The rest of the drive Mia tells me more about her parents. She says her dad has a hard time getting around after having hip surgery. I see why she feels the need to care for her parents. It sounds like they have a lot of health issues.
My dad’s a lot younger than Mia’s, but after his heart attack last year, I don’t take my time with him for granted. It’s another reason why I don’t want to move away. Family is as important to me as it is to Mia.
‘Wow, that’s a big sign,’ Mia says as we drive down the country road that takes us to the orchard.
‘We have them all over town. There’s an even bigger one just off the highway before the exit to Haydon Falls.’
‘I went a different way so I didn’t see it.’
‘The road you took goes past G’s Brewhouse. That’s the one Sawyer’s girlfriend owns.’
‘I wish I had more time. I’d love to see it, and that shop your other brother’s girlfriend is opening.’
‘Could you stay another day?’
‘I could if I didn’t have assignments due next week. And I have three counseling appointments tomorrow afternoon.’
‘What about next weekend? Would you want to come back?’
She looks over at me. ‘I could, but you’ll be at the wedding.’
‘You could come on Sunday and then stick around for when your parents get here.’
‘I wasn’t going to see them until Friday. They’re flying here early so they can explore the area and make it into a little vacation. I wasn’t planning on joining them.’
‘It was just a suggestion.’
‘I’ll think about it. I just don’t think I can make it work. I have so much to do. And so do you. Don’t you have baseball? And you have to help with graduation.’
‘Baseball’s ending. We have a game next week and then we’re done for the season. And the graduation planning is done. It started over a month ago. I got out of helping with it because of Nick’s wedding. I spent the past couple weeks cleaning up the orchard with my brothers so it looks nice for the wedding and the pictures.’
‘And here it is,’ she says as I drive down the long gravel driveway to the house. ‘What a beautiful home.’
‘It used to look a lot better. My brothers and I kind of destroyed the place growing up. My parents fixed up the main level once we all left home but the basement and our bedrooms still need work.’ I park in front of the house and turn off the truck. ‘Good thing we had the orchard and all this land to play on or the house would look even worse.’ I glance at Mia and see her gazing at the row of apple trees just beyond the barn. ‘You want to look at the orchard before we go in?’
‘I’d love to.’
We get out of the truck and I take her hand and walk herdown to the orchard. I took her hand so she wouldn’t trip, which is easy to do if you’re not used to walking through an orchard. Or that’s what I’m telling myself in my attempt to deny the feelings I’m having for her.
Those feelings are even stronger after spending last night with her. We didn’t even kiss, but lying beside her, talking to her, holding her in my arms, had me wanting that, for more than just a night. I know I shouldn’t, but I want to see her again. I don’t want today to be it.
‘It’s absolutely beautiful,’ Mia says, gazing out at the orchard. The apple blossoms are in full bloom, covering the trees in bright pink and white. It’s really pretty, which is why Lyndsay wanted to get married here in the spring. Personally, I prefer the fall. The leaves on the apple trees are green, but when you look farther out at the countryside, all you see is fall color. Bright red, yellow, and orange. It’s gorgeous, and the air has a crispness to it you don’t get in the spring. If I ever get married, it’ll definitely be in the fall.
‘All of this is your parents’ land?’ Mia asks.
‘They’d say it belongs to all of us, the whole family, but yes, it’s technically theirs. My dad started the orchard with just a few trees and now he’s got hundreds of them, along with a pumpkin patch and strawberry fields.’
Mia turns to me. ‘You’re really lucky to have grown up in a place like this. It had to have been a dream to a kid, having all this space to run around.’
‘It was great, but we didn’t know any different. Now that I’m older and see kids growing up in apartment buildings or in the middle of a big city, I realize how fortunate I was to have all this. If I ever have kids of my own, I’m going to take themhere all the time so they can experience what I did growing up.’
Mia lets go of my hand and walks away from me.
‘Is something wrong?’ I ask, following behind her.
She shakes her head. ‘I was just thinking about something.’
‘Jason!’ I hear Nick yell. ‘You out here?’
