifteen minutes to spare. The Judge will be happy.”
Mandy shrugged. “He can think what he wants. He doesn’t control me.”
Brick didn’t say anything as he pulled into her driveway and put the truck in neutral. The parking brake was loud in the quiet night air.
Mandy was right. Dinner at the Fire Box had been delicious with well-seasoned steaks and potatoes baked to utter perfection. The wait staff had been attentive with regular refills and plenty of bread with their signature honey-butter.
The company, however, had remained locked to her cellphone and had only muttered single syllable responses to his initial conversational gambits.
And of course, the combined heat from Violet’s dad and uncles had almost singed his eyebrows.
He stepped down from the truck and walked around to open the door for Mandy.
“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” she said, walking slightly ahead of him.
Brick sighed. “I just thought we should talk,” he said. “This date tonight was probably a mistake,” he said, deciding to address the issue at hand. Prolonging the idea that this would lead to a second date or something more serious was futile. “Maybe not for either of us.” His voice was firm, but not unkind.
Mandy looked down at her shoes. “You’re probably right,” she said. “It was too soon after Dix and you’re hung up on a certain auburn haired girl.”
“Is it that obvious?”
Mandy laughed. “Only to anyone with eyes.”
Brick relaxed, the tension leaving his shoulders. “C’mon. Let’s get you home. We had a good dinner at any rate, right?”
Mandy smiled up at him. “We did. Thanks, Brick,” she said, brushing a quick kiss on his cheek. “You helped me see there are good men out there. Maybe Dixon Light isn’t one of them, but they exist.”
Chapter Five
The sky was still the palest shade of grey as Violet and Amy approached Race Orchards Saturday morning. Violet’s phone remained stubbornly silent and she was desperately, purposefully not texting Brick.
She felt sick to her stomach at the thought he might not be alone.
She stopped her truck in front of the old barn as the first rays of gold peaked over the edges of the tree line. Pinks fading into yellows and finally the deep rich gold of a summer morning rose in the sky.
A carefully engraved sign hung over the doorway with Shakespeare’s immortal words from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind. And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
Violet sighed, sadness engulfing her. How do you lose someone before ever actually having him? Shakespeare would write a fine play over that, she thought with a roll of her eyes.
“Hey girls,” Eden said, looking up to see her niece arrive at the barn
“Is the sign new?” Violet asked.
Eden looked up as though seeing it there for the first time. “Oh, no. I’ve had that since college,” she said, a sad smile playing around her lips. “I found it in the attic a while back and thought it would look good over the barn. And you know, it fits with our whole solstice theme.”
Piles of plain white tablecloths sat on one table and a nearby iron was plugged in. Eden struggled with an oversized ironing board. “Help me press the wrinkles out of these and get the tables set up.”
“What can I do, Eden?” Amy asked, yawning around a cup of coffee.
Eden smiled at her. “Can you get started on the centerpieces? I have oranges and lemons set up on the table on the dais. A handful of each in each of the bowls should be pretty and then when Janice gets here with the flowers, we’ll top them off with daisies.”
“Oh, I love that idea. That sounds so pretty!”
Violet began pressing the tablecloths. Ironing was good for the soul. It was therapeutic and meditative. And right now, she needed to free her mind from her deep thoughts. “Aunt Eden?”
“Yeah, hon?”
“Will I ever learn all the Race family secrets?”
Eden watched her for a long moment before sighing. “I’m not even sure I know them all, Vee. I have all the old diaries and I’ve studied them since high school. But if you want to help me on the farm more, I’ll be happy to share them with you.”
Violet nodded slowly. Her future was here in Harper’s Mill. “I’d like that Aunt Eden. I still want to get my business degree.”
“Of course,” Eden said, nodding. “Then maybe you can start dropping the ‘aunt’ and call me Eden. You know. Since I am almost your age,” she teased. “But I do understand, honey. I had to leave for a while, too.” A shadow fell over Eden’s eyes and Violet desperately wanted to know what caused that hint of pain. Eden sighed heavily. “I definitely learned a lot while I was at college.”
