Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

Diana paced the cabin. Why wasn’t Carter home yet? Maybe she should have gone to trivia night. It didn’t sound like her scene. The very thought of people shouting trivia questions through a crowded bar made her anxiety spike, not to mention her discomfort around Emily’s group of friends. By now, they probably knew she knew they knew, and…she didn’t like any of it. But she liked Emily, no matter how much she wished she didn’t.

Now, Diana just wanted Carter to come home. It was a little after ten, which probably wasn’t late for a twenty-one-year-old, but it was bordering on late for her on a work night. Not that she’d fall asleep any time soon, even if she tried. Something about Vermont didn’t agree with her once the lights were out. She had yet to achieve an eight-hour night here.

She fought the urge to text Carter, knowing the true cause of her discomfort had little to do with him being out past ten. It was the thought of him being out with Emily and her friends that was driving her crazy. Apparently, somewhere deep down, she wished she were there with them. Maybe she liked the thought of snuggling up to Emily in a booth at the bar, no matter how loud and chaotic their surroundings.

She was good at trivia too, dammit.

Diana paced to the back window, staring into the black void behind the cabin. What if Carter had gotten turned around on the roads after dark? There were so many spots without cell service. What if his GPS had lost signal and he’d made a wrong turn? These rural roads all looked the same after dark. Had he been drinking? Surely he knew better than to drink and drive, but as his aunt, she’d never actually had that conversation with him.

She should have gone to trivia night.

Gravel crunched outside, and as she spun to face the front door, she saw headlights approaching the cabin. Thank God .

A car door slammed. She heard muffled voices and laughter, and then Carter was coming through the front door as the car outside pulled back onto the road. Who had driven him home?

“Hey, Aunt DD,” he called as he walked into the living room and plopped on the couch. “Trivia night was so much fun! You should have come.”

“Oh yeah?” She sat in the chair across from him, purposefully relaxing her posture so as not to give away how anxious she’d been while she waited for him. “Did you win?”

“Nope,” Carter said, not sounding the least bit disappointed. “Team Rainbow Revolution kicked our asses…that’s Tom, Maddie, and Talia. I was teamed with Drew, Emily, and Alex. We came in third.”

“I’m glad it was fun.” She studied him. He did look happy. Lighter, maybe. Did he not have friends at school? “Who drove you home?”

“Tom and Maddie. Tom doesn’t drink, and he was worried that I’d had three beers, even though they were spread out over several hours, so I’m totally fine, but…” He shrugged.

Diana’s estimation of Tom went way up. “I agree with Tom. Better safe than sorry when it comes to driving after drinking. You can always call me too, if you need a ride, you know.”

He shrugged again. “Or Uber.”

“I actually wonder how reliable that is up here, but in Boston, yes.”

“Right?” Carter laughed. “Drew said you can’t even get food delivered in Crescent Falls. There’s like one place that will deliver, and only if you live within a few miles of downtown, which we definitely don’t.”

“I do miss the conveniences of Boston,” she agreed.

“Did…did you know they’re a queer group?” Carter attempted nonchalance, but there was an urgency in his tone that gave away how important this discovery had been for him.

“Yes, I did know that.”

“I had no idea, and like…I’ve never hung out with so many queer people before. That was exactly what I wanted to find at college! But Dad sent me to Royce, where all the guys were obsessed with girls and golf and impressing their parents. If there were any other gay people there, I never met them.”

“I’m sorry.” Diana’s heart went out to him, but this was another thing they had in common. Most of the family had attended Royce University, which was as preppy as its name suggested. The students were primarily wealthy, white, and at least pretending to be straight. “I sympathize completely. In fact, I didn’t even dare come out until after college.”

“I really hate our family sometimes.” Carter looked down at his lap.

She let out a surprised laugh, which sounded a lot more bitter than she had anticipated. “Yeah, I know that feeling too.”

“Anyway, the Adventurers are really cool, and they said I’m welcome to hang out with them anytime. I’m going apple picking with them this weekend. They said they’d invited you too?”

Diana straightened, feeling that tug of longing in her chest again. Apparently, she wanted to go apple picking. Or maybe she just wanted an excuse to see Emily outside work. This could be a good opportunity for her to make local connections as the new owner of the inn, though. Yes, that was the reason she should attend. “They did.”

