Orchard Hill Volume Two

by Kara Lynn Russell

  Shortly after noon the phone rang. Sarah picked it up. “Daniels’ residence.”

  A low, cultured voice came over the receiver. “May I speak with David Daniels please.”

  “He isn’t here right now. Can I help you?”

  “When do you expect him to return?”

  “He was delayed by business, but he assured me he would be home before this evening.”

  “This is very inconvenient. I had an appointment with him.”

  “Is this Ms. Van Huesen?”

  “It is.”

  “David said that you could still meet Charity.”

  “Very well. I should be at the house in another fifteen minutes or so.”

  Sarah looked around as she hung up the phone. She’d cleaned this morning so the house looked good. Charity was wearing an adorable blue and white sundress, and her hair was in pigtails.

  Sarah had changed into one of her “teacher outfits”—a knit shirt and royal blue jumper—hoping to make a good impression on Charity’s aunt.

  In almost fifteen minutes exactly the bell rang. Through the window, Sarah could see a silver BMW parked at the curb. This had to be Ms. Van Huesen. No one in Orchard Hill had a car like that.

  She took a deep breath, pasted a bright smile on her face and opened the door. An elegant looking blonde in a chic beige suit stood on the porch.

  “Good afternoon. You must be Ms. Van Huesen.”

  “I am. And you are?” She didn’t return Sarah’s smile.

  “I’m Sarah Rogers.”

  “Are you the nanny?”

  No wonder she was being so abrupt. Obviously Ms. Van Huesen wasn’t going to waste any of her charm on the help. “No, I’m a friend of David’s. Won’t you come in?”

  “Thank you.” She sailed past Sarah and into the foyer.

  “Charity is in the living room.” Sarah gestured for Beverly to precede her into the room.

  The woman’s cold silver eyes quickly traveled over the room and settled on Charity, who was coloring at the coffee table.

  Sarah was getting a very bad feeling here. She almost wished she’d asked the woman to come back when David was here. But she hadn’t, so she went over to Charity and knelt beside her.

  “Charity, someone is here to see you.”

  The little girl looked up.

  “Let’s say hello.” Sarah rose and pulled the little girl to her feet as well.

  The woman approached them with quick, measured steps. “Hello, Charity. I’m your Aunt Beverly.”

  Charity studied her for a few moments with wide eyes. Then she turned and buried her head in Sarah’s skirts.

  “A shy child, apparently,” said Beverly disapprovingly.

  Sarah gently disentangled Charity from herself. “Your Aunt Beverly has come a long way to meet you, honey. Can you say ‘hello.’”

  Charity raised a hand in an obedient but unenthusiastic greeting.

  “Come now,” replied Beverly. “Has the cat got your tongue? Can’t you give me a proper greeting?”

  Sarah tensed. Did this woman have any sensitivity at all? “Ms. Van Huesen, perhaps you didn’t know, but Charity has some speech difficulties.”

  “Difficulties? Like what?”

  At least the woman was focused on her now and not on Charity. “She has a condition known as Developmental Verbal Dispraxia. If you’d like to stay, I can make some coffee and we could discuss it.”

  “What rubbish. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  Sarah stifled a gasp at the woman’s rudeness. “I am a speech therapist, and I can assure you that Verbal Dispraxia is very real.”

  “Of course you would think so. Otherwise you’d be out of a job.”

  Sarah stepped back. She felt as if she’d been slapped. She was speechless with shock and anger.

  Unfortunately, Beverly had plenty to say. “When I have Charity, I’ll soon sort out this no talking nonsense. No child of mine is going to get away with that. She’s not bad looking though. With a little effort she could be quite pretty.”

  “When you have her? Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself?” asked Sarah.

  “Of course not. Obviously Mr. Daniels is not in a position to care for her. He’s a single man who travels for his work. The poor child would end up being raised by a nanny,” she glanced at Sarah, leaving no doubt in her meaning, “or worse.”

  A wisp of doubt entered her heart then. What if David did give Charity to this horrible woman? She couldn’t let that happen. Without really thinking it through, Sarah started talking. “David isn’t alone. He has me.”

  Beverly raked Sarah with a contemptuous glance. “You? What are you to him?”

  “I’m his fiancée.” It was a huge lie and she said it while looking Beverly right in the eye.

  Beverly narrowed her eyes. “His what?”

  “Fiancée. David and I are getting married, and we’re going to raise Charity together. We’ll be a great family.”

  “Oh really.”

  Raising her chin, Sarah replied, “Yes, really.”

  “I had Mr. Daniels checked out very thoroughly before I contacted him. There was nothing in my information about a fiancée.”

