Page 38 of Pick Yourself Up
And they were. They really were.
Gray kept his composure as the Malssum family chat moved onto other areas. Beside him, Amber had slumped. Telling her tale to her family had taken a lot out of her and she had to be exhausted.
As the chat wrapped up, Lawson smiled softly at her. “Thanks for telling us, Amber. We all love you and we’re proud of you. Talk to you soon.”
Burke nodded. “Agreed. Amber, you’ve always been our gem. We love you. Take care of her, Santoro.”
When they clicked off the call, Jolie leaned over and pulled Amber into a real hug. Knox moved to hold both of his sisters in his arms.
Gray backed up his chair to give them space. Boomer followed him, but kept his senses trained on Amber.
When the family hug broke up, Ford and Thea hugged her as well.
Jolie and Knox turned to Gray and hugged him. Annie’s voice was gruff. “Thanks, man.”
As if sensing Amber needed time to regroup, the others moved off into other areas of the house.
The rain still howled outside, but he thought that might not be a bad thing. “You want to take a walk outside and think of something else? Or pull out the chessboard in the family room? What do you need?”
She rose and hugged him. “A walk sounds perfect.”
Outside, they took some deep breaths of the crisp air. It was late afternoon, and the light was already fading. Gray took her hand, and they headed into the orchard. The trees blocked some of the wind and their rain gear kept out the worst of it. Boomer led the way, checking trees and Amber with regularity.
They walked for a long time in silence. He figured she had to feel as battered as the leaves.
Fox and Hemsworth loped out of the trees and Boomer greeted both his friends before the dogs came to them for pats.
Then the three dogs raced through the nearby trees, chasing and barking with delight.
Amber smiled. “They don’t mind the rain either.”
He squeezed her hand. “Good thing. Vermont has all kinds of weather. You think Boomer will like snow?”
She nodded. “The owners of the training facility said he liked the snow and being outdoors.”
“Perfect. It’s hard to imagine this orchard covered with snow. It’ll be a good time to work on your B&B.”
She nodded. “So far, we haven’t found a lot of structural issues, although we should get Ford to check on that for us. Winter will be a good season to take care of any issues and start planning the details.”
“Made any decisions in that area yet?”
She shrugged and waved her hand at the trees. “Maybe. I’d like to bring some of this inside.”
He laughed. “You want to plant a tree in every room?”
She grinned, her eyes showing less tension. “Maybe not. But I’d like to include the history of the farm and the orchard. I’m thinking each of the bedrooms should have a theme. Not over the top or cheesy, but with subtle elements that highlight different parts of apple farming.”
“You lost me. I don’t have any decorating sense. Give me an idea of what you mean.”
She smiled. “Well, one room could be all about apple blossoms. Not huge blossoms on the wallpaper, but the colors would echo the blossoms. Photos of the farm during the spring on the walls. Plaques on the wall with facts about apple blossoms. That kind of thing.”
He nodded, able to picture it. “That would be fun. Instead of numbering the rooms like a boring hotel, you could name the rooms with the theme.”
Her eyes lit up. “Exactly. I just have to learn more about the apple farming business and see what I can come up with.”
“Sounds like we can cozy up on the couch during the winter and do some research. I’d like to see what I can find out about the property in the past. Research Vermont gardens and see what plants they include. We can squeeze all that in around working on updating the inn.”
They turned their backs when a sudden gust slapped more rain into their faces. “Maybe I’ll have a room devoted to the rain.”
