Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley (Arcadia Valley Romance Book 0)

by Mary Jane Hathaway

  Aiden pulled her into an embrace. “I’ll miss you. But of course you should do whatever you think is best.”

  She relaxed against him. “Thanks for understanding.”

  But he didn’t kiss her like he normally would. Maybe Aiden wasn’t as okay with the situation as he said.

  Only time would tell.

  * * *

  “I can’t even tell you how happy I am to see you,” Grandma Jennings said. “You not being here left a hole in the family for such a long time. We have so much catching up to do.” Grandma gave her a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. She seemed smaller than Kate remembered, but she was as sharp as ever. “I’m just sorry it was under these circumstances.”

  In Kate’s grief, she hadn’t stopped to consider that Grandma would be grieving, too. She’d thought of Kate’s dad as her own son. In fact she and Uncle Bobby had stopped by the hospital a few times over the last couple of weeks. Things had been so hectic she hadn’t gotten to visit with them much. “Me, too.”

  Aiden cleared his throat. “It’s nice to be here. Thank you for inviting me to your home.”

  Kate took that as her cue and quickly introduced him to the small group gathered in her grandmother’s kitchen. “Brooke was a grade ahead of me and kept us all in line,” she explained.

  “You try being the oldest of three girls,” Brooke said with a grin. “And one cousin. I was always the ‘babysitter’ of the bunch.”

  “And here’s the baby of our group,” Katie said, putting an arm around Riley. “She got into all kinds of trouble when we were growing up.”

  Riley laughed. “Don’t let them fool you. I may be the ‘baby’ but I am only three years younger than Katie.” She shot a smile at her cousin. “Sorry. I mean Kate. Some habits will take some time to break.”

  “Then there’s Olivia,” Katie said. “She’s the middle sister. She’s right between me and Riley.”

  Riley rolled her eyes. “Olivia comes home as often as Kate. So basically never.”

  Brooke shook her head at her sister. “Olivia has an exciting life. She lives in New York and is a reporter. We Skype and FaceTime her a lot.”

  “Reporter? Ha.” Riley made a face. “She’s more like a media personality. She doesn’t really report anything.”

  It seemed like the sibling rivalry between Riley and Olivia was still as strong as ever. When they were younger, the two of them had fought over just about everything.

  “I’ve heard stories about the four of you,” Aiden said. “It sounds like you guys had a great time growing up together.”

  “They certainly kept us on our toes.” Grandma smiled. “Will you be staying in Arcadia Valley for a few days, Aiden?” she asked. “Our town has a lot to offer if you like the great outdoors.”

  Aiden shook his head. “No, ma’am. I fly back to Atlanta tomorrow. I have classes to teach so I couldn’t take off long.”

  “How about you?” Brooke asked, turning to look at Kate. “Are you going to stay for a while?”

  She nodded. “I am. At least until all the renovations Dad ordered are complete.”

  “When I visited Henry in the hospital a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned his plans for that,” Grandma said. “He should have done it years ago. Who is handling the work?”

  Kate cleared her throat. “Drew Harrison,” she said softly.

  Her cousins exchanged glances. They’d been around when Kate and Drew had broken up. The days after she gave the ring back, they’d been the ones to come coax her out of bed and convince her to face the world.

  “That’s... an interesting turn of events.” Riley said. She tucked a wisp of dark hair behind her ear. “I think Drew still goes to our church, but to a different service than we do.” She shrugged. “I honestly haven’t thought about him in years.”

  Brooke chuckled. “That’s no surprise. Anyone who doesn’t have a dog in need of boarding or training isn’t exactly on your radar,” she said teasingly. “Sometimes I think you’d rather me send you pictures of our farm animals instead of your own nephew.”

  “That’s not true.” Riley’s love of animals was a longstanding family joke and Kate was happy to see that hadn’t changed. “How about you send me pictures of River with the farm animals?” Riley grinned.

