Summer in Orchard Valley: Valerie / Stephanie / Norah

“With Charles,” Steffie finally said, drawing her knees up and circling them with her arms. “It isn’t the first time, either. He’s the one person in the world I swore I’d never speak to again and then, the first few hours I’m home, I make an idiot of myself over him.”

Valerie set aside her business journal and drew up her own knees. “He’s been worried about you.”

“You’ve talked to him? When? What did he say?” Steffie’s head came up. Her long dark hair fell to the middle of her back, and her eyes probed Valerie’s. Although Steff was almost twenty-seven, she looked closer to eighteen. Especially now, when she felt so embarrassed.

“Charles asked about you shortly after I got home, and later he was concerned because you didn’t arrive when we expected you. Apparently he made some inquiries, trying to track you down. Both Norah and I were so caught up in what was happening with Dad that we weren’t as worried about your late appearance as we should’ve been. Charles, however, seemed terribly anxious.”

“He was just hoping I’d get home in time to make an idiot of myself, which I did.”

Valerie thought that was unfair of Steffie. “Charles has been wonderful,” she protested, still wondering exactly what Stephanie had done.

“To you and Norah. I’m the one he can’t get along with.” Steffie’s shoulders rose as she gave a deep, heartfelt sigh. “How do you know when you’re in love, really in love?” she asked plaintively.

Their mother should be the one answering that question. Not Valerie. She hadn’t figured out her relationships with Colby or Rowdy. Bemused, she shook her head. She could outsmart the competition, put together some of the biggest deals in the industry, but she didn’t know how to tell if she was in love.

“I wish I could answer that,” Valerie said quietly. “I know next to nothing about love. I was sort of hoping you’d be able to enlighten me.”

Steffie frowned. “Don’t tell me we’re going to have to talk to Norah about this.”

“We can’t,” Valerie said, then started to laugh.

“What’s so funny? Listen, Val, this isn’t a time for humor, or even pride. If Norah knows more than we do, which she probably does, then we should forget she’s the youngest and come right out and ask her.”

“We can’t ask Norah about love, because she isn’t here,” Valerie said. “She’s on a date.”

Steffie started to laugh, too, not because it was particularly funny, but because it was a rare moment of shared closeness.

“Reading between the lines of your letters, I assumed you’d fallen in love with your boss,” she said next. “You never said as much, but the two of you seemed to be spending a lot of time together.”

“I think I might’ve been half in love with him until I met Colby.”

“Dad’s heart doctor?”

Valerie nodded. “When I first got home, Dad was fully expecting to die. He actually seemed to be looking forward to it, which annoyed everyone. Although not being able to get home must have been a nightmare for you, it might be the one thing that kept him hanging on as long as he did.”

“You’re sidestepping the issue. Tell me about Colby.”

“It started with Dad’s matchmaking efforts, which I found rather amusing and Colby found utterly frustrating, but then as we got to know each other we realized there was a spark.” More of a blowtorch than a spark, really, but she wasn’t going to say that.

“If you’re in love with Colby, then why do you look like you’re going to cry?”

“Because we both know it wouldn’t work. He’s a small-town doctor, who also lectures at Portland University. Although he could practice anywhere, he wants to stay right here in Orchard Valley.”

“And you don’t?”

“I don’t think I could be happy here,” Valerie said miserably. “Not anymore. And there are other problems, too….”

“But if you truly loved each other, you’d be able to find a solution to your differences.”

“That’s just it. I don’t know if this is love, and I don’t think Colby does, either. Everything would be much easier if we did.”

“Yes, but if he’s the right person …”

“I don’t know. I’m attracted to him. I think about him constantly, but is that enough for me to forsake all my ambitions? Give up my career? I don’t know,” she said again, “and it’s got me tied up in knots. How do I decide? And if I did quit CHIPS and found some other job around here, how do I know I wouldn’t resent him five years down the road? How do I know he wouldn’t end up resenting me for not being a more traditional kind of woman—which is what he wants? Besides, even if I do love Colby, how can I be sure he feels the same way about me?”

“I wish Mom was here.”

“So do I,” Valerie said fervently. “Oh, Steffie, so do I.”

Valerie didn’t see Colby for several days. Four, to be exact. As her father’s health improved, she spent less and less time at the hospital, therefore decreasing her chances of casually running into him. She was working out of the house, and that helped. Being in a familiar place, doing familiar tasks, allayed her fears and tempered her frustrations.

She knew she should think about returning to Texas. The crisis had passed, and by remaining in Orchard Valley she was creating one of a different sort. CHIPS, Inc., needed her. Rowdy Cassidy needed her. She’d already missed one important business trip, and although Rowdy had encouraged her to stay in Orchard Valley as long as necessary, he’d also let her know he was looking forward to her return.

Valerie had almost run out of excuses for staying in Oregon. Her father was going to be discharged in record time and Valerie, with her two sisters, planned a celebration dinner that included Colby.

She was surprised he’d accepted the invitation. Surprised and pleased. She was hungry for the sight of him. He was in her thoughts constantly, and she wondered if it was the same for him.

All afternoon, she’d been feeling like a schoolgirl. Excited and nearly giddy at the prospect of her father’s homecoming—especially since Colby would be driving him back.

Norah had been in the kitchen most of the afternoon, with Stephanie as her assistant. Since Valerie’s culinary skills were limited to salad preparation and napkin folding, she’d been assigned both jobs, along with setting the table.

“What time is it?” Steffie called from the kitchen.

Valerie, who was carefully arranging their best china on the dining-room table, shot a glance at the grandfather clock. “Five.”

“They’re due in less than thirty minutes.”

“Do I detect a note of panic?” Valerie teased.

“Dinner isn’t even close to being done,” Steffie told her.

They’d chosen a menu that included none of their father’s favorites. David Bloomfield was a meat-and-potatoes man, but that was all about to change. Colby had been very definite about that. From now on, David would be a low-choles-terol-and-high-fiber man.

“The table’s set,” Valerie informed the others. As far as she knew, it was the first time they’d brought out the good china since their mother’s death. But their father’s welcome-home dinner warranted using the very best.

Fifteen minutes later, Valerie glanced out the living-room window to see Colby’s maroon car coming down the long driveway. “They’re here!” she shouted, hurrying to the front porch, barely able to contain her excitement.

This moment seemed like a miracle to her. She’d come to accept that she was going to lose her father, and now he’d been given a second chance at life. This was so much more than she’d dared hope.

Steffie and Norah joined her on the porch. Colby climbed out of the car first and came around to assist David. It was all Valerie could do not to rush down the steps and help him herself. Although her father had made phenomenal progress in the eight days since his surgery, he remained terribly pale and thinner than she’d ever seen him. But his eyes glowed with obvious pride and satisfaction as he looked at his three daughters.

He turned to Colby and said something Valerie couldn’t hear. Whatever it was made Colby’s eyes dart toward Valerie. She met his gaze, all too briefly, then they looked hurriedly away from each other, as though embarrassed to be caught staring.

“I’m afraid dinner’s not quite ready,” Norah said as Colby eased David into his recliner by the fireplace.

“I’ve been waiting two weeks for a decent meal,” David grumbled. “Hospital food doesn’t sit well with me. I hope you’ve outdone yourself.”

“I have,” Norah promised, smiling at Valerie. Their father wasn’t expecting poached salmon and dill sauce with salad and rice, but he’d adjust to healthier eating habits soon enough.