Apple Blossom Bride

“Of course. The more the merrier.” Ashley sent a half smile in Michael’s direction then busied herself thickening the gravy. “It won’t take a minute to get everything on the table. I made some punch if anyone’s interested.”

“I ask you, could I have found a better roommate than this?” Piper poured four glasses, handed them round, then walked out onto the deck with Jason, laughing over something that had happened that day.

Ashley prayed Michael would follow, but God apparently had other plans. Michael leaned one hip against the end of the counter and took a sip of his drink.

“Cranberries, raspberries and a bite,” he guessed, licking his lips. “Cinnamon and bitters?”

She nodded.

“For some reason the changing leaves always make me think of cinnamon. Is it too strong?”

“It’s perfect. Like you.” He ignored her uplifted eyebrow. “I mean it. Look at you, after slaving all day in the kitchen your hair looks as if you’d spent the day at the spa. Your dress hasn’t got a spot of grease on it and as far as I can tell you haven’t broken a sweat.”

She had to laugh.

“It’s not exactly hard labor you know. All I did was cook a few things and set the table.”

“To me that is hard labor. Mostly I hope my mother invites us for dinner so I don’t have to go through the agony of cooking. Tati even asks Wanda to invite her so she won’t have to eat it.”

It was hard to tell if he was joking or serious. She began to dish up the meal. Without being asked, Michael carried each porcelain container to the table. When he saw her lift out the meat, he went to the door and called the other two.

Jason helped Piper be seated. Michael winked at Ashley as he held her chair, then promptly sank down in the one closest to her.

“Honey, do you want to say grace?” Piper asked, reaching out for Jason’s hand on one side of the table and Michael’s on the other.

“Sure.” Jason held out his hand for Ashley’s, watched Michael take the other one, then bowed his head. “Thank you God for friends and food and your love. Bless us now we ask. Amen.”

Jason released Ashley’s hand immediately but Michael held on so long she had to tug her fingers from his. He made a face.

“Couldn’t you think of a longer prayer, Jason?” he asked.

Piper and Jason chuckled. To hide her red cheeks, Ashley rose to retrieve the carving knife. As she handed it to Jason her gaze rested on Michael.

“It’s very sharp,” she said clearly. “You’ll want to be careful it doesn’t slip and hurt someone.”

Michael inclined his head. “She means someone like me,” he explained in a loud whisper.

Ashley pretended to ignore him and concentrated on her meal, listening as Piper expounded on her winter festival plans.

“Things are falling together so well. So far we’ve had a great response. It looks like we’ll have entries in every category. The trapper’s dinner has been taken over by two women who used to run a catering business, which is a huge relief.” She leaned back in her chair, her forehead wrinkled. “If it wasn’t for that play—”

“Still nobody to build the sets, I’m guessing.” Michael sipped his water, looked at Jason. “How about you?”

Jason’s head was shaking before he’d finished asking.

“Give me a motor and some tools and I can do great things. But with a hammer I’m a liability.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Ashley vouched, trying to smother her smile. “If you look above the piano you can see where he was going to hang a picture.”

They all turned to stare at the damaged plaster. Jason endured their teasing good-naturedly until Ashley cleared the dishes and served dessert. The subject changed to the timing of the festival.

“It’s got to be in January,” Piper explained. “We need the ice and snow to carry off the ice-sculpture contests. And the lake will still be frozen, which will allow us to have our family skating day and the community bonfire out there.”

“Not to mention the ice-fishing tournament.” Jason set down his fork. “I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a meal so much. Thank you, Ashley.”

“Me, too,” Michael added, scooping up the last bite of apple betty. “You should sell this recipe to my mom. She’d pay a lot to serve this.”

“It has to be the spices,” Piper decided, savoring the taste on her tongue. “I know there’s cinnamon, but you’ve added something else that makes me think of apple trees just starting to form the apples. It’s delicious.”

“A hint of nutmeg. Thank you all.” Blushing, Ashley rose, began removing the dessert dishes.

“Oh, no. You cooked. We clean.” Jason lifted the plates from her hands. “Isn’t that right?” he asked Piper.

“Absolutely. Why don’t you take your coffee out on the deck, Ash? It’s a gorgeous evening. Jason even lit a fire in the firepit, just in case it gets cool.”

“I’ll go with you to make sure you won’t have to stand out there alone and stare at the stars by yourself,” Michael offered, grasping her elbow as if to lead her. “You understand, don’t you, guys?” he said over one shoulder, winking at Piper and Jason.

“I’ll let it go this time because I get to spend some more time with my girl, but I’m warning you, man.” Jason shook his head. “There will come a day when that smooth tongue of yours is going to fail.”

“Envy is a terrible thing.” Michael let Ashley tug her arm out of his grasp, and poured two cups of coffee from the decanter she’d left on a side table. “After you, madam.”

She went with him, because to refuse would be to create a scene. Besides, Piper and Jason needed time together without her in the room.

“You and Jason sound like you’ve known each other forever.”

“That’s what it seems like. Jason could be the brother I never had,” Michael admitted. “We clicked the day I arrived back here and he offered to help me move in.”

“He is a nice guy. I’m glad he and Piper found each other.”

“You two have been friends for a while, I take it?”

“The three of us, Piper, Rowena and I, were inseparable as kids.” She smiled. “We all came from here, went to boarding school together and stuck by each other through thick and thin. We still try and get together as often as we can. And we phone a lot.”

“Nice.” Mick handed her a cup. “This deck has the most fantastic vista.” He remained beside her, staring across the treetops. “Years ago people considered the view and built accordingly. Now it seems like we raze everything to the ground and then try to recreate nature. Most of the time we don’t do nearly as good a job.”

“Why won’t you help Piper with the play sets?” she asked, refusing to dance around the issue any longer. “She’s worked so hard on this, trying to get Serenity Bay on the map so people can live here year round and earn a good living. It can’t be that hard to build a few sets.”

Michael kept staring outward, as if he were ignoring her.

“Are you against the winter festival or against bringing more tourists to town?”

“Neither.” He did look at her then, surprise covering his face. “I’m for both. The more the merrier. I think Piper’s done a fantastic job of developing Serenity Bay.”

“But you’re against development, is that it?”

“Not at all.” He shook his head, frowned at her. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, you’re not helping, so—”