Orchard Hill Volume Three Read online

  Orchard Hill: volume three

  TITLE

  TITLE

  Orchard Hill

  Volume Three

  by

  Kara Lynn Russell

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business esta b lishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Orchard Hill Volume Three

  COPYRIGHT © 2009 by Kara Lynn Russell

  Disrupting Harmony : An Orchard Hill Romance

  COPYRIGHT © 200 8 by Kara Lynn Russell

  Losing Patience : An Orchard Hill Romance

  COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Kara Lynn Russell

  Finding Joy : An Orchard Hill Romance

  COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Kara Lynn Russell

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures, LLC except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  eBook editions are licensed for your personal enjoyment only. eBooks may not be re-sold, copied or given away to other people. If you would like to share an eBook edition, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading an eBook edition, and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the publisher and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Contact Information:

  [email protected]

  Cover Art by Nicola Martinez

  White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures, LLC

  www.whiterosepublishing.com

  PO Box 1738 *Aztec, NM * 87410

  Publishing History

  First White Rose Edition, 2009

  Print ISBN 1-60154-56 5 - 7

  Published in the United States of America

  Disrupting

  Harmony

  Prologue

  “Hello Pansy.”

  Pansy stiffened her back and sat up straighter before swiveling her chair around to face Misty Green. “Hello, Misty. What brings you by the church office today? There’s no choir practice on the schedule.”

  “Actually, I’m here to see you.”

  “What do you mean?” What did this feather brain have on her mind now, Pansy wondered.

  “I think it’s time we buried the hatchet.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I think we should forget the matchmaking contest. I’d like to declare a truce now that we’re going to be…” She swallowed and then choked out with obvious difficulty, “family.”

  Pansy smiled. Misty must be worried. “Isn’t that an interesting idea?”

  “It would be the perfect time to stop. We’re tied with three matches each. Four, if we count our own engagements.”

  “Of course we can stop,” said Pansy, not bothering to disguise the smugness she could hear in her own voice. “I understand that you don’t want to be beaten by your future mother-in-law.”

  That hit home. Misty narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “That’s not why I’m doing this. I thought for the sake of the two men we both love, that we might make an effort to get along.”

  “And you didn’t think of this before you matched up Sarah and David?”

  “I didn’t know you were engaged to my father then.”

  Pansy abandoned her sweet tones and snarled out, “No, you were too busy sneaking around with my son to notice what your father was doing.”

  “He was sneaking around with you,” Misty shot back. She met Pansy’s glare with one of her own. “I don’t care what you do, but I’m quitting. The whole idea was silly to begin with.”

  Pansy delighted in reminding her, “It was your idea.”

  Misty’s face darkened. My, she was in a state today.

  “It doesn’t matter whose idea it was. I intend to make my marriage work even if it means stepping back and letting you pretend you’ve won this contest.”

  Pansy arched her eyebrows. “So who’s pretending?”

  Without another word Misty whirled around and snatched at the door knob. “All right, I did my best. I can’t help it if you’re determined to act so childishly.”

  Pansy felt the vibration from the slamming door with satisfaction. She knew that no matter what Misty might say, she’d never be able to quit. No real matchmaker would.

  It was time to start working on her next “project.”

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  Orchard Hill: volume three

  Chapter 1

  God sets the lonely in families.

  —Psalm 68:6 NIV

  Even the sparrow has found a home , and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar.

  —Psalm 84:3 NIV

  She was standing on his doorstep when he got home. Joseph recognized her at once, but couldn’t imagine why Harmony Solberg would be at his house. He’d seen her television show once or twice, but it was hardly something he’d be a fan of, even if he did have time to watch TV. He’d also seen her at church since she moved to Orchard Hill, but they’d never been introduced. Unless you counted the little mishap at the Apple Festival. Joseph hoped she wasn’t counting that.

  “Are you Joseph Velasquez?” she asked. Her tone was not friendly.

  “Yes, I am.” He shifted the boxes of pizza he was holding and extended a hand to her. “You’re Harmony Solberg, aren’t you?”

  She nodded, shaking his hand briefly and then dropping it. “Yes, and apparently, we’re now neighbors. I live next door.” She indicated the beautifully restored Victorian across the lawn. Joseph hoped his house would look that good one day.

  “I’m guessing you aren’t here to bring us a casserole and extend a welcome to the neighborhood.”

  Color flooded her cheeks. “I’m sorry, but no. This is about your daughters, the triplets.”