“So, are you going?” he asked.

She was almost afraid to meet his gaze, afraid of what she’d see. Did he want his aunt to tag along, or would he rather hang out with his new friends without her? But when she finally looked into his eyes, his expression was hopeful. She exhaled. “Yeah. I’ll go.”

And so, on Saturday, Diana and Carter joined the Adventurers to go apple picking. She stood near the entrance, gazing out over rows of apple trees that spread as far as she could see, with the mountains as a backdrop. It was lovely.

In front of her, Emily, Alex, and Talia giggled as they posed for silly photos behind a panel that had been painted to look like cows grazing in a field, with cutouts for their faces. Emily stuck her face through the opening for the baby cow, laughing, as the rest of the group snapped pictures. When they’d finished, Carter, Drew, and Tom took a turn behind the display. Diana had declined to join them, but now she felt…not excluded since it had been her choice not to participate, but somehow she still felt a little bit left out.

Turning, she approached an older couple who stood by the barn, greeting customers. She assumed these were Alexis’s parents, the owners of the orchard. “Mr. and Mrs. Bell?”

“Yes,” the woman replied with a warm smile. “Are you a friend of Alex’s?”

“I’ve only just met her, actually. I’m sort of tagging along with the adventure group today,” Diana explained. “I’m the new owner of the Inn at Crescent Falls. Diana Devlin.” She held out a hand, which Alex’s mother took readily.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Diana. I’m Kathryn, and this is my husband, Doug.”

“Great to meet you both,” Diana said as she shook their hands. “I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I’m already so charmed by Crescent Falls.” It wasn’t just a line either. There was something unexpectedly appealing about this town, despite her inability to sleep here. Diana spent a few minutes chatting with Kathryn and Doug before Emily came to get her.

They all took bags from a table in front of the barn and set out to pick some apples. Each row of the orchard was labeled with what kind of apple tree grew there, and Diana was surprised to realize how few apple varieties she recognized.

“What kind do you recommend?” she asked Emily.

“That depends. Do you like sweet or tart apples?”

“Oh, tart, I think.”

Emily nodded. “You’d probably like McIntosh. They’re tart and delicious. You might like the Cortlands too, although they’re a little sweeter.”

“I do like McIntosh,” Diana said. “I’ve had them from the grocery store.”

Emily grinned. “Wait until you try one fresh from the tree. You won’t believe how much better it tastes. Come on.” She led the way down a path between trees toward a different section of the orchard, populated by larger trees with knobby branches. Emily carefully considered the tree in front of her before plucking a large, red-and-green apple from a lower branch. “See?”

Diana followed her example and soon had a handful of ripe apples in her bag. When she looked over to see how Emily was doing, she found Emily at the other end of the row, holding a squealing toddler. Diana had been introduced to the little girl, Talia’s daughter Colette, when they first arrived at the orchard.

Emily twirled Colette, causing another squeal of laughter. Talia and her wife, Chantal, stood nearby, taking photos. Alex, Tom, and Maddie were gathered at the tree beside them, while Carter and Drew walked off together toward another part of the orchard.

Diana turned away, clenching her jaw. She’d never been very good at making friends. She spotted an apple overhead that was perfectly round and red, one of the prettiest she’d seen yet, but when she reached up, it was a few inches past her grasp. That seemed to be the theme of her morning.

“Need a hand?”

Diana turned to find a petite blonde woman beside her, holding up what almost looked like a lacrosse stick. The woman used the net at the end of the stick to snag the apple Diana had been trying to reach, then handed it to her .

“Thank you so much. I’m Diana Devlin, by the way, the new owner of the Inn at Crescent Falls.” She extended a hand.

The woman took it and shook. She was a little older than Diana, late forties maybe, and refined, as if she came from money. She was the type of woman Diana would have expected to meet at one of her parents’ parties, not in an apple orchard in Vermont. “Jacqueline Norwood.”

“Nice to meet you, Jacqueline.”

“You too, Diana.” With a polite wave, Jacqueline continued down the path.

Why is that name familiar…?

