Audrey checked her reflection in the mirror on the back of the door. Jeans and a flannel. She was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt on a date. Sort of date. A day with Rowan at least. One she hoped ended in Rowan’s bed. More of a date than she’d had in a long ass time.
She headed downstairs, chuckling at the idea of what her three-months-ago-self would have to say about what her today-self had planned.
She’d barely finished tying her boots when Rowan’s truck rumbled in the driveway. Outside, she offered Rowan a wave and climbed into the passenger side, sliding across the bench seat to steal a kiss. “Where are we going again?”
Rowan grabbed her arm before she could slide back and pulled her close. “Nowhere until you kiss me for real.”
The second one packed enough of a wallop that she wished the only place they were headed was Rowan’s house and Rowan’s bed. The heat of Rowan’s mouth was a perfect foil to the chill in the air. The softness of her lips giving way to the firmness, the insistence of the kiss itself. It was the kind of kiss that invoked an involuntary whimper of protest when Rowan eased away. The kind of kiss that left Audrey rooted where she was, a little too dazed to do anything at all.
“Better.” Rowan grinned. “We’re going to an old farm on the far side of Cayuga Lake to forage crab apples.”
She did that slow blink that came with trying to get her bearings. “Crab apples.”
“Yes, little red things about yea big.” Rowan made a circle with her finger and her thumb. “Great for jelly. Even better for cider.”
That snapped her out of it and she gave Rowan’s arm a smack. “I know what they are, jerk.”
Rowan shrugged. “You didn’t seem sure.”
“That’s because you melted my brain with your mouth.”
“Oh.” Rowan wiggled her eyebrows with almost comical panache. “I could do that again.”
She scooted back to her side. “Maybe later. If you play your cards right.”
Rowan hung her head. “It was the crab apple comment, wasn’t it? You’re punishing me.”
Audrey folded her arms. “Yep.”
The thing was, she wasn’t. Rowan’s teasing didn’t get on her nerves. Like, ever. If anything, it got her to loosen up, too. She wouldn’t be winning any awards for being happy-go-lucky, but it was a marked change for her. One she hadn’t expected or would have even said she wanted, but one she kind of liked.
“Heartbreaker.”
“Hey, I said maybe later. You just have to get back in my good graces.”
Rowan’s smile was slow, sly, and sexy as fuck. “I think I might be able to pull that off.”
“I’ll hold you to it.” God, this was fun.
Rowan pulled out of Ernestine’s driveway and headed south. Autumn color was beginning to kiss the tips of maple leaves. Green remained the predominant color, but every now and then, a single bush or tree was aflame in shades of red, yellow, and orange.
“Why do some trees turn sooner than others?” She’d wondered it more than she meant to say it.
“Are you asking for real?” Rowan glanced her way, the curiosity on her face tinged with doubt.
“Do you know the answer for real?”
“I did spend four years studying trees, if you recall.”
“Right, right.” She nodded slowly. “Tell me everything.”
Rowan chuckled and returned her gaze to the road. “I know better than to do that. You’d be bored to tears. But I’ve worked on my abbreviated version.”
“I might surprise you, but lay it on me.”
Rowan cleared her throat and Audrey got this flash of her in a bow tie and a sweater vest lecturing in front of a chalkboard. Probably the last thing in the world Rowan would do—or wear—but it made her smile nonetheless. “Leaves change color when they stop producing chlorophyll, which they do in response to less light.”
“Mm-hmm. That makes sense. I have vague recollections of that from high school biology.”
“That shift is triggered in different species of trees at different times. But even in the same kind of tree, things like a north-facing location can make one start the process, or rather stop the process, sooner than others.”
“Huh.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Of course I believe you. You literally have a degree in trees. Why do you always think I’m dubious?”
That got her a raised brow.
“Okay, I’m a little suspicious by nature, but mostly of people and situations I don’t know yet. I know you. I trust you.”
Rowan’s features softened and she smiled. “I’m glad.”
“I like you, too.” More than like, if she was being entirely honest.
“I like you back.”
She sat with that for a moment, let herself enjoy it. Rowan continued to drive and she realized the road they were on was about to take them through Kenota. “Hey, can we—”
Before she could get the question out, Rowan pulled into the parking lot of Bake My Day.
“You already planned to stop.”
Rowan winked. “I am trying to get back into your good graces, after all.”
“Well played, Marshall. Well played.”
“I do my best.”
Despite having coffee and breakfast at home, she ordered a cup and a cherry Danish. Rowan went with a bear claw and they piled back into Rowan’s truck with enough sugar and caffeine to jump-start any adventure. “I can’t believe I haven’t gained twenty pounds with how much I’ve been eating.”
