Chapter 7
The smile on Penny’s face lingered as she continued toward the orchard, the snow-topped fenceposts along the winding lane marking her steady progress.
Rows of apple trees, branches bare, appeared as the road began to rise.
After cresting a hill, she passed a wooden sign that read, “Welcome to Northland Orchard.”
The road ended in a gravel parking lot surrounded by a white clapboard farmhouse, a big red barn, and a smaller building with a sign that said, “Northland Orchard General Store.”
Penny pulled in front of the clapboard house and parked next to a blue truck with the orchard’s logo stenciled on the side. After turning off the engine, she grabbed her handbag and clambered out of her car. The afternoon air was crisp and held a hint of snow.
She took a moment to admire the farmhouse.
Over a century old, the house was typical of its era: wide and tall, two stories plus a basement, with a generous front porch.
Through the front windows, she couldn’t detect movement or lights.
She was about to climb the porch stairs when she heard, from the direction of the red barn, the familiar sound of a child laughing.
With a smile, she pivoted and made her way to the barn, boots crunching on the gravel.
From the outside, the barn looked completely traditional.
But inside was a different story. Instead of animals and cut hay, the barn boasted a concrete floor supporting rows and rows of gleaming aluminum barrels filled with fresh cider.
On the far side of the barn, Gabe and his two-year-old son Joshua were playing what appeared to be a spirited game of hide-and-seek.
The little boy, bundled up in a red coat and blue boots, was covering his eyes and counting to three with great enthusiasm.
Gabe, a few feet away, was crouched behind an aluminum barrel.
When the boy opened his eyes, he looked around and quickly found his dad (who, to be clear, didn’t really appear to be trying to hide).
With a cry of delight, the boy ran to his dad, who picked him up and whirled around with him. “You found me, kiddo! You found me!”
Gabe spied Penny and waved her over. A handsome guy with dark hair just starting to go gray, he was dressed in his usual boots, jeans, flannel shirt, and winter coat.
“Look who’s come to visit us, Joshua,” he said to his son. “It’s your mom and dad’s friend Penny.”
The little boy gazed silently at Penny as she approached, his brown eyes wide and watchful.
“Joshua,” Penny said, giving the boy a big smile, “it’s so good to see you. You and your dad look like you’re having so much fun playing hide-and-seek.”
The boy’s eyes lit up. “One two three!” he exclaimed.
“One two three indeed,” Penny said with a laugh. “What a great day for fun and games in the barn.”
“Today,” Gabe informed her, “is Daddy Day. In fact, the next two months are Daddy Months.”
Penny gestured toward the aluminum barrels of fresh cider. “Must be a relief for the harvest to be over. I assume these are all filled with cider?”
“Every single one, to the brim,” he said with a nod. “We had a crazy-busy, crazy-productive year.”
“And now, after all of your hard work, you get to rest.”
“Until the end of January, when things ramp up again.”
She gestured toward the house. “Is it just the two of you out here today?”
He nodded. “Holly’s at the cafe and the orchard team’s taking the day off. But we’ll all be here tomorrow evening for the Wassail. I hope you’re coming?”
Penny paused. The Wassail was a holiday event that Gabe threw every year to celebrate the upcoming growing season. “I guess so? I’ve always wanted to come, but the bookstore’s always so busy this time of year….”
“Believe you me, I get the seasonal peaks and valleys of small business life. But if you can make it, we’d love to have you. It’s our fifth Wassail and we’re going all out to make this one special.”
“Your fifth? Wow. Time really does fly.”
“It does.” He glanced at his son in his arms. “Five years ago, I’d just moved here and barely knew a soul.”
“And then you met Holly and everything changed.”
He gave his son a squeeze. “And I couldn’t be happier.”
She smiled. “Has your friend arrived yet?”
“My troublemaking friend?” he said with a laugh. “He should be here any moment.”
Just then, they heard the sound of a car rolling over gravel. Penny turned and saw a dark sedan rolling up to the house.
“Joshua, guess who that is,” Gabe said. “It’s your Uncle Danny.”
Joshua looked at his dad, his brow furrowing. “Danny?”
He set the boy down. “Do you want to welcome him to the orchard?”
Joshua’s eyes lit up and he tore out of the barn, running toward the car as fast as his little legs could carry him. With a laugh, Gabe hurried to catch up to him, Penny a few steps behind.
A man dressed in jeans and a blue sweater got out of his car. When he saw Joshua barreling toward him, he bent down and gave the boy a quick hug, then stood up and gave Gabe one, too.
