“I’ll ask you later.”
As Sanna served up the apple cobbler, she watched the two get started on Bass’s geography lesson. She brought her dad a plate and set one next to Bass. Once Isaac had Bass settled on what he needed to do, he joined Sanna in the kitchen.
“No dessert for me?”
Sanna ran through all the possible responses to that, all flirty and saucy and not her.
“Can I steal you for a while?”
Isaac took note of her fingers tapping the counter, then met her eyes with his warm brown ones, probably trying to discern why she was so nervous.
“Of course.”
“Pa, Isaac and I are going out for a bit. You got things under control. I have my phone if you need us.”
Einars raised the hand holding his fork to acknowledge he had heard them, then continued to enjoy his cobbler.
She grabbed Isaac’s hand and led him outside to Elliot. As she drove through the orchard, he watched her silently, his gaze like little caresses. The sky had no clouds, only a billion stars being chased by the rising moon. When they arrived deep in the Looms, Sanna parked the truck where the Dancing Tree once stood.
She got out and opened the tailgate to reveal a thick cushion of blankets and pillows. With a shaky hand, she flicked the switch to turn on the Christmas lights strung along the sides and started the romantic playlist she’d stayed up late last night to create.
“What is this?” Isaac said from behind her.
Sanna turned to face him, thrilled to see him already only inches away. Her hands cupped his face.
“I have wasted too much time this summer. We have wasted too much time.” She kissed him, his lips instantly joining hers, his arms wrapping around her back. With the fingers of one hand she dug deep into his soft curls, while her other hand traced the muscles on his back as they flexed with each movement. His breath still tasted of her cider, leaving her breathless and seeing fireworks. He trailed kisses from her lips to her ear, giving her time to inhale—but barely.
“Sanna.” It was hardly a whisper, more like a silent prayer. He put his hands on her hips and lifted her so she was sitting on the tailgate. She rejoiced that he was the exact height so when she pulled him in tight with her legs, their bodies aligned just right. They both moaned as their lips found each other, more frenzied than before.
Isaac pulled back, her lips pulsing in his absence. His chest rose and fell to the same tempo as her own.
“I find myself woefully unprepared again,” he said.
With her fingers, Sanna traced his jaw, over his lips, then to the back of his head. She could lose herself in his fiery gaze.
“Good thing I’m not. I made a trip to Sturgeon Bay so my purchases wouldn’t be fodder for the gossip monsters.”
Her lips followed her fingers’ trail over his jaw and lips to his ear, giving him time to adjust to what she proposed. She nibbled his ear, enjoying his quick breath. Her hands slid under his sweatshirt so she could feel the heat coming off his back.
“Sanna.” He kissed her forehead and took her face in his hands. “I want this. I want you so very much. I have since almost the first day I saw you, but you need to know that Bass and I are going back to California soon. That’s why I’ve been so hesitant. I didn’t want to be another person who leaves you here—and I will be.”
She smiled—he was trying to protect her.
“I know. And I love you for it. I’m not making this choice blindly.” Her hands traced circles on his back. “I realized that never making love with you would be infinitely worse than knowing our love is short-lived. I’d rather have the memories of these magical moments than regret my lack of courage.”
She kissed his lips again, just once. She wasn’t done explaining.
“Before you came here, I was content, but I didn’t know the joy of being part of something bigger and more special. You’ve shown me I want more than contentment. I want happiness. I may never find it outside of these moments, but at least I’ll always have them in my heart.
“I’m not going to ask you to stay. I know you have to get back home. I only ask you to not tell me until the day before. That way I’ll be forced to savor each day as if it were the day before the last. Can you do that?”
“You love me?” Isaac’s grin spread wide.
“Of everything I said, that’s what you remember?”
He touched his forehead to hers, tracing his hands along the skin at the top of her jeans.
“I remember every word, and I’ll never forget any of it. I love you, too.”
Sanna knew he had more to say, but she’d had enough of words. She grabbed the bottom of his sweatshirt to pull it over his head. He watched her face as she memorized the lines under her touch, his heart thundering under her fingertips. She tugged at his waistband and when she slid back onto the soft bed she’d made, he followed. As the moon rose higher and the temperature dropped, neither of them noticed.
? ? ? ? ?
The back of the barn was wide open to Sanna’s work area as the noon sun warmed the top of Isaac’s dark curls on the cool early October day. He wore a thick, cream cable-knit sweater over his jeans, the kind perfect for a fall day spent in an orchard. Inside, huge crates of apples were resting, or sweating, as Sanna had referred to it. Only a few varieties of apples were ready to be pressed, but Sanna would be working for the next few months to get all the different juices she wanted using her new apple mill and press, then she’d spend the winter creating new blends. Her workspace had been organized for photos he had posted on Instagram. They’d also discovered its height was similar to that of the pickup’s tailgate. Isaac’s skin heated at the memory.
Outside, tables were covered in food, from smoked whitefish to Mrs. Dibble’s homemade chili. All the Lunds and Dibbles, as well as people from the community who had invested in Sanna’s cider, were there—even Eva Drake. They were here to celebrate the official launch of Idun’s Cider and to help Sanna with her first press of the season. Isaac was proud to be a part of it and stood next to Sanna surveying the process, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible while he could.
Einars and Mrs. Dibble joined them.
“Sanna, can you tell Eileen about the process?” Einars said to Sanna.
“Who’s Eileen?” Sanna asked, looking around for another person.
Einars blushed.
“I’m Mrs. Dibble to you,” she said.
“Pa, when did you learn her first name?” Sanna said.
“When she sat with me at the hospital and spent fifteen minutes scolding me for climbing a ladder at my age. If she was going to yell at me like a wife, I thought I should know her first name.”
Pieces clicked into place in Sanna’s head.
“Are you two dating?”