“I don’t know. Do you need to talk to him?”
Jordan laughed in a way that rose goosebumps on her arms. “I think maybe your brother needed to talk to him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I told Joseph about you two off smooching in the shadows last night.”
Hope felt her mouth drop open. “You did what? How did you know? Wait, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.” Of all the people who could have seen them, why Jordan Schmidt?
“I’ve been trying to get Oliver to give me some tips that would get me a date with you. I guess he wouldn’t help me because he had ideas of his own.”
“So you told my brother? Jordan, you seriously need to grow up. Where are they?”
He shrugged and grinned at her, infuriating her even more. Without wasting another word on the imbecile, Hope pushed him aside and went looking.
It didn’t take much searching to find them. They were in the first vacant room off the gathering space. When Hope swung open the door her brother and Oliver were engaged in some ridiculous macho stare down.
“What’s going on in here?” She tried to sound calm, but her voice had an alarmingly shrill tone in it, a tone that carried, no doubt.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” replied Joseph, without looking her way.
“Your brother and I are just having a friendly conversation,” Oliver added, eyes still locked on Joseph.
Hope moved between them, breaking their line of sight. “A friendly conversation? Yeah, you two look like best buds.”
“Go round up the kids, Hope,” Joseph told her. “We’ll leave in a few minutes.”
“I’m not leaving you two idiots in here alone.”
“What do you think we’re going to do, Hope?” asked Joseph. “We’re in a church.”
“Look, I know you were talking about me, and the conversation is over. Joseph, this is none of your business.”
Her brother switched his gaze to her. “I think it is. But you’re right, the conversation was over. Let’s go.”
“In a minute.”
“What?”
“In a minute. I have something to say to Oliver.”
“Well, make it quick. I’m expecting you at my house in fifteen minutes.” With that, he turned on his heel and left.
Hope took a deep breath to steady herself. Lately every time she thought she had hit the ceiling on embarrassment, she found new heights, and Oliver always seemed to be involved. “Look, Oliver, I’m sorry…”
He cut her off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you have someone looking out for you.”
OK, she was going to let that pass because she wanted to avoid an argument. “Jordan Schmidt told Joseph about…about what happened. I guess he thought he was getting back at you for not helping him get a date with me.”
“So that’s how he found out.”
“Yes, and I doubt very much that Joseph will be the only one he’ll tell. I’m so sorry Oliver.”
“I told you he was trouble. You should have listened to me and told him to get lost.”
“I’ve known Jordan since we were kids. He doesn’t discourage easily.”
Oliver’s face darkened. “He’d better be discouraged now. If he bothers you…”
“If he bothers me, I’ll handle it myself. Remember, you don’t want to get involved.”
“Don’t worry, Hope. I may have gotten a little carried away last night, but I’ll never forget that I don’t want to be involved with you.”
Stunned at the harsh tone and the hurtful words, Hope could only stare at him. She tried to respond, but the words were stuck in her throat, so she just turned and left.
TITLE
Orchard Hill: volume Two
Chapter 6
He didn’t know what he was doing here. It was the last place he should be. He’d hardly be welcome. But his conscience insisted he make sure Hope was all right. He didn’t mean to hurt her feelings, but that’s how it always seemed to turn out. So he lifted his hand and rang the bell on Joseph’s house.
There was no answer, and the summer breeze carried voices from the back yard to him. He rounded the house and, pausing for a moment before anyone saw him, Oliver took in the happy family scene. The triplets were playing on an old swing set, probably left over from when Abby and her brothers were little. The boys and Joseph were playing basketball in the driveway while Abby and Hope chatted on the deck.
As a child, he thought this sort of scene only existed on television. Of course, he knew everything wasn’t sunshine and roses for the Velasquez family, but at least they liked each other enough to spend a Sunday afternoon together. He thought of the last few family days he’d spent with his parents, when they’d all but given up on their marriage, and suppressed a shudder.
Abby spotted him first, and told Hope. Hope looked around, and he moved toward her. There was no sense in holding back. He knew when Joseph and the boys saw him, because the sound of the basketball bouncing on blacktop ceased. Though they were probably staring, Oliver didn’t so much as glance at them as he climbed the steps to the deck.
Hope stood up as he approached her. She was obviously shocked to see him, but trying not to show it. It alarmed him slightly to know he could read her so easily. You couldn’t do that with a person unless you really cared about them.
She spoke first. “Hello, Oliver. What…er, why are you here?”
