“Are you done yet? Dinner’s ready,” Bass said, his body appearing in the doorway.
Isaac froze, then let his fingers run through her hair one last time before standing straight again.
“Just making sure it’s even.” His voice cracked. “We’ll be there in a minute, Minnow.”
Bass disappeared, and Sanna’s eyes followed Isaac in the mirror as he slowly removed the towel from her shoulders, using a corner to wipe a few errant hairs off her neck. The skin on her nape pinkened where he had touched her. He set the towel on the counter and stood behind her, gazing at her steadily in the mirror.
“All done.” He took a step back, escaping the pull of her.
Sanna moved her head back and forth, looking at the new cut from all sides. She stood and turned, the stool between them.
“It’s the best haircut I’ve ever had. Don’t tell my dad.”
She smiled at him. A real, full smile. The tension eased now that he didn’t have his hands on her. If he could maintain some physical distance, then maybe he could stick to his resolution not to complicate the growing friendship between them.
“At your service, madam.” He bowed his head. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you.” She left, and Isaac could hear Einars making a fuss about her haircut.
Isaac picked up the towel and shook the strawberry-blond trimmings to the ground, where he carefully swept them into a dustpan and then into the trash. It was simple. He couldn’t be that close to her again or he’d have to kiss her, and not the peck she’d given him, a real, long, slow kiss. He shoved the towel into the clothes hamper and took a deep breath, letting his nerves relax. He could hear the chairs scraping at the table as the small group sat down. Before leaving the bathroom, he brought his fingertips to his nose. They still held the scent of Sanna. Just like that, the pull toward her felt even tighter than before.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Einars hobbled down the stairs in his new, below-the-knee fluorescent green cast, though he still wore a pair of his sweatpants cut for the long leg cast, exposing several inches of pasty-white thigh. His right arm was newly cast-free.
At the bottom of the steps, Sanna held the door open for him with one hand and carried a glass of lemonade in the other. “Pa, you look ridiculous. Why didn’t you wear a pair of shorts?”
“These have plenty of wear left in them.” He pulled the material on the right leg to above that knee to match the cutoff left side. “There, is that better?” He winked at her. He was getting sassier—that must mean he felt good.
He gingerly walked to where Sanna had set up a lawn chair on their patio, where the August afternoon sun was still bright. He settled himself into it, stretching his long legs in front of him.
“Not really.”
Sanna set down the lemonade on a side table next to the latest mystery her dad was reading.
“Bass and Isaac will be here any minute. If you don’t go with them to the fish boil, I’m calling Mrs. Dibble to come over and make dinner,” Einars said.
“But—” Sanna said.
“Dammit, Sanna. The three of you have been working your butts off for the orchard, while I can barely outrace a snail. I want to do something nice for you and celebrate the sun and fresh air on my upper thigh and arm for the first time in seven weeks . . . by myself. Besides, they’ve never been, and you can’t come to Door County without going to one. And don’t pretend you don’t enjoy spending time with him. I have a broken leg, I’m not blind. There’s money on the counter.”
“I’m not leaving you alone for an entire night. What if you fall and no one is here to help?”
Einars picked up his phone.
“I have her on speed dial.”
“Ugh. I’m starting to think you did more damage than we thought when you hit your head. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”
She stomped inside to grab her keys and the hundred-dollar bill he’d set aside, and flew down the steps, letting the screen door slam for emphasis. That man . . . She’d seen him watching her and Isaac when Isaac was cooling off her burn, and when they came out of the bathroom after her haircut. And then the labels. She couldn’t stop herself from hugging him, thankful the darkness had hid her deep blush when his lips traced the curve of her neck. She didn’t know what made her happier, the discreet caress or the labels. No one had ever done anything so special for her before. She’d always intended to make her own labels, but the ones he’d designed were more beautiful than she had ever imagined. Her face blushed just thinking about the haircut.
Outside, Isaac and Bass pulled up in Isaac’s tiny car. She’d never fit in that thing, but before he could try anything stupid like opening her door, she got in and regretted it immediately. Her knees were tucked against her chest, exposing the backs of her thighs to the air before she could tuck her dress behind her knees. Her head bumped the soft top of the roof.
“Bass, I told you to move the seat back,” Isaac said. “The controls are on the side.” He turned to give his son a look as Bass giggled in the backseat. Sanna fiddled with the controls until her head separated from the ceiling and her knees didn’t bump the dashboard. Then she turned to give Bass her best stern expression.
“Hell hath no fury like woman stuffed into a tiny car.” Then she gave him a quick wink. “Let’s hit the road before I get a leg cramp.”
Isaac smiled. He’d been doing that more lately. At the first intersection, Sanna pointed the direction they needed to go, but he was already turning confidently toward the restaurant.
“You’re starting to know your way around. Soon you’ll be swearing about tourist drivers like the rest of us.”
“Oh, he’s already doing that,” Bass volunteered. Sanna and Isaac shared a glance and burst into laughter.
Her mind automatically wandered to all the things she needed to do at Idun’s, but she stopped herself. Tonight was about enjoying their hard work, from the tree maintenance to the cider making. She planned to bottle another batch of cider soon and had counted the bottles they’d labeled in preparation. She should have waited, but she was so eager to see the beautiful labels on her bottles.
“Bass, I meant to ask, when you moved the cases, did you take out any of the bottles? A few of them were missing when I checked today.”
“Nope. I didn’t open them. I just moved them where you told me to.”
Huh? That was odd. She must have not been paying attention—considering all she had on her plate these past few weeks, that wasn’t much of a surprise. She pushed thoughts of work from her mind and enjoyed the back-road scenery, suddenly so glad she had conceded to come on this outing. Well, glad that Einars had insisted.