Page 26 of Chasing Infinity

He raises a suspicious eyebrow at me, not liking my tone of voice. “What do you want?”

“Oh, you know, I was just wondering if you’ve got a special someone.”

The expression that crosses Charlie’s face is priceless—it’s a mix of abject horror and severe confusion. “Are you propositioning me, Lockwood?”

“Nope,” I reply, reaching for a doughnut sitting on a display holder and taking a bite out of it. “I was just curious if you’ve settled down or if you’re still a bachelor at large.”

He’s still looking at me like he doesn’t trust me, but then he sighs and rubs his fingers over his eyebrows.

“Sometimes, I forget that you haven’t been here for the last decade. Yeah, I’m married.” Charlie points to his left hand, where I see a gold band glinting on his fourth finger.

“Oh nice, who is it?” I ask after swallowing my doughnut thickly. I guess I could’ve just checked his hand for myself instead of subjecting us to this painful conversation.

“He’s married to Wyatt,” Addison chimes in, sweeping across the counter with a wet rag, capturing all the crumbs I’ve left from the pastry. “Bradford. Another case of high school sweethearts.”

My eyebrows raise for a second with the new information before I remember myself and look back at the sheriff, who’s watching me expectantly as if to see how I’ll react. “I’m not surprised. You always did have the hots for him.”

Charlie rolls his eyes and shakes his head at me. “Addie, can I get that omelet to go? I don’t think I can be around Lockwood here much longer. He’s getting weird.”

I chuckle and reach for another doughnut. Addison slaps my hand away from the display, and I smirk at her as an idea pops into my head. I’ve wanted to spend more time with her, but I know I won’t be able to do that while she’s here running the show.

“Do you think you could get out of here today?” I ask her hopefully, leaning forward on my elbows.

Addison looks at me warily and then glances around the diner. Before she can respond, Grace pops over her shoulder and interrupts. “She can. What do you have in mind?”

I have to bite back a laugh when Parks shoots her best friend the dirtiest glare.

“I saw in the paper that Huck’s Farm has all their apples ready to pick. I was wondering if you’d like to go do that with me today,” I offer.

Addison fumbles with her long sleeves, something I’ve noticed she does when she’s nervous. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Noah.”

“Oh, she’ll go with you. You were just saying the other day that you wished you had time to go get some apples for some pies, weren’t you, Addie?” Charlie interjects and receives another irritated look from Addison.

“She was. I heard her!” Grace chimes in.

Parks’ cheeks are now a bright red, and she’s frowning at her friends. “You guys are the worst.” Then with a resigned sigh, she meets my waiting gaze. “Yes, I could probably make that happen. When would you want to go?”

“Whenever works best for you. You tell me.”

Two hours later, we find ourselves wandering the rows of apple trees at Huck’s Family Farm. During our car ride out here, we got the chance to catch up a little. I mostly asked her questions about what she’s done the last few years, steering the conversation away from any inquiries about my life or career. There will be a time where I can tell her everything about what I’ve been up to in the past few years. It’s just not now.Not when I get to spend the whole afternoon with her. I don’t want the gloomy cloud of my past hovering over us today.

“It looks like all the good apples have been picked over,” Parks observes as we walk down the row of trees. I glance around and note that she’s right. The majority of reachable apples have been picked. The few that linger on the trees are bruised or rotten through.

“What about the ones up there?” I ask, pointing out a bunch of perfect-looking apples up at the tops of the trees.

Addison follows my finger but then sighs, frustrated. “They’re too tall for me to reach.”

“Luckily for you, I happen to be quite tall,” I smirk at her and step closer to a tree, extending my arm and reaching towards the bundle of apples at the very top. The branches are in the way, but I maneuver around them as best as possible.

“Noah, you’re going to scratch your whole body up if you keep doing that,” Addison says with a laugh when I reach up again, jump, and grunt when a branch digs into my stomach. I do manage to grab one apple on my way down.

I hold it out to her as an offering, and her hazel eyes twinkle with a grin that crosses her whole face as she takes it from me. Parks twists the fruit around in her hand, checking every side to ensure it’s not bruised or rotten. “This one is perfect, thank you.”

“Of course,” I say, then look back up at the trees. All the good ones are all the way at the top. I’ve dragged her all the way out here today to get apples for her desserts, and I’m not going to give up until we get what we came for.

“Here, I have a better idea,” I tell her. “Get on my back.”

“What? Noah, no, I’m too heavy.”

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