  “She has a dog boarding business,” Brooke explained to Aiden. “Not to mention working with the local shelter to help find homes for strays.”

  “You can say all you want to about it and it won’t bother me,” Riley said with a grin. “I still say I like most dogs better than I like a lot of people.”

  “You’re happy with your life and your career,” Grandma said. “That’s what matters.”

  Grandma and Riley ushered Aiden into the living room to show him some old family photos and Brooke grabbed Kate’s arm. “How are you really?” she asked quietly.

  Kate shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t think everything has soaked in just yet.”

  “It will take some time,” Brooke agreed. “Grief is one of those things that seems to come in waves. Just when you think you’re done, it hits all over again.”

  Kate’s eyes filled with tears. “Can you forgive me for not being here? In person I mean?” The two of them had always been close, but over the last decade, their relationship had consisted of phone calls, emails and texts. “I should have come home for the funeral.” Brooke’s husband, Ed, had passed away last year, leaving her alone with a farm and a baby boy.

  “It’s fine. The last year was such a blur for me. Things are calmer now and you and I can actually visit. I can’t wait for you to meet River. He’s almost a year old and is what has kept me going on the bad days.”

  Kate shook her head. “It doesn’t seem real sometimes, does it? That we are the grownups now, dealing with all the life stuff.”

  Brooke smiled. “Some days I wake up and I feel like I’m back in high school and we should be getting ready to cheer at a pep rally. But then River cries or one of the goats is ready to kid and I’m the one in charge. Life’s funny, that’s for sure.” She reached over and patted Kate’s arm. “You’ll get through these next days and then you’ll get used to your new normal.”

  “I know you’re right. But having to deal with Drew on a regular basis sure doesn’t feel ‘normal’ to me.”

  “Have you seen him yet?”

  “Earlier today at Mr. Boyd’s office. It wasn’t exactly a reunion for the books. Kind of awkward and full of disbelief on my part.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what my dad was thinking. He couldn’t stand Drew, so it’s kind of shocking that he’d hire him now.”

  Brooke didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I should have called you,” she said finally.

  “You knew?”

  “Not about the renovations. But I knew your dad and Drew had become friendly in recent months. When I found out Uncle Henry was so sick, I kind of chalked it up to that. Like maybe he was trying to right a wrong from all those years ago.”

  “And who knows? Maybe that’s exactly what it is all about. Maybe he wants Drew in charge of the house and office to make up for the stuff that happened.” She shrugged. “Dad left me some letters. I’m hoping one of them will eventually give me some insight into his recent decisions. To say I was blown away when I found out he’d hired Drew would be an understatement.” She still couldn’t quite believe she’d been face to face with Drew again.

  Brooke tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “I hope you get some clarity soon. How about Aiden? How does he play in to all of this?”

  “He’s great.”

  “I’m not disputing that. But is he someone you’re serious about?”

  Kate glanced in the living room to be sure Aiden was still occupied. She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “I like him a lot,” Katie said quietly. Even to her own ears it sounded weak.

  “How long has it been?”

  Kate cleared her throat. “Two years.”


  Brooke frowned and shook her head. “Okay. So maybe you need to take some time to think about that while you’re here. How long are you really staying?”

  “That’s the million dollar question.” Kate sighed. “Dad asked that I stay till the renovations are finished. He also wants me to manage the farmers market for the upcoming season.”

  “Yeah, he met with me about that a few weeks ago. Is that something you think you want to do?”

  Kate shrugged. “I’m not sure. I know nothing about running a place like that.”

  “No, but you’ll get used to it. Look at your background. Your dad probably passed on some of his business savvy to you. And you know your mom was the best gardener around. Seems like you should be the perfect person for the job. Your dad may have been the driving force behind the market’s success, but your mom was always the heart of the place. Even now, so many years after her passing — her memory is still there. A lot of the vendors are people who knew and loved her.” Brooke smiled. “Over the past year or so, your dad backed away from a lot of stuff. He’d passed the insurance office off to his business partner. He’d stepped down from most every committee or organization he was on. But he continued to spend time at the market. He held a vendor meeting in January to discuss the holiday market that had gone on in November and December. Just before he was hospitalized, he asked me to come to his office there. I think he spent his time focused there because it held so many happy memories.”

