Tell Me About Orchard Hollow

by Lin Stepp

  He smiled and picked up Jenna’s fingers to kiss them gently. For a moment she wanted to believe that he would truly miss her, and then she remembered Lena Morrow would be going along with Elliott to keep him company and to keep him too occupied to be lonely for her. Lena would see all the sights Jenna had hoped to enjoy. It wasn’t difficult to work up a few tears at that moment for Elliott to see.

  Elliott let Jenna drive the new car back to their apartment when their dinner ended. She shivered as they walked down the hall toward their apartment door. How could she prevent Elliott from sleeping with her or being intimate with her tonight? There had to be some way. Perhaps she could feign being sick.

  Luckily, he solved the problem for her.

  “I have to go back to the office to get the last of my paperwork ready for the trip tomorrow, Jenna.” He studied his watch as he spoke. “I didn’t get finished before our dinner. I’m sorry about that. My flight leaves early at 6:00 am, you know. I think it will be best if I just finish packing and carry everything over to the office. I can work into the night, catch a little sleep, and then take a taxi to the airport from there.”

  He patted her cheek. “It will be easier on you, and I won’t have to wake you in the middle of the night.” He gave her a smile. “Besides, we’ve already had a special dinner for our goodbye celebration, haven’t we?”

  Jenna tried to force her face to smile again.

  Elliott gave her a considering look. “You have had a nice birthday, haven’t you Jenna?”

  Jenna tried to think what to say. Her relief that he wasn’t spending the night almost clouded her logic.

  “I like the car,” she finally said. There was nothing else she could think to offer.

  “Well, good.” Elliott added this distractedly, already heading for the bedroom to finish his packing.

  By Monday morning, Elliott had left for Paris, and Jenna was almost packed and ready to go to Orchard Hollow in Townsend, Tennessee.

  Carla stuffed a last box into the back of Jenna’s new car.

  “I can’t believe Elliott actually gave you a car for your birthday. I have to admit that once in a while, that man’s timing is actually good.” She laughed at her own joke.

  Jenna winced, unable to joke about the situation yet.

  “Now, don’t you worry.” Carla took the bag from Jenna’s hands and deftly packed it into a remaining corner of the trunk. “Everything is going to be okay. We’ve got everything covered here. Your parents and Elliott think you’re going with John and me to our place in the Poconos for a vacation break, and when we come back we’re going to say you decided to stay on for a few weeks longer. It’s nice up there in late March and April. It’s totally believable you’d want to stay on.”

  Carla rearranged the luggage in the trunk to work in another bag.

  “Mrs. Bynam, our neighbor, will mail all your nice cards from Pennsylvania after we leave. So Elliott and your parents will get a sweet, little note every week from you telling them everything is hunkey-dorey.” She shut the trunk firmly. “Back here in New York, Jake Saunders – that detective friend of Sam’s you hired - will be gathering information on Elliott in case you need it. And the attorney Sam helped you locate – Maury something, I can’t remember the last name - will be keeping in touch with you and Sam. Everything’s all arranged.”

  Jenna sighed. “I hate it that Sam had to help me with all this.”

  “Well, if he hadn’t, John or I would have helped.” Carla made a face. “It’s not as though you could have counted on your parents for any help with this, Jenna. And you were in no shape to take it on. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

  She turned to hug Jenna. “You just get away, have a nice stay at Sam’s place, and try to enjoy yourself while you’re deciding what to do.” She pulled back to study Jenna’s face. “I’m so sorry all this has happened to you, Jen. You know I will be right here anytime you want to talk.”

  “I know, and thanks, Carla.”

  Carla shoved a note into Jenna’s hands. “Here are everyone’s phone numbers and contact information. You call me when you get to your Aunt Lydia’s tonight and then when you get to the mountains tomorrow, you hear? We’ll all be anxious until we know you arrived safely.”

  She frowned then. “I don’t much like the idea of you being out on the road when you have so much on your mind. You’ll be careful, won’t you, Jenna?”

  “I will and everything will be fine, Carla,” Jenna told her, giving her a last hug.

