Page 47 of A Hidden Hope

Evie, feeling restless from all that had happened, decided to take a walk around the farm and wandered up the hill toward the orchard.

The sun was starting to set behind the trees, casting a warm, amber glow over the ripening apples.

She noticed a few leaves started to change color.

Autumn wasn’t far off, and the thought brought a pang to her heart.

She’d be leaving soon. As soon as that contract arrived from Alaska.

She heard a noise and spun around to see Charlie approaching, his silhouette outlined against the fading light.

“I saw you head up the hill,” he said. When he reached her, he jammed his hands in his pants pockets.

“Your hair.” The man bun was gone. His hair was cut short, a bit uneven in places where it tufted straight up, but it made him look entirely different. Even more handsome, if that were possible.

He ran a hand over his scalp. “Yeah. Fern’s handiwork. She said there’s a time for everything and it was time my hair got cut.” He rocked back and forth on his sneakers, like he was nervous. “Evie, I was, uh, hoping we could have that talk.”

Here it comes. The words hung in the air between them, and for a moment, Evie didn’t say anything. “It’s okay, Charlie. I know.”

He tipped his head. “Know what?”

“I know that you’re going to leave to be with Wren. You should go. You should be together.”

“Why?”

“Because ... she’s helped you become the person you are. Because ... she’s brilliant and driven and can help you go farther than you could ever imagine. And mostly because”—Evie shrugged—“she’s your girlfriend.”

But he was frowning. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

She froze. “Of course you do.”

He shook his head slowly, like he couldn’t imagine what she was talking about. “I don’t.”

“Well, Wren thinks otherwise. Everyone does. She’s claimed you. For as long as I’ve known you, she’s claimed you.”

His eyes softened, and then crinkled at the edges. “She can’t claim me.”

“Well, she can and she did.”

“That would be weird. Like, illegal in most states.” He peered at her, reading her face. “Wren can’t claim me because she’s my cousin.”

“Your cousin?” His cousin ?! “So ... you’re not ... a couple?”

“Not a couple. We’re first cousins. We share a grandmother. The same one who took part in that clinical trial.” He tipped his head, confused. “You thought we were a couple?”

“Everyone did! You were always together. Always.”

“That’s only because she was sure I’d mess up and flunk out of school.”

Evie gave a little head shake, like she couldn’t make sense of it all. “Why didn’t you ever say you were cousins?”

“It was Wren’s idea, back when we were trying to get into medical school.

She thought we’d have a better chance getting through med school and residencies together if we kept it a secret.

You know what she’s like with statistics.

Siblings are always separated. She figured it would be the same for cousins. ”

“You could have said something.” He should have!

“Yeah. You’re right.”

“You’ve told me how Wren helped you get through school. How she was the smart one. You could’ve mentioned she was your cousin !”

He nodded. “I know ... I even started to...” He was fumbling this conversation, like he didn’t know how to explain himself. “But I never lied to you, Evie.”

“You never told me the truth either!”

“I wanted to.” Charlie shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his hands still stuffed into his pockets, a nervous gesture she’d seen him do a hundred times before.

“I wanted to tell you on the train, right as we were heading to start the residency, but Wren warned me not to say anything. She thought it could jeopardize her efforts to gather information for the lawsuit if anyone knew we were related.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I have to be honest that she’s always scared me a little. A lot, actually.”

“Me too. She terrifies me.” Evie let out a breath. She was still simmering in indignation, but its intensity was fading. But just a little. “Still, you should have told me.”

“I didn’t mean to deceive you. That was never the intention.

” He shook his head like he was trying to shake the words out.

“To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t just all about the lawsuit.

You know how she’s helped me get through school.

I never could have made it without her help.

Wren is all about staying focused. She said I’d never pass the boards or make it through the residency if I started .

.. well, if I got, um, well, diverted. And I think she’s probably right. I get easily distracted.”

Evie’s mind was spinning, trying to fit this new information into the way she’d viewed Charlie and Wren for the past two years.

It was like he’d thrown a filter over a digital photo—everything looked different, but still somehow the same.

So this was what cognitive dissonance felt like, she thought.

“As long as I’m making one confession, I’d better come clean on another.” Out of his back pocket, he pulled an envelope, his expression a mixture of nervousness and resolve. Wordlessly, he handed it to her. “I hope you can forgive me.”