  It was all so complicated. “I’m just not sure what I’ll do. When I meet with Drew later in the week to go over the renovation plans, I’m hoping to get an estimate on how much time the projects will take him. As soon as the house renovations are finished, I could put it up for sale and get on back to my life.”

  “Unless you decide to stay.”

  Kate nodded. “I’m not sure that is in the cards. Being back in the house even for a little while is going to be hard enough. Let’s just say I haven’t slept much since I’ve been staying there. Besides, there are ghosts around every corner in this town.”

  “You’re not telling me anything I don’t know. But you know what? Sometimes those ‘ghosts’ are comforting. It’s hard at first, I’ll give you that. It used to be that I couldn’t drive by that cafe at the east end of Main without bawling like a baby. You know the one — the Jukebox. Ed and I had our first date there. In fact, for a little while I’d drive out of my way just so I didn’t have to pass by.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Kate had gone to the Jukebox a time or two with Drew. They had an old-fashioned music machine that played songs from the fifties and sixties. She used to love going there.

  “A couple of months ago, I decided I couldn’t live that way any longer. I took River there and we sat in the same booth Ed and I used to always sit in. I cried. But you know what? It was nice. It felt like he was there with us. I have so many happy memories and I don’t want to forget them just because it’s hard sometimes.”

  “That makes a lot of sense. How’d you get to be so wise?”

  Brooke grinned. “Because I’m the oldest. That will always mean I know best.” Brooke had been a grade ahead of Kate and had spent years claiming to be more knowledgeable because of her extra year of existing. “Seriously though, I will give you some advice. Don’t make any decisions now. Your grief is fresh and being back here is going to compound it. Just ride it out for a little while before you decide anything important.”

  Decisions. She’d spent an awful lot of time running away from having to make any tough decisions.

  It looked like it had finally caught up to her.

  Chapter 4

  Two days later, Kate was still considering her cousin’s advice. Aiden had gone back to Atlanta, and although there was a cloud of uncertainty swirling around them, he’d kissed her goodbye and promised to FaceTime soon. After two years, was it weird they hadn’t said ‘I love you’ yet? And more importantly, was it weird that she wasn’t bothered by their lack of a declaration of some type?

  The doorbell rang before she could consider it further and her heart raced. She knew who that would be.

  “Hi,” Drew said once she’d opened the door. “I brought all the plans.” He held up a stack of paperwork. His face was expressionless. Maybe it would be all business between them. After the tension in Mr. Boyd’s office the other day, that might be for the best.

  “Come on in the kitchen. We can work from the table.”

  She led him to the kitchen and was suddenly struck by the memory of the two of them and her mom, sitting at that very table eating banana splits. Her mom had always had a weakness for those so Kate and Drew had stopped and picked up one for each of them one afternoon. Her dad had been working, as was typically the case back then. Her mom had been much more welcoming to Drew, probably because she’d picked up on how much they loved each other. “Do you want some coffee?” Kate asked. “I just got some made.”

  “Please.”

  “Cream? Sugar?” she asked. “I didn’t know you as a coffee drinker.” She gave him a wry smile. “Back then we were more into hot chocolate.” She froze for a second. Maybe mentioning their past out loud wasn’t a good idea.

  “That’s right.” His blue eyes were the color of the Caribbean, just like she remembered. “Just two teaspoons of sugar please.”

  She obliged. “I’m more of a fancy coffee drinker myself.” She opened the fridge to reveal two different creamers. “Hazelnut or mocha, depending on my mood. With sugar. And maybe a little whipped cream on top if I’m feeling indulgent.” She thought of Aiden, who knew exactly how she liked her coffee. He’d been the one to go to the grocery store and stock the fridge with her favorite things.