Diana had just figured it out when Emily reappeared at her side, cheeks flushed from the cool mountain air.

“Oh my God, do you know who you were just talking to?” she whispered.

“Yes. She introduced herself,” Diana said. “She hardly seems like the villain you made her out to be.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Not a villain, just a stuck-up snob.”

Diana bristled, certain she’d been described that way a time or two herself. “She seemed nice enough, even helped me reach an apple. Maybe people are judging her harshly because she’s an outsider?” Like me?

Emily sighed. “It’s possible, although I’ve heard so many stories, it’s hard not to think at least some of them are true. Anyway, let’s try that tree over there. It looks like it’s bursting with ripe apples.”

Oh no. No no no … The word scrolled on repeat in Diana’s brain as her alarm went off on Monday mo rning. She swallowed, whimpering at the sharp pain in her throat. Her nose was congested. There was a deep ache in her bones and a shivery sensitivity on her skin that suggested a fever.

She didn’t have time to be sick. For fuck’s sake . She’d felt a little achy and rundown as she was getting ready for bed last night but had hoped she would sleep it off…not that she’d slept well enough to give her immune system a fighting chance.

Groaning, Diana slid out of bed and wrapped herself in her warmest robe. She did what she could to freshen herself up in the bathroom and then shuffled toward the kitchen. Her joints hurt. Her head hurt. Her throat hurt. She hated being sick, dammit. She’d never had the time or patience to take a sick day, but she couldn’t go to the inn like this. She was probably contagious, not to mention she felt like absolute shit.

Speaking of contagious…

She rummaged through the pantry until she came up with the box of Covid tests she always kept handy. Holding back a sneeze, she swabbed her nose and started the test, then looked around for anything she had on hand that might help with her symptoms. The owner of the rental cabin had left her an assortment of teas, which might feel good on her sore throat. And she had ibuprofen, which would help with her fever.

Beyond that, she was screwed. She already knew that food and grocery delivery services were nonexistent here in rural Vermont, since she’d tried to coordinate deliveries for herself to help with her busy schedule. Now, she’d have to either suck it up and manage with what she had on hand or rally the energy to go out later. Hopefully she could at least schedule curbside pickup .

She eyed the bag of apples on the counter. It was practically the only food she had in the house, and well, maybe that saying about an apple a day keeping the doctor away had some merit. Right now, she wasn’t the least bit hungry, though.

She hovered near the kitchen counter until the test revealed a negative result, and then she exhaled with relief. Not Covid. This was probably just a nasty cold, then, but she’d take another test later to be sure. It seemed a bit early in the year for the flu, but maybe flu season started earlier this far north.

Carter had left yesterday afternoon, but they’d spent most of the weekend together. She should check in with him and ask if he was sick too. Hopefully she hadn’t given him whatever she had. Ugh . She rubbed a hand over her aching forehead. Every inch of her hurt, from her scalp to her toes. She really, really hated being sick.

Worse, she’d likely brought this on herself. She’d been running around Vermont for almost a month with her anxiety levels sky-high and barely sleeping. She’d run herself into the ground, and it had affected her usually robust immune system. It wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Grumbling with annoyance at herself, she washed down two ibuprofen with a glass of water—wincing every time she swallowed from the pain in her throat—and made the executive decision to work from home. Given the foggy state of her brain, she couldn’t remember what she was supposed to do at the inn today anyway.

She would be more productive here, and she could keep from spreading her germs too. She eyed her laptop grumpily. It was only seven. Surely she could take a nap before she got to work. Decision made, Diana crawled back into bed.

UNKNOWN

Hi this is Carter

Got ur # from Drew

Emily stared at the text messages in surprise. Why in the world was Diana’s nephew texting her?

Hey! What’s up?

CARTER DEVLIN

I’m worried about my aunt

She’s sick w flu or something, she doesn’t sound good and idk if she’s got medicine or food at the rental house

She’ll probably kill me for this but I think someone should check on her and maybe drop off cold meds and soup or whatever

Consider it done!

I didn’t even know she was sick – thanks for the heads-up!

