Page 7 of Ember’s Heart

Ember

“ C ade! Watch it, I don’t want to get all wet.” I yelled to my brother when he jumped off the rock, into the creek and water sprayed all over me.

“Jesus, Ember, why come swimming if you don’t want to get wet?” He laughed, the sound echoing off the trees behind us.

’Because Colton was here,’ is what I wanted to say, but of course, I didn’t.

Me and my best friend Sara tagged along with my brothers and Colton to the Rock, a popular swimming hole with kids.

It was late August, and the sun was hot, the air thick with the scent of honeysuckle and damp earth, and the water was cool and inviting.

I glared at Cade, pushing a wet strand of hair out of my face.

Sara, like always, tried to diffuse the situation.

“Come on, you two, it’s too nice a day to fight.

” She had a huge crush on Cade and was always trying to impress him.

She’d even put on her new bikini, the bright pink one she’d begged her mom to buy, and was now positioned perfectly on a flat rock, posing like she was some kind of swimsuit model, trying to get his attention.

My 12-year-old eyes, however, were drawn to Colton as he was talking with some of their friends.

He was lounging on a larger rock a couple feet away, his long legs stretched out in front of him.

My eyes were caught on the water droplets that were clinging to his tanned skin.

He was two years older, more mature than my brother, and had something about him that suddenly over the summer made my young heart flutter.

Cade, oblivious to my newfound crush on his best friend, continued to tease me. “Look at Ember, she’s acting like a princess. Afraid to get her hair wet.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to act cool in front of Colton. “Shut up, Cade.”

He grinned. “Make me, sis.” I saw the mischievous glint in his eyes that told he was up to something.

Before I could retaliate, he lunged forward, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet and towards where the deeper water was. I yelped, trying to pull away, but he was too strong. “Cade, stop it!”

He ignored my protests, dragging me further to the edge of the rock. “Come on, Ember, lighten up. Have a little fun,” he said as he threw us both in the water.

As soon as we hit the water I felt my swimsuit bottoms get yanked off by the water.

I gasped when I surfaced, and felt my face burning with embarrassment.

I noticed the bottoms were floating in front of me.

Trying to cover myself, I heard the laughter from all of Cade’s friends.

Everyone was laughing except Cade, Sara, and Colton.

I felt a wave of humiliation wash over me realizing that Colton saw what happened.

“That’s enough!” I heard Colton’s voice shout to everyone, sharp and angry.

He was standing on the rock, his expression dark and forbidding, staring directly at Cade. He jumped into the water, swimming towards us with long, determined strides.

“You can be such a jerk, man,” Colton said, shoving Cade in the shoulder. He grabbed my bottoms, handed them to me and turned his back to give me privacy to put them back on.

Colton turned to me, his eyes filled with concern. “You okay, Ember?”

I nodded, my voice trembling. “Yeah.”

He helped me out of the water, grabbed his t-shirt lying nearby, and handed it to me. “Here. Put this on.”

I took the shirt, grateful for the cover, and pulled it over my wet swimsuit. It was too big, but it smelled like him.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

He nodded, his eyes lingering on me for a moment longer than necessary. Then, he turned back to Cade, his expression still hard. “You better not pull anything like that again,” he warned. “Or you’ll have to deal with me.”

I was chewing on my lip, lost in thought when a customer’s voice snapped me back to reality. “Excuse me, miss? Do you have any fresh eggs?”

I blinked, shaking off the thoughts from that day. “Oh, yes, of course,” I said, forcing a smile.

Garrett stepped forward, his eyes narrowed slightly as he observed me. “I’ll take care of this,” he said, his voice low. He turned to the customer, his usual cheerful demeanor back in place. “We’ve got the best eggs in the county, ma’am. Fresh from our hens this morning.”

A couple of days had passed since my encounter with Colton, and my mind was still a tangled mess. Every time I closed my eyes I saw his face. The years hadn’t erased the pull I still felt towards him, and seeing him again was like a jolt to my system.

I tried to focus on arranging the baskets of fresh strawberries. I was working our produce stand today. The early June sun was warm on my skin, and the air was thick with the scent of freshly picked fruits and vegetables. It was a beautiful day, but my mind was miles away, lost in the past.

After the customer left, Garrett turned back to me, his expression concerned. “You alright, Em? You seem distracted.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that,” I mumbled.

He studied me for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, how about you take the day off? You look like you need a break.”

I hesitated. I had a lot of work to do, but the thought of escaping for a while was tempting. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, go on,” he smiled, waving a hand dismissively. “I can handle things here. Besides, you’ve been working non-stop lately. You deserve a break.”

I nodded, a wave of relief washing over me. “Thanks, Garrett.”

I was tempted to head into town and walk along main street, or maybe go for a hike, but instead I headed back to the house towards the office.

I decided to focus on planning some new social media advertisements for the upcoming summer season.

I had some new ideas I wanted to play with that would highlight the farm’s fresh produce.

I also wanted to brainstorm some new promotions for the produce stand, maybe a “pick-your-own” day or a farm-to-table dinner featuring our seasonal produce.

I even had an idea to start doing weekly videos on social media that would show more of the farm’s workings and the people who worked here.

It would be a great way to connect with our customers and show them the heart of our operation.

I also wanted to talk to my mom about maybe doing some how-to videos on cooking and preserving our produce, with recipes and tips.

She had a real talent for it and always sold out whenever we participated in the local events.

Owen could even do the filming and editing, he was really talented with a camera.

The more I thought about possible ideas the more excited I was, and soon I was forgetting about the return of a certain soldier. It felt good to focus on something positive, something that was mine, something that helped our family.