  “They’re my nieces.” His heart sank. If this was about the triplets, it couldn’t be good. He remembered the scene at this year’s apple festival, the triplets knocking into the ladder he was standing on, the basket of apples he’d picked raining down on this woman’s head.

  She must have been thinking along the same line as she said, “I believe I’ve met both you and your nieces before, at the orchard, perhaps.”

  “Yes, I’m very sorry for that mishap. I take it my nieces have added to your list of grievances against them.”

  “You assume correctly.”

  Joseph wanted to laugh at her prim attitude, but that would hardly improve the situation.

  “I’ve just come back from a trip and found them in my garden, picking all the flowers. They ran away when they saw me. I believe you’ll have quite a bouquet to enjoy. My garden is practically bare.” She spoke the words lightly, but Joseph could tell Harmony was more than a little bit angry over the incident. “I was just about to ring the bell when you pulled up.”

  “Would you care to come in and speak to the culprits yourself?”

  “That won’t be necessary. In the future, please make sure they stay out of my yard. That’s all I ask.” The polite tone of her voice became strained, as if it was all she could do to keep her temper under control.

  “Of course. Today things were a little hectic, with moving and all. Perhaps they weren’t as well supervised as they normally are. Would you care to join us for pizza?” What was he thinking? Asking the star of “At Home with Harmony” to eat take-out pizza? He wasn’t surprised when she refused.

 
; “I have some unpacking of my own to take care of, but thank you for the offer.”

  Joseph stood and watched her for a few moments as she walked away. As far as he was concerned, she added quite a bit to what his realtor, Jeff Bradley, had called the beauty and appeal of the neighborhood. Too bad she seemed so uptight. He should probably expect that in a woman who had hosted a show on the art of proper housekeeping. She was a perfectionist, no doubt. Definitely not his type.

  It seemed strange to him that he would even be considering that. A few months ago, he didn’t think he’d ever be interested in dating again. Then, his sister, Hope, had talked him into taking out her friend Faith Fielding. He’d agonized about the date for days, even though he was just taking Faith to the Spring Fling that the youth group put on every year. But, he’d actually enjoyed himself.

  Mostly it was because of Faith. A widow herself, she had assured him that she had no romantic illusions about the two of them. She’d really understood his reluctance to begin dating again, and told him that it was all right to wait until he was ready. After all, he was her first date since her husband had passed away ten years ago.

  It didn’t take her long to get the hang of it again, Joseph thought. She was already engaged to her boss, elementary school principal Andrew Thomas.

  Strangely her understanding had him thinking about dating again rather than shrinking away from it, hiding deeper in the fortress he’d built around his heart since his wife’s death.

  Joseph’s stomach growled, reminding him he was on a mission. He stepped into his new home—chaos central for the moment—and called out, “Pizza’s here.”

  The sound of feet running from all parts of the house rumbled like thunder, and he was relieved of his burden seconds later. His sister, Hope, had gotten out paper cups and was pouring soda into them and handing them off to the kids, who carried everything into the living room so they could eat in front of the television.

  “Don’t we have any milk?” he asked.

  “They worked hard today,” she countered. “Let them have a treat. Besides, milk and pizza—yuck, Joseph.”

  He let that go because he had bigger issues to deal with. “How were the kids while I was gone?” he asked. “Did they give you any trouble?”

  Hope shook her head. “Nope. I think they’re too tired to cause any problems. Even the triplets were quiet.”

  He gave her a look. Hope gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “What did they do?”

  Joseph told her about the confrontation with their new neighbor.

  Hope’s mouth dropped. “Harmony Solberg is your next door neighbor! You’re really moving up in the world, Joseph.”

  “Yeah, right. We’re going to get along great with her. I’m sure she’s the sort of person who’ll be delighted to live next door to a family like mine.”

  Hope frowned at him. “There’s nothing wrong with your family.”

  “Wrong, no. But we’re a crowd—a noisy, messy, extremely active crowd.”

  Before they could take the argument any further, Shaun Thiesen, one of the employees from Joseph’s construction business, and Oliver Laurence, Hope’s fiancé, clattered down the back stairs and into the kitchen.

  “All the beds are put together. Everyone should have a place to sleep tonight,” Oliver announced.

  “Is there any pizza left?” asked Shaun. Shaun’s wife had left him a couple of months ago, and he wasn’t dealing with it well, resorting to drinking to ease his pain. Joseph had coerced the young man into helping, thinking he’d be less likely to get into trouble if he was busy.

  “The feeding frenzy is in the living room.” Hope handed them each a cup full of soda and sent them off. “The pizza won’t last long in that crowd.”

