“You better! Or I’ll come to that coffee shop myself and tell your boss you’re stealing… I don’t know, Splenda or some shit. Then we’ll have you all to ourselves,” Savannah says, pointing her fork threateningly in my direction.
“I promise.” I hold my hands up in surrender as I slide out of the booth to leave, but I’m already thinking about how to get out of that, too.
CHAPTER 3
TEN MINUTES LATER MY VOLVObounces down the overgrown dirt roads that run along the farthest edge of the Martin farm, where the hundreds of acres of sprawling fields start to give way to the thick, green forest. You can tell no one ever really comes back here other than me, because the weeds crawl so far over the road that they skim the sides of my car, a constant reminder to me that we’re safe here.
I pull off into a small nook, where Mother Nature finally got used to my visits and stopped growing. The moment I step out of my car into the fresh air and hear the rushing of the crick in the distance, I feel lighter.
The sound gets louder as I weave my way through the massive trees, gnarled branches and vines twisting together above my head. I walk for a hundred yards, until the forest opens up to a grassy bank. The wildflowers we planted are finally starting to sprout up, all long leafy blades and green buds waiting for their moment to bloom.
And there, sitting among them… is Nora.
The moment I see her, the muscles running up the back of my neck finally relax, through no conscious act of my own, and the layer of anxiety that usually sits underneathevery one of my thoughts seems to completely melt away.
I notice a thin purple bra strap hanging out of her white tank top as I walk around a cluster of white birch trees with thin bark peeling away like old paint. I crouch down behind her and slip it up onto her shoulder, my thumb dipping into the hollow of her collarbone.
With one touch, finally, I can breathe again.
I kiss her neck.
Her soft jaw.
Her cheek.
And finally, I trace my lips up to her ear.
“I love you, too,” I whisper, the words I’ve desperately wanted to say back to her since our phone call last night, the ones that have been circling through every thought since.
The corner of her mouth pulls up into a smirk as she turns her head toward me, her lips finding mine.
“Shouldn’t you be crafting nonfat caramel macchiatos?” she teases into my smile. I wrap my arms around her, twisting her tiny ponytail around in my fingers.
“Shouldn’t you be baling hay?” I prod, slipping into our usual routine.
“We don’t even grow hay, genius. And for your information, I’m supposed to be pulling fence,” she replies, but when I lean back I see that she’s serious this time.
“Wait, really?” I ask, the muscles in my body tensing up again. “Nora, I thought you were off today!”
She shakes her head. “Stevie, it’sfine.Relax. I didn’t want to wait, so I got something worked out with Albert. He’s gonna do it today,” she says.
“What do you mean? What’d you tell him?” I ask, picturing nineteen-year-old Amish Albert blurting our secrets as we speak.
“I just asked him to switch shifts. It’s really not a big deal. Trust me.” She laughs to try to lighten the mood as she reaches out for my arm, but I push her hand away.
“You promised me you wouldn’t do something like this. It’s too risky. What if he followed you? What if he figures it out or says something to someone? Or God, Nora, what if yourmomfinds out? What if she sees him doing your work? She… she’d…” I fall back onto my butt, my hands dropping between us.
“Stevie, stop. Please.” She scoops my shaking hands up in hers, firm, solid. “I just really wanted to see you today, okay? I’m sorry. I won’t do it ever again. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she says, kissing my hands between eachsorry.She places them up over her shoulders and I lock my fingers behind her neck.
“We’re just… we’resoclose. I don’t want to mess it all up now.” We lock eyes and I find myself wishing I could just keep my arms around her, keep her safe forever.
“I know. I’ll be more careful, okay? Please don’t cry.” She tucks my long hair behind my ears and pulls my face toward her. “I’m sorry,” she whispers again, catching the tip of my nose with hers.
Then she kisses me hard, her fingers sliding into my hair.
I close my eyes and breathe deep, taking in the familiar smell of the mud and the grass, her skin in the hot summer air as we kiss. It would be an understatement to say I haven’t been too crazy about this town the past couple of years, but thisparticular place, these woods, with the sun shining perfectly through the canopy…
I love it here.