“I need to apologize to you.”
“Again?” she said, a mocking tone creeping into her voice.
“Yes. It seems I’ve been making a habit of it, so what’s one more time. Can I talk to you alone?”
Hope shot a look toward Joseph, and Oliver knew she was wondering if her brother would let her go without a scene. Fortunately Abby intervened.
“You and Hope can talk here. I’ll go check on the triplets.”
“Thanks.”
When she clamored down the steps and off the deck, Oliver said, “Hope, I really do care about you, but you see how things are between us. No matter what I say or do, it seems like I end up hurting your feelings. That’s why we shouldn’t be together.”
She leaned back against the deck railing and crossed her arms over her chest. “First of all, I never asked for us to be ‘together.’ Secondly, maybe if you stopped fighting your feelings you wouldn’t be hurting mine all the time.”
OK, so maybe Hope was a little tougher and a little less sweet than he thought. She wasn’t going to let him get away with anything.
“You’re right. I’ve tried to avoid you, but it just doesn’t work. Maybe I should start looking for a new job.”
“What? But you just started!”
He shrugged. “I just don’t think it’s going to work out, Hope.”
“What about the next girl you meet that you lo—that you like. How will you handle that?”
He started to pace in the limited space on the deck. “It won’t be a problem. You’re the only one that…that this has happened with. I knew it even back in college.”
“That’s why you stopped being my friend. Oliver, I’ve spent years thinking I did something wrong.”
“Listen, I know you think I’m being a coward, but seriously, Hope, you don’t know my family. Every single relative I have has a horrible track record when it comes to relationships. I would screw things up eventually, and then I’d lose you.”
“So it’s better to not even try?”
“Yes!”
“Maybe you’re taking this too seriously. For all you know, we could go out on one date and be sick of each other.”
He stopped pacing and turned to her to tell her he knew better. But before he could say another word, they were surrounded by small, giggling bodies. The triplets had ambushed them.
They started chanting, “ice cream, ice cream, we want ice cream.”
Oliver groaned. He wished he’d have found another way, any other way, to get the girls out of the tree that day.
“Girls, girls, calm down.” Hop
e knelt down to their level. Once the three had stopped bouncing and chanting, she told them, “Uncle Joseph has ice cream in the freezer. I’ll get you some of that.”
“No way,” cried Dori, assuming a belligerent stance. “You said if we were good, you and Mr. Laurence would take us out for ice cream. We’ve been good for almost a whole week now.”
Hope looked up and offered him a half smile. “It’s true; they have been angels for almost a week. I think that may be a record.”
Oliver looked down at their faces, two pleading and one demanding. They could each be miniature Hopes. And with that realization, he lost all resistance to them.
He smiled at them. “All right. We’ll go for ice cream.”
Shouts of joy erupted from the girls and the bouncing began again. Hope raised her eyebrows, throwing him an incredulous look. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I guess I do owe them.”
“I’ll just go tell Joseph and grab my purse from the house.”
Joseph was less than thrilled with the idea.
“What’s he doing here?” he asked as Hope approached him.
“He came to apologize to me.”
“Did he apologize?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is he still here?”
Hope sighed. She appreciated her big brother’s concern, but he was blowing things out of proportion. “We’re taking the triplets for ice cream.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“What could happen with those three as chaperones?”
“You’ve got a point, but…”
“Joseph, do you want to tell those three little girls they can’t go?” She pointed at the triplets, still bouncing with excitement.
She knew he didn’t have it in him. “All right, but don’t keep them out too long,” he grumbled.
“Seriously, you’d like Oliver if you got to know him. Aren’t you going a little crazy over one kiss?” Actually two, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.
“Maybe. I just have a feeling about that one.”
Hope threw back her head and laughed. “Don’t be such an old mother hen. I’ll be fine. Get back to your basketball game.”
“All right, all right.” He waved her away and turned back to where Noah and Peter were waiting.
The ice cream shop was crowded, so Oliver, Hope and the girls took their cones outside to eat at one of the picnic tables set up around the building. The girls licked their treats contentedly. Dori had strawberry ice cream, Lucy had chocolate, and Belle had vanilla—with sprinkles.
Hope smiled watching them. They really were wonderful children. How much would they improve if they continued to receive adequate guidance? That thought led her to wondering about her sister.
Something in her face must have changed, because Oliver said “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Hope said, “Nothing. Thank you for the ice cream, Oliver. Girls say ‘thank you’ to Mr. Laurence.”
