Saving Laurel Springs by Lin Stepp

Author:Lin Stepp [Stepp, Lin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2015-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

On Saturday morning, Carter sat on the screened porch behind his parents’ house reading the newspaper and drinking a second cup of coffee. His mother rustled around the kitchen, cleaning up from breakfast, and he could hear the quiet hum of conversation between her and his father. His Grampa, eager to see if all the work at the church was complete, had left after a quick snack.

Carter looked out under the big oaks, where Taylor and Jinx played a game of fetch with a ratty tennis ball. It felt good to hear Taylor’s happy laughter again, mixed with Jinx’s exuberant barks.

He flipped through Friday’s newspaper after studying the Saturday morning edition. He’d missed several days being away in California. He needed to start catching up on local happenings again, to start meshing back into the community.

His eyes slid over the local news items—new bank branch opening, local teacher given an award, rockslide slowing traffic on a section of the Foothills Parkway. Flipping the page, he started reading one of the local columns about the Carver orchards and the Carver’s Applehouse Restaurant. Carter scanned the history of the orchard with interest, enjoying the account of Kyle Carver starting the orchard by hand-grafting and planting apple trees in his cornfield in the 1940s. Now the orchard of over forty thousand trees sat on seventy-five acres, with 126 varieties of apples.

He remembered that old gray barn on the hill filled with a wide variety of apples in season—plus fruit pies, apple butter, and apple cider. He used to love to go eat the breakfast special with eggs, grits, biscuits, gravy, and apple fritters at the Applehouse Restaurant. He’d have to take Taylor there one morning—and to the sweet shop across from the barn afterward.

Enjoying the article and the journalist’s writing style, Carter scanned to the top of the column for a name. Rhea Kaden Dean, he read. “What!” Carter sloshed his coffee out of his cup in surprise.

He looked again. There was no mistake. Rhea’s name appeared right under the article title.

Carter carried the paper into the kitchen. “There’s an article in Friday’s paper by Rhea.” He held it out toward his mother. “Did you and Dad see it?”

His mother looked up at him abstractly. “Oh, of course, Carter. We always read Rhea’s Friday column.”

He pulled the paper back and studied it again. “You mean, she’s been writing a column in the paper for some time. Why didn’t you mention it?”

His mother spread marmalade on a biscuit. “I’m sure I mentioned it to you at some point or other. Rhea’s been doing that little column for about seven or eight years now.” She took a bite of the biscuit. “You probably just forgot.”

His father picked up the conversation they’d been having before he interrupted, about picking sweet corn later in the day and whether they should freeze or can it this time.

Carter walked back to the porch and read the article again. It was very well written. He prided himself on knowing Rhea as few did, and here was a part of her he was completely unacquainted with.

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