Tell Me About Orchard Hollow

by Lin Stepp

  WHAT READERS ARE SAYING…

  “Tell Me About Orchard Hollow, Lin Stepp’s newest book in the Smoky Mountain Series, is a sweet, heartwarming story that is difficult to put down once you start it. Even the secondary characters will steal your heart as you follow the heroine’s touching journey from heartbreak to healing. A wonderful new Southern voice.” —Joan Medlicott, best-selling author of “The Ladies of Covington” series.

  “Well, I’ve finally come across someone that believes in all the things that I do … love, family, faith, intrigue, mystery, loyalty, romance, and a great love for our beloved Smoky Mountains. Dr. Lin Stepp, I salute you.” —Dolly Parton, award-winning country music entertainer

  Tell Me About Orchard Hollow

  Second Novel in the

  Smoky Mountain Series

  by

  LIN STEPP

  Canterbury House Publishing at Smashwords

  Copyright 2010 Lin Stepp

  All rights reserved.

  This book is available in print at bookstores nationally.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Author’s Note:

  This is a work of fiction. Although there are numerous elements of historical and geographic accuracy in this and other novels in the Smoky Mountain series, specific environs, place names and incidents are entirely the product of the author’s imagination. In addition, all characters are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my daughter, Katherine, my ever-enthusiastic champion – who encourages and cheers me, maintains my website, and eagerly reads and helps copyedit every book I write. Thanks, Kate.

  Chapter 1

  Out of the corner of her eye, Jenna saw daffodils in a shop window. Daffodils through a haze of misting snow. Enchanted, she stopped abruptly to stare – a big mistake at lunch hour on Park Avenue, one of New York’s busiest downtown streets. Two men, heads bent against the wind and focused intently on their own thoughts, nearly plowed into her.

  “Sorry,” she muttered to their mumbled cursing as they pushed past.

  Jenna worked her way closer to the florist window, angling between the crush of people – all hurrying to get to lunch or rushing to get back to the office.

  “Always hurrying,” Jenna said softly to herself. “And look what they’re missing.”

  She stopped in front of the small florist to gaze at the display with delight. Pots of dazzling yellow daffodils filled the window around a colorful display of bright gardening pots and watering cans.

  Jenna sighed with pleasure, taking in the happy sight. Here in late March, daffodils were only an alluring dream in New York. The temperature, even at noon today, was only in the thirties and a bitter wind roared like an angry demon down the tunnel between Manhattan’s tall buildings.

  A young executive paused as he pushed open the door of the florist, sizing Jenna up from head to toe. He raised an eyebrow and gave her a nod of approval before buttoning his coat against the wind.

  “Pretty woman,” he said as he merged into the crowd.

  Jenna looked at herself thoughtfully in the florist window. “Am I pretty?” She bit her lip as she studied her reflection. Dark brown eyes in a soft oval face looked back at her. Her sleek, dark hair was pulled back neatly in a French braid and tucked into the collar of her new tan coat.

  She frowned at the coat. She had wanted the red coat – a gorgeous claret red one with a swirling skirt - but Elliott insisted she get the tan.

  “It’s much more sophisticated.” He gave her that look across his glasses which let her know the matter was settled.

  Jenna straightened her shoulders and offered a carefully practiced smile to the girl in the window as she remembered the scene.

  She could still see Elliott dismissing the red coat with a quick flick of his hand. “You’re Mrs. Elliott Howell, Jenna. Always keep that in mind. Image is important.”

  The floral assistant came to nod at Jenna through the window.

  A quick flush rose up her neck. She’d stood there too long and drawn attention to herself. Elliott would hate that.

  Jenna looked around with a sense of dread, almost expecting to see him. So little she did pleased him these days.

  Offering a small smile to the florist, Jenna turned away to head back into the street, resisting the urge to order a pot of daffodils sent to her apartment.

  “You need to grow up and stop all these childish impulses,” her mother told her last week when she’d given her scarf to a street woman on a cold day. “Elliott tells your father and me that you indulge entirely too much in romantic dreaming.”

  Jenna blew out a quiet breath. She often felt like a patchwork quilt of what everyone else thought she should be and not a real person at all.

  Picking up her pace to better match that of the noon crowd hurrying down the street, Jenna looked for the restaurant where she was meeting her best friend Carla for a birthday celebration.

  Spotting the red awnings of DaVinci’s ahead on the corner, Jenna gratefully slipped into the Italian restaurant and out of the cold. Carla waved to her from a table by the front window.

  “Happy twenty-second birthday!” Carla got up and wrapped Jenna in a warm hug. Her flyaway red curls stood out in their usual disarray and her blue eyes twinkled with fun.

  Jenna smiled at Carla with affection. Their friendship threaded from early private school days through four years of college and after. Both were tall young women, but there, all resemblance stopped. In contrast to Jenna’s dark looks, Carla was light and fair, her eyes a brilliant blue, and her hair a tumble of strawberry blond waves.

  Carla scooted into the booth with an enthusiastic flounce. “I’m so glad you picked DaVinci’s for our birthday place. I haven’t been here to eat since the restaurant opened three months ago, and I hear the food is fabulous.”

