Bluestone & Vine by Donna Kauffman (14)

Chapter Fourteen

“Change of plans,” Pippa said over the phone, but she sounded excited rather than regretful.

Seth pinned the phone between his shoulder and his ear so he could tuck the towel in around his hips. He sat on the side of his bed, his wet hair dripping down his bare back, and palmed the phone again. “Okay. What’s the new plan? No dinner?”

“Yes, dinner, but not at Bo’s.” She paused, then said, “Could you meet me at Addie Pearl’s house?”

Surprised, he said, “Sure. You know, if you’re thinking we need a chaperone, I really won’t carry you off to my cave like a Neanderthal. Earlier behavior notwithstanding.”

She giggled at that, and whatever worry he had about what had prompted this detour instantly smoothed out. He wondered how long it was going to take to not worry every other minute that she would change her mind. Now who’s afraid of flip-flopping? he thought, knowing Sawyer would be largely entertained by what he was putting himself through. The answer was that he’d stop worrying when her time in Blue Hollow Falls was up, and they knew what they were going to do going forward.

“Well,” Pippa said, “I’m fairly confident I could take care of myself if you went all Viking on me. Stunt driving isn’t the only thing Brae taught me.”

“Having grown up with four sisters, even without special training, I believe you,” Seth said, chuckling. “So, why are we inviting Addie Pearl to crash our date?”

“Because I have a plan to help Will and Jake. And if I hold off putting it into motion, I’m afraid I’ll lose my nerve.”

Seth’s smile instantly changed to a look of concern. “Pippa, I really don’t think we should meddle—”

“We won’t be,” she said. “It’ll just be me. But I need Addie Pearl’s help, and I would like your input, too. I promise, this is a gentle plan, Seth. I wouldn’t risk hurting either of them any more than they’ve already been hurt. I’ll explain it all when I see you. Same time, and Addie Pearl said to bring a bottle of your wine.”

“I’m not making wine yet,” he said.

“Addie said you’ve been playing with grapes and making test batches since back when you first bought the place.”

“She did, did she?”

“Mm-hmm. Addie Pearl told me you’ve given a few bottles away as Christmas presents, but she drank hers.” Pippa laughed. “Looks like we have a lot to discuss this evening.”

“I’ll bring the wine,” Seth told her, shaking his head but grinning as he did. Pippa was a lot to keep up with, all by herself. Putting her in cahoots with Addie Pearl, however, might be more than even he could handle. “Is it just the three of us?”

“Yes,” she said. “Bailey is out with Sawyer and Sunny tonight. And I’ll make it up to you. Dinner at the cabin tomorrow?”

“I can’t,” he said, surprised but pleased by the offer. “The distributor ended up not being able to wait for me the other day, so he’s coming back tomorrow. I’ll be happy to let you borrow my kitchen, if you’d like. I make a mean tossed salad, and I can chop things up fairly decently. So I could play sous-chef.”

“That’s a date,” she said, sounding more than pleased.

They ended the call and Seth tossed the phone on the bed, then lay back and closed his eyes. It actually wasn’t a bad idea, having a chaperone that evening. Be it Addie, or the entire town watching the two of them dining at Bo’s. They’d at least have a prayer of not ending up eating breakfast together tomorrow morning. Pippa wanted to move slow; he’d move like a snail if he had to. That said, dining at the chalet, with the bed he was presently sprawled over just a few yards away? They were adults, he reminded himself. Adults who’d had adult relationships in the past. It wasn’t like ending up in bed together would automatically change things before they were ready for that change. He opened his eyes. “Who are you kidding?”

It would change everything. At least it would for him.

He sat up, then stood, snagging the damp towel that had come untucked from where it lay on the bed before walking back to the bathroom. He was going to have to change the venue for their next date—that’s all there was to it. And how many more after that?

“Yeah, there’s a question for you,” he muttered, then twisted his hair up in a knot and finished the beard trim before getting dressed. They didn’t have the luxury of forever. The clock was already ticking for them.

