Page 18 of The Apple Tree

Eve

Freedom wasn’ta strong enough word, but it was close enough.

The grounding ended. They returned the phone to my room. And I was permitted to hang out at the creek with the promise orthreatthat one of my parents might check up on me unannounced.

Thankfully, Erin’s fever broke just in time to attend Sunday morning service, because I was desperate to tell her about Kyle.

We sat in the front of the choir. Worth noting: I was a terrible singer, and so was Erin. However, after my oldest sister Sarah (the singer in the family) left Devil’s Head, my dad decided he needed one of his daughters to be in the choir like a Jacobson family mascot. My younger sister Gabby was next in line as soon as I figured out the best way to make it on my own outside of small-town Missouri. Erin was not obligated to be in the choir but joined it to keep me company or share in the misery—a true best friend.

“I havesomuch to tell you. It’s been torture not having a phone in my room,” I said as we watched the congregation fileinto the church in little groups, like ants at a picnic, deciding which crumbs to tackle first.

“What’s it about?”

“Our new neighbor is a single dad. I don’t know his age, but I’d guess late twenties. His older brother and my dad are best friends. And he’s the new math teacher and football coach. And he is so, so,sohot.”

Erin’s brows shot up her forehead, hiding behind her big, blond bangs. “Dang it. Why couldn’t he have come here a year earlier and been our math teacher?”

“I know.” I covered my mouth to muffle my giggle. “I think he’s going to let me babysit his five-year-old son after school.”

“What happened to his wife?”

Just as I started to speak, Kyle and Josh walked up the aisle and sat next to the Smiths.

“Good morning,” my dad said, resting his hands on both sides of the lectern. “Let us pray.”

After prayer, the choir sang the opening hymn and I whispered in Erin’s ear as we sat down, “See the blond guy and little boy next to the Smiths?”

Erin nodded.

“That’s my neighbor and his son.”

She squeezed my hand while pressing her other hand to her chest, confirming what I already knew. Kyle was the hottest guy in Devil’s Head, maybe in all of Missouri.

Whenever he looked at me, I shifted my attention to my dad because it was too much to handle. He and Josh wore matching navy suits, white button-downs, and robin-egg blue ties.

“I’ve died and gone to Heaven,” Erin whispered.

I pressed my lips together so my knowing grin didn’t swallow my entire face.

After the service, Erin and I hung up our choir robes in the closet next to my dad’s office and joined my parents and the rest of the congregation in the churchyard.

“If you can’t babysit for him …” Erin said.

“I can do it. He’s my neighbor, not yours.”

She giggled. “I gotta go. It’s my mom’s birthday, and we’re having a big family dinner.”

I nodded, barely registering what she said while I focused on my parents talking with Kyle. “Bye,” I mumbled to Erin.

Kyle eyed me over my dad’s shoulder as I wormed through the crowd.

“You look so handsome,” I said when Josh smiled at me with recognition.

“Thanks,” Kyle said, straightening his tie and lifting his chin. “It’s the hair gel.”

My parents laughed while I rolled my eyes. Kyle’s lips twitched with a restrained smirk.

“Eve, your father was just singing your praises,” Mom said.

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