Page 28 of Forbidden Secrets
He moved to the sidewalk, watching as she backed out of the angled parking space.Dimples winked as she grinned at him and waved before driving off.
He rubbed a fist slowly over his chest.
He felt like he’s taken an arrow to the heart.
What the hell was he supposed to do with that?
Shaking his head, he headed inside to settle his bill.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Melanie glanced in the rearview mirror at the two girls in the backseat.Addy had invited Olivia along for their Sunday outing, and the girls hadn’t stopped chattering since getting in the car.It’d given her the opportunity to meet Olivia’s parents.Nick and Ashley had a good vibe with each other and their kids—Olivia, Jordy, and four-year-old Emmy.To Addy’s delight, the family had two goats and a flock of chickens.Ashley had issued an invitation to come over sometime so they could have tea and get to know one another.
Addy’s excitement helped distract Melanie fromThe Kiss.Not that it was a big deal.A friendly peck was all.
So why couldn’t she stop dwelling on that brief meeting of lips?
Because no matter how casual she’d pretended to be, that kiss had lit something inside her that still hadn’t faded.
Had she shocked Gage?Freaked him out?He hadn’t acted shocked or freaked.
She wondered what he’d do if she marched over to his house to try it again.Just to test the results.That’s what scientists did, right?
Beyond the electrical pulse thing, there’d been something between them she had trouble defining, a connection that made her yearn.
Melanie drove along Mill Creek Road where a welcome sign with a smiling red apple pointed to the entrance of Cider Mill Farm.Gravel crunched under her tires as she followed arrows to a dirt lot and parked at the end of a row of cars.
Fall foliage and puffy clouds on an otherwise crystal-clear sky made the scene perfect.Given the cool temps and light breeze, they wore heavy sweatshirts and jeans.
“Come on, girls.Let’s go see what there is to see.”
They walked along the road with its split rail fence, apple trees heavy with fruit on the other side.A descriptive sign identified the grove as Honey Crisp, a variety with a crisp, juicy texture and sweet-tart flavor.
“Look!”Olivia looked up, craning her neck.“There’s apples.”
“We can climb up on the fence to pick some.”That was her girl, always ready to dive in.
“Hold on,” Melanie said before the girls could start climbing.“We’ll come back later.We need to pay first.”
Across the road stretched an open area that sloped down to Mill Creek.A section was planted in trellised berry vines, their leaves withering with the fall weather.Picnic tables dotted a wide expanse of brittle grass, and huge chestnut trees in fall colors of yellow and brown provided shade.At the far end of the meadow a crew was setting up equipment on a stage.
The girls ran ahead as they neared the old farm buildings repurposed for a store and the bakery café.“Cider Mill Farm” was painted in big block letters on a tall barn-like structure.A sign by the door invited visitors inside to learn about cider production.
“Can we go in, Mom?”
“Sure, lead the way.”
They filed into the building with a wide plank floor.The girls stood behind a large viewing window to watch workers operate the apple press.
“Look, the machine is squishing apples,” Olivia said.
Addy had her face pressed to the glass.“And that big tube is sucking them up.”The tube carried the mashed apples to what a sign identified as the press.
The production room looked clean, and workers wore white overcoats and blue bonnets over their hair.There were stainless steel vats and troughs, and lots of tubing.The air was fragrant with the tang of fresh apples.
“Can we get some cider to take home?”Addy asked.
“Sure we can, but let’s wait until the end of our visit so we don’t have to carry it around.”