* * *

Seth arrived at Addie’s twenty minutes later, two bottles of wine in hand, and a knot in the pit of his stomach. Which was ridiculous. “You’re not sixteen here, bro.” In fact, if anyone who knew him could see him now, standing there on the stoop, practically in a cold sweat because he was about to go on a first date—one chaperoned by a seventy-three-year-old woman no less—worried that he would somehow blow it and Pippa would change her mind . . . “Yeah, Sawyer, this one’s for you,” he muttered.

He was the smooth one, the flirty one, the one who was always at ease with the opposite sex. He was the world’s best wingman. He realized now why he’d never once felt that kind of easy, smooth flirtatiousness with Pippa.

It was the truth. And the fact that she’d talked about them starting something with the caveat that it would either work or it wouldn’t, and they’d just figure that out when the time came for her to leave ... Yeah, not exactly a balm to his ever-increasing anxiety.

“Are you going to go on in, or stand there like a wet-behind-the-ears twelve-year-old? Jake McCall has more swag than you.”

Seth turned to find Addie coming up the walk with an armload of firewood. “What do you know about swag?” he asked, chuckling.

Addie was a short, septuagenarian hippie, with narrow shoulders and sturdy legs, who favored tie-died T-shirts and cut-off olive-green army shorts, the bottom edges of which ended below her bony knees but above her laced up leather hiking boots. She wore her long gray hair in a braid that dropped all the way past her wide waist, to brush her flat-asa-pancake fanny. The top of her head might barely come to his chest, but she was a force to be reckoned with. “I was born with swag, sonny,” she said, then sent him a wink.

Seth had already put down the wine bottles and hopped off the porch so he could relieve her of the load. “I thought Sawyer got you that firewood wagon thing.”

“Thing’s one word for it,” she said. “I’ve carried wood inside my house all of my adult life, and a good couple of years before that. I don’t need some silly trolley designed for yuppie campers. I made a planter out of it. Looks real nice out back. The day I can’t fill my own wood-burning stove—”

“Is the day you let Bailey do it,” Seth said, then slipped the stack from her arms and winked at her. “Or me. I think you’ve earned the right to delegate the heavy lifting.”

She just waved his comment away, but went on up the walkway in front of him. She pushed open the front door, then picked up the bottles of wine and held the screen door open for him.

Seth leaned down and brushed a kiss on her cheek as he went by. “Beautiful as ever,” he told her. “Swagalicious.”

She swatted him on the backside as he passed, and didn’t hold back, either, but he heard her chuckling. “If you’d just sweet-talk Pippa like you do me, you’ll do fine, trust me.” She followed him in and closed the door behind them.

Seth choked a little at that. Addie wasn’t one for beating around the bush. Too late he realized that maybe he should be more worried about the chaperone than his date. He stood and brushed his hands on the legs of his jeans. “I’ll have you know I’ve been nothing but charming.”

Addie opened one of the wine bottles to let it breathe. “I should hope so. She’s a lovely girl.”

“She is, indeed,” Seth said, walking over to the kitchen to peek over her shoulder. “Something smells like heaven.”

She swatted him away from the bubbling pots on the stove. “Make yourself useful and pour us a glass.”

“Happy to,” he said, chuckling. “You didn’t have to cook, you know. I’m not sure what Pippa’s big scheme is, but something tells me we’re going to be owing you the dinner, if she’s planning on your helping in some way. Where is she, by the way?”

“She was still down at the mill when I left. She was talking to Sawyer before he and Sunny took off. Then she had something else she needed to do there, not sure what. She’ll be here shortly, I suspect.” Addie stirred one pot while blowing across another to help keep the boil from frothing over the edge.

“Pippa said Sawyer and Sunny were taking Bailey out for the night?”

Addie nodded. “All the way up to Valley View for a gallery showing. I know it’s Sunday and a school night, but I figured one late night would be okay. That child finishes her homework on the bus ride home from school more than half the time, so I’ve no doubt she’s prepared for class tomorrow. I’ll help her with the sheep in the morning.”

