Page 26 of Keepsake
“Jesus.”
“I know. He’s a sweetie.”
“The sweetest,” I agreed.
“He catches hell sometimes from the other guys about his, er, inexperience. I’ve never seen him flirt with a woman.”
“Maybe he’s gay,” I suggested.
“The thought had occurred to me,” May said. “Growing up with a bunch of religious fanatics could do a number on you. Though I’ve never seen him flirt withanyone—man or woman.”
“Maybe he’s asexual.”
“Maybe. But Zach plays everything close to the vest. We’ll never know what’s in his head if he doesn’t want us to.”
“Hmm.” I wished I could be more like that myself, especially when it came to the screaming nightmares.
May drained her glass. “I’d better go see how Audrey is doing at the tasting counter. Save me a seat next to you at dinner?”
“Of course.” I took our glasses inside and offered my services to Ruth Shipley, who had already started preparing supper. She put me to work making a giant salad.
At five o’clock, the orchard closed for business, and everybody began making their way inside.
“Why don’t you arrange these on a board?” Ruth asked, handing me several wedges of cheese, a big bunch of grapes and two boxes of crackers. “We always have a short business meeting on Saturdays before dinner. And it’s more fun with snacks.”
“Good plan.” I removed the waxed paper from the cheese and cut a small bite for myself. “Holy God. What is this? It’s magnificent.”
“Isaac and Leah make it from our milk. They call this one Promised Land.”
I tasted another bite, just to analyze the flavors. “It’s nutty—like an aged gouda.”
Mrs. Shipley nodded, setting down a few apples for me to slice, too. “They would call it a raw-milk, salt-water-brined cheese aged to a firm texture.”
“I call it amazing.” And when I set the cheese board down on the table, all the guys lunged for it.
“Jesus.” I laughed. “Almost lost a hand there.”
May smacked one of her cousins on the hip. “Didn’t you ever hear the phrase,ladies first?”
“That’s only true in bed,” Kyle said, reaching for another cracker.
Griffin snorted. “At least you have manners somewhere.”
“Ew,” Daphne complained. “Don’t make me think about Kyle doing the nasty.”
“Butthinkingabout it is all he gets,” Kieran teased.
Griffin clapped his hands. “We can talk about Kyle’s sexual failures later, folks. Let’s do our roundup so we can eat dinner. How’d we do today?”
May gave the totals for what the U-pick operation brought in, and Zach handed over the cash box with our final count.
Griffin opened it up and took out the bills I’d bundled together and the counting slip. “Damn. The bills are sorted andfaced. I want all of you hooligans to see how Lark handles a cash box.”
“Kiss-ass,” Kieran hissed. I pretended to scratch my forehead with my middle finger, and he laughed.
“Looks like a good day to be a farmer,” Ruth said, sitting down beside her son and eyeing the counting slip.
“It was,” he agreed. “Today we’re harvesting applesandcash.”
