Page 41 of Hand Picked
“I ordered scions of a dozen heirloom apple varietals that I want to start grafting up in the Pond orchard in a few weeks—”Assuming the Pond orchard is still mine, I thought but didn’t say. “—and they’re stuck on a truck in Wisconsin. Oh, and one of the gutters on the front of the house is sagging.”
Porter’s eyes had glazed over a little bit. “What I hear you not-saying is that you’re not gonna give me any tea about the handfasting.”
“No, what you hear me saying is that I have real shit to worry about… and so does Luke, believe me. This whole handfasting thing is just the Hollow being its usual wackadoo self, and Luke and I got caught up in it for a minute there. It’ll all blow over soon… unless nosy folks keep spreading rumors.” I gave him a significant look.
He sighed. “Disappointing. This means youhaven’tbeen harboring a secret attraction for Luke Williams, the guy you’ve been telling yourself you can’t stand for months and months, huh?”
“What?” I scowled, my heart suddenly beating faster. “No! I never… Who told you that?”
Porter blinked in surprise. “Dude. No one told me anything. I was just giving you shit. But…” His eyes widened. “Wait,areyou attracted to him?”
Why did people keep asking me that?
“Dinner, Sundays!” Drew shouted from the kitchen down the hall. “Aiden, come feed Sally Ann first, please.”
“No!” I told Porter fiercely. “I…” I made a frustrated noise and stood up. I didn’t want to lie, but I also didn’t want to have to explain something I couldn’t wrap my own head around. “Don’t make this into something it’s not, okay? Luke and I cleared the air last night. We’re friends. We should have been friends all along. But it’s nothing more than that. And for fuck’s sake, don’t mention the handfasting in front of Aiden. Clearly even adults are starting to believe it’s real, and the last thing I need is for him to believe it, too.”
Porter shrugged uneasily. “I’ll keep my mouth shut, but it’s not like he’s not gonna hear about it over the next eight weeks, Webb. Not the way people are in this town. Hell, not the way people are in thisfamily.”
Fuck. I hadn’t considered that. I’d have to find a way to explain it.
I followed Porter out to the kitchen. Emma and Gage were already deep in conversation about colleges, while Knox helped Drew bring the food to the table and Marco poured everyone water from a pitcher. Hawk walked in a few minutes late and quietly took his seat. Aiden raced around the island from the back hall, where our golden retriever was chewing her kibble, and headed for the long farmhouse table.
“Hey! Hands, mister,” I reminded him, heading to the sink myself, and he rolled his eyes but complied.
As we sat down a moment later, I looked around the table and felt profound gratitude for all that I had.
My supportive family. Plenty of food and a snug house to eat it in. A son who was my whole world. Honest work I loved and a legacy to protect. All the things, I realized with a pang that Luke was working hard to get but hadn’t.
I didn’t want to take them for granted even for a minute.
Then Gage grinned at me across the table. “So. Webb. Anythingnewsworthyhappen today? Did you happen to see anything while you were…scrolling?”
Drew guffawed.
Marco choked on a sip of water, and Knox had to lean over to thump him on the back.
“Not a thing,” I said mildly while shooting him a fiery look and tilting my head toward Aiden.
“Well, I had lots of exciting stuff happen today,” Aiden said importantly, scooping a giant helping of mashed potatoes on his plate. “I’m going to see my mom next week, because she’s gonna take me to hockeyandstay for pizza after. And I learned how to make snow cream at Olin’s and stayed up until midnight, and I played with Olin’s dog.Hisdog sits up on his hind legs on a kitchen chair while Olin eats breakfast.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Dad, wouldn’t it be awesome if we had a puppy we could—”
“We’re not getting another dog right now,” I informed him. “Try again in the spring. Drew, would you pass me that platter?”
“Andalso,” Aiden went on, “Murray told Olin who told me that Mr. Williams doesn’t even know about hockey. Can you imagine, Dad? Like, he’s never even skated. It’s, like, the only thing he doesn’t know how to do.”
“Oh, I’m not sure that’s true,” I said tartly. “Luke doesn’t know jack about ladder safety either. Pass the peas, Knox?”
Silence fell around the table, and I looked up to find the entire family trading glances.
“Ladders? How d’you know that?” Aiden demanded.
“Oh. We, ah… we discussed it. Earlier today. I went out to his house to… visit.”
“You?Visited Mr. Williams?”
“Sure. I believe it’s important to be fair and open-minded and friendly with your neighbors, and Lu—I mean, Mr. Williams—is our neighbor. So.” I shrugged like it was as simple as that, though it hadn’t been that simple at all… and even my seven-year-old knew it.
“Amazing. Would you say this is anewbelief?” Knox asked brightly.
