Orchard Hill Volume Two

by Kara Lynn Russell

  And Theresa had also explained that the reason she didn’t want Hope to come and stay with her was because she wanted her to be with Dori, Lucy and Belle. “I know Joseph thinks he can do it all,” Theresa confided, “But even he needs help. I know with you there, he’ll get it, even if he won’t ask for it.”

  “But are you sure you’ll be all right?”

  There was a pause and then Theresa’s voice, thick with emotion, came over the line. “I’m closer to being all right than I have been in years. My greatest regret is failing my children. I can’t put them through that again. That’s why I need you and Joseph to be there for them.”

  “We’ll take good care of them, I promise. You just work on getting better.”

  Knowing that Theresa was counting on her to take care of the girls made her feel less helpless, more useful. Hope was also reassured that Theresa actually was getting better. Not long after Hope hung up, Joseph came over. She knew he must have been worrying about her, because it was difficult for him to get away from the construction business he owned.

  She met her brother at the door with a smile, and was gratified to see the relief in his eyes.

  “You look better today,” he said.

  “Yes. I talked to Sarah this morning, and she suggested I call Theresa and talk things through with her. I did and it helped.”

  “That’s good. I don’t suppose you have anything to make a sandwich out of?”

  “Of course. Have a seat, I’ll make it.”

  Hope took out bread and then opened the refrigerator.

  “Noah’s car broke down,” Joseph said, pulling out a chair by her kitchen table.

  This was a regular occurrence. The car was a real clunker, but Noah was proud of the fact that he’d bought it with his own money. “Do you think you could lend him yours so he can get to work tonight? I’ll take you and Abby to softball practice.”

  “No problem. I’m sure Sarah or someone will be happy to give us a ride home.”

  “Thanks.”

  A companionable silence fell over the room.

  “I heard that that Oliver guy was over here again last night.”

  Did the Orchard Hill gossip mill never rest? How could he possibly know about that? “Yeah. He stopped to ask why I wasn’t at practice.”

  “That’s all?”

  “That’s all. We sat on the front porch the whole time.” In full view of the neighbors. That’s probably how they knew. Her across the street neighbor, Cora Applebaum was the biggest gossip in town.

  “What exactly is going on between the two of you?”

  “Honestly, Joseph, I have no idea.”

  ****

  That evening the members of the Orchard Hill Community Church softball team gathered for their final practice. The tournament was coming up in only two days, and the team was pumped and ready to compete. The downtown had been decorated with red, white and blue for the coming holiday. Everyone was keeping a close eye on the weather forecast, hoping for sunshine.

  During practice, Sarah sprained a couple of fingers and had to go home to ice them. Then, Abby chose to go to friend’s house rather than go for pizza, so Hope found herself alone and without a ride.

  As everyone began gathering their things after practice, she announced that she needed a ride home and hoped that Oliver would offer. Instead, Jordan Schmidt eagerly declared he’d give her a ride home. When no one else said anything, she reluctantly agreed.

  Hope was confused, wondering what had happened to the man who’d held her while she cried and then tucked her in on the couch? He’d hardly said two words to her since she’d arrived—on time—at practice.

  Laughter echoed through the building as team members spilled into the Big Apple, Orchard Hill’s only pizza parlor. Hope thought the name of the restaurant was clever—chosen because they served New York style pizza and had used the city’s nickname to tie their restaurant to Orchard Hill–and she loved the food, but tonight she was uncomfortable. From the point that Jordan had agreed to give her a ride home, he seemed to think she was his date. He put his arm around her as they walked into the pizza parlor and steered her to a chair, then sat down next to her. Other team members filled in around them. As the evening wore on, Hope became more and more uncomfortable about being with Jordan. His chair seemed to keep creeping closer to hers. She tried to inch away, but he always adjusted his chair to match.

  After a while she had no more room to move over if she still wanted to be at the same table as everyone else. She thought about getting up and moving over to the counter where a few other members had gathered, but then she’d be by Oliver, and she didn’t want him to think she was chasing him. If he wanted to go back to ignoring her, she wasn’t going to do anything to stop him.

  Then, under the table, she felt Jordan put his hand on her leg.

  Oliver sat at the counter with Riley, Ian and Jeff. They were all talking about the current baseball season and the teams they favored. He hardly heard a word of the conversation, because he was preoccupied with watching Hope.

  He’d wanted to keep his distance from her until he could figure out what he was going to do. But maybe this hadn’t been a good plan, because she’d ended up accepting a ride home from Jordan. And apparently, Jordan was reading a whole lot more into that than she’d intended.

  He noticed the little dance with the chairs and saw how she ended up with Jordan practically on top of her.