As Penny neared, the arrival’s attention shifted to her.
For just a second, her world slowed. Daniel Bedford was even more handsome in person than he was in his author photo. Tall and athletic, with a thick head of dark hair and broad shoulders, he was gazing at her with intense — and intelligent — brown eyes.
Her pulse quickened. Oh, dear. Intelligent wasn’t good. Intelligence was a known weakness of hers.
The inevitable thought came, unbidden and far too late to be helpful: I should have checked my face in the mirror before I got out of the car.
He stepped toward her, his expression focused, hand outstretched. “You must be Penelope Quinn.”
“And you must be Daniel Bedford,” she replied, pleased that her voice came out as calm and courteous.
His hand felt rougher than she expected, almost as if he worked with his hands for a living, which of course he didn’t — typing didn’t count as manual labor.
For a long second, neither spoke. Just as the pause was threatening to become noticeable, he blinked and withdrew his hand, almost reluctantly. “Ms. Quinn, I’m told you’ve agreed to be my Christmas tour guide.”
“I have,” she said. “And please, call me Penny. Your publisher hired me to accompany you on your various Christmas activities.”
“Ah, yes. The business of Christmas.” Though his tone was neutral, it didn’t take a genius to pick up on his disapproval.
“To be clear,” she said, feeling a sudden need to be transparent about her involvement. “I agreed to do this because my bookstore is leaking. Your publisher is paying for a new roof.”
“I see,” he said, his eyes not leaving hers. “Well, I’m glad something good’s come from this.”
Gabe glanced at his watch. “Speaking of the publisher, our call with them is coming up. Let’s head into the house.” He set Joshua down and said, “Can you take Penny inside?”
Joshua looked up at Penny, then reached up, took hold of one of her fingers with his little hand, and led her up the porch steps, one step at a time.
“The door’s open,” Gabe said as he helped Daniel get his luggage out of the car.
After stamping her boots on the doormat, Penny pushed open the front door and made her way inside. She liked this farmhouse and how it felt with its hardwood floors, open floor plan, and abundant natural light. From the direction of the kitchen came the welcome aroma of a freshly baked apple pie.
As always during the holidays, Holly and Gabe had gone all-out with the decorating.
A huge tree loaded with lights and ornaments held court in the living room.
On the fireplace mantel, Christmas stockings were hung with care.
The staircase banister was wrapped in green-and-silver tinsel.
On the sturdy oak sideboard near the front door, a trio of potted poinsettia offered bursts of red.
Gabe and Daniel followed them inside with Daniel’s luggage. “Penny,” Gabe said, “feel free to drop your coat on the couch in the study.”
Penny shrugged out of her winter coat and unwound her red scarf as she stepped into the room.
A true bibliophile’s delight, the study boasted floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves on every wall, an antique oak desk, and a brown leather sofa that no doubt was perfect for afternoon reading.
Aside from Gabe’s laptop computer on the desk, everything in the room looked like it belonged in an English country manor.
Daniel followed her into the room and immediately zeroed in on the bookshelves. “Still big on the thrillers, I see,” he said, leaning in for a closer look.
“Now and always,” Gabe said as he followed them in. He knelt down and helped Joshua out of his winter coat.
“Though your reading tastes have expanded.” Daniel gestured to a shelf and read out loud, “Orchard Growers Almanac. Essentials of Apple Harvesting. New England Agriculture for the Twenty-First Century. Business Management for Farmers. Quite a collection.”
“Every one of which I’ve read multiple times.”
“I still can’t believe you chucked everything in New York to become an apple farmer.”
“Best decision I’ve ever made.” He glanced at his watch. “Okay, time for the publisher call. We can do it from the living room.”
They followed him into the living room. Penny settled into one of the facing sofas across from Daniel.
“I have fresh coffee,” Gabe said. “Any takers?”
“Me,” Daniel said.
“Yes, please,” Penny added.
“Sugar? Cream?”
“Both for me,” Penny said.
“Black for me,” Daniel said.
“How about apple pie? Got one fresh out of the oven.”
Penny’s stomach rumbled. “Oh, gosh.”
Gabe chuckled. “In Penny-speak, I’m pretty sure ‘gosh’ means ‘yes.’” To Daniel, he added, “Penny has a well-known weakness for Holly’s apple pie.”
“Zero resistance,” Penny agreed. “Pie would be lovely, thank you.”
What might have been a smile flickered across Daniel’s lips. “I’ll remember that.”
Penny turned toward him. “You will?”
He held her gaze. “In case I end up needing to apologize to you.”