Emily pressed a hand against her heart, hating to think of Diana all alone in that rental house while she was sick. Carter was a good egg, recruiting someone to drop off a care package for her. And…Emily was irrationally glad she could be the one to deliver it. When it came down to it, Emily cared about her, and she wanted to make sure she was okay.

Her gut said Diana wasn’t good at looking after herself when she was sick. And while Emily didn’t have much experience at caretaking, her grandmas had certainly fussed over her enough times while she was sick to give her a good idea of what Diana might need. Emily pulled up the website for the café on her phone and dialed their number.

“Hi, are you serving chicken noodle soup today?” she asked once the call had connected.

“Yep,” the teen on the other end of the line responded. “Chicken noodle, harvest squash, and minestrone today.”

“I’d like to order a large takeout container of the chicken noodle, the biggest size you have, and I’ll take a container of the harvest squash too,” Emily said. “Do you have fresh bread?”

“Yep,” the teen said again. “We have loaves of French bread, whole or pre-sliced.”

“I’ll take two loaves, pre-sliced,” Emily decided. Simplicity was key when you were sick. “Can I pick that up in forty-five minutes?” Because she had another stop to make on the way.

“Sure,” the teen said. “Can I get a name for the order?”

“Emily Janssen.”

“Got it. See you then.”

“Thank you.” Emily hung up, grabbed her favorite flannel to ward off the cool air, and headed for the grocery store to pick up some cold medicine and other supplies.

An hour later, she arrived at Diana’s rental cabin, loaded down with shopping bags. Diana’s car was in the driveway, which was a relief. Emily knocked, waited a few moments, and knocked again. She had both hot and cold items with her that couldn’t be left on the front porch, so hopefully Diana wasn’t sleeping or in the shower.

Emily peeked through the front window, but the cabin was dark and quiet inside. Her arms were beginning to ache from all the bags. Emily knocked again, louder this time, and then—in case Diana thought it was a salesperson at her door and was ignoring her until she went away—she called out, “Diana? It’s me, Emily.”

That did the trick. She saw movement in the living room and then Diana approached the door, wrapped in a thick, rose-colored robe. Emily held up the bags so Diana could see them.

Diana opened the door, and oh boy , she really did look sick. Her cheeks were flushed with fever, but behind it, she was pale. Her hair was unkempt, her eyes red and watery. Before either of them could say anything, Diana turned to the side, covered her face in the crook of her elbow, and released a rattling cough.

Emily’s heart clenched. It brought out something unexpectedly protective in her to see Diana this way. “Hi. Carter told me you’re sick, so I brought some supplies.”

“Thank you,” Diana said, her voice hoarse. “That was…really nice of you.” The look she gave Emily was almost shy and definitely embarrassed. “I can’t believe Carter called you.”

“I’m glad he did. You don’t look like you’re in any shape to go shopping.”

“I’m not,” Diana admitted. She already seemed droopier than she had when she first opened the door, as if her energy was waning. “I hate to put you out, though, especially on your day off.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Emily told her with a bright smile. “Now, why don’t you get back to the couch, and I’ll fix you a bowl of soup? It’s hot from the café.”

“That sounds—” Diana turned her head to cough again. “I really appreciate you bringing me soup, but I don’t want to get you sick. You should probably just leave it here on the porch. ”

“Nonsense. Here, I’ve got a mask.” Emily put down her bags and pulled out the mask she always kept in her purse. She put it on and then gestured for Diana to go back inside. “Don’t worry about me. Just let me take care of you for a few minutes, okay?”

Diana crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think?—”

“Please?”

Diana stared at her for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words, and then she turned and led the way inside, her movements stiff and sluggish.

Emily brought her bags to the kitchen. First things first, she needed to get the cold items into the freezer. “I brought popsicles,” she told Diana. “They’ll feel great on your throat later.”

“Thank you,” Diana responded, coughing. She stood awkwardly in the living room, still looking like she wanted Emily to leave. Had no one cared for her when she was sick before?

“Have you taken any medicine? I brought Dayquil and Nyquil and also cough drops.”

Diana exhaled in what looked like relief. “Dayquil sounds wonderful. I had some ibuprofen when I woke up, but I didn’t have anything else here to take.”

