Page 15 of Another June with You

She and her grandmother exchanged a look.

“I only have one slice to spare, and it’s for you,” Nana told him.

“I’m not very hungry anyway.” Shannon was grateful that Nana had covered for her. When she’d found Micah staring into her fridge earlier, she’d felt put on the spot. Not that it was strange for people to want to eat healthy, but she didn’t want to get into the real reason she ate the way she did. Micah would be gone by Sunday, so it really wasn’t worth explaining. It wouldn’t make a difference anyway.

Nana went back to slowly pressing the dough, her fingers shaking a little as she worked.

“Can I help, Nana?” Shannon asked.

“Oh, these darn fingers don’t work as well as they used to.”

Shannon took one of her mother’s aprons from near the pantry door and lifted it over her head, reaching for the strings. She had them both in hand but kept dropping one when she tried to tie them behind her back.

“Let me.” Micah stood and moved behind her. He was close. So close she could feel his breath against the back of her neck. He took the strings, twisted them together, and pulled them tight. His fingers brushed against her lower back as he worked to form them into a bow, and she hoped he didn’t notice her tremble at his slight touch. “Voila!” He rested his hands on her hips. “All done.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, trying to act like his proximity hadn’t just warmed her all over. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” He released her and returned to his pie.

Shannon took over filling the pie plates with dough. Nana spread some flour on the counter and handed her the rolling pin to roll the dough for another while she went about adding fruit filling to the pies.

Micah set his plate in the sink and walked across the room.

Shannon’s eyes followed him to the apron hook, and she cracked up when he put on her mom’s frilliest floral apron. “That’s a good look on you.”

He did a little spin, then came to stand next to her with a playful expression on his face. He grabbed a little flour from the counter and flicked it at her.

Shannon’s mouth fell open.

He ran his finger over the counter, drawing an S in the white powder.

She looked over at him just as his fingertip connected with the bridge of her nose, leaving behind a line of white. Her stomach fluttered, remembering the last time they had played with flour in this very kitchen and the way that had ended.

“Don’t,” she told him, becoming serious as she wiped the flour from her nose.

His expression turned solemn, and he took over rolling pin duty while Shannon helped Nana lay the top crust over the fruit fillings and pinch the edges of the dough together.

Once the pies were baking in the oven, they put away their aprons, Nana poured them all some iced tea, and they went to the sun porch to chat. Nana took her usual rocking chair, and Shannon sat down on the end of the two-person wicker love seat closest to Nana, thinking Micah would probably opt for the single chair on the other side of the room facing Nana. Instead, he planted himself right next to Shannon on the love seat. It wasn’t very spacious, so his elbow pushed into her ribs. She shifted a bit to the right, and he lifted his arm and rested it across the back of the seat. That was way worse. They each had enough room now, but there was no space between them. His arm was along her shoulders, his side against hers, the side of his thigh pressed against hers. She crossed her leg to move it away from his, but it didn’t help. He was so close. She had to fight the instinct to sink into him like she always had. It would’ve been so easy to fall into that again.

“What brings you back to Grand Rapids?” Nana took a sip of her tea and rocked slowly.

“A wedding.”

“Oh? Anyone I know?” she asked.

“My buddy, Chase, from college is marrying a girl we went to high school with, Keely Crawford.” He touched Shannon’s shoulder for an instant when he said Keely’s name.

“I remember that name. Wasn’t she the homecoming queen?”

Shannon nodded. “That’s right, Nana. You have such a good memory.”

“Thank the Lord for that.” A momentary shadow fell over her.

Shannon reached over and squeezed her hand. Nana’s sister, Alice, had suffered for years with dementia, and it had been a fear of hers that she would have to go through the same.

“I’m so happy to see the two of you together.” Nana smiled, her eyes bright among all the wrinkles. “Are you going to the wedding with him?” she asked.

“I’m actually the wedding photographer. That’s how we bumped into each other again.”

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