Rowan looked her up and down. “You could gain fifty pounds and still be gorgeous.”
She’d had her share of body image struggles through the years, being a bit thicker in the middle and not having the luscious hips to balance it out. She didn’t obsess about it, but she wasn’t the most self-confident either. The simplicity of Rowan’s assertion hit home. “Thanks.”
“My guess is you’re doing way more manual labor than you’ve ever done before.”
“Understatement of the century.”
“Burns a lot of calories. And it’s good for you. I like the freckles you’ve developed, too.”
She laughed. “I was thinking more about my biceps, but if you want to find my freckles endearing, I’m not about to stop you.”
“I find all of you endearing.”
Maybe Rowan meant it as a joke. Or maybe it was one of those throw-away lines, meant to flatter but without a lot of meaning behind it. But she sounded sincere. And Audrey’s heart tripped in her chest with such fervor she struggled to breathe.
Rowan gave her a smile before starting the engine and pulling back onto the road. She didn’t seem to need a response and Audrey was glad because she wasn’t at all sure what to say.
* * *
Rowan dumped her basket into the crate she’d forklifted into the back of her truck. Not as easy as having the bins scattered among the trees, but not a bad system for foraging. She leaned against the side of the truck and watched Audrey balance on the tripod ladder, holding her basket in one hand and reaching for a small cluster of apples with the other.
She’d invited Audrey to join her mostly for fun—wanting to spend the day together and thinking Audrey would get a kick out of the experience. But as with everything it seemed, Audrey took to it with a combination of eagerness and energy that made her a quick study and as diligent a laborer as she ever hired.
Now that they’d slept together, Rowan’s appreciation of that hit a new level. The respect and the attraction that she’d mostly managed to keep separate swirled together into something that could quickly turn into feelings if she wasn’t careful. Feelings that would leave her high and dry when Audrey went back to her real life.
She shook her head. That wouldn’t be for a while yet. No point borrowing trouble. Especially on such a glorious early fall day.
Audrey made her way down the ladder, bending over to pick up the few that had escaped her grasp. She picked up her now full basket and turned to Rowan. “You could have told me it was break time.”
Rowan lifted her chin. “It’s break time.”
Audrey positioned the basket against her hip and came over to the truck, tipping its contents into the crate. “Hey, it’s more than half full already.”
Rowan snaked out an arm, wrapping it around Audrey’s middle and pulling her close. “Yeah, I should bring a helper more often.”
Audrey didn’t wiggle away, but she got on her tiptoes and continued to peer into the back of the truck. “You should give me a raise, too.”
Audrey dropped back onto her heels and looked at Rowan in a way that made it impossible not to kiss her. So she did. “I’m prepared to double your salary.”
Audrey smirked. “You can’t double zero.”
She looked to the sky and let out a sigh. “You and your math. Don’t you know it’s the thought that counts?”
“I didn’t know that.” Audrey’s expression turned grave. “I’m just a cold, hard accountant.”
“There’s nothing cold about you, except maybe your nose right now.” Rowan kissed it to prove her point. “Yep. Chilly.”
Audrey’s shoulders dropped and her whole body relaxed into Rowan’s. Such a subtle shift, but it did things to Rowan. Her libido, sure, but it was more than that. Despite her argument with herself a moment before, Audrey managed to stir up all sorts of feelings. At the strangest times, too. Protective feelings. Feelings that crept uncomfortably close to how she’d describe being in love. It somehow managed to be reassuring and terrifying at the same time.
“You look sad. Does that mean break time is over?”
She’d lost track of how long they’d been standing there. But even with Audrey’s tendency toward the impatient, it was probably longer than she’d meant. “Yep, yep. Back to work.”
Audrey stepped out of her embrace and planted her fists on her hips. “The tree I was on is mostly picked, the ripe ones at least. How’s yours?”
“Needs the ladder.” See? This was fine. No need to get all caught up in emotions.
“On it.” Audrey hustled over to where she’d left the ladder and dragged it to the next tree. “Why isn’t Dylan here?”
“Engagement party.”
“Ah. I guess that’s a good excuse.”
“It’s her sister. They’re close, but I think she might almost rather be here.”
Audrey laughed. “You people with your siblings. You don’t know how lucky you are.”
She thought of hers. They couldn’t be more different in some ways, but she loved them. “I do. Or at least I try, even when they get on my nerves.”
