Parker stood there and watched him go, her eyes never leaving his broad back until he disappeared behind one of the larger trees.She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, but apparently it was long enough for her daughter to become impatient enough to start tugging at the sleeve of her lightweight shirt.
“Come on, Mom,” she whined.“I’m hungry.”
Parker tore her eyes away from the trees, smiling as she ruffled her daughter’s hair.“Alright, young lady.Lead the way.”
Following her daughter inside, Parker huffed a laugh when Kit bypassed the kitchen altogether and went straight into the dining room.The long wooden table was already set for three with veggie wraps and potato chips on each plate as well as full glasses of ice cold water waiting for them.As the sound of more footsteps, Parker looked up to see Cora walking into the room carrying her cherry pie.
“Welcome, welcome.”She put the pie down on the sideboard and waved them further into the room.“Sit down and dig in.These wraps will only get warm and on a day like today, I want my food as cold as it can get.”
Kit jumped into the chair next to Cora.Chomping into her veggie wrap with little hesitation, she munched on the tortilla and peppers, nodding to the pie.“What about the pie?”she mumbled around her bite.
Parker shook her head and took the chair next to her daughter.“Please wait until you’re finished eating before asking questions.”Teaching anything beyond the most basic of manners hadn’t been much of a priority, but Parker made a note to try a little harder in the future.
She smiled apologetically over at Cora who just waved it away.Parker could imagine that with five boys in the house, she’d seen a whole lot worse.“While I am all for teaching table manners, no need to do so on my account.I’m just happy that I no longer have to clean grass and dirt off the walls like I used to.”Kit giggled as she continued to eat.“As for your question, Kit, I do like my pie warm, but with a hint of cold too.That’s what the vanilla ice cream is for.”
“Ice cream again?”she asked.Her eyes were saucers when she looked at Parker who was already nodding yes to her unasked question for permission.Doubling down on her efforts to eat as quickly as possible, Kit shoved a handful of chips into her mouth, much to her mother’s dismay and Cora’s delight.
Parker rolled her eyes and started to eat her own lunch, enjoying the cool, crisp vegetables and the creaminess of the sauce Cora had added to them.It was delicious and also nice to not have to make something for herself.Another luxury she was trying to enjoy but not get too used to.As Cora regaled the two of them with stories about her sons as little boys, Parker noticed that she didn’t share many anecdotes about Travis unless it was of him as part of the group.
Pushing away her empty plate, Parker leaned forward.She was slightly afraid to ask the question, but too curious not to.“You don’t have many stories of Travis.”
Cora looked over at Parker with a sad smile on her face.“Travis has always been a little different from his brothers.”She passed some more chips to Kit, either as a means of feeding her or keeping her occupied while the two women talked.“Aiden has always been my most ambitious son, Beckett and Felix have always been the most outwardly friendly, and Nate has always been a mix of those two qualities.”
“He’s the mayor, right?”Parker sipped her water, unable to imagine being in charge of a whole town at the age of twenty-nine.
Cora smiled proudly.“He is, though I sometimes wished he took a little more time for himself.He’s always on the move, but that’s a whole other topic.Travis, on the other hand, has always been someone who was only ever at peace when he was out there in those trees.”Her head turned to look out the dining room window that opened up toward the orchard.When she faced Parker again, her expression was thoughtful.“He’s never been big on people for a lot of reasons, some of them justified and others born of hurt, but those are his stories to tell, not mine.”
Parker tried not to demand more information from the woman since she’d already done so much for her, but that small admission felt like the biggest tease of Parker’s life.“I see.”She nibbled on her bottom lip, the curiosity of why Travis was so quiet and solitary eating at her.
There had never been a person other than her daughter who had captured Parker’s attention so completely.Even when she’d had stars in her eyes for Trent, there was nothing mysterious about him.He was a rich kid with a lot of friends, but there wasn’t a whole lot of depth to the man.Ultimately, selfishness and money were the only things that motivated him.By contrast, even after knowing Travis for only a couple of weeks, Parker could tell that he was driven by things like care, attention, and love.At least when it came to the orchard anyway.