Nervously, she checked the time. “You get started here. I’m going to set up the craft table.”
“What are we making this year?”
Eden held up a small wreath of bright green ivy. “Floral wreathes to wear in our hair. Janice Decker is due around ten with the flowers. She got me in bright gerberas, freesias, daisies, and lavender. Even some pussy willow.”
“Oh, those should be beautiful,” Violet said. A shadow fell across the doorway of the open barn.
“What should be beautiful?” Brick asked as he approached.
Violet swallowed. Hard. “Aunt Eden is setting up a craft table for wreathes this year.”
“Oh. Cool. How can I help?”
“You can start by telling Vee to stop calling me Aunt Eden. She’s making me feel old!”
Violet laughed and it broke some of the growing tension she felt. “Help me put the tablecloth on one of the tables,” she said. “Then maybe go check the fire pit for the bonfire later tonight? Is that good, Eden?” she asked, stressing her aunt’s name.
Eden nodded. “Better,” she said with a grin. “Actually, Brick, after the tablecloth is on, could you go up to the house and get the fire extinguishers. I want to set them up down by the fire pit before we do anything else. It’s been a dry spring and I want to make sure we don’t have any stray sparks go amuck.”
“Sure thing, Eden. I can run the hoses out from the house, too.”
“That would be great, Brick. Thanks! Denison Harper said he’d come by around nine with one of the fire trucks but I’d like to have the normal precautions already in place.”
But as Brick walked off, he reached out and gently touched Violet’s forearm. “We will talk today,” he promised her softly.
“Denison Harper, huh? Weren’t you two an item back in the day?” Violet teased.
Eden rolled her eyes. “We dated in high school,” she said. “He failed the brother test and that was that.”
“The brother test?”
“Ask your dad. It’s probably very similar to the ‘father’ test he will put all your boyfriends through. Now, enough gossip. Don’t you have something you should be doing?”
“How does this look?” Amy asked, lifting a bowl for inspection.
“Perfect. Thank you, Amy, for helping us set up for the party.”
Amy waved her off. “You put on this huge spread every year. Helping set it up is the least I can do.”
Eden had them running around for hours and every time a new person showed up, another task was found that just had to be done.
“You are a gift, Honor Spencer,” Eden said, as Honor approached carrying a pie. “Violet, help me set up the dessert table.”
“Hey, Spence. Hey, Honor,” V
iolet greeted her cousin and his wife and gave them both hugs. “Haven’t seen you guys in a while.” Their son Noah bounced around, gleeful with the newfound freedom of the farm.
“Hey, Aunt Violet,” he called. “High five,” he called out, jumping to meet Violet’s outstretched hand. “Did you meet my new sister?”
“I have,” she said to Noah. “How is Miss Elizabeth Rose doing?” She reached for the baby in Honor’s arms. “Hey, you sweet girl. Are you going to be our dessert? You’re the sweetest thing here,” she cooed, brushing her lips against the velvety softness of Elizabeth’s forehead.
Noah ran an ever-increasing circle around the adults, pausing only long enough to say, “No, she’s a baby. The desserts are in the trunk,” before running off to explore the barn.
“Be careful, Noah,” Eden called. “I just got a momma cat and her kittens from the animal shelter. They’re set up on the back porch if you’d like to take a peak.”
“Can I, Mom?” Noah begged. “Pleeaasssee,” he begged, his eyes wide and pleading.
“How can you resist those eyes?” Violet said with a laugh.
“It’s not easy,” she said with a smile. She took Elizabeth back from Violet. “Let’s go look at them together.” She paused, looking at Eden. “Is that okay?”
“Be my guest. We’ll put your handsome husband to work. You enjoy yourself, sweetie. My brothers Ben and Cal should be here any minute to set up the grills.”