  She waved at Carla gaily as she pulled out of the garage. But in truth, Jenna felt scared to death. She’d never taken a long car trip alone in her life and never driven more than 100 miles anywhere by herself. In addition, Jenna had never lived alone. She lived with her parents, even while going to college, and then she married and moved in with Elliott. She’d always been supervised and sheltered, and, unlike her other friends, she had done few things all by herself.

  “It will be fine, Jenna,” she told herself firmly as she headed out into the New York traffic. “It will. You’re twenty two years old, a smart and competent woman, and you’re having your first great adventure all by yourself.”

  Over the next two days, she gave herself this pep talk repeatedly and hoped she would eventually believe it.

  On Tuesday, after stopping over at Aunt Lydia’s, Jenna headed down Highway 321 outside of Maryville, Tennessee. As she swept around a turn in the highway, Jenna caught her breath. There in the distance were the mountains on the horizon, just as Sam had described them so often. Her trip was nearly over. She wasn’t far from Orchard Hollow.

  Shortly after, Jenna pulled the Cadillac into the parking lot at the Apple Barn. Sam said his sister Raynelle, who owned the Apple Barn, would give her the spare key to the cabin. It felt good to get out and stretch after the long trip down from Virginia. She’d driven eight hours today, and it was about three o’clock now. She could get settled before the sun went down.

  The Apple Barn was a big, log craft store with a long covered porch across the front. Tourists lounged on the porch’s rocking chairs, and Jenna could see there were many more visitors inside. She felt surprised to see so many people in the store on a Tuesday, but remembered Sam telling her the Smokies started getting busy in late March as the weather warmed and the early wildflowers started to bloom.

  The Apple Barn proved a wonderful store, packed with handmade craft items, Appalachian giftware and collectibles, homemade candies and jellies. Jenna looked around while one of the clerks went to get Raynelle Bratcher from the back of the store.

  An attractive, grey-haired lady came toward Jenna now, smiling broadly with her arms held out in welcome.

  “Well, there you are, honey. We’re so glad to see you arrived here safe and sound. Let me give you a hug.”

  Raynelle stood about five foot four, with short, curly grey hair, and a warm smile much like Sam’s. She wore a loose, blue t-shirt printed with butterflies of all colors. And she talked a mile a minute, asking Jenna about her trip, wanting to know if she’d stopped to have her lunch, telling her Sam had called twice since noon to see if she’d arrived yet.

  Raynelle stopped her prattle at last and stood back to look Jenna over.

  “Lord, girl, you’re even more beautiful than Sam told us,” she said, smiling. “We sure are glad to have you with us for a space. I can’t tell you how excited Sam is about you coming down here. We’re all going to see that you have a real nice time while you’re here.”

  She tucked Jenna’s arm in hers. “You come on back to the office with me, I’ll give you the keys to the cabin and the shed out back where you can put your car. I’ve got a basket full of things to help you get started in the house, plus Zita – that’s Sam’s other sister - and I have already gone over and cleaned the cabin, made up the beds, and put in groceries for you.”

  “That was really nice of you,” Jenna said. “But you really shouldn’t have ….”

  “Oh, it was nothing.” Raynelle interrupted
her, waving a hand to dismiss Jenna’s thanks. “And Zita’s left you a casserole and some other things in the refrigerator for tonight’s meal. We’re all wanting to have you over for dinner, but we thought you’d be tired tonight and that you’d just want to settle in and rest.”

  The door to the back office banged open before Raynelle could say any more, and a tall, broad-shouldered, young man filled the doorway.

  “Thank God, you’re here, Raynelle.” His voice came out in an anxious rush. “Come quick. It’s Charlotte. Her time’s come, and my car’s in the shop. She needs to get to the hospital right now.”

  Raynelle’s eyes widened. “Good gracious mercy. I’d better get right over there. Come on with me for a minute, Jenna. It may just be a false alarm. My niece Charlotte’s due a baby any time now. If it is her time, we’ll get her husband, Dean, on his way over here.”

