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.
“Can I get you anything, Dad?” Valerie asked, assuming he’d request the paper or a cup of coffee.
“Walk down and see if the Howard boy is still in the orchard, would you, Val?”
“Of course, but I don’t think you should worry about the orchard now.”
“I’m not worried. I just want to know what’s been going on while I was laid up. I promise I’m not going to overdo it. Colby wouldn’t let me. I tried to die three times, but he was right there making sure I didn’t. You don’t think I’d want to ruin all that work, do you?”
Valerie grinned. “All right, I’ll check and see if the foreman’s still around.”
“Colby,” David said, raising his index finger imperiously, “you go with her. I don’t want her walking in the orchard alone.”
The request was a shamefully blatant excuse to throw them together, but neither complained.
Colby followed her out the front door and down the porch steps. “You don’t need to come,” she said, looking up at him. “I’ve been walking through these orchards since I was a toddler. I won’t get lost.”
“I know that.”
“Dad was just inventing a way for us to be alone.”
“I know that, too. He told me while we were driving here that he intended to do this.”
“But why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Yes, but …” Her father had hinted more than once that he anticipated a prompt wedding between her and Rowdy Cassidy. He’d apparently dropped the idea of her marrying Colby—so did he want her to clarify that in person? He seemed downright delighted at the prospect of Rowdy as a son-in-law, talking about her marriage as if it were a foregone conclusion.
“How have you been?” Colby asked. They strolled in the late-afternoon sunshine toward the west side of the orchard, where the equipment was kept. There was a small office in the storage building, as well, and if Dale Howard was still in the orchard that was the most likely place to find him.
“I’ve been fine. And you?” Valerie could tell him the truth about her feelings or she could tell him a half-truth. She chose the truth. “I’ve missed you.”
Colby clasped his hands behind his back, as she’d seen him do before. It might have been wishful thinking on her part, but Valerie thought he did so in an effort to keep from touching her.
“I understand your boss is calling you every day,” he said stiffly.
“I understand you took Sherry
