he corrected himself. Pumpkin spice latte. He’d let a work term slip in there. She wanted coffee and whipped cream and spices, not a public sector enterprise. “Sit down, I’ll get in line.”
Smooth, he thought as he walked away. Get it together, Cain.
In the car, Paige chatted with the boys, and he and Paige talked, too. “A couple of months ago I ran a half marathon that went up this hill,” he commented at one point. “This was the last mile.” Was he trying to impress her? Of course he was.
She scrunched up her shoulders. “That’s thirteen miles, right? That hurts to even think about.”
Farther out in the country, they came upon a hand-painted wooden sign that read “Welcome to Happy Harvest Farms!” Apples and pumpkins with smiling faces surrounded the words.
Dylan found a place to park in the grassy fields that served as parking lots. From the backseat, Connor said, “Awww! There aren’t any apples on the trees.” As Dylan shut off the car, he looked in the direction of the boy’s gaze. Sure enough, the nearby line of trees held no fruit, although small piles of half-rotten apples lay in the grass beneath them.
Paige said, “I bet when we walk a little farther, we’ll find trees with lots of apples.”
He appreciated her optimism. He didn’t even care about the apple picking, but both Paige and his nephews apparently did, and he hoped he hadn’t devoted part of his day to something that would disappoint them. Okay, he was more concerned about Paige. If his nephews had been disappointed, he would’ve chalked it up to a lesson about how you didn’t always get what you want and then taken them bowling or something.
They walked up the hill toward a wooden building with a sign out on the front that read “Country Store.” On tables out in front, piles of apples, gourds, and vegetables gleamed in the sun. The smell of cider doughnuts filled the air. Inside the store, Dylan approached the woman behind the counter.
“Hi!” she said. “How can I help you?”
“How does this work? Picking apples.”
“You grab a basket there.” She pointed to where they were stacked in the corner. “We sell them by the peck, the half peck, or the quarter peck. You fill it up and bring it back here to pay.”
“What’s a peck?” Connor asked.
“Oh, it’s usually around thirty, thirty-five apples,” the woman said. “Here’s a map of our different varieties. The Red Delicious are pretty much gone.” She shrugged. “Though honestly, they’re my least favorite. We’ve still got everything else.”
Dylan thanked her and then studied the photocopied hand-drawn map. “What kind of apples do you want?” he asked Paige and the boys. “They’ve got Golden Delicious, Jonathan, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Cortland, and Granny Smith.”
“What’s the difference?” Connor asked.
“I have no idea,” Dylan said. “Except I’m pretty sure Golden Delicious are yellow.”
“I like red,” Noah said.
“Tell you what,” Paige said. “Let’s get a few of all of them.”
Connor grabbed one of the big baskets. “No,” Dylan said. “You each get a small one.”
“Do you mind waiting a minute?” Paige asked. “I’m going to get a couple of things.”
“Yeah, no problem. What are you getting?” He moved closer to see the jars in her hands.
“Red clover honey.” She showed him. “I bought this from their stand at the farmer’s market a few months ago. It’s really good. And jalapeño jelly.”
“I never heard of that. Is it really hot?”
“Only a little spicy. I love it,” she said. After she paid for the jars and tucked them into her big purse, they grabbed baskets and headed out toward the closest grove. The autumn air was cool enough that he was glad he’d worn a sweater, and the trees and the wide-open spaces made him feel a little freer.
“Sometimes I forget how much I like to be outside,” he said. He was glad Connor and Noah had wanted to come here, that they weren’t the kind of kids who only wanted to stare at screens. He’d loved being outdoors when he was their age. There had been a pond not far from his grandparents’ cabin, and he’d walk around it sometimes looking for frogs. There hadn’t been many, but once in a while, he’d see one before it hopped into the water with a splash.
“Isn’t it great? Especially on a day like today.” She waved an arm at the trees behind her. “The sign says these are Jonathans. All I know is, they’re mostly red.”
As they approached the closest tree, the smell of the ripe apples, both on the tree and lying on the ground, made Dylan want to grab one and eat it right there. He’d never thought about apples being tempting before, but he’d only had them from the grocery store, uniform in size, chilled, and waxed. Walking in a sunny orchard was a very different experience. Apparently, he wasn’t the only person who’d had the urge to eat one on the spot, because a few browning cores lay in the grass along with the fallen apples.
Noah gave a little shriek. “A bee!”
“There are lots of them out here,” Paige said pleasantly. “They pollinate the trees in the spring. We wouldn’t have apples without them.” She was such a teacher. Noah looked uncertain, and Paige added, “If you leave them alone they’ll leave you alone. They’d rather eat apples than sting you.” She darted a friendly glance toward Dylan.
Well, he was tempted, definitely, and by more than fruit. I’m going to ask this girl out. It surprised him. This wasn’t at all part of his plans, and changes in plans unsettled him, but he knew he was going to do it.
“I can’t reach any of them,” Connor said, stretching up his hand to demonstrate. “I have to climb the tree.”
“You don’t have any other choice,” Dylan agreed.
“I’m going to climb too!” Noah ran over.
Dylan told Paige, “This is the real reason they wanted to come. To climb trees.”
“Be careful,” she called over to them. Then, to him, she said, “I don’t want him to break an arm like last year.”
“Right,” Dylan said. Connor hadn’t been happy when the injury had kept him from playing soccer, though he’d enjoyed showing off all the signatures on his cast. “He broke it on the playground swings, right?”
Paige nodded. “I heard he swung as high as he could and then jumped out. I think he was showing off.”
“My nephew?” he asked in mock disbelief. “No way.”
Paige walked up closer to them. “I kind of want to climb one myself.”
“Yeah?” he asked, amused. “Well, you’re dressed for it today.” Her worn jeans fit her curves perfectly. He kind of wanted to watch her climb a tree. “The last time I saw you, you were wearing a dress with pumpkins on it.”
She