  Joseph watched the two men thoughtfully. Shaun seemed to be doing better since Joseph had introduced him to Pastor Isaac. Isaac had gone above and beyond the call of duty, allowing Shaun to live with him after being kicked out of his apartment, but Joseph still wanted to keep an eye on Shaun.

  And then there was Oliver, the man who’d breezed into town, humiliated Hope, made her an object of gossip, did everything he could to push her away, and then proposed to her. Yes, Oliver would take some watching.

  “Stop brooding and let’s go eat,” Hope scolded him. “You’re just tired. It will all look better tomorrow.”

  Joseph sighed. “You’re right, I am tired. Thanks for coming over and helping out, Hope.”

  “Any time, big brother, any time.”

  ****

  Harmony eyed the waiting suitcase with distaste. She wanted to sit down and put her feet up, but her mother had always made her unpack immediately after a trip. Now that she was a full grown woman in her late—no make that mid-thirties, she couldn’t break the habit.

  It hadn’t been a long trip, but still she was exhausted. Dealing with her parents was exhausting. And they’d wondered why she’d moved so far away from them. Coming home to a ruined garden had just been the icing on the cake. But, she should have waited until she’d cooled down a bit to talk to Joseph.

  Harmony unzipped the suitcase and mechanically began taking things out and sorting them into piles. A place for everything and everything in its place could have been her motto. She was great at cooking, decorating, cleaning, organizing, gardening, everything…except relationships.

  Depression weighed on her, and Harmony couldn’t shake it. She’d moved too often to have many good friends, and none of those lived anywhere nearby. She’d thought her life was going to turn around when she started dating Blake, but that had been the biggest mistake she’d ever made.

  And now to top it all off, she’d just made a bad impression on her new neighbor. It was just too much. Defiantly, Harmony decided she was going to leave her suitcase, still half full, right there on the bed while she took a long, soothing bath.

  She grabbed her robe from the closet and headed to the bathroom, refusing to look at the suitcase as she passed the bed.

  In the bathroom, Harmony turned on the taps and added a scoop of bath salts to the stream of running water. It wasn’t going to bother her a bit. She was going to soak in the tub and the suitcase would still be there when she got done.

  Yes, it would still be there…sitting on her bed…half packed…waiting to be taken care of…

  With a groan, Harmony turned off the water and stomped back into the bedroom to finish unpacking. Habit was a hard thing to break.

  ****

  The next morning, Harmony sat at her kitchen table with a pen, paper and a cup of tea. She needed to work on her book. Having the cookbook offer to fall back on had been a godsend. It had allowed her to end the “At Home with Harmony” show and leave with some dignity. Not that she needed to work for the money. Financially, she was quite well off. But she wasn’t a person who could be idle. She needed to be busy.

  She’d wanted to move to the country and had heard from a co-worker that this was a nice area. The name of the town had appealed to her, and when she visited, Harmony found she liked Orchard Hill and decided to stay.

  She’d chosen this house because of the kitchen. The house had formerly belonged to a caterer, the real estate agent, Jeff Bradley, had told her. But unlike most professional kitchens, this one was not all cold steel. It had a warm, comfortable feel to it. The perfect place to work on a cookbook, she’d thought.

  But even a looming deadline had failed to motivate her—and Harmony had never missed a deadline in her life. What was wrong with her?

  The sound of voices and laughter drew her to the window. It was the Velasquez children, probably going to school, Harmony thought. When they’d gone, she should have sat back down, but instead she stayed where she was, enjoying the feel of the morning sunlight on her face.

  Joseph came out of the house a minute or so later. He was talking to someone on his cell phone as he climbed into his truck and drove away. Was he going to work? They couldn’t possibly have everything unpacked yet. This meant more long hours f
or him when he got home, she thought.

  Harmony looked at her ruined garden again. Even though it was late in the year, the flowers would come back. It was silly of her to have gotten so mad.

  What had Joseph said to her last night? Something about bringing a casserole and a welcome to the neighborhood. Maybe it wasn’t too late to make a good impression. Eager to get to work now, she sat back down at the table and began to plan.

  By the time she saw the kids come home again after school, Harmony was ready. She’d created an entire dinner—salad, chicken casserole, twice baked potatoes, and cherry crisp for dessert. Harmony felt good. It was the first time she’d felt enthused about her work in weeks. She packed everything into a picnic hamper, wrote down a few notes about the recipes to use later for her book, and then walked across the yard to the Velasquezes’ back door.