  “Well, it’s wonderful John could cover at the bookstore so we could have our annual birthday lunch.” Jenna removed her coat, shaking off the snow before hanging it up, and then settled into the seat across from Carla.

  “Oh, well, that was no problem.” Carla waved a hand dismissively. “John has a lover’s view.”

  She grinned at Jenna. “He’s still besotted with me even after a year of marriage.”

  Even while Jenna laughed and agreed, she envied it. John and Carla enjoyed an easy and fun loving relationship – their mutual affection obvious. Jenna loved watching the way John looked at Carla, the way he found ways to lean against her, to touch her hair, to make contact with her. And the look Carla always gave back to him.

  “You know, I still remember the day you two met, Carla. John had just come home to manage the family bookstore after college. We went in Tate’s to shop and some chemistry clicked immediately between the two of you from the minute you walked in the door. I saw it happen – and it’s one of my favorite memories.”

  “Mine, too.” Carla smiled as she handed Jenna one of the menus the waiter left.

  Jenna sighed while she studied the options. She knew Elliott felt uncomfortable around John and Carla’s relationship. Her own marriage with Elliott had always been formal.

  “It’s not natural for a man and woman to get along that well in a work relationship,” Elliott said once, frowning. “I think a marital r
elationship should be practical and traditional. I’m glad we both know our place in our marriage.”

  Still, Jenna secretly wished her marriage was more like Carla and John’s, light and fun. She sighed inwardly. She hated herself sometimes for feeling dissatisfied with her marriage. Her courtship with Elliott had been sweet but after they married, she saw less and less of him. Elliott worked so hard and many nights his ad projects continued late into the night. It was that way in the advertising field, especially in New York, Elliott told her.

  Checking her thoughts, Jenna eyed the gift bag sitting on the table. “Can I open your present, Carla?”

  Carla put down her menu and pulled the gift bag back playfully. “Not until dessert. I’m keeping you in suspense.”

  They giggled, stifling their laughter as the waiter arrived with beverages Carla had ordered earlier.

  Stirring cream into her coffee, Carla looked across at Jenna. “What is Elliott giving you for your birthday?”

  Jenna bit her lip. “I hope a trip to Paris with him. I’ve hinted often enough. On Sunday, he’s leaving for six weeks to help set up the new Abercrombie branch there.”

  Carla pushed a flyaway clump of curls behind her ear. “Well, he should take you. With the company paying for the accommodations, it wouldn’t cost much more for you to go.” She sipped her hot coffee tentatively. “Besides, we all know Elliott makes more than enough money to take you with him.”

  Jenna chewed on her lip considering this. “I have a little of my own money saved up, too, from the greeting card work I do for Park Press.”

  “So quit hinting and just tell him you want to go,” insisted Carla in her usual direct way.

  “Well, Elliott and I are having dinner out tonight for my birthday. He’s taking me to Davenport’s on the harbor.” She hesitated. “Maybe he’ll tell me about it then. He said he had a special surprise for me for my birthday.”

  “Good.” Carla’s voice sounded pleased. “Elliott owes you. He is gone so much with his work. He neglects you, Jen. You spend too much time on your own. Anyway, I hope he gets home tonight to take you out for this special dinner you’re looking forward to.”

  “He promised he would.” Jenna’s voice tightened. “We’re going to spend the whole evening together.”

  Carla nodded absently, her eyes now on her menu.

  Jenna’s mind drifted ahead. She would pick something tasteful and elegant to wear tonight and make a special effort to look calm, serene, and sophisticated for Elliott. That’s what he liked. Maybe they would have a real chance to just sit and talk, too.

  Realizing she was daydreaming, Jenna scanned the bill of fare quickly, deciding what she wanted to order. Then she reached for her purse. “Carla, I need to use the restroom. If the waiter comes before I get back, tell him I want the cannelloni.” She pointed at the menu item as she scooted out of the booth.

  Jenna threaded her way to the back of the crowded restaurant. Coming out of the ladies room, she found the main aisle blocked by a dessert cart. Starting up a side aisle in detour, her eyes widened in astonishment as she saw a man slip his hand right up the inside of a woman’s skirt in the corner booth. The woman’s eyes were half shut, her lips parted –her expression almost orgasmic.

  “Good heavens, I’ll have to tell Carla about this one.” The amusement on Jenna’s face vanished as she looked more closely. She recognized the brown hair, squared shoulders, and the Harvard ring on the hand that reached out to draw the woman’s face toward his. It was Elliott Howell, her own husband. He leaned across the booth now to French-kiss the woman, his tongue soon half-way down her throat.

  Stunned, Jenna froze in place, feeling sick. The woman was a plush, svelte blond with a dress cut down to China in the front. Jenna didn’t know her, but Elliott obviously did. His hand drifted caressingly across the top of her breasts now while he tongued her. He didn’t even see Jenna standing near by.

  Jenna backed out of the aisle, and pushed her way around the waiter’s dessert cart to return to her seat the way she’d come before. Her legs felt like rubber.

  “You’re as white as a sheet.” Carla’s eyes widened as Jenna sat down at their table again. “What’s wrong?’