  They swept out through the store and down a side porch to a small shop next door to the Apple Barn. A swinging sign hung on the rail that said Hart Gallery. Inside the store were Smokies paintings on all the walls - mountain scenes, wildflowers, old barns. Jenna saw them in a whirl as they pushed through the storefront toward the back room of the store. There a young girl sat curled up on a small sofa, doubled over and holding her arms under a very large belly.

  “Oh, Raynelle,” she cried. “I’m so glad you’re here. My water’s done broke, and the pains are coming bad. They’re real close, and I need you to get me up to the hospital in Maryville right now. Boyce’s car’s in the shop, and I can’t find my Dean anywhere. Will said he’d gone back to the hardware store to get some more nails. They’d run out on the house they’re working on.” She stopped to groan and hold her stomach again. “I don’t want to go in one of those ambulances, Raynelle. Besides, I don’t think I can wait ‘til it gets out here to get me and take me back into Maryville to the hospital.”

  “Where’s your car, Raynelle?” Boyce’s voice interrupted impatiently. “I’ll go get it and bring it around to the door.” He was rubbing his hands through his hair nervously.

  “Vernon’s got the car today,” Raynelle told him with a shake of her head. “He dropped me off this morning, and he was going to pick me back up at 5:00. We’ll have to figure out something else.”

  “Do you have a car?” Boyce turned to Jenna with his question, seeming to notice she was there for the first time.

  “Boyce, this is Sam’s Jenna.” Raynelle frowned at him. “She’s just gotten here from off the road all day. You run on over and see if one of the girls in the store will loan us a car.”

  “No.” Jenna stepped forward. “You don’t need to do that. Let’s take my car. It will be quicker, and it’s right outside.”

  She pushed her keys at Boyce. “Here are the keys. You go bring the car around to the door. It’s the gold one right in front of the Apple Barn with the New York plates. I’ll help Raynelle get this girl out to the car to meet you. And you can drive. You’ll know where we need to go.”

  “Great.” Boyce snatched the keys and headed out the door, obviously glad to have an assigned task to do.

  “That’s good of you, Jenna.” Raynelle turned to Jenna gratefully. “And a good idea. Charlotte’s pains are coming closer now. We need to get this girl on into the hospital right away.”

  Charlotte cleared her throat. “I’m Charlotte Bratcher,” she said to Jenna. “No one’s bothered to introduce us. And I sure do thank you for this. I’m Raynelle’s niece and kin to Sam through marriage, too. I’ve been really looking forward to meeting you, but I wasn’t hopin’ to meet you like this.” She giggled before another pain started to hit.

  In less than ten minutes, Boyce had them on the way to the hospital in Maryville. Between her pains, Charlotte talked almost nonstop as they sped up the highway.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to the hospital to have my baby in a gold Cadillac convertible,” Charlotte said. “This is just the most beautiful car I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t wait to tell Dean about this. This is going to be the most exciting story later on. And I’m just thrilled to be meeting you at last, Jenna. Look at your clothes and your hair. You sure can tell you’re from New York City. It just must be the most exciting place to live. Sam’s told me all about you, and you know, you and I have a lot in common. We both got married young, and we like art, and we both have birthdays in March and are the same age. Did you know that?”

  Jenna shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”

  “This is going to be my second baby.” She puffed through another sweep of labor pains. “My first, Tyler Dean, just turned three and he’s real excited about this new baby. I’ve been real pleased about how grown up he’s already acting. We’ve got him potty-trained and sleeping in a big bed, and he’s so proud of himself – keeps telling us what a big boy he is now. It’s so cute. All that’s going to make it a lot easier, too, when I have this new baby in the house. My friend, Twila, had two in diapers and cribs at once, and she just about went crazy.”

  While Charlotte was caught up in another set of labor pains, Raynelle leaned over to whisper to Jenna. “Charlotte talks a mile a minute when she gets nervous or scared. She won’t always bend your ear off like this, but just let her talk right now. It helps to keep her mind off her fear and off the pains.”

  Boyce didn’t say more than two words on the trip, but he drove steadily and fast until they got to Blount Memorial Hospital. He looked nervous and anxious. Jenna sat in the front seat with him, and she found herself studying him now and then out of the corner of her eye. Obviously, this was the Boyce Hart Sam talked about so much, the man that had lived in Sam’s cabin for a while and then built his own place across the street. He was a painter, Jenna knew, and she assumed the Hart Gallery they had been in earlier was his. She wondered if the Smokies paintings on the walls were Boyce’s own work or that of other local artists.

