Piper had only been living at Blue Ridge Orchards for three days, but already she was making big strides in understanding the running of the business. Her goal was to have everything running smoothly before her mother and Lucas arrived in ten more days.

She’d already picked out Lucas’s bedroom, which was just two doors down from her own. They would have a bathroom between them so she would have easy access to her son at any time.

Her mother would be living in one of the guesthouses, which were cute cottages with their own kitchens on the edge of the property. Hector lived in the other one, of course, and would continue to do so.

The cottage for her mother was adorable and already decorated with a country flair that she knew her mother would love. Piper would run into town and stock it with groceries before her mother arrived, but otherwise it was ready to go.

She hadn’t heard a word from Cameron, which she didn’t find all that strange given the way they’d met. He wasn’t happy she was a part of his grandmother’s will, and he likely never would be. But it had been Lola’s choice, and Piper was thrilled to have a second chance at life. She wanted to make Lola proud.

Getting to know Hector had been interesting so far. He’d been born in Guatemala and came to the US only a few months before meeting Lola’s husband. At the time, he was hired to do some manual labor on the property, but he ended up planting most of the apple trees in the orchard himself.

Hector had never married, choosing to focus instead on his work at the orchard. It made Piper a little sad to think about Hector never having love in his life, but it was hard to feel bad for him since he seemed so happy all the time.

After another day of fiddling with the roses in one of the greenhouses, Piper decided she needed a nice, long, hot bath with a big glass of wine from a bottle she’d found in the refrigerator. She had no idea where it came from, but she was more than happy to drink it.

She filled the tub with bubbles and slipped out of her robe down into the hot water. The tub was large and modern with high powered jets that she’d tried out two days ago, but this time she opted for still waters and a pair of headphones blasting her favorite country music.

Her mind wandered to images of Minnsville, the diner, her son… She thought about all of the changes that Lucas would get to experience. A new, amazing home. A new school. Not feeling like a poor kid. His life would be different than hers was, no matter what.

As a child, she had always wanted exactly what this piece of land embodied - vast open spaces, a beautiful family home and the beauty of nature. She had wanted dogs and horses and every kind of animal possible, but living in small apartments and mobile homes hadn’t exactly provided her with the opportunity to have more than a goldfish during her childhood.

She sunk further down into the warm water as Garth Brooks sang a sweet tune in her ear, the bubbles around her tickling her earlobe. When there was a lull in the song, she thought she heard something so she opened her eyes and screamed when she saw Cameron standing over her, his mouth hanging open a bit.

“What are you doing in here? Get out!” she yelled, but she wasn’t exactly in a position to do much about it. One false move and the bubbles would move and showcase a lot more of her than she wanted this man to see.

“Sorry! Really… I didn’t know you were in here…” he stammered as he turned around and faced his back to her.

“I said get out!” she yelled again. He threw his hands up and walked out of the bathroom. She quickly jumped up and out of the tub, almost losing her footing on the slick tile floor, and locked the bathroom door.

“I said I’m sorry,” he called from the other side.

“What are you, some kind of pervert?” she said back as she toweled off and put her robe back on.

“Actually,” he said, “that’s not the proper use of the word ‘pervert’. To say pervert assumes that I’m operating from some place of sexual deviance or that looking at a beautiful woman in a bathtub - which I wasn’t doing intentionally, by the way - is somehow abnormal…”

She swung the door open and found herself face to face with him. “So you admit you were staring at me? While I was naked and didn’t even know you were there? That’s a pervert,” she said as she brushed past him and opened her suitcase to find something less comfortable to wear.

“Look, this is my room. Or it was when I was living here.”

“Okay… And wasn’t that like over a decade ago?”

“It was still my room. So I just automatically came in here. I didn’t even see your suitcase since it was on the other side of the bed. I didn’t hear any water running. So, I just walked into the bathroom because I was about to take a shower… and there you were.”

She swore she could see a hint of a smile, like he was proud of himself for catching her in a compromising position. And she didn’t like it one bit.

“Let’s get clear about something. This is now my room, so you need to stay out of here.” She was petite and had to look up to meet his eyes, but she was trying her hardest to seem strong and confident.

“And who decided this was your room?”

“I got here first.”

“I got here when I was twelve.”

