Second Chance at the Orchard Inn, page 37
Right. “Thank you.”
“You earned it.” Joe closed the drawer and gestured toward the door. “Now get on out of here.”
“Will do.” Devin tucked the check in his pocket. He rose, turned to leave, then stopped and twisted back around. More fervently, he repeated, “Really, Joe. Thank you.”
Devin didn’t think he’d ever fully get rid of his old man’s voice in his head, telling him he’d never amount to anything. But he had a lot of evidence to say otherwise of late. This bonus…the pride in Joe’s eyes…They were the icing on what was already a pretty flipping amazing cake.
By the time he got back outside, the cleanup job was basically done, and folks were getting ready to head out. Devin gave everything one last check over before making his way to his truck. He drove the familiar route to Harvest Home, where Zoe stood outside waiting for him.
She hopped in the cab of the truck and leaned over the gearshift. He threaded his fingers through her silky hair, closed his eyes, and kissed her, and he was really never going to get over that, was he? How good she felt, how sweet she tasted.
How much he loved her.
“Hey,” he managed when she pulled away.
“Hey, yourself.”
The flush to her cheeks and the glazed darkness in her eyes almost derailed him, but he managed to keep his focus. “How’d it go?” he asked. “Your presentation?”
“Good. Really good.” She rolled her eyes. “Clay’s on board with the promotion, and Uncle Arthur was super supportive.”
“And your mom?” That was the part she’d been worried about.
“I’m going to go with ‘begrudgingly accepting.’”
“Hey!” Devin grinned. “So basically wild enthusiasm?”
“Next best thing.”
“Good.” He leaned in and pressed another firm kiss to her lips. “Knew you could do it.”
Curling a hand in the collar of his shirt, she kept him close for a second. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “For believing in me.”
They kissed again. He tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. “Always.”
She let him go and settled back into her seat. “So, what’s the plan?”
The nerves he’d felt earlier while thinking about this moment melted away. “You mind going for a drive?”
She scrunched up her brows at him. “Uh…okay?”
Once she was buckled in, he put the truck back into first and steered toward the road. While he drove, he asked her about her day, and he told her about his. They commiserated over how tough it was to get Arthur to delegate and rest. She spoke with pride about her juggling act taking over for him.
But she had good people with her. Sherry and Tania had been only too happy to start managing the supper service by themselves most nights. Volunteers had come out of the woodwork to lend a hand, because that was what people in Blue Cedar Falls did. They took care of one another.
As he glanced over at her, warmth grew in his chest.
He was so glad to call this place home.
He was so glad she was going to stay. Here. With him.
Clearing his throat, he forced himself to focus on the road. Before long, he turned off onto the country route leading out of town.
Zoe shifted beside him. “You’re not taking me out into the middle of nowhere to act out some weird serial killer fantasy, are you?”
Devin laughed. “Is that really the first thing to pop into your mind?”
“I mean…” In his periphery, she waved a hand at their surroundings.
“Not much farther,” he promised.
Five minutes outside town, he put on the blinker.
“Wait—isn’t this…?”
Zoe held her tongue as they took the gravel road he’d been imagining driving down for the last three years. He came to a stop where the road ended.
It wasn’t much. Just a small clearing in the wooded lot. He pulled the keys from the ignition and reached behind his seat for the camping lantern he stowed there. He turned it on and flicked his headlights off. Twilight settled over them, quiet and peaceful. Exactly the way he liked it.
He opened the door on his side. For a second, Zoe sat there, gazing out the front windshield.
“You coming?” he asked.
She looked at him. “This is Arthur’s place, right? The old lot he snatched up in his real estate phase.”
“None other.”
“What are we doing here?”
“Just come on.”
She followed him out, wary but smiling. Maybe she had a clue. They went to the center of the clearing. He breathed in the woodsy scent of the air. Tipped his head up at the stars just beginning to come out.
“I know you’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately,” he told her. “I did some of that myself a while back.”
“Yeah?”
“You know about my dad. I was…kind of directionless for a long time after I got out of his house. Just so glad to be on my own, I wasn’t thinking about what I really wanted, you know?”
“Sure,” she said slowly. “I can see that.”
He held out his arm, and she came into his embrace. The warmth of her against his side heated him all the way to his core. “Your uncle Arthur—he was a big part of helping me figure it out. I decided my goal was a place of my own. Not just a roof to live under that wasn’t my old man’s. A home.”
His pulse sped up a tick, his mouth going dry. Getting nervous talking about this didn’t make sense, but he couldn’t seem to help it.
“Arthur promised me then and there that as soon as I could save up the money, he’d sell me this lot—at cost.”
Zoe scrunched up her brow. “But he bought it twenty years ago. He must’ve paid, like, nothing for it.”
Devin let out a quiet laugh. “It was a little more than nothing.” A lot less than it was worth now, but on Devin’s income, it was still a chunk of change.
A chunk of change that had taken him three whole years to save.
He was still a little shy, even with his promotion and his bonus. But that didn’t matter.
“The other night, when I was keeping him company, he changed the deal.”
“Yeah?”
Devin shrugged. “Apparently a heart attack gave him some new perspective. He doesn’t want to make me wait anymore. He trusts me. Knows I’m good for it.”
And he was. With the new promotion and the bonus he’d earned this afternoon, he’d be paying Arthur everything he owed in six months.
Pulling Zoe closer in against his side, he looked around. “He’s signing it over to me next week.”
“Devin. That’s amazing.”
It was. A kid like him who’d grown up with nothing, living off what he could get at the local food bank. Cowering in a dark house with a dad who made him feel like dirt.
And now he was here.
He had the Leungs for his family. He had Zoe tucked beneath his arm.
