Page 43 of The Apple Tree

“What?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

“How was your date?” he asked.

“My what?”

“Your date. You said you couldn’t watch Josh last night because you had a date.”

“Oh, yeah. It was fine. Good. Maybe one of the best dates I’ve ever been on.” I should have stopped at fine, but jealousy made me reckless and a big liar.

“Sounds like it could be serious. Was it a first date?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t look at him, so I watched my feet as we walked.

“A friend? Someone you graduated with?”

“Uh, no. He’s not from Devil’s Head. It was a blind date. He’s uh … he’s a lawyer.” I tugged at my lower lip after pulling that doozy out of my ass.

“Wow. You’re into older men, huh? How does your dad feel about that?”

“When I go places with older men, I don’t tell my dad.” I felt proud of my response, so I glanced at him with a sly grin.

I couldn’t read his expression. It wasn’t a real smile, more like a grimace.

“Hurry up!” Josh called, jumping up and down as he pointed to an old cabinet past the far end of the fishing boat in the barn.

“Why don’t you slow down?” Kyle said to him. “Hold this.” He handed me his coffee mug. “But don’t drink it all.” He smirked.

“Har har.”

He took the padlock off the cabinet and retrieved a big bow, a little one, and the arrows in a long tube.

“Do you let him shoot real arrows with sharp tips?” I asked.

“Tips? Yes. Razor tips? No.”

We carried everything out back where he had targets on hay bales. Kyle handed Josh his little bow and an arrow. Josh loaded it like Robin Hood and shot it at the closest target, hitting the bullseye.

My jaw dropped.

“See, Eve?” Josh pointed to his arrow and shrugged like it was no big deal.

I nodded slowly. “Wow! That’s incredible. You’re five?”

I didn’t know who looked more proud, Josh or his dad.

Ruffling his hair, I bent forward to nuzzle my face in his neck, making him giggle.

Kyle took the next shot with his bigger bow and hit a target much farther away, right in the bullseye as well.

“I’m outmatched. Maybe I should go back home and eat another waffle instead of embarrassing myself in front of you two.”

Kyle laughed, propping his bow against an old wood barrel before taking his coffee mug from my hands. “We’ll teach you.”

“Eve, watch me!”

I turned back toward Josh as he loaded another arrow and shot it. Then another. And another.

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