Apple Blossom Bride

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I think the winter festival is a great idea. Bringing back some of the old ways to teach the kids, showing them firsthand how trappers worked—all of it is going to be very educational and fun. That’s the way kids learn best.”

“Not to mention the people it will bring to town just to see the contestants,” she murmured. She kept her focus on him. “So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is time. Actually a lack of it.” He sipped his coffee, then reached out, plucked a tumbling leaf from her hair. “I don’t have enough of it. I teach full-time. I have a young daughter to raise and a house to clean. I’m already struggling to keep up in all three of those areas, Ashley.”

It wasn’t the answer she wanted, and Ashley had a hunch it wasn’t the whole answer, either. There was something Michael wasn’t saying. What was he hiding?

“I finally remembered you,” he said quietly.

“P-pardon?”

“From when you lived here before. Ashley Adams. You lived in that big silver-gray house on the waterfront. I used to envy you.”

“Me?” Ashley turned to look at him. “Why would you ever envy me?” You had parents and sisters who loved you, a stable home.

“That’s easy. You could get up in the morning, walk a hundred feet and dive into the water,” he explained.

“So could you. Serenity Bay is almost surrounded by water.”

“Ah, yes, but I had to bike to get to the beach. You lived right beside it. You could swim anytime you wanted. For someone like me who is addicted to water, your house was perfection. It’s up for sale, did you know?”

“No, I didn’t.” The house she’d once loved had become a cold empty place. Her father wasn’t home much during the year so he’d only kept the sparsest of furniture. Summers he spent in the backyard or on his boat. By an unspoken mutual agreement, neither of them spent more than the necessary amount of time inside.

“Well, it is. I looked at it when I moved here last spring. It might need a bit of work but the location is still its biggest asset.”

“You weren’t tempted to buy it? Access to water and all that?”

“I wish.” Michael shook his head. “I couldn’t afford it. Anyway, it’s a place meant for a big family to enjoy and right now there’s only Tati and I.”

“She’s a beautiful child.”

“Yes, she is. Beautiful and headstrong with a tendency to spill stuff.”

Ashley remembered her own childhood. “Aren’t all kids clumsy, to some extent?”

He snickered. “You don’t know Tati very well. To some extent doesn’t begin to cover my child.”

There were several comments Ashley could have made just then, but none of them seemed kind. So she kept her mouth shut and after a couple of minutes of silence Michael described his daughter’s attempt to “help” him make dinner two nights before.

“Every smoke alarm in the place was ringing. I had to toss the toaster outside eventually. That’s when I found out she’d put cheese slices on the bread she’d buttered before she put it in the toaster. The house still smells.”

“Accidents happen,” she told him, suppressing her laughter.

“Once could be called an accident but yesterday I had to take my DVD player apart.”

“She put something in it?” Ashley asked, trying not to stare at him as his expression changed from chagrin to laughter.

“My socks. Tati claimed she was trying to make a video for her grandmother.”

“A video of socks?” Ashley frowned.

“To show Granny the holes so she could get me new ones for Christmas,” he admitted. “Tati’s a little focused on Christmas at the moment. She has her special Christmas dress all picked out.”

“Smart girl. It’s good to be prepared.”

His shoulder brushed hers. Since Ashley was in the corner of the railing she could hardly move away. Leaving would only prove—to herself most of all—how much he affected her. So she stood there.

“It must be fun to have a child in your life.”

“Fun, yes. Also very scary. Since you knew me back when, you might remember I was never an A student when it came to responsibility. Being the youngest kid does that, I guess.” He studied her. “Are you cold? Would you like to move nearer the fire?”

Ashley nodded, followed him to the lounge chairs. He waited till she’d sunk into one, then sat down on the end of it.

“What about you? Do you want children?”

“Someday.” She panned a look. “I’d like to get married first, though.”

“Smart lady.” He flicked her cheek with one finger, chasing away a mosquito. “If I remember correctly, you were always popular with the boys.”

“You remember incorrectly,” she chided, peeking up through her lashes. “Or you’d remember me hugging your mother’s ficus plant in the corner at her parties. I was usually the wallflower. Too shy, I guess.”

“You don’t seem the shy type.”

“But then you don’t know me that well.” She reached for the soft shawl she’d dropped on a side table earlier.

“I’d like to,” he said simply, meeting her gaze. “Know you better, I mean. Maybe we could go out for dinner one evening.”

“You’re too busy,” she reminded archly. “You can’t even find a moment to work on the sets.”

“Tati and her grandmother have a standing date on Friday nights. I’m free as a bird then.”

Ashley shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not really interested in dating right now,” she murmured, feeling hemmed in. “I came to Serenity Bay to relax and recuperate for a little while.”

“After your accident. My mother told me. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Okay, then.” Michael folded his hands together in his lap, stretched out his legs and glanced around like an eager tourist taking in the sights. “Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Now there’s a sound I haven’t heard in a while. Ashley laughing. I like it.” Piper walked onto the deck behind Jason who was carrying a tray with two mugs and a plate of cookies on it. She sat down on the swing, patted the seat next to her then accepted her cup. “What are you two talking about?”

“The weather.”

“Ashley not dating.”

Their simultaneous responses had the other two grinning.