He had this land.
His voice went hoarse. “This weekend, I was wondering if maybe you’d want to look at some building plans with me.”
“Sure, I mean—”
“For when you move in here with me.” He didn’t want her mistaking him. He wanted to be clear. Looking down at her, he swallowed back his last remaining doubts. “I know it’s soon, but I know what I want.”
Her bright, beautiful gaze met his through the dimness. Her lips curled into a smile, and her eyes shone. “Devin…”
“Building a house. It’ll take time. This isn’t right now, but—”
“Yes,” she said. She rose onto her toes and kissed him. “Of course, absolutely, yes.”
He clutched her in his arms as tightly as he dared, returning the kiss with all the wonder in his heart. “I love you,” he managed to get out.
“I love you, too.” She pressed her mouth to his once more before pulling back. “There’s just one tiny thing you’re wrong about.”
“What’s that?” He was having a hard time concentrating. She felt so good pressed against him.
But then she grinned. “The soul-searching. The figuring out what I want with my life.”
“Oh?”
“I’m done with that.” Her smile widened, and he felt it in the center of his chest. “I’m exactly where I want to be.”
And just like that, so was he.
Here. In this home that they would build.
Together.
About the Author
Jeannie Chin writes contemporary small-town romances. She draws on her experiences as a biracial Asian and white American to craft heartfelt stories that speak to a uniquely American experience. She is a former high school science teacher, wife to a geeky engineer, and mom to an extremely talkative kindergartener. Her hobbies include crafting, reading, and hiking.
You can learn more at:
Website: JeannieChin.com
Twitter @JeannieCWrites
Facebook.com/JeannieCWrites
Instagram @JeannieCWrites
For more from Jeannie Chin,
check out the rest of the
Blue Cedar Falls series!
The Inn on Sweetbriar Lane
Return to Cherry Blossom Way
The House on Mulberry Street
Can’t get enough of that small-town charm? Forever has you covered with these
heartwarming contemporary romances!
THE HOUSE ON FIREFLY BEACH
by Jenny Hale
Sydney Flynn can’t wait to start fresh with her son at her sanctuary: Starlight Cottage at Firefly Beach. That is, until she spies her childhood sweetheart. Nate Henderson ended their relationship with no explanation and left to become a successful songwriter—only now, he wants to make amends. But when a new development threatens her beloved cottage, can Sydney forgive him and accept his help? Or will the town they adore—and the love they once had for each other—be lost forever?
Connect with us at Facebook.com/ReadForeverPub
Discover bonus content and more on
read-forever.com
THE LITTLE BOOKSTORE
ON HEART LAKE LANE
by Sarah Robinson
Single mom Rosie Dean loves her unruly life. But between raising twins, running her struggling bookshop, and secretly writing a parenting advice column, she refuses to think about dating…until her high school crush returns to Heart Lake for the summer. Even though Evan has grown into a huge grump, he’s still supersexy, and soon sparks begin to fly. Will one steamy summer convince them to give love a second chance? Includes a bonus story by Annie Rains!
SECOND CHANCE AT
THE ORCHARD INN
by Heather McGovern
Chef Aurora Shipley spent years working her way up the ladder of L.A.’s restaurant scene, but when her sisters needed her, she dropped everything to help. Now that things have settled, it’s time to return to the city—before her high school sweetheart can stir up any more memories best left forgotten. But Jude has always known there’s no one like Aurora, and this time he’s strong enough to fight for her—and their future together. Includes the bonus novella Only Home with You by Jeannie Chin!
Meet your next favorite book with @ReadForeverPub on TikTok
Find more great reads on Instagram with @ReadForeverPub
THE GETAWAY
by Emily March
Jake Prentice has built a career out of being dependable. But when his widowed mother, Genevieve, shocks the family and moves to Lake in the Clouds, Colorado, in search of a change, he decides to heed her advice and find what makes him happy. Genevieve didn’t expect her son to follow her to her new home, but when Jake’s former colleague Tess Crenshaw appears, he’ll finally have to assess what—and whom—he really wants.
ALL FIRED UP
by Dylan Newton
As much as book publicist Imani Lewis loves her job, she happily accepts a break to stay with her grandmother as she recovers from surgery. But being back in the same small town as Zander Matthews, with whom she once enjoyed a one-night stand, may not be quite as relaxing as she envisioned. When Zander begins to help fix up her grandmother’s house, what starts out as friendly banter grows ever flirtier. But since Imani’s stay is temporary, will she be able to handle it when things get all fired up?
Follow @ReadForeverPub on Twitter and join the conversation using #ReadForeverPub
RETURN TO
HUMMINGBIRD WAY
by Reese Ryan
Ambitious real estate agent Sinclair Buchanan is thrilled her childhood best friend is marrying her first love. But the former beauty queen and party planner extraordinaire hadn’t anticipated being asked to work with her high-school hate crush, Garrett Davenport, to plan the wedding. Five years ago, they spent one incredible night together—a mistake she won’t make again. But when her plans for partnership in her firm require her to work with Rett to renovate his grandmother’s seaside cottage, it becomes much harder to ignore their complicated history.
HER AMISH PATCHWORK FAMILY
by Winnie Griggs
Martha Eicher, formerly a schoolteacher in Hope’s Haven, has always put her family first. But now everyone’s happily married, and Martha isn’t sure where she fits in…until she hears that Asher Lantz needs a nanny. As a single father to his niece and nephews, Asher struggles to be enough for his new family. Although a misunderstanding ended their childhood friendship, he’s grateful for Martha’s help. Slowly, both he and Martha begin to realize that she is exactly what his family needs. Could together be where they belong?
Heather McGovern, Second Chance at the Orchard Inn
