I was about to walk over to Tate’s when I noticed him in my driveway. My dogs were circling the truck, barking happily. He hopped down to give them rough scratches which made them run around with glee. They were too hyped up to even stop and let me pet them.
He walked around the truck to open my door. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks. I had to use makeup in a helluva lot of places, sir.”
He glanced around, then dragged me in. “Is that right?” He drew his nose along the skin behind my ear. “Where else do you have marks?”
I shivered. “Maybe I’ll let you play hide and seek later.”
“I’ll remind you of that.” He hefted me up into the truck and I yelped.
“Warn a girl.”
He gripped my thighs. “I like throwing you around.”
“I’m aware.”
“Swing those distracting legs in.”
I spun on my butt and let him close the door. I waved to the dogs, who gave me sad faces because we were leaving. “Can we stop for a coffee?” I asked when he opened his door.
“Think we can manage that.”
“Now the more important question.”
“What’s that?”
“Can I man the stereo?”
He laughed. “Can I trust you?”
“Probably not.”
Since Halloween was officially around the corner, I found “Thriller” when we got on the highway with snacks and coffees.
Both of us knew the words and sang along. Tate’s Vincent Price cackle made me dissolve into giggles. It was a lot differentto road trip in a big truck instead of my usual modes of transportation, but I had a blast singing old songs with him.
Tate had an impressive knowledge of many decades of music. A lot of people either showed off while singing with me or kept their mouth shut. He didn’t give a crap, and sang off-key with a ton of power behind his voice.
I’d never had such a good time.
When we saw signs for Turnbull, I sat forward. The old logging roads were windy and steep. The fall foliage was on its last legs, but most of the trees were stately pines and evergreens. The tree cover was so thick, the sun barely peeked through to the road.
A massive wooden sign came into view as we rounded a bend. The barn owl mid-flight was stylized, but beautiful. There was a smaller sign informing us that Christmas trees would be coming soon.
Since it was the middle of the week, there weren’t a whole lot of cars and trucks in the orchard. But there were a few school buses letting kids out at the mouth of one of the fields of trees. Each of the kids had a basket in hand and tore out of the bus to be let loose in the craggy rows of apple trees.
The winding road showed off the beautiful apple trees of all kinds. Miniature cabins dotted the street with souvenir and bake shops. The whole place was tricked out for Halloween with spooky specters and hidden spiders with nests that gave me the creeps.
“Mind if I take a look at the shops?”
“Sure.”
He parked at a venue called The Lodge and we got out to look around on foot. Ornamental apple trees lured us onto the paths around the property. Watching Tate take it all in was an experience.
I didn’t need the small talk. The distant laughter of kids and the heady harvest scent of fresh apple baked goods drifted in on the crisp air. I put oversized sunglasses on to hide my identity. My new haircut actually helped out a bit on that front as well. It was really nice to walk around unnoticed.
The walking path lead around to the excellent views of the orchard and finally brought us back around to The Lodge and nearby food shop. As soon as we walked in there was a tower of pies, breads, cookies, and muffins. It was a mixture of apple, pear, and pumpkin. Massive pumpkins were carved into jack o’lanterns or painted in artistic faces or cool patterns. The painted ones were for sale and were tucked in every available space on the displays.