“Ladies first,” she said, grasping at straws.

“No, no, no…. You can’t have it both ways. Ladies first and lady in charge.”

“Excuse me? Women can certainly have it both ways. Chivalry isn’t dead in all men.” She walked to her dressing table and started brushing her hair.

“Oh, and you assume I’m not a chivalrous guy?”

“Chivalrous men,” she said, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘men’, “don’t try to take a woman’s room away from her. And they don’t ogle naked women without their knowledge or permission.”

“First off, I’m not trying to take your room. It’s my room. And secondly, I saw nothing but bubbles.”

“Well, whatever. I’m not moving.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed her arms.

“This room has the biggest bathroom.”

“And do you want to share it with a seven year old boy? Because Lucas will be here in ten days. If you want to spend your days cleaning pee off the bottom of the toilet bowl and picking up wet towels, then…”

“Fine. Whatever. Keep the damn room. I’m tired from my flight. I don’t have time to deal with drama,” he said as he walked out of the room.

“Then don’t start it!” she yelled down the hall before slamming her door. Oh, this was going to be ounces of fun.

---

Piper stood in the kitchen cooking her scrambled eggs the next morning wishing that Lola hadn’t thought pushing her and Cameron together was a good idea. She had absolutely zero in common with him, that much was sure.

From his fine tailored suits to his constant blaring of classical music in his bedroom, the guy was just plain irritating. And sadly, he was one of the hottest men she’d ever seen but his personality totally ruined it.

“Got enough for two?” she heard him say from behind her. She turned around to find him standing there wearing a gray sweater and a pair of jeans, looking like he’d just stepped out of a J Crew catalog.

“Seriously?” she asked, thinking carefully about flinging the metal spatula at his head.

“Look, I’m sorry about last night, okay? I was exhausted.” He sat down on a barstool next to the counter.

“Apology accepted,” she said as she scooped all of the eggs onto her plate. “But make your own eggs. I’m no longer anybody’s waitress.”

She walked around the bar and back up the stairs to her room.

---

Hector spent most mornings clipping the dead pieces off of every plant in each of the greenhouses, and this morning was no different. It was like meditation for him now, and he enjoyed the quiet.

“Yo, Hector, long time no see, buddy!” Cameron called as he walked into one of the greenhouses. Hector sighed.

“Hello, Cameron. Good to see you,” he said without a smile. Hector rarely smiled in Cameron’s direction. He held a good bit of hostility over the fact that Cameron rarely came home after leaving the orchard. Sure, he’d checked in with Lola here and there, but Hector didn’t think he was a very good grandson.

“Wow. Kind of a cold reaction, amigo.”

“Don’t call me that, Cameron. You know I don’t like that.”

“It means friend,” Cameron said with a laugh.

“Exactly.” Hector turned and started back to his work.

“Okay, I’m confused. What did I do to make us not amig… friends?”

Hector turned and put down his scissors. His face was as hard as stone, not a hint of the smile he showed most people.

“You abandoned your grandmother.”

“Now, that’s not true. Besides, how would you know? You’ve lived here for decades and my grandmother lived in Minnsville.”

“We talked every single day. Your grandmother missed you, and I don’t know why she left you any part of this property. Piper is a lovely woman. She deserves it.”

“Excuse me? You’re saying I don’t deserve to own a part of my family’s property? But some stranger… some dimwitted destitute waitress from a po-dunk diner off some red dirt road deserves it more than me?”

“It was a gravel road,” Piper said from behind him. She was struggling not to cry. She wasn’t going to give this man the satisfaction.

“Piper, I’m sorry you had to hear…” Hector said, starting to walk toward her.

“I’ll be in the other greenhouse working on the plants you showed me yesterday.” She turned and started out the door.

“Let me come with you…” Hector called.

“I’ve got it. Thanks. I’d rather be alone,” she said as she looked back at Cameron.

---

Cameron sat in the golf cart on his favorite part of the property. It was a little nook that gave the perfect view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He hadn’t been to that spot in well over ten years, but it was one of the only places on Earth that truly felt like home.

He leaned back and took a long sip of his beer and rested his boot up on the dash. Coming back to the orchard had been bittersweet. He’d missed his grandmother before, but now she wasn’t even on the planet anymore and the thought pained him.