  “Sounds nice. I guess my taste is a little simpler.”

  Once she was settled across from him at the table and they both had steaming mugs of coffee, she wondered again what she was doing. Sitting in her parents’ house across from the boy who’d broken her heart. Except now her parents were gone and the boy had turned into a man. A very handsome man. She knew she needed to keep her distance. She’d been angry just seeing him the other day in Mr. Boyd’s office. But this morning her anger was tempered with curiosity. They’d each lived eleven years of life since their last conversation. Was he even the same person she’d known before? “How are your folks?”

  Drew took a sip of coffee. “Believe it or not, Dad’s been sober for a decade now. He still lives here in the house we lived in when you and I were in high school.”

  “Wow. That’s amazing.” Kate was glad for him. Being labeled the son of the town drunk hadn’t been easy for Drew. It had been part of why her dad had fought so hard to keep them apart. He’d been convinced Drew might turn out just like his daddy. No matter how much she tried to explain to him how ashamed Drew was of his heritage and how he wouldn’t go near alcohol with a ten-foot pole, her dad had never been convinced.

  “It hasn’t been easy. For him or our family. But he hung in there. I’m proud of him.”

  The Drew she’d known had definitely not been proud of his dad. “That’s great.”

  “He’s had a steady job for the past several years. Rehab doesn’t always work, but it did for him.” Drew took a sip of coffee. “He owns the house. You remember how we were always moving in and out of rental houses and apartments? Not anymore. My mom finally got to paint walls and grow flowers.”

  “I’m happy for you. And them. Your mom must be over the moon.” She’d always thought of Drew’s mom as the epitome of longsuffering. All those years when her husband couldn’t hold a job and was in and out of jail, she’d worked whatever job she could find. She’d always put Drew and his sister first and done whatever it took to care for them.

  He flinched. “Mom passed away five years ago.”

  Even when Kate had been a regular fixture in Drew’s life, his mom had been in poor health. She’d always seemed so fragile. “I’m so sorry.”

  “She had some great years though.” Drew smiled at a long ago memory
that Kate kind of wished she’d been a part of. “My sister had her first kid eight years ago, and my parents were the happiest I’ve ever seen them. Being a grandma was my Mom’s whole purpose in life I think. She was really amazing at it.”

  “Jaime has a child?” His sister had been a year behind them in school.

  “Yep. Three now, actually. She married Rodney Carver. You might remember him. He graduated with us.”

  “Oh yeah. Tall? Played basketball?”

  “That’s him. He’s the high school basketball coach now. Jaime is a part time teacher aid, but their two youngest aren’t in school yet, so she spends most of her time at home with them.”

  “So you’re an uncle.” It wasn’t hard to imagine. Even when they’d been in high school, Drew had been great with kids. She used to tell him he’d make a great dad someday, and she still believed that in spite of everything.

  Drew pulled out his phone and touched the screen. “Here they are.” He handed her the phone.

  His screen saver showed three darling blond headed kids, two girls and a boy. “They’re adorable.” She peered close. “Your nephew looks a lot like you when you were young.”

  He grinned. “I hear that a lot. He’s playing soccer this year and I try to make it to all of his games. I never knew I could be so excited about kids’ league sports, but I have the T-shirt with his name on it and the whole nine yards.”

  Kate wasn’t sure that was what she wanted to hear. How much easier would this all be if Drew had turned out to be some kind of selfish jerk who was only interested in owning material things and having a good time? Instead, she’d learned so far that grown up Drew was a thoughtful, kind man who seemed genuinely happy with his life. At least so far. Maybe it was all a façade. After all, in high school he had her convinced she was his one and only love. The night he proposed had been the best night of her life. And the day he’d told her there was someone else still haunted her. “That’s nice. Enough chit chat though. We need to get down to business.”