“I’m sure she appreciates getting to go,” Seth said. Turtle Springs was the nearest town to Blue Hollow Falls, with basic shopping amenities and other support systems that the Falls lacked, like the hospital. Valley View was the closest city that could truly be called that, and was close to two hours away. “Valley View, huh? Sounds fancy. Who’s the artist?”

“Paper sculptor. Builds these amazing portraits by stacking together folded pieces of paper. I’ve never seen anything like it. Tremendous talent. She’s considering moving to the area and wanted to talk to me about seeing if some of our artists could make hand-milled and hand-dyed paper for her for a big project she’s working on for her next show.”

“Sounds like that might be a good fit. Interesting craft. So, were you supposed to go? You should have said something. I’m sure Pippa wouldn’t want you to—”

Addie waved a spoon over one of the pots. “I’ve every faith Sawyer will make a deal with the artist and I’ll have plenty of opportunities to see her work up close and personal later. Who better to charm her than Sawyer?”

“And Bailey,” Seth said, then laughed. “Poor woman doesn’t stand a chance.”

Addie Pearl smiled at him over her shoulder. “And I figure once Sawyer closes the deal, I can convince her to come teach a seminar or two.”

Seth lifted his wineglass in her direction. “Always thinking.”

Addie nodded, taking the compliment in stride. “Besides, Pippa said this was something to do with that tiff I heard about at the mill yesterday, between Will and Jake.” She laid the spoon down and wiped her hands on the towel she’d tucked into the pocket of her apron, then turned to Seth. “Doesn’t sound like the Wilson McCall I know at all. So of course I want to help if I can.”

Seth took a seat on one of the stools that fronted the workstation in the center of the kitchen. Addie Pearl’s cabin was log-over-log, much smaller than his but similar in the open floor plan with the loft overhead. The large picture window behind him on the other side of the dining-room table framed a breathtaking view along the mountain range. Or as Addie put it, “the kind of art only God could paint.”

Seth slid her wineglass to her. “It was definitely out of character,” he agreed, “and then some. I was with Will and Jake more days than not when we were all working on the mill. Never once did I see him get so much as irritated with Jake, much less display the fury he put on show yesterday. He’s the steadiest, most patient man I’ve ever met. To a fault at times.” Seth shook his head. “I felt as bad for him as I did for Jake.”

Addie Pearl nodded. “Pippa said it had to do with Jake bringing one of Will’s fiddles to the mill, hoping for some lessons?”

Seth nodded. “She’d arranged for Drake to talk with him a little, go over a few basics, see if it was a passing fancy or truly something he wanted to pursue.”

“Seems harmless enough.”

“On the surface. But Jake should have gotten permission, for the fiddle and the lessons. Pippa thought he had. And that’s not at all like Jake, either.”

Addie sipped her wine. “Mmm,” she said, eyes widening in pleasure. “You’re on the right path with this batch.”

Seth smiled, nodded his thanks. “High praise, indeed,” he said, meaning it. Addison Pearl was picky about her wine.

She set her glass down and held his gaze. “I imagine Will has a good reason for being ticked off like he was, about that fiddle. And not just because he’d made the thing himself.” She smiled. “I know you’ve never heard him play, but oh, Dot—Wilson’s mother—used to just go on and on about his fiddle playing. Did you know it was her daddy who taught Wilson how to play and to make his own instruments?”

Seth shook his head, surprised. “I didn’t, no.”

“Well, once his mama passed and he moved here for good, I can’t tell you how often I tried to get that man to play, or even give us a little talk about how he came to build fiddles, talk about his daddy, maybe discuss the ins and outs of the procedures he uses.” She smiled, but it was more rueful than anything. “He tolerated my busybody ways for longer than he probably should have. He’s a gentleman, after all. But one day he finally stepped aside with me and very politely, but firmly, told me that fiddle making, and fiddle playing, were in his past, and that I’d be doing him a great service to refrain from asking him about either of those things ever again.” She sighed.

“And did you refrain?” Seth asked, in a tone that suggested he might not think her capable of such a thing.