They picked until the crate was full, leaving close to half the fruit to continue ripening for another day or another forager. Audrey snapped a few pictures with her phone, both of the trees and the haul. “I’m very impressed with us.”
“I am, too. You might be a better picker than Dylan.”
“Really?” Audrey seemed delighted by the prospect.
“To be fair, she spends a fair amount of time soaking up the aromas and appreciating the terroir, aka, daydreaming about the cider.”
Audrey squared her shoulders. “You don’t have to worry about me daydreaming.”
So much for not getting caught up in emotions. “You could, you know.”
“Could what?” The genuine confusion in Audrey’s voice slayed her.
“Daydream.”
“Oh.”
The surprise got her even more than arguing would have. “It’s good for the soul and it recharges your batteries. I could even argue it helps you be even more productive in the long run.”
Audrey smirked. “That’s a pretty hard sell.”
She shrugged, not wanting to press her luck. “I’m just saying you might enjoy it. And if it’s anything like picking apples, you might be better at it than you think.”
The smirk gave way to a real smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. Now, I think we’re done here. Shall we head home?”
“Okay.” Audrey continued to smile but seemed almost reluctant to go.
“We’ll get to start our own harvest in a week or two, if you haven’t gotten your fill today.” It was so easy to imagine harvesting alongside Audrey, doing the work but also kissing her between the rows of trees.
“I’d like that.”
“Excellent. You’re hired.”
They piled into the truck and Audrey peered out the back window as she fastened her seat belt. “Do we get to turn these into cider today?”
She couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm. “Not today. I’m hoping to get two more crates that size, then we’ll do a press.”
“More foraging?” Audrey’s eyes lit up.
“Not technically foraging, since the trees are part of an orchard and I know the owner.”
“Hmm.”
“His wife used to make jelly for their shop, but they got divorced. And there’s not a lot of demand for crab apples in the u-pick market, so he doesn’t have a use for them.”
“Aw, that’s sad.”
“Well, from what I gather, he was having an affair and she took her half of their money and moved to Costa Rica.”
Audrey shook her head. “Possibly still sad but maybe also for the best.”
The matter-of-fact assessment made her chuckle. “Something like that.”
“So, now what?”
She debated with herself for only a moment before sharing the trajectory of her thoughts. “I was hoping I could convince you to come home with me for a nice shower and an early dinner.”
“Early dinner, huh? What’cha making?”
“I happen to have a very fancy frozen pizza on hand, and I’d be willing to share it with you.”
“Mmm.”
Whether Audrey meant it or was merely humoring her, she couldn’t say. But she seemed game, so Rowan wasn’t about to complain. “Of course, if we got distracted, it would make an outstanding late dinner, too.”
“Very convenient.”
“I like to be prepared, you know, for whatever unfolds.”
Audrey smirked. “Like a Girl Scout.”
Rowan straightened her shoulders and puffed out her chest. “I’ll have you know I spent thirteen years in the Girl Scouts.”
“I would have pegged you for 4-H, but that’s adorable.”
“We were much too suburban for that.” Or, maybe more accurately, her hometown liked to think of itself that way.
“Right, right. Let me guess, you were a champion cookie seller.”
“I know you find me infinitely charming, but I’m actually quite shy. I mostly relied on my parents to sell them to their work friends.”
“I wouldn’t say infinitely.” Audrey winked. “But that story makes you more charming rather than less.”
“Even for a chronic over-achiever like you?”
Audrey shook her head. “Being an over-achiever was my cover for being almost cripplingly shy. If I was good enough at the things I chose to do, my parents didn’t hassle me as much about being outgoing or having friends.”
Audrey said it with an air of pride, but it made Rowan sad for the little girl who was a loner because it felt safe more than satisfying. “Aw.”
“Don’t worry. Ernestine brought me out of my shell and made me socially competent if not gregarious. And she somehow managed to make it fun.”
She’d fancied what it would have been like to have Ernestine in her life during her formative years. She was glad Audrey got the benefit of Ernestine’s guiding hand. “She really is a force of nature, isn’t she?”
Another laugh. “That’s one way of putting it.”
Rowan drove and conversation lulled. It felt like a mixture of comfortable silence and the kind of happy tired that comes with a day of fresh air. Along with some reminiscing about some of her own choice moments with Ernestine. The persistent worry about Ernestine’s prognosis remained, but she did her best to focus on good memories. She hoped Audrey did, too.
The combination of a rapidly setting sun and sitting still hit her and she was grateful to be heading home. Dinner was sounding better by the minute, along with a hot shower. The prospect of sharing both with Audrey? Well, from where she was sitting, that was icing on the cake.