Page 51 of Novel Problems

I decided not to sample any more cherries for the time being and, instead, focused on the task at hand: picking enough cherries so George could make the preserves and pie.

After ten minutes, all the bunches within easy reach had been picked. One large, particularly juicy-looking bunch of cherries was just outside my comfortable arm span. While the sensible approach would have been to step down the ladder and reposition it, I was eager for a few more minutes to recover from the cherry pit incident before I had to face George.Maybe if I leaned out and held the branch in front of me for support, I could grab it…

I reached out, grasping the branch for the support. My insides twisted as the branch bowed under myweight.Shit.I lost my balance, and for a heart-stopping moment, I thought I was going to fall. I grabbed a studier branch just in time and took a deep breath, trying to keep the panic at bay.

“Everything okay up there?” George peered up at me, concern on her face. I was leaning at an almost forty-five-degree angle, my feet on the ladder but most of my weight supported by the branch I’d just grabbed.

I tried to transfer my balance to get into an upright position on the ladder, but I couldn’t do it.Shit.

I looked back down at George. “I think I’m stuck.” I grimaced.

“What about if I shuffle the ladder so it’s closer to you. Do you think that would help?”

Anxiety flooded my brain, making it difficult to think straight. “I think so.”

My arms aching, I focused on holding onto the branch while George carefully shifted the ladder closer to me.

“Shit. I can’t move the ladder any further. There’s a branch in the way. Hold on a second, I’m coming up,” George said.

Oh god, I hope the ladder can hold us both.

The ladder wobbled underneath my feet and then a warm arm wrapped around the side of my waist.

“Okay, I’m holding onto a branch. On the count of three, I’ll try pulling you up and you try shifting your weight back on the ladder. Are you ready?” George asked.

“Yes,” I said. My arm felt like it might give way at any minute.

“One, two, three!”

I pushed off the branch with my hands and George’s arm yanked my waist up. The ladder shook ominously below us, send my heart shooting into my throat. But George’sgrasp was firm around my waist, and as she pulled me up, my weight transferred back onto the ladder. Almost upright, I grabbed another branch to steady myself and take the load off George, and then stood straight on the ladder.Phew.

“Are you okay?” George asked, standing one rung below me, her arm still around my waist and her body pressing against mine.God, that feels nice.

I exhaled a shaky breath. “Yes. But I think I might need a break for a moment.”

“Let me get down first.” George scrambled down the ladder, and then held it so I could make my way carefully back down.

Relief washed over me when I finally landed on solid ground.

“I’m sorry about that,” I said to George, my face hot. “I spotted a particularly juicy bunch of cherries out of my reach and got a little ambitious.” I frowned as I remembered my mission. “Damnit! I should’ve picked them once I’d stabilized.” I stared up into the tree, not convinced I wanted to retread my steps up the ladder so soon after my near-topple.

George grinned. “Hey. If you want to have a break from ladder duties, I can go and retrieve that ‘juicy’ bunch for you.” George raised her eyebrows at me, and despite not having fully recovered from the ordeal of being stuck in a cherry tree, I let out a laugh.

“If you’re sure you're not concussed after that pit hit your head, then I’m happy to stay on bucket duties for now. And thanks for saving me, by the way.”

“Well, I wasn’t about to leave you hanging.” George’s eyes twinkled.

I rolled my eyes and stifleda giggle.

And with that parting remark, she hightailed it up the ladder and got picking.

“Hey!George, Hannah! We’re going to move on to the strawberries!” Jenny yelled.

Thank god.My arms ached from holding the now very full bucket up high to collect the cherries George had picked. Strawberries were also close to the ground. Less opportunity for unfortunate incidents. Not that any had occurred since George had climbed the ladder.

Cherry picking, at least the way we were doing it with one person up a tree and the other underneath them, was also not conducive to having serious discussions. It was, however, conducive to checking out the person up the tree’s calves, and George, I’d decided, had very nice calves—strong, tanned, shapely. When she shifted her weight, her muscles rippled. Those calves began their descent down the ladder, and within thirty seconds, George appeared on the ground next to me.

She eyed the almost-overflowing bucket. “I think we’ve got plenty now. Should we join the others?”

---