“Should we have some pie?”Cora asked.
Kit sat back in her chair, one hand on her slightly bloated belly.“I don’t have the room, but I’m going to make the room.Especially if it comes with ice cream.”
Parker chuckled and nodded to Cora who had looked at her for approval.“There’s always room for pie.”The older woman winked.As she plated it up, she pulled aside a small storage container and slipped two slices inside as well as a couple of forks.“Maybe you could take this out to my son.”
Parker nodded.“Sure.Is the other slice for Nolan?”She had seen the older man out moving some things around in the storage shed and assumed Cora was taking care of him as well.
Cora smiled at her knowingly and started to push Parker toward the back door.“It’s for you, dear.”Parker sputtered for a moment, but ended up taking the pie anyway.“Don’t worry about Kit.She’s going to help me do some mending I’ve been meaning to get to.”
Parker nodded, knowing very well the woman was teaching her daughter skills Parker just didn’t have the time to.“Thank you.”With a smile and nod, Cora went back to enjoy some pie with Kit as Parker made her way out into the orchard.
The air was thick with heat and the back of Parker’s neck beaded with sweat after only a couple of minutes, but she didn’t mind it.There was enough shade provided by the trees to shield her from the sun which was the biggest culprit of her discomfort, but beyond that, it was nice to be working outside for a change instead of in a diner, shop, or office.
Dry soil kicked up with each step she took, dirtying the new boots she’d gotten with one of Lottie’s gift cards.It was quite the welcome change to have something on her feet that wasn’t almost as old as her daughter as well as clothes that fit better, though her jeans were starting to feel a little snug from the inches she’d accrued on her waist.As it turns out, Parker put on weight pretty quickly when she was actually able to feed herself.
The flurry of nerves about that not lasting forever started as they always did each time her mind would flash back to the awful pain that came with an empty stomach.If Parker was going to make sure that she and Kit were well taken care of in the future, she really should ask Travis about that more in-depth training, but that was easier said than done.The man was intimidating on the best of days, and since he’d gone non-verbal with her, she was even shier around him than she had been.Determined not to let his demeanor unsettle her and do what needed to be done, Parker marched through the orchard, searching every corner until she finally found Travis lying on a blanket near the base of one of the trees, a ball cap covering his eyes.
Unable to stop herself, Parker took in his prone form.Travis was pretty tall, and looked even more so stretched along the ground.His shirt lay flat against his taut stomach, but had ridden up to leave about an inch of tanned skin exposed.Parker’s eyes zeroed in on the small expanse like a bloodhound searching for prey, her breath catching as she spotted a bit of fuzz that led straight into his blue jeans.Moving up to safer territory, she saw that his head rested back on one bent arm, causing the bicep to pop pleasantly while also revealing that the skin near his shirt line was as golden as the rest.
Parker wondered how he got away with not having a farmer’s tan, suddenly understanding that at some point in the day, he must work shirtless.Shadowing him all the time now seemed even more important if only to satisfy that curiosity and feed her dormant libido with images of his undoubtedly muscled torso.She wouldn’t do anything about it of course, but she might as well give herself some things to fantasize about when she was alone in bed.
“You need something?”Travis asked gruffly.Tossing his ball cap off, he sat up in such a smooth, quick movement that Parker nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Shit!”she exclaimed.Her hands fumbled with the pie for a second, but she managed to save it from falling to the ground.The forks were not as lucky, missing the flannel blanket Travis was laying on and landing straight into the dirt.Kneeling down to pick them up, she looked over to Travis to see him already staring at her.“Now we don’t have anything to eat with.”
Travis leaned over and plucked a slice of pie up with one hand while holding it over the other.“Never stopped me before.”He took a large bite before licking his lips clean.
