Page 36 of Take Me to the Valley

“Deep breath. I have an emergency plan in place if we need it, but I think we are going to have fun,” Kaylee says.

Then she opens the door and we walk into the bakery.

Emelie waves to me from a large table in the back and then bounces over to greet us.

“Get some coffee, some snacks and come join us. A few of the girls are waiting in line.” She waves at a woman who just paid for her order.

“I hope you don’t mind. I brought my friend Kaylee with me. She was off work today, and I didn’t want to leave her out.”

A bright smile lights up her face and her eyes twinkle. “The more the better. We will save you two seats together,” Emelie says, going back to the table, leaving us in line.

Kaylee and I don’t say much as we place our orders to get coffee and a huckleberry bear claw before heading to the table where Emelie and the other girls are.

“I’m so excited you are here!” Emelie says. “I know there are quite a few faces, and we don’t expect you to remember who everyone is. But I’m going to do a quick introduction. I’mEmelie, who you know. These wonderful women are Jenna, River, Sage, Hope, Jana, and Willow. Guys, this is Cody’s sister, Calista and her friend, Kaylee.” She points around the table as everyone greets us warmly. They seem really nice.

“First, how is Evan doing?” Hope asks.

“He’s finally getting out of bed and spending time on the couch each day, so I can tell he’s feeling better. His wound is healing nicely. From the looks of it, I don’t think he will have much of a scar. He has a long road ahead with PT, though,” I tell them honestly.

“Give him a gentle hug from me. He was one of the guys who helped me when my mom…” Hope trails off, choked up.

“When her mom kidnapped both of us,” the woman next to her says, wrapping an arm around Hope. I think her name was Jana.

“He helped me with my uncle, too,” Willow says.

I always knew Evan helped people with his job. Really, it was kind of in the job description, but to see that he’s helped people right in front of me makes it hit home.

After that, the conversation flows with them getting to know Kaylee and me and letting us get to know them. Apparently, all their husbands are watching the kids down the road at Jack’s shop. Even though the girls are having a good time, someone is constantly reading a text and sharing something funny that is going on down there.

Talking with them is easy, and I am included in many conversations. I’m smiling and laughing more than I thought I would. Before I know it, everyone is wrapping up their discussions and getting ready to head back to their families.

“We do this on a regular basis, and we’d love to have you both join us,” Emelie says. “When I got here, there weren’t many women on the mountain and I didn’t have a lot of friends. As the guys started falling in love, I made more friends, and it meant the world to me. This is my family, same with many of the other girls. This is their family, too, since we don’t have one outside of Whiskey River.” Slightly teary, Emelie comes over to hug both me and Kaylee.

“I can’t wait to join you guys again. This was lots of fun and I enjoyed meeting you all. I have to admit I was nervous about coming.”

“Me too. I didn’t even have to think about using my emergency escape plan,” Kaylee says, making everyone laugh.

I walk with Kaylee back to my apartment, but I don’t go up.

“I’m going to go home and let my dad leave before dinnertime,” I say, but Kaylee sees right through me.

“You mean you want to kick your dad out so you can see where things go with Evan. Whatever happens, you better at least text me and let me know!” she says, hugging me.

“I will try.” Then, getting into my car, I watch to make sure she makes it up the stairs into the apartment safely before pulling out of the parking lot and driving toward the mountain.

When I get to Evan’s and walk in, I find my dad and Evan in the living room, talking and laughing while watching TV.

“How was your coffee meeting?” Dad asks as he stands up.

“It went a lot better than I expected. The girls are really fun, and I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much,” I say.

“He is due for his next round of pain meds in two hours if he needs it. Though he seems to be doing pretty good,” Dad whispers in my ear.

“Evan, thanks for hanging out with me. I’ll be back around later next week to get a few things done outside and get the garden ready for spring. Don’t want you getting behind with such a short growing season,” Dad says, shaking Evan's hand and then leaving.

“So, your get together went well?” Evan asks as I go into the kitchen to start dinner.

“Yeah, they are really nice, and they had such great things to say about you. Each one of them wanted me to give you a hug for them and tell you to rest up.”

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