Page 35 of Take Me Home

“Thanks for the breakfast,” I called.

“Did you drink your water?” he yelled back.

“Yes, doctor.”

He shot me a big thumbs up, holding back a smile. I set to feeding the dogs.

It was a good thing he and Caleb had started picking peaches the day before. I knew there would be plenty to pick over the weekend, which was why my family’s Fourth of July barbecue was such an event. We needed all the hands we could get for the short window of picking. Brianna was a staple at the Rossetti Family Fourth of July, this not being her first time attending. She’d joined the harvest and festivities since we were inseparable tweens. I cherished it as a time to crack jokes, talk about boys, and eat peaches until we were sick.

Dogs fed and off for their morning hunt, I walked back to Jake’s trailer. He flipped his book over in his lap and gave me an expectant look, awaiting his orders for the day.

“Hey, I’m going to check for blackberries. I’m taking Selena up there. Can you muck the stall and have everybody meet up at the orchard?” I gestured to his book. “Whenever you’re ready to get started, that is. It’s gonna be a long day.”

“It is. Do you have water packed?” he asked, concern painting his features.

“I put a few gallons in the four-wheeler with the peach baskets. Drive it up ‘err when you come?”

Jake nodded his understanding and held my gaze. I searched for the words I needed to say to him.

“You really didn’t have to do all that for me, Jake.”

“It was nothing.” His full pink lips curved into a small grin.

“It wasn’t nothing. You know that. But thank you. For all of it.”

Jake looked suspiciously smug. “How were the pancakes?”

“They were good…why are you looking at me like that? Did you put something weird in them?”

“No! I just wondered what you thought of them. I used a recipe on a card in the kitchen. Written in old person handwriting,” he said.

I froze. “You made my Mamaw’s pancakes?”

“Maybe? It just said ‘pancakes’ on it.”

I bobbed my head slowly. “That explains why they tasted familiar.”

Jake’s eyes traveled over me. “I wanted to give you a taste of home.”

I didn’t know what to say, and those fucking tears threatened to make an appearance again. Jake, who missed nothing when it came to my emotions, noticed. “I’m sorry, Darcy. I didn’t overstep, did I?” He sat up and leaned toward me.

“No, you didn’t. I’m just…you’re really thoughtful.”

“I try,” he said.

Not knowing how to handle the flurry of emotions bubbling up inside me, I walked toward Selena’s stall. Talking about our lives in my bed in the dark the night before felt different than out in broad daylight, when I wasn’t sick, and when the reality of our relationship to one another was too stark.

“Hey!” Jake called as I came back out of the barn. I turned, catching his eye. “Glad you’re feeling better.”

I shaded my eyes from the morning sun. “I had a lot of help.”

I saddled Selena, mounted, and draped a bushel basket over my arm, riding off toward the hill where the blackberries grew. Selena seemed to be enjoying the attention. I scolded myself for not taking her out for rides more often. Her beautiful spotted white, black, and brown coat gleamed as we trotted off to the hill, her mane blowing in the wind.

Once we got to a straightaway, I let her break into a canter, rising up like a jockey to enjoy the ride. At the creek crossing, I let Selena decide whether we’d stop or if she’d jump. Selena went straight for the jump, bridging the chasm with grace. We were two gals out letting our hair down, enjoying the zest of being alive. For the first time in a few days, I felt kicked out of my little anxious hole of second-guessing and endless responsibilities.

* * *

The crew returnedto the barn with the sun steadily sinking, unloading the peaches into the walk-in fridge. We were all bone tired, having filled the four-wheeler trailer full of baskets 3 times over. The signature growl of a car coming up the gravel road sounded. I was delighted to see it was Brianna’s. I rushed over like a kid waiting for Daddy to come home from work.

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