“What’s going on?” she asked.
“The pumpkin vendor just backed out.” His eyes narrowed. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“No, it’s not.” She touched his cheek.
“I’ve got a bad feeling. I woke up with it this morning, and it’s been following me around all day long like a dark shadow.”
“Jake, everything’s going to work out.”
He pursed his lips. “I hope you’re right.”
She curbed the urge to hug and kiss him, reminding herself that their relationship was supposed to be a secret. At the moment, however, all she wanted to do was console him.
“I need to go check on a few things,” he told her. “I’ll see you later.”
As she watched him walk away, she hoped she was right: that somehow, some way, everything was going to fall right into place.
Jake stalked through the barn later that afternoon as all of his worst fears had come to fruition right before his eyes. Every single one of the vendor stalls was empty. Because every single one of the vendors had backed out, without giving him a good reason why.
And tomorrow was the opening.
“This is going to be a disaster,” he whispered to himself.
“Son, I told you this was a bad idea!”
Jake pivoted toward the entrance of the barn where his fatherstood, leaning his good arm on a cane. Jake bit the inside of his lip to keep a disrespectful response from escaping.
Dad pointed his cane toward the ceiling. “Now we’ve spent all this money on the barn for nothing.”
“Mymoney, Dad,” Jake retorted, pointing to his chest. “Ispentmymoney on this. I didn’t touch any of your money, or the orchard’s.”
“That’s not the point, and you know it.” With the help of the cane, he hobbled toward Jake. “This was just a lesson in futility, son. If you’d have just kept doing what we’ve always done, then we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”
Jake’s body shook as white-hot anger built up inside him. This was not the moment he wanted to hear an “I told you so.” But he especially didn’t want to face the financial consequences of taking a risk. He’d emptied his savings and maxed out his credit card. His sister’s tuition was coming due. His father’s medical bills were piling up, and he had the seasonal workers to pay. The responsibility was all on Jake’s shoulders. He felt like throwing up.
Emily appeared in the barn doorway as if she’d heard his thoughts. “Where are the vendors?”
“They all backed out,” Dad answered for him. “I told you two that this wasn’t going to work, but no one listens to me.” He hobbled out of the barn while mumbling about how bullheaded kids were these days.
Jake lifted his ball cap and raked his hand through his messy hair.
Emily grabbed his arm and tugged him. “We’re going to town. Come on.”
He remained cemented in place and studied her. “What on earth can we possibly do to fix this?”
“Do you trust me?” She lifted her chin.
He hesitated and then nodded. He’d always trusted her. That would never change. “I do. With every fiber of my being.”
That comment earned him a cute smile and offered him a moment of relief from his anxiety. “Good. Let’s go.”
They jumped into her Jeep, and she drove the five miles to Apple Haven and parked at the back of the lot.
“Why are we here?” he asked her.
She removed her key from the ignition. “I have a hunch, and I want to see if I’m right.”
They headed into the orchard, and soon they came upon a vendor area, where they found Tom, the pumpkin farmer, and the other vendors setting up booths.