“One dose of Dayquil, coming right up. You go sit.” Emily filled the little cup that came with the bottle and brought it to Diana, who gulped it gratefully. Now that Emily was standing over her, she saw that Diana was shivering. Her hand trembled where it held the cup.

“Thank you,” Diana whispered as she handed the cup back, then drew her robe tighter around herself.

“No problem. How does chicken noodle soup sound? I also have harvest squash.”

Diana hugged herself, looking absolutely miserable, but when she looked up at Emily, there was gratitude in her eyes. “That sounds good, actually. I haven’t eaten today. Either is fine.”

Emily’s heart melted on the spot. If she hadn’t been so sure Diana would hate it—and that she was probably super germy—Emily would have given her a big hug, because Diana sure as hell looked like she needed one. “You got it.”

Emily settled for giving her hand a quick squeeze before she returned to the kitchen. She noticed two Covid tests sitting on the counter, both negative. Thank goodness for that, at least. Chicken noodle was a staple when you were sick for a reason, she decided. After rummaging through the cabinets to find what she needed, she fixed Diana a bowl of soup and wrapped a napkin around several slices of bread, then brought it all to the couch.

“Mm. Thank you.” Diana took the soup gratefully, balancing the bowl on her lap. She took a spoonful, wincing as she swallowed. Her nose was running, and she sniffed ineffectively.

Emily went to the kitchen for the tissues she’d bought. As she walked back to the living room, she swept her gaze around the interior of the cabin. “I’ve driven past this place before, but I’ve never been inside. It’s so cozy. Does the owner expect you to care for their plants or what?” Because there were several well-tended houseplants in the windows, more than she would expect to find in a rental property. She placed the box of tissues on the table in front of Diana.

“They’re mine,” Diana told her, pausing to cover another cough. “I brought them with me.”

“Oh, that’s so cool.” Emily looked at the meticulously tended plants with fresh eyes, imagining Diana wandering about the cabin, watering and caring for them. They meant enough to her that she’d brought them with her from Boston, and that was…well, it was adorable, and it made Emily feel all warm inside. “You must really love plants, huh?”

Diana nodded. “I find it calming, having them around.”

Interesting . “I love that. Unfortunately, I have a black thumb. I can’t seem to keep anything alive.”

“Ironic, given how much you love to paint them. You probably aren’t giving them the proper care.” Diana sounded like hell. Looked like it too, but her voice was as authoritative as ever. “You need to look up the care requirements for each plant—what kind of soil they prefer, if they need direct sunlight, how often to water them, that kind of thing. If you spend a minute getting to know them, they’ll fare a lot better.”

Emily thought that advice was probably applicable to more than just plants, and right now, she was loving this insight into who Diana was outside the office. “Maybe sometime you could recommend a good plant for me to start with?”

Diana nodded. “Sure. Spider plants are always a good bet, but let me think about it.”

“Great.”

They kept talking while Diana ate. Well, mostly Emily kept the conversation going. Diana was putting on a brave face, but she obviously felt awful. Her cheeks were still flushed, but her eyes looked a little less fever bright now, as the medication started to kick in. Her hands shook, and she couldn’t go more than a few minutes at a time without coughing.

When she’d finished her soup, Emily took the bowl from her. “Now, why don’t you go take a shower while I finish putting things away? Trust me, you’ll feel so much better after.”

Diana frowned, as if the effort of getting off the couch required more energy than she had at the moment.

“Go on.” Emily made a shooing motion with her free hand. She’d had the flu last winter, and she remembered how much she’d dreaded showering every time until she was in it. “Once you’ve been in the steam for a few minutes, blow your nose. The shower will loosen everything up, and you’ll be able to clear out your sinuses enough to get a good nap after.”

“Really?” Diana perked up at that. “I’d love a good nap.”

“Trust me. The steam will work wonders.”

“Okay.” She stood, looking at Emily. “Are you heading out then?”

“I’ll stick around until you’re settled if that’s okay?” Please don’t kick me out . Emily was surprised to realize she really, really wanted to stay.

“Okay,” Diana agreed quietly.

Emily waited until she heard the distant sound of the shower, and then she went into the kitchen to finish putting away the supplies she’d brought. She had also intended to clean up any dirty dishes that Diana hadn’t felt up to, but the kitchen was spotless.

