BOOK INFORMATION
At
Fairfield Orchard
Fairfield Orchard #1
Fairfield Orchard #1
By: Emma Cane
Releasing
August 30, 2016
Avon
Avon
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BOOK SUMMARY
The
first in Emma Cane’s sparkling new series, set in the beautiful Blue Ridge
Mountains.
Emma Cane welcomes you to Fairfield
Orchard, where new love blooms and romance is always in season.
For Amy Fairfield, the family orchard
is more than a business. With its blossom-scented air and rows of trees framed
by the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s her heritage and her future. But
right now, it’s also a headache. Putting a painful breakup behind her, Amy has
come home to help revitalize Fairfield Orchard. She doesn’t have time for the
handsome-distracting-professor who wants to dig into her family’s history for
his research.
Jonathan Gebhart knows he needs the Fairfields’
cooperation to make his new book a success. As for Amy-nothing in his years of
academia could have prepared him for their sudden and intense attraction. He
doesn’t want to complicate her life further, especially since she seems uneasy
about him poking around in the past and he knows he’s not the sort of man built
for forever. But some sparks can’t help but grow, and Jonathan and Amy may just
learn that unexpected love can be the sweetest of all.
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EXCERPT
Amy heard the crunch of
gravel beneath Jonathan Gebhart’s feet, and she ducked her head until she could
watch him walk away. He’d been an interesting man, all sober and serious, and
seemed a little taken aback when she’d teased him. She could still see his
short, wavy black hair that looked difficult to tame. It was hard to forget his
eyes, green as spring in the orchard—and that moment when he’d really looked at
her as a woman. That had been surprising and unsettling. He didn’t have
laughing eyes—she imagined he didn’t laugh much at all, which was a shame, when
he looked so gorgeous.
Would he be one of those
boring professors who droned on and on about something that no longer mattered
to anyone? No, he’d sounded too passionate about his request. Maybe he brought
that focus to kids who only needed his course as an elective, who stared out
the window on a gorgeous day and wished to be anywhere else. That had been her,
once upon a time…
But not where history
was concerned. That was an interest she had once had in common with the
professor. But she’d let it all go, pushed it from her mind just as she’d
pushed her family and friends away. She was surprised how much the amateur
genealogist inside her had tried to come creaking back to life when he’d told
her his hypothesis about Jefferson and her family land. But she wouldn’t let
it.
When the professor
reached his car, Amy saw that his broad shoulders were squared, and he moved
like a man who always knew exactly what he was doing, had everything planned
out. She always found confidence sexy. He’d been professionally attired in a
buttoned-down shirt and chinos beneath the jacket she’d ruined, while she was
grubby, with torn jeans and old shirts. He’d been dignified and educated, and
she’d dropped out of college to spend her time with a man who hadn’t proven
worthy of the sacrifice. It hadn’t been a sacrifice at the time, of course;
she’d been giddy with what she thought was love. Amy knocked her forehead into
the nearest branch, as if that could knock some sense into her. It had taken
far too long for that sense to take hold, and it had proven costly.
She heard his car start,
and then he was gone, dirt rising up behind as he traveled at a respectful
speed down toward Spencer Hollow, the little village between the orchard and
Crozet, the nearest small town. She used to take the quiet dirt road as an
invitation to speed, roaring down the hill, the rolling countryside stretched
out below her, rows of apple trees rising and falling as far as the eye could
see. Life had been full of excitement and possibilities then—full of the
promise of foolish mistakes, too, but she hadn’t known that. Otherwise, she
would have stayed holed up in her childhood bedroom forever.
She was back there now,
in that same bedroom, her cheerleading trophies and school certificates still
on the wall. She’d chosen this path, of course. When she’d gotten the call that
her parents had wanted to retire, she’d been only too glad to run home for a
fresh start. She’d been so excited to help her family, to spend more time with
her siblings, to prove that they were all so important to her. But underneath
all those good reasons she had to admit that coming home also meant pretending
she hadn’t let her life get so horribly, humiliatingly out of control as she’d
spent years with a man who’d developed the same issues with alcohol that her
dad had once had.
No one knew, of course,
not even her twin brother—which Amy worried was causing a certain distance
between them these last few years. But no one was ever going to know how
foolish she had been. Her ex-boyfriend, Rob, certainly wouldn’t tell; he’d
moved on to the next woman, one even more malleable than she’d been. Amy had
quit college for that idiot, she thought, groaning aloud. But at the time, it
had seemed like a great move. Her grades had suffered because all she’d wanted
was to begin a life with Rob, to live with him and make a home.
It was Rob who’d
introduced her to real estate, his family business. She’d started learning the
ropes while still in college, helping out agents part-time. She discovered she
loved working with people, and had a knack for knowing how to find the most
important reason why someone looked for a home, and then delivering on it. She
didn’t need college for that, so she’d dropped out. Gradually, as things with
Rob got worse, it was harder and harder to be a part of his family business.
Breaking up with him had meant eventually quitting her job, and it was almost a
relief to be done with anything to do with him.