  “Hey, Oliver, what’s up tonight?” asked Riley. “It’s like you’re on another planet. I just asked you what you think about the Brewers chances for the play-offs.”

  “What? Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else.” He made an attempt to contribute to the conversation because he liked these three men and hoped they’d be friends after the softball tournament, but it was hard to concentrate on anything except Hope and Jordan. What was going on with those two? Hope’s face was flushed with… Embarrassment? Anger? He wasn’t sure.

  Then Jordan rose and came over to the counter to ask for more soda. He passed the cup to the waitress and then turned to Oliver, a leer on his face. “Too bad you weren’t fast enough when Hope asked for a ride home. I’ll be taking over that duty tonight. And I plan on getting more than a good night handshake in return.”

  That did it. Oliver stood up so quickly the stool he was sitting on wobbled and threatened to tip over. Pushing past Jordan, he strode to their table, grabbed Hope’s arm, and hauled her out of her chair.

  Shock registered on her face. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m taking you home.”

  “But I’m not finished…”

  “Hope, we’re leaving now.” Oliver pulled her along behind him, oblivious to the questioning looks from his teammates.

  As they passed Jordan, he opened his mouth as if to protest, but Oliver glared at him, and Jordan didn’t say a word.

  They came out into the fading light in the parking lot. Oliver opened the passenger door of his car and handed Hope in. Then, he went around to the driver’s side and slid into his seat.

  “Oliver, what…”

  “Save it,” he growled and backed out of the parking space.

  Hope was silent during the entire drive to the house, but he could tell she was angry. He didn’t care. He was angry, too.

  When they arrived at her house, he went around to open her door again, but she’d already left the car and was halfway up the walk. He caught up with her and followed her into the house.

  Two steps inside she rounded on him and shouted, “Why did you do that?”

  “Because Jordan started telling me his plans for your ride home, how he’d be taking the ‘scenic route’ and such. How could you accept a ride from that jerk?” Oliver yelled back.

  “I didn’t want to, but no one else offered.”

  “He was all over you from the minute you said ‘yes.’”

  “I can handle guys like Jordan. It’s you that I don’t know what to do with.”

  He’d never s
een her so angry before. Her eyes were dark and stormy, her hands clenched into fists at her side, and her whole body shook with emotion. She was beautiful that way, filled with fire and passion.

  She may not know what to do with him, but he knew exactly what he wanted from her. He took a step toward her, and she backed up, bumping into the wall behind her. He moved closer, until his body was pressing her against the wall. Then his mouth captured hers.

  She gave a little cry, almost a sob, and then her arms went around him and pulled him even closer yet. The satisfaction of victory surged through him, and he deepened their kiss.

  Oliver felt like he could go on kissing her forever, but she was already pushing him away. He eased back from her, dropping kisses on her eyelids.

  “Oliver, this is insane. We can’t keep going on this way.”

  “I agree.” She looked so serious and troubled, he couldn’t help kissing her again, briefly this time.

  “I mean, what do you want from me?”

  He knew in his heart that it was time to declare himself. He never thought this day would come for him, but now that it was here, he felt no fear, no nervousness.

  “I love you, Hope.”

  Her eyes widened with surprise.

  “And I want to marry you.”

  She gasped.

  “I’ve told you all about my family, so I’d understand if you thought I was too much of a risk…but if you do marry me, I promise to be the best husband I possibly can.”

  “Oliver, we’ve never even gone on a date.”

  “I’ve dated lots of women. I don’t want to date you, Hope. I want to marry you.” He leveled his gaze at her and looked intently into her eyes.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll consider it. That’s all I ask.”

  “But you said…”

  “I said a lot of stupid things.”

  “But then, how…why…?”

  “I changed my mind—you changed my mind. Hope, you’re the only person I can imagine wanting to share my life with—forever.” She looked a little dazed, but what did he expect? She had no way of knowing that he’d been reconsidering his position on marriage. Especially since he’d been trying so hard to convince her he wasn’t interested in it. “Look, I know this is sudden. But, just…please, say you’ll think about it.”

  She stared at him for a moment, and then slowly nodded her head.

  “I should go now.” He’d said what he needed to say. A gentleman would retreat and give her time to consider his offer. But in spite of his good intentions, it took another twenty minutes and a dozen or so kisses before he made it out of the house. It had felt so good to let go, to admit to his feelings. He didn’t have to deny how she affected him any more. Finally, he was free to touch her, to hold her and kiss her as much as she allowed. The last kiss, in the doorway, was particularly long and steamy. “Let the neighbors talk about that one,” he thought as he backed out of her driveway.

  With a smile, Oliver remembered his uncle’s favorite verse: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…” The eyes of his heart had been opened and he definitely knew the “Hope” to which he had been called.