Addie Pearl gave him an aggrieved look and swatted his hand. “Of course I did. That man was in a world of pain. I could see he hadn’t made the request lightly. Most likely he’d only put up with me asking as long as he did because he knew telling me to back off would just spark my curiosity.” She picked up her glass again and sipped, her unique lavender-colored eyes gleaming mischievously at him over the rim. “And it most certainly did.” She cradled the glass in both hands. “But I’m a patient woman. I knew someday the moment would come along when I would find an inroad on the subject and we’d talk about it. I admit, it’s taken a bit longer than I expected. I thought maybe during the mill renovation, but no.” She smiled and poured herself another partial glass. “And now along comes Pippa, barely here for a minute, and things have been all stirred up again.”

“I’m still not sure if this is something anyone needs to be interfering with,” Seth cautioned her. “You should have seen him, Addie. I think he’d have come to blows with me if I’d blocked his path any longer.”

“Let’s listen to what Pippa has to say,” she counseled. “Something tells me she’s going to be asking as much of herself as she is of Will. Or at least that’s the impression she gave me.”

The sound of tires crunching on gravel interrupted their talk.

“There she is now,” Addie said, and bustled on over to the front door.

Seth realized he was holding his breath, waiting for Pippa to step into the cabin. What the hell is wrong with you? He wasn’t sure if the nerves were because he was looking forward to being around her for the first time without having to pretend his interest was strictly platonic. Or because he was wondering how Pippa was going to act, now that she could do the same. Or because in the back of his mind, all he could hear was tick tock, tick tock.

Then she walked into the cabin, with that bright, sunny smile, laughing at something Addie had said, and when she saw him, that smile went even wider and her gorgeous blue eyes danced with excitement and pleasure.

Whatever else happened, Seth knew, in that moment, that when it came to letting her go, or going after her, he damn well wasn’t going to watch her walk away from him again. Well then, laddie, best get on up and do something about that.

Seth stood and met her in the middle of the room. He bent down to kiss her on the cheek, noting Addie’s eye roll at such a chaste hello. He smiled at that, then smiled down into Pippa’s happy face. “You look like a woman on a mission, and that mission is taking shape. Care to fill us in?”

She tipped up on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and urged his mouth down to hers for a quick, solid kiss.

Seth caught Addie’s smile of approval as she turned back to the stove; then he looked down at Pippa, who was still smiling up at him.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said. “I’ve decided I’m not giving any more of my time away to worry.”

He grinned. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Good,” she said brightly, then slipped her hand in his and tugged him with her over to the center work island in the kitchen. “I need some wine before I lay the plan out.”

It was like grabbing on to the tail of a comet, Seth thought, and grinned. At least it would never be a dull ride.

He poured Pippa a glass of wine, and waited for her to take a sip.

Her eyes grew wide as she did the little mouth swish and swallow. “That’s wonderful.” She put her glass down and picked up the bottle. Her expression melted when she saw the label. “It’s Dex!” She looked at Seth. “I love this. Llamarama Wine.”

Seth smiled. “I had one of the artists at the mill do a sketch and watercolor for the label and business card. I haven’t really had the chance to use it much yet, but I think it sums up the mood I want for the vineyard.”

The label had a blue wash background, with a space in the middle to put in the specific type of wine it was and any other name he wanted to give it. Below was the winery name and info, which appeared hand lettered rather than typed. On one side was a trellised vine with bunches of plump grapes, with the vines crawling across the top of the label. Peeking in from the other side was Dex’s neck and head, as he nibbled on the grapes at the end of the crawling vine. All the art was hand sketched and painted in a soft wash with watercolors, giving it a look that was both whimsical and beautiful.

“I love everything about it,” Pippa said, finally putting the bottle back on the counter so she could take another sip from her glass. “Mmm. This really is amazing. Why aren’t you bottling yet?”

Seth set his own glass down. “Gilbert Bianchi unearthed a chart that Emile had hand drawn, showing what grapes he’d planted where.” Seth smiled. “It was in French, and Gilbert only spoke English and a little Italian. He had it translated and made up a more formal chart. A good part of what Emile had planted had died off, mostly due to neglect and weather. But a surprising number of vines remained, though they were out of control by the time Gilbert came along. He didn’t want to plant as many acres as Emile, so he transplanted a lot of what was salvageable in the fields he planned to use.”