Now she was facing a new
future, and she didn’t want to look back, to see again the mistakes she’d made.
But the professor wanted
to talk about the past—her family’s past, and the memories weren’t always
pleasant. Did she really want such a reminder? And, of course, there was the
fact that she was always so quick to help a guy out, she thought with dismay.
But she wouldn’t let her own hang-ups interfere with her promise to give his
request some thought. He was right about her family’s link to Thomas Jefferson.
If he had discovered new information, how could she deprive him of finding out
the truth?
To clear her head, Amy
took a deep breath of the apple blossoms all around her. This was the scent of springtime,
fragrant and lush, of her childhood, of her family obsession for generations.
She’d been molded by the rhythm of the seasons, of planting baby trees with her
father in the spring, of morning walks through the orchard in the fall,
examining apples to predict when each variety would be at peak ripeness. There
definitely was a history here, the good kind—and the bad. She just didn’t know
if she wanted to talk about it with a stranger, for there were dark episodes,
like her father’s drinking, that warped some of her memories.
Yet being back at home
with her twin brother, Tyler, made her feel all about family right now. Late
last year, her mom, Patty, had had a breast cancer scare, and though it had
turned out to be a benign lump, everything had changed for her father. Though
sober for the last ten years, he’d never forgotten how his wife had taken up
the slack when he’d been hungover, when he’d forgotten family events, when he
had to be guided home after parties. Now Patty deserved the retirement she’d
always dreamed of, and Bruce had intended to give it to her—even though the
orchard’s finances were shaky. He couldn’t just give the orchard to his
children and leave; there was no money for that. He would have had to sell it,
and the thought had horrified the whole family. As the professor had pointed
out, there’d been a Fairfield on this land for one hundred and ninety-nine
years—Amy did know a lot more of her family history than she’d let on. It was
their heritage, their history, their children’s future. Their sister Rachel,
who’d been Dad’s right hand for years, couldn’t resurrect it all on her own.
So Amy’s oldest brother
Logan, who’d made a fortune as a hedge fund manager in New York City and was
now a venture capitalist, had offered a financial gift to their parents so they
could buy their RV and begin their adventures. He’d insisted it was his right
to share what he’d earned, and they’d reluctantly, graciously accepted. But Amy
and the rest of her siblings had balked when he’d tried to bail out the
orchard, too. After all, he was in business with several partners—it should be
an official investment, a loan. The siblings even insisted on offering a
business plan for what they intended to do to make Fairfield Orchard a success
again.
And Amy, who’d been away
from the business for a good ten years—except for working weekends at the
height of autumn harvest—was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. Coming up
with a new idea to change things up at the orchard was now going to fall on
her, Tyler, and Rachel. Thank God for Rachel, who knew everything there was to
know about the family business. With her help, they’d come up with a great way
to position Fairfield Orchard for the twenty-first century.
Amy took a step higher
in the ladder so she could look across the tops of the other pink-draped apple
trees and see the Blue Ridge Mountains, the backdrop of her youth. She took a
deep breath of the sweet fragrance and momentarily closed her eyes with
happiness. It was so good to be home.
“Hey, are you still up
the same tree?”
And then there was Tyler.
Amy looked down to find her twin leaning against the tree, arms folded across
his chest. He was giving her that killer smile that had won over legions of
soap opera fans before the show had been canceled. He’d played Dr. Lake,
dreamboat hunk and dedicated neurosurgeon— who always seemed to be in the ER to
treat every other kind of trauma, too. Both twins had the same light brown hair
and blue eyes, but his short hair seemed tousled naturally, rakishly—although
she knew he spent a half hour in front of the bathroom mirror every morning,
complaining the whole time about the necessity. His agent had several screen
tests lined up over the next few months and was confident they would lead to
work. Most of the time, Amy couldn’t even be bothered to blow-dry her hair,
just tossed it up in a ponytail. Tyler took good care of his body, and had
already been after Amy to start running with him. As if she could keep up.
They talked or texted
several times a week where once it had been several times a day. When Tyler
said he’d come home to help her run the orchard, she’d been so happy knowing
they’d spend time together again. College and life had separated them, and it
had been jarring at first. He was a part of her.
In many ways, he was the
same old Tyler, charming and happy, but in other ways, she
sensed . .. something
else. Was he hiding part of himself? But of course, she hadn’t told him what
had happened with Rob either.
“Have you been watching
me?” she called. “You can see a lot from the house.”
“But not enough to come
join me.” “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“After sleeping in,” she
teased.
He shrugged. “We famous
actors have busy evening schedules. Have to see and be seen, you know—however
annoying it is.”
“No one to see you here
at the orchard.” She climbed down the ladder. “Or did you go out last night
after I’d gone to bed? Oh, wait—didn’t I see a Tweet about watching a TV show?
Me and your thousands of followers?”
He rolled his eyes, then
nudged her elbow with his. “It’s part of the job, and my agent keeps hounding
me about it. Keeping track of me?”
