CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

COLLIN TURNED OFF the truck lights as he pulled to a stop near the newly constructed grandstand. The construction took up most of the area where the old warehouse had stood, but there was a section off to the side that remained empty. The work crews had hauled off the last of the debris just before the benefit concert.

“It’s after midnight. Do you really think anyone is going to notice we’re out here?” Savannah asked, whispering even though they were in the truck with the windows rolled up. No one could hear them.

“It only takes one busybody to ruin the moment,” he said. He opened his door and then said quietly, “Let’s get this in the ground before one of James’s deputies comes out on patrol.”

Savannah stepped out and joined him at the back of the truck. “I still say we could have just told them we were planting a tree.”

Collin shook his head. “Savannah. Dear, sweet, over-fifty Savannah. Have you never done anything illegal in your life?”

“Well, (a) I’m under thirty. And (b) planting a tree isn’t illegal.” She reached for the tailgate latch and it banged open.

Collin winced.

“Sorry, forgot how heavy that thing is. You should really spring for one of those new trucks with the self-releasing gates.”

“I like this truck, just like you like your Honda.” He reached into the bed and pulled a sapling from it.

Savannah grabbed the shovels and followed him. “I heard they’re thinking of making this part of the grandstand area a park.”

“Good thing we’re going to give the park some shade, then.” He set the tree to the side and began digging a hole.

Savannah kept her flashlight trained on the soft earth, making it easier for him to see what he was doing. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. I’m changing my reputation, you know.”

“In case you hadn’t already noticed, people here don’t care about what happened in Nashville. Some of them didn’t even connect you leaving the tour with Genevieve’s claims.” He shot her a glance. “Also, and I can’t stress this enough, I’ll like you even if your new reputation becomes tarnished.”

“You’ll love me,” she said, and there was laughter in her voice and a softness in her eyes. At least, he thought he could see softness, it was hard to tell in the dim light of the stars and the flashlight.

“Forever,” he said, and finished digging the hole. “Start the water,” he instructed, and Savannah climbed into the truck bed. She inserted the hose into the water tanks he used during the driest of summers to nourish the trees. The tanks had gotten a lot of use over the past couple of weeks with the new plantings. Water began to drip from the hose, and Collin took it.

He let the water flow over the tree roots for several minutes, making sure to soak the ground so that the sapling wouldn’t die.

Savannah slid her arm around his waist and clicked off the flashlight. Moonlight glistened on the lake and a few cicadas buzzed in the grass.

“How about the sign?”

“Behind the seat.”

Collin turned off the water and grabbed the wooden sign, made from the same oak as the sapling they’d just planted, and began to work it into the soil.

When it was placed, Savannah took his hand and read, “‘The strength to rebuild is one of the finest acts of courage,’” along with the date of the tornado. “Fitting, since the oak symbolizes courage, I think.”

“You looked it up?” he asked, though he didn’t know why he was surprised. The quiet girl he’d thought Savannah was all those years would have looked up the meaning of the tree they were planting as a memorial. It stood to reason that the strong woman he knew her to be now would look it up.

“As soon as Amanda said live oaks were what she would want if she ever got trees of her own.” She’d looked up other trees, too, but since the planting of them seemed to be a Tyler thing, she hadn’t brought up trees of her own. Although, if she could get the music program idea off the ground, she would definitely look into specific trees for that.

“I’m going to have to remedy that situation, and soon,” he said.

“She has a birthday coming up. Her eighteenth.”

“An important birthday, for sure.” He squeezed his arm around her waist. “Thanks for coming with me tonight.”

“Thanks for inviting me to commit a random act of tree planting that neither of us is sure is entirely legal.” It was the first time she’d been invited to tag along on a mission that, to her, seemed like something her brother and their friends would have done as kids. It made her feel as if she was part of their group. Part of him. She liked that.

“Speaking of legal, we’re probably really pushing our luck that no one has come by yet.” Collin wrapped the hose and stowed it, along with the other tools, in the back of the truck.

Savannah wasn’t ready to leave just yet. She stood near the tree, arms folded over her chest, just watching it. Collin came back, put his arms around her middle and pulled her against him in the darkness.

Savannah leaned against him for a long moment, content. “There’s something I need to tell you.” Something she’d wanted to tell him since the night of the benefit, but there had been too much to do. She’d needed to get back to the staging area, then everyone had been celebrating, and although the benefit was less than a week in the past, she’d found a million more reasons to keep this to herself. She didn’t want to keep it to herself anymore, though. She wanted him to know just how important his love was to her.

“Anything.”

“The song I wrote for the benefit?” She drew in a slow breath, wrapping her arms around his. “I didn’t only write that song about Mama Hazel or Dad or Levi. I wrote it about you.”

Collin pressed his lips to the crown of her head and then turned her in his arms to kiss her mouth. “I’m honored.”

“Twila wants to record it, but I’m going to keep it. It’s ours, nobody else’s.”

“Thank you. I can’t write you a song, but I could plant a tree for you. What kind would you want?”

“Any tree?”

“Any.”

She was quiet for a long moment. “Well, the cherry tree symbolizes love and the wisteria is planted for romance.”

“You’ve done your homework.”

“When you’re in love with an orchardist, you start thinking about tree-type things,” she said. “Redwoods are for wisdom. There are a lot of choices. Elders symbolize fairylands.”

“I could surprise you—plant one of each at the cabin.”

“I don’t want them all.” She knew exactly what she wanted and she didn’t care that it was probably cliché. “The wisteria is the prettiest.”

“Then wisteria is what you’ll get. How about at the cabin?”

“A lifelong symbol of our love...where it all started. I like it.”

“Technically, it started at the Slope.”

“I don’t think Merle would like a wisteria tree planted in the middle of his dance floor.”

“Good point.” Collin threaded their fingers together. “I love you,” he said.

Savannah relaxed in his embrace, wanting to hold on to the moment as long as possible.

“I love you,” she said after a long moment and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was sweeter than any she’d tasted and Savannah realized it was because she was home.

Home was the sweetest feeling she’d ever felt.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from STRANDED WITH THE CAPTAIN by Sharon Hartley.

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