  Jenna didn’t know what to say, so she just stared at Carla.

  “Jenna, what is it?” Carla leaned forward, alarm spreading over her face.

  “Go and see,” Jenna finally got out. “The back booth right beside the bathroom. Go and see, but don’t do anything, Carla. Just go and see and come right back.”

  When she returned, Jenna knew from her expression that Carla had seen all too much.

  “Did he see you?” Jenna bit on her lip.

  “No, he was too busy,” Carla answered flatly.

  They both sat in shocked silence for a minute. Carla reached across the table and gripped Jenna’s hand.

  “What do you want to do, Jen?”

  Tears welled up in Jenna’s eyes. “I want to leave, Carla. I can’t stay. Oh, please, Carla, I can’t stay.” She felt the tears begin to trickle down her face despite her efforts to hold them back.

  “Come on, we’ll go to my place.” Carla dropped a bill on the table and grabbed Jenna’s hand along with the gift bag. She pulled Jenna out the front door and flagged down the first cab she found.

  As soon as they got back to Carla’s apartment, Jenna collapsed in wrenching sobs. She felt like a part of her was dying inside – and the scenes of Elliott with that woman flashed in and out of her mind like a garish neon sign. Carla provided a shoulder and cried along with her some of the time. Finally, hiccupping and heaving, Jenna stopped.

  “Oh, Carla,” she managed to say. “I’ve spoiled the birthday party. I’m so sorry.”

  “You spoiled nothing, silly. How can you even think about that in the midst of this mess,” she raged, her face flushed with anger. “It’s that jerk, Elliott, who spoiled things. I can’t believe he would cheat on a wonderful, selfless person like you. I just hate him for it. I wish I’d gone and thrown something on his head or hit him now. But I was in such a shock. I just couldn’t think.”

  “Oh, Carla.” Jenna shivered. “What am I going to do?” She pulled a sofa cushion into her arms, hoping it would offer her some warmth and comfort.

  “Well, Jenna, you’re going to step out of your dream world and realize all those rumors about Elliott fooling around are true.” Carla put her hands on her hips in anger. “I’m sorry, Jen, I should have told you a long time ago and maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe you wouldn’t have been hurt so badly, wouldn’t have had to see this. But it was all rumors, Jen. John and I didn’t know if they were true or not. I mean, we heard things, but we never saw Elliott being intimate with anyone or saw him out with anyone else. Besides, we didn’t know if you would believe us, anyway. You’ve never been able to see anything but good in Elliott. We just didn’t know the right thing to do.”

  Stunned at the thought, Jenna could only stare. “You mean people talk about Elliott being with other women. That this might not be the first time.”

  “Yes, Jenna. As bad as it is, you have the right to know the truth now. It’s bloody likely that all the other rumors are true. My God, I could kill him. I could just kill him. What an insufferable creep.”

  Carla paced around the room now, punching a throw pillow she carried. “I wish this was that jerk’s head. I really do. And to think I’ve tried to be nice to him all this time just for you. I wish now I’d told him what I thought of him.”

  “You don’t like Elliott?” Jenna asked, one incredible revelation following another.

  She scowled. “No, Jenna, I don’t, and neither does John – or anyone else who really loves you. But John and I bit our tongues and smiled through our teeth a zillion times when Elliott was a pompous ass so we wouldn’t hurt your feelings. And now look what Elliott’s done. I mean the man just has no limits on the asshole scale.”

  Carla gave Jenna a pitying look. “Oh, Jenna, I guess I didn’t want to believe the
worst myself. But still it’s a shocker. I am so sorry.”

  “Yes. So am I.” She sucked in a shaky breath, her head reeling now.

  Somehow, Jenna got through the afternoon with Carla and found her way back home. Carla wanted to come with her, but Jenna insisted she would be all right. She needed to be alone. It didn’t surprise her to find a message on the answering machine from Elliott.

  “I have to work late again, Jenna. Sorry, but you know how it is. We’ll have to postpone our dinner until tomorrow night.” He paused, adding an afterthought. “Don’t wait up; I’ll be late.”

  “Working late.” She shook her head, her eyes moving to look at herself in the mirror over the desk. “All this time, I thought he was always working late. How could I have been so stupid? It’s not as though I don’t read novels and see films where couples cheat. How could I have been so truly naïve?”

  She sat down numbly at the desk, still babbling to her own reflection in the mirror. “I thought Elliott was going to take me to Paris for my birthday. He’s going to Paris, you know. He’s been talking about it, how beautiful Paris is in the spring and that he hoped I could see it one day. I thought he was laying out little hints. I’ll bet he’s not taking me at all.”

  Jenna cried some more just thinking about it, then impulsively went back to the bedroom to search through the clothes and bags Elliott had already started to lay out for his trip. In an inside pocket of his travel bag she found two airline tickets. One had Elliott’s name on it. The other did not say Jenna Howell; it read Lena Morrow.

  Jenna sat down on the bed and stared at the tickets, more tears trickling down her cheeks. “I thought that blond looked vaguely familiar.” She wiped her face with her arm. “She was Lena Morrow, Elliott’s new secretary.”