  Boyce Hart looked very different from Elliott. Elliott, a tall, slim man with grey eyes and neat, slicked back, brown hair above a long distinguished face, always dressed impeccably. Boyce was tall with brown hair, too. But his hair was a lighter brown, longish and tousled, and streaked with bits of blond from the sun. He wore faded jeans and a t-shirt with a loose flannel shirt over the top. An arrowhead on a gold chain swung loosely around his neck. He was tan and his shoulders were muscular. His hands, resting lightly on the steering wheel of the car, appeared so different from Elliott’s long slim ones - broad and strong, with bits of what looked like paint under the nails. In fact, dabs of paint were on his jeans and t-shirt, too.

  He turned to look at her, as if aware she had been studying him. Jenna offered a casual comment to be polite and then looked away at the scenery.

  At the hospital, Jenna and Raynelle helped Charlotte out of the car at the emergency room entrance while Boyce went to find a place to park. There were some anxious moments in admittance until Raynelle convinced the staff that Charlotte was very close to delivery.

  By the time Charlotte was admitted and taken up to delivery, more of the Bratcher family started to arrive in the waiting area. First Charlotte’s husband Dean and his daddy Will Bratcher rushed in. Boyce and Raynelle settled both of them down and told them Charlotte was fine. Then Charlotte’s mother and father, the Walkers, arrived, along with Charlotte’s aunt, and Raynelle’s sister, Zita Walker, Dean’s mother Betty Nelle, and his grandmother Etta Bratcher. Finally, Raynelle’s husband Vernon Bratcher arrived. The chairs were full, and the men stood propped around the wall.

  Everyone who arrived heard the story of Charlotte’s trip to the hospital and thanked Jenna over and over for her help in getting Charlotte there. When the doctor came out to announce the baby’s arrival, and that all was well with mother and baby, a spate of hugging, rejoicing, and back-slapping ensued. Everyone trooped down to see the baby in the nursery window and then took turns going in to see Charlotte when she got settled in a room.

  Just as Jenna hoped she might get to leave, Charlotte’s husband came out and shyly to
ld Jenna that Charlotte had asked to see her. Jenna found Charlotte propped up in her hospital bed holding her new baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket.

  “I wanted you to see her before you left.” Charlotte leaned the baby forward for Jenna to see more clearly. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  She was indeed, dark-haired with a rosebud mouth, and sleeping peacefully. Jenna felt a little clutch at her heart as she looked at her.

  “She is beautiful, Charlotte, just like her mother.” Jenna smiled at her.

  “Well, that’s real nice of you.” Charlotte smiled back. “And I’ll never forget you helping to get me to the hospital in time to deliver her without any problems.”

  “It was just loaning my car,” Jenna started to say.

  “No, it was more,” Charlotte insisted. “It was a sign we’re going to be friends. It bonded us. I’ve named the baby Jennie Rae – after you and Raynelle. Do you like it? I hope you don’t mind. And I’m going to write up in her baby book about this day, too, so she’ll never forget she rode to the hospital with her New York namesake in a brand new gold Cadillac.”

  “I’m touched and flattered, Charlotte, that you would name your daughter after me. And I think Jennie Rae is a fine name.” Jenna found she had tears in her eyes as she finished saying these words to Charlotte.

  More of the family came back in the room now. And Raynelle told Jenna to go on to the cabin to get some rest.

  “Boyce is going to drive you to Orchard Hollow,” she explained. “It would be hard for you to find Sam’s place in the dark, and, besides, Boyce needs a way to get home himself with his jeep still in the shop. My husband Vernon’s here to take me on home. So I hope you don’t mind if I don’t drive on back with the two of you. It’s been a long day. I’m ready for some dinner and a little rest.” She smiled. “I think our little mother is going to be just fine now. Thanks for all your help tonight, Jenna. Looks like you and I have got ourselves a namesake for all our afternoon’s labor.”