“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 grinned. “I learned how to sew a couple of years ago. I make some dresses with patterns like that because the kids like them.”
“That’s dedication.”
She shrugged. “Or…maybe teaching gives me a good excuse to wear dresses with dinosaurs on them.”
“Do you need an excuse?” he asked. She laughed. “Well, you’re still colorful. Look at those shoes.” She wore bright yellow canvas sneakers. “It’s like you’re walking on sunshine.”
“I am,” she said, and then looked away.
They decided their next stop would be the Golden Delicious grove—Paige’s favorite, she said—and they headed down the dirt road past families with small children. To anyone else, they probably looked like a married couple with kids. It probably should’ve disturbed him more than it did. Paige was easy to talk to, and the morning felt magical, a temporary escape into another world where he didn’t have to work so hard or worry so much.
“You like being a teacher?” he asked.
“I do. Although the first couple of years were rough.”
He hadn’t expected that. “How come?”
“Oh, I had a lot to learn. About how to set up the classroom and plan the lessons. And I wasn’t good at dealing with kids who misbehaved. I hadn’t learned my no-nonsense voice yet.”
That didn’t surprise him at all. She seemed naturally sweet. “Do it,” he said.
“What?”
“Let me hear your no-nonsense voice.”
“Nooo.” She waved him off.
“Oh, come on.”
“Dylan, I told you no.”
He stopped short. He’d been joking around, but somehow, he’d offended her.
“That was my no-nonsense voice,” she said quickly.
He laughed. “That was pretty good.”
Her smile faded. “So what about you?”
“I definitely have a no-nonsense voice.”
“No, I meant do you like being a…was it an investment banker?” While he considered how to answer this, she said, “You know, I’m sorry about what I said before.”
“What do you mean?”
She winced. “About your job sounding awful.”
“I wasn’t offended.”
“Hey, stop!” Connor said. “We’re passing the Golden Delicious.” He walked from one tree to another. “The only ones left are way up there.” He scrambled up into the branches.
“These really are my favorites,” Paige said. “I’m going to climb. Are you?”
“Uh. No.” She was serious about this?
“Why not?”
Because I’d look ridiculous. “I’ve never climbed a tree in my life.” She was clearly unsure whether to believe him, and the way she scrunched up her face was adorable. “Besides, those branches aren’t that thick. I’d probably break one.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” she said, but he caught her giving him a quick look up and down. Then she said, “Watch my purse,” and dropped it at his feet. She sauntered over to the next tree and swung herself up to the lowest branch. When she climbed to the next one, her foot slipped on a branch, and she squeaked. Dylan rushed closer. She regained her footing and laughed, looking down at him.
“You’re making me nervous up there,” he said lightly.
“You’re making me nervous.”
What did she mean by that? She tossed one apple to him, and then another.
When everyone’s baskets were full, they headed toward the pumpkin patch, but then took a detour to explore the corn maze. The boys trotted ahead of them. “Connor, don’t get too far away,” Dylan called after him. “And don’t lose your brother!”
“I won’t!”
Paige said, “It’s nice of you to take them places.”
“I should do it more