Of course, Hector wouldn’t believe that. To him, Cameron was a deserter, someone who left their grandmother in the dust.

Honestly, Cameron hadn’t meant to stay away so long. He called his grandmother at least once a week and emailed her too. He tried Skyping with her a few times, but she wasn’t exactly the best with technology.

The truth was that his publishing business was floundering, he still hadn’t written the Great American novel and he didn’t want to come home without being able to show her that he’d made it. He was a success. He’d just needed a little more time, but then his grandmother had run out of time.

His eyes watered, so he took another swig of his beer.

And now he had to deal with this woman who he’d just called all kinds of terrible names after apologizing for trying to steal her bedroom out from under her.

What was wrong with him? He sure hadn’t turned out like his grandmother had raised him. Chivalrous. Polite. Respectful.

His whole life, he’d been chasing a ghost. The ghost of his own father. His Dad had been everything to him, although he was close to his mother too. But his father was his hero. He was an accomplished writer and author with awards lining his office bookcase.

And what did Cameron have so far? A reputation in town for being a “problem”, no wife or girlfriend and a business that had all but dried up.

Everything he had chased so far hadn’t been successful. He felt more lost and alone right now than he ever had in his life, and he had exactly zero ideas as to how to fix any of it.

So he took another swig of his beer.

---

Piper took a long sniff of one of the roses. The scent was remarkable and unforgettable. She’d never smelled any rose like it, which was a testament to Lola’s ingenuity.

“Miss Piper?” she heard Hector say from behind her. “I know you said you wanted to be alone, but I wanted to check on you.”

She turned around and smiled. “I’m fine. Really.”

“He had no right…”

“He was upset. Look, I get it. This is his family homestead, and I really don’t have a place here.”

“That’s not true. Family isn’t just about blood. Miss Lola loved you very much.”

Piper sat down on a small wooden bench. “I loved her too. She was a wonderful person.”

“That she was.”

“So she told you about me?”

“Many times. She said you were the granddaughter she never had. In fact, she left you some things here, but I’m not supposed to give them to you yet.”

“Really? What kinds of things?” Piper was curious.

“I cannot tell,” he said with a big grin. “She locked them away in a special box. I am to give it to you when I think you’re ready.”

“Ooh…. A mystery box. I love it!” Piper said with a laugh. “Okay, Hector, I have some ideas for marketing. Can you show me where all of the information about the business is stored?”

“Of course. It’s in the office on the main floor. I have it all organized on the computer. Shall we?” he asked.

Piper stood up and locked arms with Hector as they made their way back toward the house.

---

It was 2am and Piper’s eyes were getting tired. She’d been up for hours reading everything she could find online about running a business, growing apples, tending to roses, increasing profits… The list seemed endless when it came to things she didn’t no how to do.

She laid her head down on the desk and sighed. As much as she wanted Cameron and Hector to think she had it all together, she felt as lost as she ever had.

Piper had never considered herself to be smart. She did okay in school, but never made the honor roll or got to be in any of the “smart kid” clubs. She got by, just like she’d done in her life so far. Just getting by was exhausting, and now she found herself in that predicament again.

Hector had broken the news to her that the apple festival was in a week, and she had no idea how to prepare for that. It was the largest event in the whole area, and residents waited all year for it.

He told her that about five hundred visitors - some from several counties away - would descend upon the orchard during the one-day event. They picked apples, took hayrides and bought stuff from the small country store on the property. Hector was doing the best he could getting everything ready, as he’d always done, but he needed help. Lots of it.

Turned out a big order for roses had come in from a pretty famous Nashville star. She was getting married the same weekend of the apple festival which meant Hector had way too much on his plate. It was going to take Piper - and probably Cameron - to pull everything off.

The problem was, she wasn’t speaking to Cameron right now. He was a jerk of epic proportions, and she didn’t want to work with him. She really wanted him to get eaten by one of those big pieces of farm equipment she’d seen on her drive in, but the best she had on her property was a golf cart.

Piper stood up and looked at her phone, swiping until she found a picture of Lucas. He was counting on her, and she wasn’t going to let him down. When he came in a little over a week, just after the apple festival, she was going to have the house ready no matter what. He was her focus, and she’d just have to deal with Cameron even if she didn’t like it one bit.