Emily put the leftover soup in the fridge, along with a selection of sports drinks. Her grandmas always insisted Emily drink those when she was sick to maintain her electrolytes. She took one bottle out of the pack and brought it to the living room, placing it on the coffee table next to the bag of cough drops and the tissues.

Then her curiosity got the better of her and she wandered the room, checking out Diana’s plants. What did it say about her that she’d brought plants with her from Boston? Emily wasn’t sure, but she loved it regardless .

Unsurprisingly, Diana’s plants were in excellent health. Emily didn’t see so much as a dead leaf anywhere. She was particularly drawn to a plant in the back window with pink spots on its leaves. Emily snapped a quick picture of it with her phone. Maybe she’d paint it later. She could always use new inspiration for her art, and plants were her signature.

Actually, she’d been a little low on inspiration lately. She lived in such a beautiful location in a beautiful state, and yet…she’d been painting the same flowers and vistas her whole life. She needed something new to inspire her.

As she took more photos of Diana’s plants, Emily started envisioning a set of stickers and prints highlighting various houseplants. After she’d looked at all the plants, she sat in the chair next to the couch and messed around on her phone until Diana returned from the shower.

“You’re still here,” Diana murmured as she walked into the living room. She had on purple plaid flannel pajamas that looked super warm and cozy, her hair wet and wavy around her face. Her cheeks were pale, and her eyes were clearer than they had been before her shower. The medication seemed to have kicked in and lowered her fever.

“I was just admiring your plants. I took some pictures for painting inspiration if that’s okay?”

Diana nodded, a soft smile curving her lips. She settled on the couch, tucking her feet under herself. “Of course. I can’t wait to see what you paint.”

“This one’s my favorite.” She held up her phone, showing Diana a picture of the pink-spotted plant.

“I like that one too. It’s called a polka dot plant. Well, it has a scientific name, but I can’t remember it right now.” She rubbed a hand over her forehead.

“Feeling any better?”

“Much,” Diana told her. “I would have dragged myself to the grocery store at some point, but your delivery has been a lifesaver. I really appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. It must be hard to get sick when you’re away from home, without your things and the usual people you’d call on.”

“Especially up here in rural Vermont, where I can’t just use one of my apps to arrange a delivery.” Diana’s gaze landed on the cough drops and sports drink Emily had left for her on the coffee table. “Oh, you really are a lifesaver. My throat feels like I swallowed glass, and I’m probably dehydrated too.”

“Drink up. My grandmas swear by sports drinks to help get over a cold or flu. That and homemade chicken noodle soup.”

“Both of which I now have, thanks to you.” Diana reached for the bottle, which contained a bright blue liquid. She took a long drink, then unwrapped a cough drop and pulled the throw blanket from the back of the couch around herself.

“And thanks to Carter for letting me know.”

Diana’s expression grew fond. “Yes. I called him this morning to see if he was having any symptoms since we’d spent the weekend together, but he’s still healthy, thank goodness.”

“I’m glad.”

Diana was curled up against the end of the couch now, her eyes starting to droop.

“I should probably let you rest,” Emily said reluctantly. She didn’t want to leave, but Diana looked so much more comfortable now, and she didn’t want to overstay her welcome.

“I think I’m going to try to take that nap you suggested,” Diana said hoarsely. “The cough drop is helping. ”

“Good.” Emily stood and walked toward the front door. “I put the rest of the soup in your fridge, plus a bunch of sports drinks. And don’t forget about the popsicles.”

“I won’t. Thank you, Emily.”

Emily hesitated by the front door, wishing they were close enough that she could stay and care for Diana until she was feeling better. “If you need anything else, just call or text me, okay? Everyone needs a little caretaking when they’re sick, and I…I like you. A lot. So let me help if I can. Please?”

Diana swallowed, her expression hard to read. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, her eyes never leaving Emily’s.

Please ask me to stay.

But Diana only smiled, her eyes soft, almost affectionate. Finally, she nodded.

“Okay, then. Bye, Diana. Hope you feel better soon.”

And with that, Emily slipped out the door.