Crossing over to the open-air area, he spotted Emily; she sat on a stool in front of a blank easel and twiddled a paintbrushin one hand while staring at her phone in her other. She looked completely relaxed, and the mid-morning sun illuminated her beautiful face and highlighted her dark hair.
She glanced up as he approached, and a radiant smile filled her face. “Hi.” Her smile flattened. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” He gave a sardonic laugh. “No one’s here. That’s what’s wrong.”
She threw her arms around him and drew him closer. “It’s going to be fine. I promise you.” Her golden eyes searched his.
He rested his hands on the small of her back. “This is a disaster,” he said, and his voice trembled. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll tell you what to do: Don’t give up hope.” She pushed a lock of hair away from his eyes and brushed her lips over his.
Her soft kiss warmed the cold places inside him. He wanted to believe her. He longed to hold on to the idea that the orchard was going to be a huge success, but he was grasping at his last shred of hope.
When she pulled away, she beamed up at him before something behind him caught her attention, and her happy expression dissolved into a frown.
“What?” he asked, craning his neck over his shoulder just as Claire disappeared into the barn. He scoffed. “What’s she doing here?”
“I don’t know, but she didn’t look pleased. I think she saw me kiss you. I forgot where we were for a second. I’m sorry.”
He huffed out a breath. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh!” Emily bounced on the balls of her colorful Converse. “I have a couple of customers!”
Two young women who looked to be about their age approached.
“Is this where we take the painting lesson?” one asked.
Emily clapped her hands. “It sure is. Take a seat, and I’ll be right with you.” She touched Jake’s shoulder. “See? Everything is going to be great. Keep that cute chin up.” She winked at him before joining her students. “I’m Emily, and I’m your teacher today. What are your names?”
Jake folded his arms over his chest, and he hoped the young women had a whole bunch of friends who were wandering around the orchard and ready to purchase apples and tchotchkes in the barn. If not, then he and the orchard were in big trouble.
“How have things been over here?” Andi sat on a stool in front of Emily later that evening.
Emily sighed and set down her paintbrush on her easel. “I had two customers before lunch and then none after that. I even wandered around the orchard and asked the few folks I saw if they wanted a painting lesson, and none of them were interested. I think about a half dozen customers total walked through the barn.”
“Yeah.” Andi rested her western boots on a rung. “Seth has been helping pick apples, and I was working up by the cashiers. If we sold six baskets of apples, that’s a lot.” She frowned. “I’m afraid this may be a failure.”
Emily rested her arms over her waist. “I hate this for Jake and his family. I’ve been telling him all along that everything is going to be fine. But clearly it’s not.” She turned toward the barn and nibbled her lower lip. There had to be a way that she could help him, but she was coming up empty. “How can we fix this?” she asked as she faced her friend again. “We need to do more advertising. I’ve already posted on the orchard’s socials. I’ll have to keep highlighting all of the cool stuff we have going on here.”
“That’s a great idea. Can I help?”
“What if we took more photos of the orchard and posted them?” She pointed toward the sky. “The evening is a great time to take good photos and videos of the trees and the barn, with the lake in the background. Would you mind taking some and texting them to me?”
Andi nodded. “Sure, we can try that. I’ll ask Seth to help too.”
“Great.” Emily felt a ribbon of hope flutter through her.
Andi turned toward the orchard entrance and then back at Emily. “I saw Claire here earlier.”
“Ugh. I did too.”
“She was with Diane over at the house. I’m not sure what she was up to.” Andi rubbed her hands over the thighs of her jeans.
“Jake has told her more than once that it’s over, but she can’t seem to accept it. Earlier Jake stopped by. He was really upset about how quiet the orchard was, so I kissed him. And when I opened my eyes, Claire was watching us with a dark look on her face. She gave me a really weird vibe.” She shivered at the memory. “It was like she was shooting daggers at me with her eyes.”
“That can’t be good.” Andi hopped down from the stool. “We’re going to be closing soon, so I’ll go see if the cashiers need any help.”
“Okay. I’m going to clean up here and then find Jake. I’ll see you later.” Emily stowed her art supplies and then headed toward the office.