Eden watched her go before turning to Spence. “She still doesn’t like the kids out of her sight, does she?”
Spence shook his head. “She’s getting better, but no. She likes the kids where she can see them.”
Eden clucked her tongue. “Can’t say I blame her, really. That mother of yours.”
Spence held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Not today, okay?”
Eden shook her head. “Fine. Not today. But someday, I will have it out with that cousin of mine.”
“Deal.”
They worked together, transporting pies, cakes, and cookies from the car.
“Honor is such a treasure,” Eden said as the last of the desserts were put out. “How in the world did you stay away from all these sweets?” she teased Spence.
“Who said I stayed away? My wife adores me and always makes sure Noah and I have plenty.”
Noah chose that moment to approach them carrying a small bundle of black fur. “Look what Mom said I could have,” he exclaimed.
“Did she, now,” Spence asked, reaching for his wife’s hand and brushing a kiss against her temple.
“That’s not exactly what I said,” Honor corrected. “I think what I said was you’d have to ask your dad and Aunt Eden.”
Eden laughed. “I remember when Spence used to run around the farm and try and convince his parents to adopt any number of animals.”
“I would have gotten that goat, too, if your dad hadn’t said no,” Spence maintained.
“A goat?” Noah asked, his eyes wide.
“No goats,” Honor and Spence said in unison.
“Of course not,” Noah said as though his parents were not quite the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree. He held out the small black kitten with a startling white marking on its nose. “I want a kitten. Thank you, Aunt Eden,” he called. He pulled a small feather out of his pocket and began playing with the cat. “Me and Fabian are going to be in the shade,” he called, leaving the grownups to their work.
“Don’t eat any of the apples,” Eden called after him, making sure she glared at the First Daughter to get her point across.
“Fabian?” Spence looked at his wife.
“Don’t ask me. I have no idea where he comes up with half this stuff.”
“Is that Grandma VanBuskirk’s car in the drive?” Brick asked as he approached the small group. “I didn’t even know she was coming.”
“Oh, I’m so glad she made it!” Eden said, rushing towards quiet blue sedan. “Brick, could you help me? She’ll need a hand getting out of the car and she said she was donating a quilt for us to raise money for the town library.”
“Is she really Brick’s grandmother?” Honor asked her husband while pressing a small kiss on her daughter’s cheek.
“No,” Spence said, pulling his wife close and sneaking a kiss of his own. “She isn’t even one of the Old Families, either, although she’s been here long enough no one but us probably even realizes it. It’s a title of respect and love we all gave her.”
“Did she make the quilt we have on Noah’s bed? The one you said used to be yours?”
Before Spence could nod his assent, Elizabeth VanBuskirk interrupted. Her gait was stiff and her cane unsteady. Brick followed at a safe distance to ensure both her safety and pride. “Simon Spencer, is this your lovely bride that you failed to introduce me to?”
Honor laughed as Spence’s brown eyes grew wide – both at being called out for his manners as well as the use of his proper name. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. He leaned in and kissed her weathered cheek. “Grandma, I’d like you to meet my wife, Honor Spencer and our children, Noah and Elizabeth.”
The older woman’s watery blue eyes sharpened. “I have a namesake?”
“I wish I had known you so I could say yes,” Honor said, shifting the baby in her arms so she could embrace her husband’s honorary grandmother. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. VanBuskirk.”
Lifting her free hand, Elizabeth waved off the comments. “Grandma, please, my dear.” She linked arms with Spence and turned to the waiting Brick. “After Eden gets the quilt on display for bids, there is another quilt on the back seat.” She winked broadly at Honor. “We can’t let my namesake get cold, can we?”
David Nguyen stared into the leaping, chasing, dancing flames of the bonfire and smiled in tired amusement.
Emma was ignoring him again.
