Season of Dreams

Eva closed her eyes with a quick shake of her head. Seeing Todd upset her. Seeing him happily married and blessed with a beautiful baby girl infuriated her. How could God be so cruel? Todd had flourished, while Eva was stuck in a hellish purgatory she couldn’t climb out of.

She felt the gentle pressure of Adam’s hand return to the small of her back. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

Adam drove with the heat cranked to full blast. He kept glancing at Eva huddled in her seat. She hadn’t quit shivering. He wanted to pull over and gather her into his arms, but he didn’t trust the wildness in her gaze. The fury. He feared he might make matters worse by offering unwanted comfort.

“You okay?”

She nodded.

“Old boyfriend?”

She glanced at him with haunted eyes. “Yeah.”

The ex-boyfriend was a giant of a man who looked far too clumsy for a petite thing like Eva. He struck Adam as one of those unmotivated types with boring stability stamped across his forehead. Eva needed someone who’d keep up with and challenge her. Maybe she had bossed the big dude around too much. Maybe that was why he’d left her. “Want to talk about it?”

“No.”

Adam glanced her way again and she looked close to tears. He gripped the steering wheel tighter. Tears weren’t good. A snappy Eva he understood, but a sad Eva busted him up. “It’s okay to unload.”

“I don’t want to unload. Why don’t you unload? What are you doing here, Peece?”

He braced himself for the unleashing of that pent-up anger. “What do you mean?”

“You’re the green bean heir. Why’d you buy my cherry orchard? To play nice and sweet so you could get in good with the growers to rip them off somehow? A guy like you can’t be serious about working a farm. Do you really think you belong here?”

Adam knew why he was here, but Eva wouldn’t believe him if he explained the calling that had filled him the day he saw the orchard. Maybe it was part of how God had whispered through the branches to woo him back into the fold like a sheep gone lost. Adam didn’t know.

All he knew was that he had to have the land. It was bigger than his grandfather’s farm, but it beckoned with the same promise of a simpler, better life. Away from his past where so-called friends looked at him with greed-filled eyes. And women wanted him more for what he could do for them financially.

Adam desperately needed a simpler life.

Explaining the whys would be a waste of breath. Eva struck him as a person who needed action, not words. Proof. Besides, she was hurting. Bad. If she wanted to take it out on him, he could handle it.

He pulled into her driveway but didn’t shut off the engine. The hum of the heater pouring out warm air masked the silence. Adam turned toward her. He didn’t want her to bolt, not yet. “What if I do belong here?”

She stared at him with her sweet mouth hanging open, looking as if the world around her had crumbled. “I miss the way things were.”

He gently touched her shoulder, wishing he could ease whatever it was that tore her up. Wishing he could promise her that she’d never get hurt again, but that was not the way life worked. “I’m sorry.”

Just then, Ryan’s truck pulled in next to them and the moment was lost. Eva exited the car and made for the house quicker than a jackrabbit.

Adam shut off the engine and got out.

“What’s wrong with Eva?” Ryan wore the concerned look of a brother ready to defend his sister if needed.

“She’s upset about some guy who showed up at church.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed, as if weighing the truth.

Adam couldn’t blame him. He’d be concerned, too, if it were his sister. He looked up into Ryan’s gaze without flinching.

Finally, Ryan slapped him on the back. “Come on, man. Eva’s bound to have something good for lunch and we can talk her into going skiing. She doesn’t get out much, and it sounds like she needs an afternoon of fun.”

Eva wouldn’t look at Adam throughout the meal. His eyes had a way of luring her in and keeping her. She had to prove that she could do this job. Mouthing off like that to her boss was a good way to get fired. Instead, Adam had understood and even attempted to comfort her. And he wanted her to go skiing.

That might be the best way to get back in his good graces after such an awful display of emotion. She couldn’t stay home alone. Not now, not after seeing Todd. This morning had taken its toll, dredging up all the fury and fear she still wrestled with.

Maybe skiing would end up being therapeutic. She hadn’t skied in years, but it was better than staying alone until Beth returned. She’d ride with her brother, and that should give her a reprieve from dodging questions laced with good intentions.

On the way, she realized how wrong her reasoning had been when Ryan asked, “So what’s up with you two?”

She stared out the passenger window of his truck. “What are you talking about?”

“I have eyes. You were crying when you got out of Adam’s car.”

Eva gritted her teeth. She’d lost it, but she’d recovered in time to fix lunch. She didn’t think Ryan had noticed. “Todd was in church. He’s married with a baby girl.”

“Why’d you two break up anyway?” Ryan followed behind Adam’s fancy four-door Jeep Wrangler.

It was the kind of vehicle that suited Adam. The doors, the hard top and who knew what else could be taken off. Adam loved zipping around on the ATVs, so she imagined he’d love to go two-tracking, as well. Unless he never got that Jeep dirty. Unless it was all for show from a city boy who liked the idea of having a fun car but didn’t put it to use.

Eva turned her attention back to Ryan and shrugged. No one knew about Todd, only Beth. “Because he’s a jerk.”

“Then you’re better off without him. But why the tears after all this time?”

“I don’t know.” But she knew. She hadn’t faced Todd since that night at a party two years ago. She’d never gone to the police because she couldn’t drag her family through more junk after the death of Ryan’s girlfriend.

Instead, Eva hoped she’d get over it. Fat chance. Seeing Todd brought back the pain almost as if it had happened last night.

“What do you think of Adam?”

Eva stared at the snow-covered landscape whizzing by. “I try not to.”

Ryan laughed. “You like him, don’t you?”

“No.” Only partly true. She was afraid to like him.

“Come on, Eva. He’s a good-looking guy with a fat wallet.”

Eva closed her eyes. “So?”

“So, you haven’t dated since you broke up with Todd.”

“I’ve been on a few.” Eva had gone on three dates, but they didn’t work out. Her fault, not theirs.

“Maybe it’s time you went on a few more.”

“You’re one to talk,” Eva blurted.