“So, does that mean they’re all mixed up out there?” Pippa asked.

“A little bit,” Seth said with a grin, then lifted his glass as if in a toast to Gilbert. “He did try to chart it as best he could, but then he passed on and things went to seed again. So I really need to take at least a season or two to see what produces. I won’t plant as many acres as Emile did, but I’ll want more than Gilbert. There’s just no point in expanding until I see what I’ve got.”

“But you’ve been experimenting already,” Pippa said, and took another sip.

Seth nodded. “A little. Mostly to hone my own skills as a vintner. I want the chance to play a bit more before I commit to specific blends that will have my name on it.” He smiled. “Or Dex’s, as the case may be.”

“Did Gilbert’s wife know?” Pippa asked. “About the label?”

Seth nodded. “She knew I was going to change the name of the winery from Bianchi Vineyards to Bluestone & Vine, and she liked the new name and the reasoning behind it. She’d made a passing comment when we were discussing the sale, made in jest, really, about how Dex should be considered an ambassador for the brand, not an albatross.” He shrugged. “One thing led to another.”

“I know that had to have made her happy,” Pippa said, beaming.

Seth nodded. “I think it did. I wish she’d made it long enough to get to taste the wine.”

Addie reached over and covered Seth’s hand and squeezed. “She knows. You’ve done right by her and her husband. She knows.”

“Thanks, Addie,” Seth said, touched. He looked at Pippa. “So, your turn.”

Addie interrupted him. “How about we get this meal on the table? Then we can plot and plan.”

Pippa laid the table with woven mats and the hand thrown, mismatched plates and antique silver—none of it alike, either—that Addie had stacked on the work island. Seth carried over a variety of crocks and serving bowls filled with wild rice, green beans with almonds and mushrooms, creamed corn, and stewed apples, while Addie carried the carving plate and roast to the head of the table.

“I think my taste buds have already died and gone to heaven, and I haven’t even taken a bite yet,” Pippa said with a contented sigh.

“Could you get the jam and butter from the fridge?” Addie said to Pippa, and went to get the biscuits from the oven. She also brought tumblers and a pitcher of cold sweet tea to the table, along with the wine.

“You’re going to have to roll me out to my truck later,” Seth warned as he finished carving the roast. “That is, if I’m not already fast asleep on your couch.”

“I promise I won’t disturb your beauty sleep,” Addie Pearl told him with a wink. Looking quite pleased with herself, she took a chair at the end of the table, and Seth and Pippa sat across from each other at the same end, making for a cozy threesome as they passed the serving dishes back and forth.

“I don’t know which is more life-changing,” Pippa said, “this amazing meal, or that view.” She was on the long bench seat that framed one side of the cedar plank table. Seth was seated in one of the mismatched high-back chairs across from her. “I can’t think of a better way to spend a lovely spring evening.” Pippa lifted her wine glass in a toast. “To good food, good wine, and good friends.” Addie and Seth lifted their glasses and they clinked them together.

Food was served and appetites quickly fulfilled as they enjoyed Addie Pearl’s feast. The conversation was kept to things like the spring heat wave they’d just had after the brutal, snowy winter, gossip about the mill, and a few new crafters Addie Pearl was hoping to bring on board as they each enjoyed several servings of both food and wine.

The sun was setting when Addie Pearl passed the biscuits for one last round, then set the empty basket in the middle of the table. “Well now, we’ve managed to put it off long enough.” Addie waved her butter knife in Pippa’s general direction. “Out with it.”

Pippa and Seth shared a raised-eyebrow smile; then Pippa wiped her mouth with her napkin and took a breath. “As you know, this is about Will, and about Jake, but it’s also about me. I need to start there, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is,” Addie Pearl said, her lavender eyes crinkling at the corners and her smile warm and encouraging. “You go on, and take your time.”

“Thank you,” Pippa said sincerely, but looked only fractionally relieved. “Seth knows this first part, and my sister Katie knows, but no one else does,” she began. “Pretty much everyone knows about my ruptured vocal cords. So, I had surgery on them exactly one year ago, next week.”