Evie stared at it, her eyes widening as she recognized the familiar envelope—the one that should have been on its way to Alaska. “What have you done?”

“It’s what I didn’t do.”

“Why didn’t you mail it when you said you would?” she said, her brow furrowing as she searched his face for an explanation. “I saw you talking to the mailman.”

Charlie shook his head slowly, his eyes not quite meeting hers. “I didn’t mail it because,” he said, his voice low, almost a whisper, “because I had to at least talk to you first, and then if you still wanted to go, I planned to mail it.”

Evie’s breath caught in her throat. She blinked, trying to process his words. “So you didn’t mail my application?” Her fingers tightened around the envelope, crinkling the edges slightly.

Charlie finally looked up, his eyes filled with something vulnerable, something raw. “I want you to stay. Here. With me.”

The entire orchard seemed to shrink around them, the air thick with unspoken feelings.

Evie’s mind raced, emotions swirling—surprise, confusion, and something else she wasn’t quite ready to name.

She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.

Instead, she just stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest, feeling both touched and bothered by everything he was telling her.

Evie’s hand slowly lowered, the envelope now dangling by her side as she struggled to find her voice. “Charlie ... I don’t know what to say.”

“Just ... say you’ll think about staying,” he said, his voice almost pleading, his eyes locking onto hers. “That’s all I’m asking.”

Darcy would tell her to walk away. To feel indignant. Charlie kept things from you! He didn’t even send in your application! Don’t trust him!

But Evie did trust him. She couldn’t explain it to Darcy, but deep down, she knew she could trust Charlie.

And the only feeling that was buzzing through her was a sudden rush of happiness that washed over her, like her insides were suddenly dancing with tiny sparks of joy.

She felt giddy, almost like she might burst out laughing.

To keep herself from grinning like a goofy girl, she quickly pressed her hand to her mouth.

Too late. He caught the smile in her eyes.

He took another step closer to her. “Evie, why do you think I came to Stoney Ridge in the first place?”

She clasped her hands behind her back. “Because you and Wren are trying to sue the pharmaceutical company to get your medical school debts paid off.”

“No.” He laughed. “Well, that is why Wren came.” He looked straight into her eyes. “I’m here only because of you.”

“Me?” Because of me?

“Only because of you. When you told me you were applying to Dok Stoltzfus’s Stoney Ridge practice, I put in my application that very day for a residency.”

“But ... you and Wren came together...”

“When I decided to apply to Dok’s practice, she had just learned about this lawsuit.

It got her wheels turning, so she decided to come too.

” He looked down at his shoes, trying to figure out how to say something.

“Ever since I saw you at the hospital, that very first time ... Wren warned me. She knew.”

Knew what? Knew what ?

“It’s just ... it’s hard to keep it in, you know?” he began, his voice hesitant, like he was choosing each word with care.

Keep what in?

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Charlie said.

“At the hospital, in between shifts, all I could think about was when I’d see you again.

Then I could barely concentrate if you were anywhere near me on the floor.

And when we came to Stoney Ridge and it seemed pretty clear from day one that Dok wasn’t too keen on us, I volunteered to tear apart her basement just so I could add value.

Just so she’d let me stick around as long as possible. ”

As Charlie stumbled through his words, Evie felt her heart rate pick up. Was she dreaming? Because it felt like a dream.

“When you see that someone, and it’s like a part of your heart just ... clicks into place, like a piece you didn’t even know was missing—it’s kind of hard to ignore.”

Evie blinked, her breath catching as she tried to follow along. Was this really happening?

“I just knew that you were the one for me. The only one.” He stopped and looked down at her, his eyes searching hers for any sign of understanding, of hope. “And I wondered, if there’s any chance ... that I wasn’t alone in this? Like, maybe you felt the same feeling?”

Um , yes. A thousand times yes. But she held still.

He leaned forward until they were just inches apart. He looked at her like she held the key to something he’d been hoping for. He cupped her face and angled it up to his. “Like maybe, somehow, miraculously, you might love me like I love you? Even just a little?”

Without overthinking for once, she wrapped her arms behind his neck, pulled him closer, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him.

When their lips met, it was as if everything clicked into place.

Charlie’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her close, and in that moment, it felt like they had finally found where they were meant to be.

Fern Lapp was right. Holding out hope for too long was one thing.

But giving up too soon was quite another.