  “The engagement is recent. We haven’t even bought a ring yet.” She was certain Beverly would notice her bare left hand. She hadn’t lied in years. Funny how easily it came back.

  Beverly glared at her. Sarah met her gaze and held it. Finally, Beverly snapped, “Tell Mr. Daniels I’ll be in touch.”

  She put a hand on Charity’s shoulder and the child shrunk back against Sarah. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Charity.”

  Then she whirled around and left, slamming the door behind her.

  Sarah hugged Charity to her.

  “Sweetheart, why don’t you go play with your dolls,” she suggested. Charity nodded and headed for her room. Sarah sank into a chair. Her hands were shaking. What would David say when he found out what she’d done?

  TITLE

  Orchard Hill: volume Two

  Chapter 3

  “You told her what?”

  “I told her that we were getting married, and we were going to raise Charity ourselves.”

  “I know I kissed you before I left, but aren’t you reading a bit much into that?”

  Sarah winced at that, causing him a moment of guilt, but she answered him with a steady voice. “It had nothing to do with that.”

  David took a deep breath. He had to calm down and try to figure out what happened.

  “I know it was the wrong way to handle things, but…” Those big blue eyes gazed up at him, begging him to understand.

  “But what?”

  She dropped her gaze and said softly, “She scared me.”

  “Scared you? What do you mean?”

  “She…she just waltzed in here and assumed that she was getting Charity. She talked about her like she was a piece of furniture rather than a child.”

  “Surely you’re exaggerating.”

  Sarah shook her head at him emphatically. “I’m not. She was awful. She even had the nerve to say that there was no such thing as dyspraxia.”

  David ran a hand through his hair. It was obvious that the woman had upset Sarah, but she still might be the best choice for Charity.

  “Was Ms. Van Huesen the last person who called?” he asked.

  Sarah nodded. She looked very pale and she held her arms over her stomach as if she was going to be sick. Why was she reacting to this so strongly?

  He flipped through the caller ID to the most recent call. It was a cell phone number that had to be her. He dialed it.

  “Beverly Van Huesen.”

  “Ms. Van Huesen, this is David Daniels.”

  “Mr. Daniels, I’m sorry I missed you this afternoon. I did meet your charming fiancée however.”

  “I’m sorry I missed you, too. Can we set up another appointment?”

  “I’ve decided to stay the weekend. Will you let me take you out to dinner tonight?”<
br />
  “Dinner would be excellent, but it will be my treat. I insist.”

  “Very well. What restaurant do you recommend?”

  “Just a minute.” He covered the phone and asked, “What’s a good restaurant around here.”

  “The Lake View is about the best place locally. It’s a supper club.”

  “How about the Lake View?”

  “That will be fine,” Beverly replied. They set the details and then hung up.

  David turned to Sarah. “That’s settled. Dinner at six tonight. And you’re coming, too.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

  “I want you to tell Ms. Van Huesen the truth—and explain Charity’s disability to her.”

  “Can’t you tell her? I really don’t want to see her again.”

  “I think you should do it. You created the situation, now you have to fix it.”

  She slumped in defeat. “All right. I’ll go.”

  She looked so despondent, he couldn’t help but put an arm around her and give her a quick hug. “Don’t worry. It will be fine.”

  ****

  Sarah stared at the clothes hanging in her closet. She hated dressing up but something told her she’d need all the confidence she could get to face Ms. Beverly Van Huesen again. Feeling underdressed wouldn’t help.

  She pulled out a soft yellow sun dress with a fitted bodice and flared skirt. It had been hanging in her closet ever since the wedding she’d bought it for. That was a couple of years now. Sarah also pulled out a white sweater that should keep her from getting too cool in the air conditioned restaurant.

  Sarah supposed she’d have to go all the way, with nylons and heels and nail polish. She’d better get started.

  But first, she’d check her email. She hadn’t been able to do that at David’s house. A message from her brother Jacob popped up, and she smiled. He made a point of checking in with her at least once a week, even though his messages were usually brief.

  He was studying to be an architect. That was pretty ambitious for a kid who had almost flunked out of elementary school. Then someone had figured out that Jacob wasn’t hearing the teacher. Frequent ear infections, that their mother neglected to treat, had caused permanent damage to her brother’s hearing. Hearing aids had helped his grades, but not his social standing. The other children teased him mercilessly.

  When they were in foster care, the teasing only got worse. Sarah had quickly learned to defend her brother, often getting herself into trouble in the process. Jacob was the reason she’d become a speech therapist, to help kids like him. It hadn’t been easy. She’d worked full time and carried a full load of classes. Now she was helping Jacob with living expenses and tuition so he didn’t have to work quite so many hours outside of school.

