Page 17 of New Hope

“What should we do first?” I asked.

“Hayride!” Hannah exclaimed. With one last scritch under the cat’s chin, she jumped up.

I held up a hand. “Wait a second, young lady. Maybe we should let our guests choose since it’s their first time here.”

Hannah nodded sagely at the reminder then turned to her friend. “What do you want to do, Ellie? We can ride on the wagon or go see how the cider’s made, or there’s a fun corn maze we can go through.”

Ellie thought about it for a moment then quietly answered. “The maze sounds fun.” I smiled at her response. Hannah was friendly and outgoing, and I’d worried that Ellie might feel a little intimidated by her energetic personality. I was glad to see she would speak up when she wanted something.

“Corn maze it is then.” I grinned. Hannah grabbed Ellie’s hand and the two of them took off in the direction of the maze. Keeping an eye on them, Ford and I followed a few steps behind. “Sorry about that. Hannah’s been pinging off the walls ever since I told her you guys were coming with us. She can get a little overzealous sometimes.”

“No need to apologize. Ellie’s told me how Hannah makes sure she always has someone to sit with at lunch and a friend to play with at recess. She’s a good friend. Like her dad.” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the sheepish look on his face. “I was afraid I might have scared you off after what I told you the other day.”

I glanced over at him. “Not at all. We’re friends and friends talk to one another. Besides, you owe me now.”

“Owe you?” he sputtered.

I swallowed down a laugh. “Yep. Now, you have to listen to me the next time I’m upset about something and need to get it off my chest.”

He studied me for a few seconds as if he was trying to work a puzzle out in his head. “Tell me, Dr. Adams, what upsets you?”

I shrugged, keeping my tone casual. “Plenty. Global warming, the extinction of animals, episodes of The Bachelor.” I concentrated on the girls up ahead, but I couldn’t stop the slight quaking of my lips.

Ford barked out a laugh. It was loud and boisterous and sounded a bit rusty, as if he hadn’t laughed in a long time. And with what he had told me about the last year of his life, I figured that may very well have been true. “You’ve got it. Next time we hear a tragic news report about the polar ice caps melting, or an entire species of animal about to eradicated from the face of the Earth, or God forbid, some girl doesn’t get a rose, I’ll be ready.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ask.” My prim expression had him laughing once again and my chest puffed up with pride. I made him laugh. Me.

Ellie turned and stared at her father, wide-eyed as if she almost didn’t recognize him. Slowly, a smile began to spread across her cheeks. Her green eyes sparkled, and the sun shone off her auburn hair like a fiery halo. Ford grinned down at her and took her hand. “So, how do we do this?” he asked as we got in line for the maze.

“Hannah and I usually go together. I don’t feel comfortable with her going through it alone yet.”

“Good. Me either.”

“You know, they set it up differently every year, so it’s always a new challenge. What if we made it a race this time? Father/daughter teams against each other.”

Ford folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at me. “What are the terms?”

I fought the urge to grin as I mirrored his stance, as if we were in some sort of Wild West showdown. “Hmmm. Losing team has to buy the winners a caramel apple.”

“I’ll have to consult with my partner.” Hannah grinned up at me excitedly as he knelt beside Ellie, talking in a stage whisper. “What do you say, Boo? Think we can beat these two?”

Her eyes danced with an excitement I hadn’t seen before. “I know we can. They’re going to be sorry when they have to buy us caramel apples.”

“They sure are!” He laughed and scooped his daughter into his arms, squeezing her tightly. She hugged his neck, then he stood back up and they turned to face us. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Yeeeesss!” Hannah exclaimed as Ford and I shook on it. She and Ellie mimicked us by shaking hands too.

“Okay, here’s how this works. They always set up a display of mini gourds in the middle of the maze. The first team to get in, collect their gourd, and get back out, wins.”

“Got it,” Ford replied.

I took hold of Hannah’s hand. “On my go. Ready, set—”

“Wait! You need to tie your shoe first,” Ford warned, pointing at my feet. As soon as I looked down, I heard him shout “Go!”

By the time I looked back up, he and Ellie were already disappearing into the maze. “Ooooh! You’ll pay for that. Along with our apples,” I called out as Hannah and I took off, right on their heels.

We stumbled through the maze, getting turned around as we ran into wall after thick wall of corn. Eventually, we found our way to the middle and Hannah quickly picked out a gourd. “Come on, let’s go,” she cheered excitedly.

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