Lily of the Valley

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten - Carter Land

Pa, Momma, Gen, Lily, and Jasper were all on horseback, riding through the vast fields of the Carter land. The soft grass crinkled under the weight of the horses and the breeze blew pleasantly on their faces, sweaty from the sun.

"And this is the apple orchard. We get fresh apples year-round!" Pa exclaimed as they trotted through the orchard.

"Red ones? I happen to like red apples more than green," Jasper replied.

"We used to only grow red, but after Lily, we expanded and now grow both. Lily never liked red apples, she liked the sour green ones. Isn't that right, baby girl?" Pa responded.

"Yes Pa." Lily looked ahead at the many trees of apples, wishing she could crawl back into bed. It was torture being out here with the family and Jasper.

"But Genevieve always liked red apples! Isn't that right, Genevieve?" Momma asked. She was trying really hard to make sure Jasper and Gen liked each other. Frankly, Lily didn't think that liking the same kind of apples would help them have a happy marriage. She thought Jasper would be just fine with a wife who liked green apples. Maybe even happier than with a red apple-lover.

"Yes, Momma. Red is my preferred type of apple." Gen replied tiredly.

"Oh, Genevieve, why are you so glum today?" Momma asked.

"I'm fine, Momma." Genevieve replied, rolling her eyes. That was strange! Gen would never disrespect Momma by rolling her eyes like that. Something was definitely wrong with Gen.

As Jasper followed Momma and Pa further into the orchard, Lily asked Gen to stay back a little.

"You can pull your act with Momma, but I see right through you. What's wrong Gen?" Lily asked. Surprisingly, Gen all of a sudden burst into tears.

"I tried to like him! Really I tried, Lil! But I can't love Jasper when I love someone else!" Lily sat on her horse in complete silence and astonishment.

"Is it Charlie?"

"Yes. Ever since we graduated from school, we've been in love. No ones noticed because we only snuck out together at big town parties where no one would bother looking for us."

Gen sniffled.

"Ever since you graduated! You've been together for seven years! Why didn't you tell Momma and Pa? You could've been married years ago!" Lily shouted at Gen.

"We didn't know what to do! And Momma would never let me marry a barkeep. She wants us to marry into rich families."

"Oh my gosh, Gen... I need to tell you something too."

"What is it?"

"You can't marry Jasper, and not only because you love Charlie. Also cause... I love Jasper." Lily waited for Genevieve to explode into anger, but she was quiet.

"Why did you say nothing, Lily?"

"I was scared. You were gonna marry him!"

"Oh my lord! We were both so dumb..." Gen giggled.

"Just a bunch of fools." Lily agreed, smiling at the stupidity.

"Lily! We need to figure this out!"

"Figure what out?" Lily asked, choking down the rest of her laughter.

"We have to do something! I can't marry Jasper, and you love him and I love Charlie. We need to find a way to call off the wedding," Gen said, her eyes wide.

"Momma ain't gonna let you do that!"

"I know! And that's what we need to figure out!" Gen said, and the two sisters began their plans.

Author: what do you think so far? WARNING! NEXT CHAPTER MAY BE TOO MATURE FOR SOME READERS BECAUSE OF SEXUAL CONTENT. please vote and comment! :)