“Thank you Mr. Laurence,” they chorused sweetly. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were angels.
“You’re welcome girls. I’m glad you’ve been good lately. Let’s keep it up.”
They answered him with giggles. Probably not a good sign. And worse, it didn’t distract him from his original question. “What were you thinking about just now?”
She shrugged and took another lick from her cone. “Nothing important.”
He caught her free hand. Oliver so rarely touched her that it made her look up in surprise. “Tell me,” he said gently, his blue eyes clouded with concern.
Oh help, thought Hope. Her mouth just took off without further instruction from her brain. “I was thinking about my sister.”
“The girls’ mother?”
“Yes, that’s the only sister I have.”
“Are you ever going to tell me where she is?”
“Why should I?” she asked, but her voice was gentle. “Wouldn’t that make you involved? Sorry, but I thought you didn’t want that.”
“I don’t. I just…just want to make sure you’re all right.”
Hope gave him a little smile and answered. “You can’t have it both ways, Oliver. Either you’re in my life or you’re out. You’ve already opted for out.”
“You know, you’ve got everyone fooled, Hope. You act like you’re so sweet. Does anyone realize how stubborn you are?”
His comment was so unexpected, she laughed just as she was about to take a bite, almost knocking her ice cream off the cone. She rescued it, but was left with ice cream smeared all over her hand. This made Oliver chuckle, and soon they were both laughing together. It felt good to see Oliver laugh. Hope had the feeling he didn’t do it nearly often enough.
He grabbed some napkins from the dispenser on the table. He took her hand in his and wiped it clean. Laughter died in Hope’s throat as she stared at her palm, enveloped in his hand.
“I should go wash up,” she said, her voice coming out rough. “My hand will still be sticky.”
“Your ice cream will melt before you get back.”
“That’s OK. I’ve had enough.” She’d throw out the cone on her way to the ladies’ room.
“All right.” Oliver let go of her hand, her smooth skin sliding across his rough palm. She shivered, even though it was a warm day.
“Be right back.”
TITLE
Orchard Hill: volume Two
Chapter 7
There was no summer rec programming during the week of July 4th. It drove Hope crazy. She had too much to think about and not enough to do. She decided that Joseph’s house needed some belated spring cleaning and with Abby, Noah and Peter’s help, she started tearing apart closets, emptying drawers and cleaning out under beds.
Hope knew Joseph was home and had seen the chaos when she heard him yell her name.
She appeared from the hall closet, popping out practically under his nose. “Hey, Joseph, you don’t have to yell. I’m right here.”
“What are you doing to my house?”
“Cleaning. You said you needed more space. I thought it would help if I did some organizing. I already have a carload for Goodwill. Don’t you ever throw anything away?
Joseph stared at her. “There’s only one thing that makes a woman clean like this.”
“I can’t think what you mean,” she replied innocently.
“I bet you can’t,” mumbled Joseph as he stepped over a pile of coats that didn’t fit anyone. “Don’t throw anything out without checking with me first, all right?”
“Of course not,” Hope called after him, smiling because she knew she’d throw out whatever she wanted, and he probably wouldn’t even notice.
“Stay for dinner,” he called back. “I need to talk to you.”
“As long as it isn’t too late. Abby and I have softball practice tonight.”
Supper was simple, a casserole and rolls. Once it was finished, Joseph led Hope off to his study. He shut the door behind them.
“What’s up?”
Joseph sat in his desk chair. He looked tired—really tired. “Theresa called me today.”
“She did?” Excitement fizzed up inside her. “Is she coming home soon?”
“No,” Joseph answered flatly.
The excitement went flat. “When?”
“Maybe not for a long time. She’s being released from the treatment center, and she’s going back to her home in Madison, but she said she doesn’t want the girls with her yet. She wants to make sure she can stay sober before she takes them back.”
“What? But she can come here. We’ll help her.”
“I think this is something she has to do for herself, Hope.”
“But the girls…They need her.”
“I can take care of the girls. She’s doing the right thing for them.”
Hope’s chest tightened until she couldn’t breathe. “But they miss her. They need to know she loves them.”
“They do.
Calm down.” Joseph stood up and tried to put his arm around her, but she moved away.
“Hope, don’t you realize that she’s got to know she can make it before she takes the girls back. If she fails, then they’ll suffer.”
“We have to think positive…”
Orchard Hill Volume Two Page 13