Chapter Ten

"Maple!" Adaline held her front door open wide and beckoned Maple inside. "I'm so glad you could make it. Come on in and meet the rest of the girls."

Maple hesitated for a beat. Here she was again, about to dive headlong into an uncomfortable social situation, and this time, Dr. Small Town Charm wasn't there for backup. But the smell of freshly baked pies wafted from the inside of Adaline's house, and Maple had spent every stolen moment today speed-reading her way through the book club's chosen novel. She'd never missed a homework assignment in her life, and she wasn't about to start now. Not even for a recreational reading club.

So in between administering kitten vaccines and removing porcupine quills from an understandably traumatized chocolate Labrador retriever—a task that veterinary school in New York City had in no way prepared her for—she'd snuck into Percy's old office for a few stolen moments and plopped into his chair with her nose in the book. She'd had to resort to speed-reading as the day wore on, but she was here.

And she was ready. Mostly, anyway.

"I hope it's okay that I brought Lady Bird with me," she said as she followed Adaline past the entryway toward the living room, where it sounded like a group of women were talking over one another with happy chatter.

Maple hadn't asked if the dog could tag along, but something told her that if Lady Bird was welcome at Adaline's bakery, her new friend wouldn't have a problem with the golden attending a book-club meeting. Also, the novel was part of a romance series that centered around an animal rescue called Furever Yours. Maple had a feeling she'd stumbled upon a group of pet lovers, which had only made her more excited about tonight. These were her kind of people. Maybe she'd make some genuine friends.

"Are you kidding?" Adaline cast an affectionate glance at the dog. "Lady Bird is practically a local celebrity. Everyone is going to love that you brought her."

Sure enough, the instant they crossed the threshold of the cozy living space, the animated conversation came to an abrupt halt as every head turned toward the dog.

"Lady Bird!" the other two women scattered about the room cried in unison.

A more timid dog probably would've turned tail and hid beneath the closest end table at the effusive greeting. Not Lady Bird. The dog thrived at being the center of attention. Tail swinging, she pranced toward the closest human and sat politely at her feet, waiting to be petted.

Adaline gave Maple a knowing grin. "Told you."

"You must be Maple." A woman with blond hair twisted into an artful bun stood and extended a graceful hand toward Maple. "Hi. I'm Jenna. I own the dance studio on Main Street, just around the corner from the town square."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Maple said as she shook her hand.

A ballerina, she thought. That made perfect sense. Jenna definitely looked the part.

"We've all heard so much about you. I'm Belle," the woman sitting beside Jenna on the sofa said with a wave. "I'm the librarian at Bluebonnet Elementary School."

"Wait." Maple blinked. "You're a librarian, and your name is Belle?"

"I know, right? With a name like mine, I guess I didn't have much of a choice." The corners of Belle's mouth turned up. "It's a good thing I love books."

And so it went. The women chatted while Lady Bird shuffled from person to person and wagged her tail with such zeal that she nearly took out the wineglasses scattered atop the coffee table in the center of the room.

"Lady Bird, I would lay down my life for you, but if you knock over my cabernet, we're going to have a serious problem," Belle said with a mock glare in the dog's direction.

"I'm so sorry." Maple attempted to lure the dog back to her side, but she was too busy playing social butterfly to pay attention.

"Don't worry. There's more wine where this came from. I promise." Adaline handed her a glass.

"There's also pie. Adaline makes a new creation for every book-club meeting," Jenna said.

"I like to test out new recipes on our little group before I add them to the bakery menu. I hope you don't mind being a guinea pig." Adaline gave Maple a questioning glance.

"For pie? How is that even a question? Of course, I don't mind."

The conversation grew more boisterous over the next two hours, and the wine flowed while the women discussed the book. It didn't take long for Belle to ask Maple if Lady Bird might have time in her schedule to visit the school library and help struggling readers with their skills. She'd read an article online recently about therapy pets acting as reading education assistance dogs. Jenna piped up to see if Lady Bird could come to the first day of her toddler pre-ballet class in the fall and mentioned that a teacher friend of hers thought that having a therapy dog at Bluebonnet Elementary's back-to-school events would help ease nerves for new students.

Maple loved their enthusiasm, even as it quickly became apparent that she and Lady Bird would never be able to keep up with all the community requests for pet therapy. And so far, all the requests were the result of word of mouth. There was no telling what might happen if Maple put actual effort into building a comprehensive therapy-dog program. The possibilities were endless. Hospitals, nursing homes, schools, airports, courtrooms, crisis response...

During vet school, Maple had read extensively about therapy pets working in all these settings and more. She'd just never imagined she'd have one. There was no question that Lady Bird could help spread love and joy anywhere there were people who needed a little comfort, affection, and support.

But Lady Bird was just one dog. Not to mention the spectacular mess that was Maple's personal life. She didn't know how she was going to keep up with Lady Bird's commitments, as it was.

"Thank you so much for inviting me tonight," Maple said as she helped Adaline get the dessert ready in the kitchen once the book discussion was finished. "Your friends are really great."

