Isaac pulled back and smiled, crinkling his eyes.
“Say what you feel, that’s what I want to hear.” His fingers circled the center of her palm. Sanna’s mouth dried and she cleared her throat, but the words still came out gravelly.
“Part of me says I should go back to the house. I’m too tired, this is too complicated, and I’ll only be sad when you leave. No good can come of knowing you better.”
A worry line formed on his forehead, and it cracked her heart open enough for the rest of her words to tumble out.
“But the other part—the part that’s winning—wants to stop time so this moment never ends. For so long, I’ve been just a cider maker, a daughter, a hermit. I’ve never really been a woman. I never really knew I wanted that. But I do. You make my heart reckless.”
She took her arm from the back of his neck and touched his lips, soft and dry. He tensed his arm behind her back, but didn’t move it. Sanna smiled and knew he was waiting to see what she’d do. She didn’t know yet. She’d only been with one other man, and it was unimpressive at best, awkward and uncomfortable at worst. It had been bad enough that she had never felt the urge to seek another romance. But here was someone whose barest of caresses made her knees wobble, he delighted in making her day better, and he came right out and said he liked her for exactly who she was.
Her chest tightened and breathing became more difficult. She tried to take a deeper breath, but that didn’t provide relief. The firefly lights still danced, their feet still moved, but all her focus was on her fingers pressed to his lips, as if the answer were there. She let her hand trail into his beard, grazing the black and silver scruff, so much softer than she expected it to be. Then she brought her lips to his, the faintest of kisses, and all the air rushed into her lungs and straight to her head. Isaac finally closed the distance between them and released her hand so he could thread his fingers through her hair. She set the freed hand on his chest, covered in a soft blue T-shirt, his heart racing with hers.
She wanted more. She pressed her lips against his, marveling at how they moved with hers, how sharing the same air with him made her more alive. She pulled him to her as he held her tighter, their lips opening to deepen the kiss—he tasted of cinnamon and apples from their dessert. The longer they kissed, the more certain she was that she could never stop, that she wanted all of him. She slid her hand from his chest to his back, right where his T-shirt met his jeans, slipping her hand under the cotton to his bare skin. His reaction was clear—walking her backward until the tree offered its support. She moved her other hand to explore his broad back, soft cotton on one side, strong muscle on the other.
She gasped when he moved his kisses down her jaw to her neck, his strong hands following her curves, tracing her lines. His kisses slowed as he found his way back to her mouth, then pulled away to look at her. Her lips beat with the wild pace of her heart, and her skin burned from his beard. Every part of her he had touched felt different, brand-new, and they still wore all their clothes.
He kissed her once more, more softly, then pulled back again.
“I want—” He breathed the words as his chest heaved.
“We are adults,” she interrupted, leaving a trail of kisses from his ear to his lips.
He groaned against her lips and pulled back.
“I didn’t intend for anything but dancing and I’m woefully unprepared.” He grazed his thumb over her lips, then kissed her once more, at last stepping away. “And I’ll regret it for the rest of my days.”
The way Isaac looked at her in this moment made her feel more wanted, more beautiful than she ever had. She wanted him to always look at her like that.
“You aren’t the only one. Maybe we leave these lights up and bring a blanket next time.”
“Sanna Lund, are you flirting with me?”
She winked at him, and at last her exhaustion caught up with her as she grabbed the tree for balance.
“Thirty-six hours of no sleep just hit me. Time to get me to bed.” Isaac raised an eyebrow. “You know what I mean.”
He wrapped her arm over his and led her out, using his phone to turn off the lights behind them.
“Thank you for an unexpectedly enchanting evening.”
“It was truly my pleasure.”
Behind them, the firefly lights flicked back to life for a few seconds, both Sanna and Isaac turning in surprise.
“Did you do that?”
Isaac pulled his phone from his back pocket and showed it to her. The app said the lights were off.
Sanna shrugged.
“I never thought it’d say something so illogical, but it seems like a sign, doesn’t it? I guess we need to come back soon.”
? ? ? ? ?
“I didn’t think we’d be back at our tree so soon,” Isaac said, and enjoyed the pink spreading from Sanna’s cheeks to her ears. They were dressed to work in jeans, light long-sleeved shirts, and hats slung over their necks to use when the sun got high. The dew still clung to the grass and soaked the bottoms of their pants. He was close enough to grab her hand, but didn’t. Sunlight made him bashful, and the memory of last night seemed like a dream filled with fairy lights.
“Gary wins the race.” Bass dashed past them, sliding on the wet grass, grabbing at trees to keep his balance.
“Careful of the trees, they’re healing,” Sanna said.
“I like how you’re more worried about the trees than him breaking something,” Isaac said, and then he did reach out to squeeze her hand to let her know he was teasing. A rush of memories from last night sent his blood flowing. Last night he had lain in bed wishing he’d either been responsible enough to be prepared or irresponsible enough to not care.
“You and I both know he’ll be just fine. That boy is made of rubber.”
Sanna stopped to look at some apples, turning them in the sunlight without pulling hard enough to detach them.
“Everything okay?” Isaac asked.
“The green is almost gone. These will be ready in a week or so. We need to get the stand ready, and probably update the website.” She scrunched up her nose.
“Not a fan of the website?”
“You made it really pretty, but no, not at all.”
“Good thing I’m here, then. I’ll get it all set up—but you’ll need to learn how to work it eventually.”
“I’ll be in your debt forever, or at least until you head back to California.”
She turned her head, but Isaac saw the frown.
“When are we going back, Dad?” Bass said. “Will we be back in time for Fall Ball?”
“Probably not. We’ll leave when the Lunds don’t need us anymore.”
“But what about school?”
“I contacted your school, and they gave me the information I needed to do some homeschooling to keep you up-to-date before we go back.”
Bass looked down at the ground.
“You okay with that, Barracuda?”