She was skillful. He’d give her that. There wasn’t anything obvious to her actions. Probably no one else noticed it but him, really. But every time he got near her, she skirted away.
Her long hair shadowed her face as she made her way through the people gathered around in a loose circle around the brightly blazing fire. As the last of her bag of marshmallows were handed out, he reached out, took both of her hands, and guided her into the nearby peach orchard.
He lifted her chin so he could see into her expressive blue eyes. “Why do you keep avoiding me?” he asked, his voice husky with emotion. “Do you want me to leave you alone?” She entered his arms effortlessly, like the wind filling an empty cavern.
“It’s not that simple, David,” she said, reaching up to trace his dark eyebrows. The shells of his ears. The strong line of his jaw.
“You say that but won’t tell me why.” His lips brushed hers, desperate. Seeking. Tasting. Devouring.
Soft fingers separated them. “Because every time we go to talk you kiss me and I lose my train of thought,” she said, her china blue eyes already hazy with desire. “And now. The moon. The midsummer magic. It’s not fair,” she said, her voice trailing off.
“Works for me,” he said, his soft lips and agile tongue teasing the whorls of her ear until she moaned and sought a deeper contact.
“David…” she protested softly.
“Do you want me to stop? Go away?” he said, standing fully upright, keeping his chest away from hers. “Do you want me to find someone else? Make love to another woman? Give her the babies that belong here,” he said, pressing his hand against her womb. “Is that what you want?”
“No,” she admitted softly. “But it’s not that simple, David. Not for me. I’ve been alone so long. Too long.”
“Let me in. You can trust me.”
“Can I?” Emma asked, her voice trembling with emotion. “Because I can’t see it.”
“Trust isn’t something you see, Em. It’s something you feel. Close your eyes,” he directed, lifting her slim hand to cover his chest. “Feel it. Feel our hearts beat in time to one another.”
Tears trembled on her eyelashes before spilling gently down her cheeks.
“Don’t cry,” he crooned, wiping at the silvery tracks. “Anything,” he said, pulling her close to him once more, his hands brushing against the buttons of her blouse. “Please. Anything you want. Tell me what you need,” he whispered darkly. “You’re so perfect. So absolutely perfect for me,” he whispered against her skin. “Tell me what you need and it’s yours. For always.”
Emma took his face in her hands and reached for his kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her heat. Into her body.
Their passion was real, pulsing in waves off their bodies as they touched and kissed and held each other close.
“We totally shouldn’t be here,” Violet said from behind a tree, and yet she was transfixed, watching the other couple. She was startled to find her voice was oddly breathy, like something out of an old Marilyn Monroe movie.
“Totally,” Brick said, his own breathing a bit labored.
“That is really hot,” she said, her eyes barely blinking. Nuge’s dark strong hands seemed everywhere at once and Emma was… she was transcendent in her pleasure, Violet decided.
“We need to find someplace else to talk,” Brick whispered against the sensitive skin of her neck. Violet sighed slightly and pressed closer to him. “This one seems a bit occupied at the moment.”
“Uh-huh,” Violet said, eyes drifting shut and reaching for a kiss.
“You’re so beautiful,” Brick said softly. His hands filled with her soft feminine curves. “I love you, Violet Race.”
Her eyes opened, looking deeply into his. “I love you,” she said. “I’ve always loved you.”
Brick sighed in relief as he touched her with gentle, exploratory care. He leaned against a tree and pulled her tightly against him, anxious for more. “We need to talk,” he said, his voice catching on a heavy breath.
“We will,” Violet urged. “Later.”
“Later,” Brick agreed, throwing away thoughts of the future for the pleasure and heat of now. He dipped his head for a taste of her soft pink lips.
“Don’t tease me,” she said, rubbing herself involuntarily against Brick’s strength. Arousal coursed through her at the scene playing out between Nuge and Emma. She was on edge, barely in control, and didn’t need the added sensations caused by the tickle of Brick’s beard and breath.
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