"They're your friends now, too." Adaline waggled her eyebrows. "That's how things work around here."

Maple smiled to herself. She had a house, a job, and the best dog on the planet. Now, she even had friends here in Bluebonnet. Somehow, in a matter of days, she'd built more of a life here in this small town than she'd ever had back in New York. If she wasn't careful, she might end up staying for good.

"Don't let them pressure you and Lady Bird, though." Adaline snuck a nibble of piecrust to the dog, who'd been staring intently at the kitchen counter, nose twitching. "You're just getting your footing here, and they know that. But you've also got an amazing dog."

Maple's heart swelled. "I do, don't I?"

"Should I thank her for convincing you to stay, or did that decision have to do with something else?" Adaline's smile faltered ever so slightly as she slid a slice of pie onto a china plate with a pretty rose pattern and handed it to Maple. "Someone else, maybe?"

"Oh, you mean Percy?"

"No, not quite." Adaline gave her a sideways glance as she plated another slice of pie. "Here's another fun fact about small towns—there's only one way to stop people from talking about the latest hot gossip. Do you know what it is?"

I wish.Maple shook her head, riveted. As one of the most recent subjects of the Bluebonnet grapevine, this seemed like valuable information. "I don't, but really I'm hoping you're about to tell me."

"You wait it out, because sooner or later something else scandalous will happen, and everyone will start talking about that instead. People have notoriously short attention spans."

"So you're saying eventually everyone will lose interest in my family situation." Maple couldn't wait. Whatever the new scandal might be, she was ready for it.

Adaline's forehead creased. "Oh, honey. Didn't you know? They already have."

"What's the new scandal?" Maple couldn't believe she'd missed it.

Adaline pointed the pie slicer at her. "You kissing my brother in the middle of the town square, obviously."

Oh.

Oh.

Maple's cheeks burned with the heat of a true Texas summer. "That wasn't what it looked like."

Adaline's eyebrows shot clear to her hairline. "So you didn't lock lips with Ford at a picnic table by Smokin' Joes?"

"It was a thank-you kiss," Maple countered.

"That's not a thing," Adaline said flatly.

Why did people keep saying that?

Because it's not, and you know it.

Maple longed for the floor of Adaline's kitchen to open up and swallow her whole. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with Ford's sister, of all people.

Of course, Maple found Ford attractive. Very, very attractive. And, yes, she might even have feelings for him.

But how was she supposed to make sense of those feelings when her entire life had so recently been turned upside down?

"Look, I like you, Maple. A lot. I hope you stay in Bluebonnet forever. Not just because I worry about my brother, but because I want us to be friends. Real friends." Adaline put down the pie cutter and took both of Maple's hands in hers. Lady Bird's furry eyebrows lifted as her gaze darted back and forth between them. "When you live in a town as small as Bluebonnet, new friends aren't very easy to come by. I'm so glad you're here."

"I am, too," Maple said, breathing a little easier. "But can I ask why you're worried about Ford?"

"That was probably an exaggeration. Ford is a grown man, and he can obviously take care of himself. Goodness knows, he takes care of practically everyone else in this town."

"So I've noticed," Maple said. It was one of his most endearing qualities.

Adaline paused, as if weighing her next words carefully. "Did he tell you he left once...just a few years ago?"

"Ford left Bluebonnet?" Maple couldn't wrap her head around it. She couldn't imagine him living anyplace else. He seemed as deeply ingrained in this community as Lady Bird was.

Adaline nodded. "He took a job up in Dallas at a state-of-the-art children's hospital there. I could tell straight away he didn't love it like he loves Bluebonnet, but Ford is very serious about his work. He was excited about the many opportunities to help kids up there. Then he met someone—another doctor, whose father happened to be chief of staff at the hospital. After dating for about six months, Ford asked her to marry him."

Maple's stomach instantly hardened. Spots floated in her vision as a wave of jealousy washed over her so hard and fast that she swayed on her feet.

Ford had been engaged?

It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Ford Bishop was clearly the marrying type. He doted on his grandmother, frequented his sister's bakery and devoted his life's work to caring for sick children. If that wasn't the very definition of family man, Maple didn't know what was.

Still, the revelation came as a shock. Maple didn't want to think about Ford slipping a diamond on another woman's finger or, heaven forbid, watching someone else walk toward him down the aisle of some cute country church. Someone vastly unlike Maple, obviously. Someone who belonged by his side. Someone gentler, sweeter...kinder. Someone who'd fit right in someplace like Bluebonnet, Texas.

Then again, maybe not, because Adaline's expression turned decidedly sour as she prepared to finish recounting the story. She took a deep breath and seemed to make an effort to neutralize her expression, but the smile on her face didn't come close to reaching her eyes.

"I was so happy for him. I missed seeing him nearly every day, obviously. Our parents retired and moved to Florida right about the time Ford and I graduated from college, so other than Gram, my brother was all the family I had in Bluebonnet." Adaline blew out a breath. "Then one day Gram had a bad fall. She'd been having some mild memory issues up until then, but the fall changed things. Gram just didn't bounce back. Ford rushed home as soon as it happened. He was only supposed to be here for a few days, but then..."