  ****

  What was she going to do, Hope wondered as she sipped her morning coffee. Part of her wanted to say ‘yes’ to Oliver’s proposal. She did love him. But it was a new, fledgling love. Did they know each other well enough to make this sort of commitment?

  Did they have the same goals? The same values? What was his family really like? Did he prefer paper or plastic bags at the grocery store? Feeling restless, she put down her coffee and wandered through the house, watering her plants and pinching off brown leaves.

  They did have a lot in common. They were both teachers. They worked at the same school. They attended the same church. They both liked sports and books. He said he’d been a bookworm as a child. He must still like reading, right?

  But seriously, unless you counted taking the triplets out for ice cream, she and Oliver hadn’t been on a single date. Was that important? What was the point of dating? To get to know someone, she supposed. Which brought her back to her original question—did she know Oliver well enough to know if she wanted to marry him?

  She knew his kisses were divine, but you couldn’t base a marriage on kisses, could you? Maybe…She shook her head. No. Definitely not. What was she thinking? Oliver had her all confused.

  Later that morning, Hope called Sarah. “How are your fingers and what are you doing for supper tonight?”

  “Still sore and nothing special,” she replied. “Why?”

  “I need you to come to Joseph’s with me for moral support.”

  “You’re having supper at Joe’s tonight?”

  “He hasn’t asked me yet, but if the Orchard Hill grapevine is up to its usual speed he’ll be calling me soon.” Once the glow of receiving Oliver’s proposal had worn off, she realized that the scene in restaurant was going to cause talk.

  Sarah’s giggle sounded across the line. “It is. I already heard about your abrupt departure from the party last night.”

  “You haven’t heard even half of what happened last night. That’s why I need you to come with me.”

  “All right. I won’t turn down a home cooked meal. But you have to tell me what’s going on before I find myself in the middle of it.”

  “I’ll tell you. Can you meet me at Grace’s in an hour?”

  Just as she was getting ready to step out the door, Hope’s phone rang. As she had predicted, it was Joseph. “I want you to come over for supper tonight,” he said, not bothering with a greeting.

  “Let me check my social calendar. I think I’m free.”

  “Are you going to come or not?”

  “What will you do if I don’t?” Hope knew she shouldn’t tease Joseph, because he truly was concerned for her, but on the other hand she was a grown woman and perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

  “I’m not in the mood for jokes. Just give me an answer.”

  “Sure, I’ll come if I can bring someone.”

  Silence. After a minute Joseph asked, “Who would that be?”

  Stifling a giggle, Hope replied “Just Sarah. That’s OK, isn’t it?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Do you want me to bring anything?”

  “No, I’ve got it covered.”

  ****

  “Oliver,” Misty Green hailed him from her store. He stopped on the sidewalk and waited for her to catch up with him. “I need you to do a favor for me.”

  Now what?

  She handed him a sheet of paper. “This is the altar guild’s schedule. I think Sarah Rogers left it in the store. Do you think you could return it to her, since you’re both on the softball team?”

  Oliver accepted the paper. “Sure.”

  “You and Sarah must have a lot in common,” Misty continued.

  “Like what?”

  “You two are the newest staff members at the school. I bet you two could be a real help to each other. You could get to know the town better together. Maybe you and Sarah should spend an afternoon seeing the local sites together.”

  Was she suggesting what he thought she was suggesting? “I’ll get this to Sarah as soon as I can.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Misty winked at him before she went back into her store.

  Shaking his head with disgust, Oliver folded the paper and slipped it into his jeans pocket. Then, he continued down the street toward O’Neil’s Handy Hardware. As he passed The Grace Place, he noticed Sarah sitting alone at one of the tables.

  Oliver backtracked to the door and went in. “Sarah,” he said as he walked up to her table, “Misty Green asked me to give this to you.”

  She accepted the paper he held out and glanced at it. “Why would she want me to have this? I’m not on the Altar Guild.”

  Oliver shrugged. “She said she thought you left it in the s
tore.”

  “No, it must have been someone else.” Sarah stooped to put the paper in the tote bag at her feet. “I’ll take it back.”

  “Great,” Oliver said. So much for Misty and her matchmaking. “I’m going to get going then.”

  “OK. I’ll see you tomorrow at the tournament.”

  Just as Oliver was turning to leave, Hope walked in. He was torn between wanting to greet her with a kiss and wanting to make himself scarce. He didn’t think he wanted to see her before she made up her mind about his proposal, nor did he want to seem like he was pressuring her. Plus, he was scared to death. He’d been on cloud nine last night when he’d tumbled into bed and fallen asleep. He’d dreamed of Hope, and it was great, but then he’d woken up and thought about her saying ‘no.’ That scared him.