Seth’s gaze sharpened at that. When she’d first arrived, she’d mentioned the surgery had been eleven months ago, but he hadn’t put that together with the fact that she had been in Blue Hollow Falls for a few weeks.

“The surgery was a complete success. I followed all the protocols to the letter during my recovery, and I was given the green light to begin singing again some time ago. In moderation of course, and there are certain exercises I’ve been cautioned to do as an ongoing thing. I hired someone who specializes in that kind of thing to help me proceed in the smartest way possible.” She looked down for a moment, then slid her hands to her lap before looking back at the two of them. “And I haven’t done any of the exercises. Haven’t sung a single note. Because, you see, I’m petrified it will happen again.”

“That sounds like a perfectly normal reaction,” Addie Pearl said.

“Maybe. But the longer I’ve gone without trying, the more scared I’ve become. I even went to see a therapist about it, but his advice was basically to just sing, and I’d see I was fine.”

“Sounds like you needed a better therapist,” Addie grumbled.

“Possibly. Probably,” Pippa amended with a smile. “But I also realized that no amount of encouragement from a stranger was going to get me there, either.” She picked up her napkin from the table and began folding and refolding the corners as she spoke. “The thing is, I used to not be able to not sing. By that I mean, if I wasn’t singing, I was humming, or I’d hear music inside my head all the time. My world was always scored with a running soundtrack. So I guess I just thought that not singing would be the hardest part of the surgery. And once I was healed, it would be there waiting for me. It’s like a . . . compulsion. No, that’s not the right word.” She looked at Seth, and said, “Singing is like breathing to me.”

He reached across the table and took her hand in his, rubbing his fingers over hers, wishing he could give her all his strength, wishing he could win this battle for her.

“But, since the surgery . . .” She lifted her shoulders and slid her hand from his, bringing it back to her lap. She looked at Addie, then to Seth, and held on to his gaze, as if maybe summoning her strength from him after all. “I haven’t heard the music,” she said quietly. “I don’t hum, I don’t sing, my throat doesn’t just tighten and automatically produce music as I go about my day.” She took another sip of wine, pausing to find her words. “At first, I just assumed it was because of the surgery, and the pain, and all the healing that had yet to happen. But it should have still filled me up inside, like it used to. Only there was just ... silence. As time went on, it didn’t come back.” She smiled then. “And that really freaked me out.”

“I think sometimes fear can make us shut off parts of ourselves, and we think that means they’re no longer there, but they are,” Addie told her gently. “You’ve probably been worried that your voice might not be the same, or that you might hurt it again, so your subconscious mind did what it had to do to protect you from wanting to use it.” She fluttered her fingers. “And poof, no music.” Now she reached over and covered Pippa’s hand. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s a lot of trauma, both physical and emotional.”

Pippa squeezed Addie’s hand. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. Then she smiled and her eyes were filled with so much warmth and affection, it made Seth’s heart squeeze in his chest when she turned that gaze to him.

“Actually, someone really special said almost the exact same thing to me.”

Seth winked at her, silently sending her all the strength he had. Addie Pearl reached under the table and gave his knee a strong squeeze and a pat as well. He exchanged a quick glance with her and knew she was rooting for Pippa every bit as much as he was.

Pippa looked back to Addie Pearl. “As time went on, it was harder to just relax and try to let it come to me naturally. The whole world was watching, waiting. I had a lot of people who were also being absolutely amazing to me, so much love, so much support. But it still felt like I was under a microscope. The more time passed, the more speculation and rumors circulated. The gossip-rag insanity began to take off with the most outlandish rubbish you’ve ever heard. And though I’ve grown used to that, as much as any person can, when it was attached to this particular issue, well, I admit it did play some mind games with me.”