Adaline's voice drifted off, and Maple could guess what came next.

"He decided to stay, didn't he?" She knew it, because that's the kind of person Ford was. He valued things like family and community and responsibility. He would want to be here with his grandmother when she was at her most vulnerable, no matter how capable Adaline and Gram's caregivers at the senior living center might be.

"He did." Adaline nodded, and her smile turned bittersweet. "I can't say I was disappointed. It was so nice to have him back, and I could tell straightaway that Ford was happy to be home, despite the circumstances. His voice had taken on a certain edge whenever I spoke to him on the phone. Once he came back, he was like his old self again. Even when Charlotte postponed her plans to join him, he seemed unfazed. I don't think it ever crossed his mind that she'd never come here."

Maple swallowed. Charlotte. Putting a name to Ford's ex made the woman all the more real, and a fresh stab of envy jabbed Maple right in the heart. Ridiculous, considering they'd very clearly broken up. Somehow, that didn't make her feel any better.

"Never?"Maple asked. "You mean she didn't even give Bluebonnet a chance?"

She wasn't sure why she felt so indignant on behalf of a town she'd first set foot in only a few days ago. It wasn't as if Maple had been thrilled at the prospect of spending one measly year in Bluebonnet.

But here you are, even after getting handed a get-out-of-jail-free card.

"Charlotte kept putting it off, over and over again. Her parents put a lot of pressure on her, especially her dad. Since he was head of the hospital up there, he thought moving to a place like Bluebonnet was akin to career suicide," Adaline said.

Maple shifted her gaze to the countertop as shame settled in the pit of her stomach. She'd had the exact same thought...more than once. How could she not, when there was a prestigious cardiac practice in New York ready and willing to give her a job?

"There's more to life than work, you know?" Adaline said, as if she could see straight inside Maple's head. "Even when your work is something vitally important, like looking after children's physical and emotional health."

That's right. They were talking about Ford's work, not Maple's. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that this conversation had more to do with her than she wanted to admit.

"Anyway, like I said, I want us to be friends. I really like you, Maple." Adaline handed her the last slice of pie, neatly plated and topped with whipped cream. "But until you're sure that you want to stay in Bluebonnet for good, I hope you'll think twice about giving Ford any more ‘thank-you kisses.'"

And there it was.

Adaline was calling her bluff on the entire concept of a thank-you kiss, and Maple didn't blame her one bit. Who was she kidding? She hadn't kissed Ford simply because she'd been grateful. She'd kissed him because the longer she stayed in Bluebonnet, the more she wanted to know what it felt like to press her lips against his... To feel his strong hands cradle her face with a gentleness that made her forget how to breathe... To open her heart just a crack to the possibility of not spending the rest of her life alone...

"You can see why it might get confusing, don't you?" Adaline said with a kindness in her tone that Maple didn't deserve.

"I do." Maple nodded. Boy, did she ever. She'd never been so confused about things in her life.

What happened to the carefully orchestrated plan she'd made for herself? In less than a week, all her dreams had completely fallen by the wayside. Just because she'd discovered she'd been adopted didn't mean she had to change her entire life.

But what if you want to change, a voice whispered in the back of her head. And what if your dreams change, too? A new life is possible, and so are new dreams.

Maple blinked hard. She felt like crying all of a sudden, and she absolutely refused to get weepy in Adaline's kitchen over the prospect of something silly like not kissing Ford Bishop again.

It didn't feel silly, though. It felt like another heartbreak, another loss—the loss of yet a different life she'd never experience.

"Don't worry." The effort it took to smile was monumental. "You have my word. It won't happen again."

She wanted to reel the words back in the very second they left her mouth. Maple knew better than to make promises when she was in the midst of an existential crisis. It seemed like she'd completely lost control over rational thought, particularly when she was anywhere in the vicinity of Ford. What made her think she could exert any sort of sensible decision-making where he was concerned?

Because you care about him, and the last thing you want to do is hurt him.

And she wouldn't. Couldn't. The next time Maple saw Ford, she'd just turn off her feelings like a light switch. She'd simply have to learn to ignore the way his eyes crinkled in the corners, as if kindness and laughter came naturally to him... The irresistible pull she felt toward him every time he was near... The breathtaking habit he had of seeing past her frosty exterior, all the way down to her tender, aching heart.

That shouldn't be a problem, right? Maple had all sorts of practice at erecting a nice, strong wall around her innermost thoughts and emotions. She'd been doing it her whole life.

But then the back door of Adaline's quaint little kitchen swung open, and there he was—Ford, in the flesh, looking casually heroic in a pair of hospital scrubs that made his eyes sparkle bluer than ever. And the second those eyes homed in on her, they widened in surprise. Maple practically melted into a puddle as he drank in the sight of her, and the corners of his lips curved into a slow and easy grin.

"Well, look who missed her flight." He arched a single, all-too-satisfied eyebrow. "Again."