“Always,” she said
fondly, smiling. “It’s my job as your big sister.”
He snorted. “By five
minutes.”
“It’s still five
minutes,” she said sweetly. “Think we’ll have any groupie interruptions today?”
He grimaced. “I hope
not. Sorry.”
Yesterday, a group of
forty-something women had supposedly been on a wine tour of the region, and
“accidentally” gone out of their way to see Tyler. He’d signed autographs,
chatted personably, and Amy had gotten to watch her brother in action. He’d
always been good with fans, just as she’d always been good with clients. Just
another thing the twins had in common.
“I don’t want them to
interfere with the orchard,” he said. “Come fall, when we’re officially open, I
can’t guarantee what will happen. The public is welcome, after all.”
Her smile fading, she
touched his arm. “This is a temporary job for both of us. Six months. No one’s
asking you to leave Manhattan permanently.”
He gave her a crooked
smile. “I know. But I’m as glad to be here as you are. We’re both running away
from something, aren’t we?”
Her eyes widened in
surprise. “Tyler—”
But he already had the
ladder in both hands and was walking to the next tree. “It’s been a while since
I checked for disease. Let’s remember together.”
She followed him, and
soon they were trying to remember spraying schedules, how to keep ahead of
apple scab, and when the beekeeper was supposed to arrive. Those were some of
the topics of her childhood, and they should have felt safe as they prepared
questions for their sister Rachel. But the topics were also part of the past,
and it was difficult to feel safe there, when their father had so often let
them down.
A couple hours later
they went back to the house for lunch. Afterward, Tyler retreated to his room
to return phone calls and messages, and so did she. It wasn’t easy to abruptly
walk away from a real estate career. She’d been a little concerned that it
would be difficult not to be out in the community every day, dealing with
buyers and sellers, being in a crowded office on occasion. So far, so good. It
was peaceful to be with only a handful of longtime employees. And when the fall
season began, she’d have more people around her every day than she knew what to
do with.
For a moment, she stood
still in her old bedroom. The sun shone through the windows, glinting off her
MVP trophy from her senior year of competitive cheerleading. There was a good
citizen certificate from the Rotary Club, a cross she’d been given for her
First Communion. There was even a stuffed animal some boyfriend had won her at
the county fair. The blue-and-white checked comforter matched Rachel’s old one,
from when they used to share bunk beds in the same room. It felt familiar and
comfortable. She was home, ready to begin her new—perhaps temporary—future.
She looked through the
photos pinned to her corkboard: prom group shots, lots of photos with her
siblings, especially Tyler, and then the family shot they’d taken at the fair,
where they’d all dressed up in nineteenth-century clothes and posed with
serious expressions.
She’d once had another
photo just like that. Only it had been real and rare and a hundred years old.
The professor would have liked that, she thought hollowly. Once, genealogy had
been a passion of hers, and she had spent hours talking to her grandfather,
going through old letters and photos with him. The discovery of this photo had been the culmination of
her private research, a way to surprise her grandpa with a picture of his own
grandfather and his family. She reached behind the desk for the manila envelope
where she kept the small pieces that were all that was left of the photo, of
her attempt to do something to honor her family history for the two hundredth
anniversary next year. Her stupidity had ruined it all. She couldn’t keep the
evidence here where Tyler could find it; she couldn’t throw it away, because it
was proof of a life she never wanted to return to, of what her mistake had cost
her. She’d find a hiding place, perhaps her old one in the barn.
Now, the future had to
be all that mattered.
But not to Professor
Gebhart. He was all about the past—he wanted her family’s past, and it only
felt like another reminder of her mistake in trusting a man who didn’t think he
had a drinking problem.
CAT'S REVIEW
"At Fairfield Orchard" by Emma Cane is a delightful story of two lonely people who can't fight their attraction to each other. I really enjoyed this tale - Jonathan is sweet and endearing. He's a true nerd yet super sexy too. I liked Amy too. She's kind and her love of family is heartwarming. It was a bit frustrating when she used her one past mistake to hold herself back from truly enjoying life the way she wanted. While I did find that a bit annoying, her other qualities made up for it. The interactions between the two were fun to watch. Despite both feeling the need to hold back, their attraction and chemistry could not be denied. The Fairfield family is one to truly like - I adore stories with big families and when an author includes the interactions and family history as part of the tale, it warms my heart. The story reads smoothly and effortlessly and Ms. Cane has written a wonderful tale to start this new series. I am really looking forward to the next book to come. (received copy for honest review)
★★★★.5
AUTHOR INFO
Emma Cane grew
up reading and soon discovered that she liked to write passionate stories of
teenagers in space. Her love of “passionate stories” has never gone away,
although today she concentrates on the heartwarming characters of Valentine
Valley and Fairfield Orchard.
Now that
her three children are grown, Emma loves spending time crocheting and singing
(although not necessarily at the same time), and hiking and snowshoeing
alongside her husband Jim and their rambunctious dog Uma.
Emma also
writes USA Today bestselling historical romances under the
name Gayle Callen.
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