Seth watched Pippa as he listened to her, and felt like he was having a little of that out-of-body experience he and Pippa had talked about when she’d first arrived, which seemed a lifetime ago now. He was watching the Pippa he knew, the warm, generous, funny, confident, ball of energy who’d turned his whole world upside down. But he was listening to a completely different Pippa. Not the vulnerable one—that woman he’d begun to know as well, who tugged so hard at his heart. No, this was Pippa the musician, Pippa the concert performer, Pippa the world-renowned singer. He hadn’t as yet met that woman.

He also felt like a fool. Not only for not grasping—not truly—the totality of what she was really grappling with, professionally—but also for not realizing what hung in the balance for her when making a decision to get involved with him, an American with a life half a world from hers. And she thought she lacked courage?

“Then Katie—my sister—came to me, asking if an old friend of hers from uni could use the home I’d bought in our village, where I’d grown up,” Pippa was saying, “while offering me the chance to come here on a sort of house swap deal that would be completely under the radar and off the grid ... and I jumped at it. It was the perfect escape.” She looked at Seth and smiled. “I couldn’t have known how perfect.”

Seth hadn’t known it was possible to fall in love and feel his heart break all at the same time. She was it for him. He was done questioning that. But how on earth did he think he’d be able to hold on to her? He belonged to a small plot of land in the mountains of Virginia. She belonged to the world.

She held his gaze for a moment longer, her smile faltering just a bit at whatever she was reading in his eyes. He immediately grinned and winked at her. She didn’t need his worries and fears right now; she had enough of her own. Just as instantly, she winked back.

Her shoulders relaxed a little as she looked to Addie. “And it’s working,” Pippa told her, banked excitement creeping into her voice now. She leaned closer and rested her arms on the table, her big eyes sparkling. “I’ve finally heard the music, Addie Pearl. Standing beside Big Stone Creek, watching the waterwheel, hearing the sound of the falls blend with the rhythm of that big, beautiful waterwheel.”

Addie took Pippa’s hands and gripped them between her own, her eyes sparkling as well. “I knew you would,” she told her.

Pippa beamed and the transformation was brilliant. “It was like a gospel sounded inside my head, and the skies parted, angels singing.” She laughed. “Ridiculously over-the-top descriptions do not do the moment justice, trust me. It was, in the truest sense of the word, awesome.” She laughed again. “And such a huge relief, I don’t mind telling you.”

Addie laughed and beamed herself. “It was in you all along, honey. You just needed the right key to unlock it.”

Pippa looked at Seth, her eyes shining. “I did, indeed.” Addie Pearl still held her left hand and Pippa reached across the table for Seth’s hand and held on tight to them both for a long moment, before finally letting go. She let out a long, happy breath and fanned her glistening eyes with a little laugh, then took another sip of wine.

Seth might have had a little something in his eye as well, and noted Addie Pearl was experiencing a similar difficulty.

“And so, it’s all begun,” Pippa said. “I didn’t know where that first moment would take me, but it’s happening, and I’m just along for the ride.” She turned to Addie Pearl. “The other night, sitting on the steps of my cabin, the night Bailey was there for our movie night, I sang the line of a song when I was talking to Seth,” she said. “And I wasn’t even aware of it.” Her eyes wide, she laughed again as she lifted her hands. “How crazy is that? A whole year of all but wrapping my throat in cotton batting, and then I just go blithely singing along without even knowing it?”

“And how was it?” Addie asked, though the twinkle in her eyes said she already knew the answer.

“Absolutely fine,” Pippa said. “I mean, I think I sound a little different now. My speaking voice is huskier these days.” She shrugged. “That might work for me, who knows?”

“And what about now?” Addie asked. “Still singing?”

Pippa’s smile faded a bit at that, back to the more self-deprecating one from before. “Not yet.”

Addie looked dismayed. “Child, you need to—”

“I know I do, Addie. I truly do. But it was like, the moment I realized I’d sung, everything clamped up inside me again. And singing a line, or even a song to myself is one thing. I do sound different, and there’s . . . a lot to process.”

“You can’t process what you aren’t doing,” Addie said, not unkindly.

“Right,” Pippa said with a sigh. “I know.” She took a breath and squared her shoulders, looking at Addie, then Seth. “And that is precisely where my big plan with Will and Jake comes in.”