  Sarah wrote a quick reply to him. She didn’t mention David or Charity because she didn’t want him to worry. If he got worried, he’d spend money he couldn’t spare to come up to Orchard Hill to check on her.

  Once she’d sent the email, Sarah bathed, did her nails and hair and got dressed. Her transformation seemed fairly successful, although she knew she’d never be a beauty. She was as ready as she’d ever be to face that woman again.

  ****

  The Lake View Supper Club was a popular spot even though it was out in the country a bit. As its name indicated, the restaurant was on a lake. On the lake side there were large picture windows, offering patrons a spectacular view.

  As David and Charity stepped into the supper club, he scanned the room for Sarah. She’d promised to meet them there, but he wasn’t sure she’d really come. Something about Beverly Van Huesen had spooked her and made her skittish.

  The hostess led them to a table where the lady in question waited—not Sarah, but Beverly. He guessed that she was in her early forties, but it was hard to judge. Her make-up and platinum hair were flawless, possibly disguising her true age. She wore a discreetly elegant pantsuit that David guessed cost more than a month’s pay for him.

  “Good evening Ms. Van Huesen,” he said as they reached the table. He shook her hand before helping Charity into the booster seat the hostess had slid onto one of the chairs.

  “Please call me Beverly.” Her voice was cool and smooth as marble. “I hope you won’t mind if I call you David. We’re practically family after all.”

  “I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I don’t see any need for formalities.”

  “Good. Then we think alike. Will your fiancée be joining us tonight.”

  Her tone of voice left no doubt of her opinion of his supposed intended. “Sarah said she’d meet us here.”

  “I hope she isn’t too long. I do hate to be kept waiting.”

  “Since we are waiting, why don’t we take the opportunity to get to know one another?” suggested David, although he was starting to see why Sarah hadn’t warmed up to this woman. He was beginning to think there was more about her that reminded him of marble than just her voice.

  “What a good idea. Do you have any questions for me?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact. You said that you weren’t involved with Charity because Maggie didn’t want you to be. Why was that?”

  “I don’t know really. Perhaps after my brother…broke things off with her…she thought the whole family felt the same way.”

  “Your brother certainly had no interest in being a father.”

  Beverly looked annoyed by his statement, but went on civilly, “I’m afraid I must admit he behaved badly. That’s part of the reason I want to adopt Charity—to make up for her father’s neglect.”

  “Is your brother interested in taking up his fatherly duties?”

  Her cheeks reddened, but she kept up her serene appearance. “I don’t believe so. However, my husband and I are more than capable of raising Charity.”

  Before he could ask another question, David spotted Sarah at the hostess stand. The moment she stepped around it, every intelligent thought David had flew out of his head.

  So far he’d only seen her in casual clothes, and she seemed to favor baggy, shapeless styles. But tonight…

  Sarah’s dress revealed a classic hourglass figure that movie starlets from a bygone era would have envied. It hugged curves he hadn’t known existed under those oversized shirts she wore. He rose as she approached the table.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. I got a phone call as I was on my way out of the house,” she apologized.

  “Isn’t that what answering machines are for?” Beverly asked. Her marble façade was cracking a bit, David thought. He ignored it while he helped Sarah with her chair. He had to get his thoughts back on track. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by a pretty…um…face…tonight.

  While he took his seat again, Sarah leaned over and took a moment to greet Charity, something Beverly had neglected to do, he noticed.

  Signaling the waitress, Beverly said, “We should order now, or it will be midnight before we eat.”

  “Sarah hasn’t had a chance to look at the menu,” David protested.

  “It’s all right. I know what I want.”

  He studied Beverly as she gave her order. She gave precise directions for how she wanted her salad served and her meat cooked. She was definitely used to getting what she wanted.

  When the waitress came to Charity, Sarah asked her to wait. Then she recited the choices from the children’s menu. Charity gave no response. Patiently Sarah repeated them until when she said spaghetti, the little girl nodded.

  “Good job,” Sarah praised her.

  “If the child can’t speak for herself, she shouldn’t get a choice,” Beverly declared after the waitress had left with their orders. “I can’t believe you’d be so rude as to make the rest of us wait like that.”

  All right, David was definitely beginning to see Sarah’s point about Beverly.

  “Charity has a disability,” Sarah replied. “A little extra help now, leads toward her eventual independence.”

  Beverly frowned, revealing lines in
her face that the makeup had formerly hidden. “I thought I’d made my feelings clear on that matter. Charity needs a little guidance and discipline. She doesn’t need someone like you catering to her every whim.”

  “I’m not catering to her. I’m just giving her a chance to express herself.”

  She sniffed. “When I have Charity I’ll put a stop to this sort of coddling.”