Page 103 of Guarding Over You
Blaze locked the door behind him, and she followed him to his SUV. “We need her booster seat. Not sure why I didn’t think of this and just drive down to get you.”
“Not a big deal.”
She climbed in, they drove to her driveway, she put the code in to get the door to open, got the seat out and handed it over to him, then they were on their way.
When they were pulling through the gates of Ridgeway farm, Gracie was all but squealing in the backseat. “Look at all the trees!”
“Lots of apple trees here. More than there were ten years ago. Clay keeps adding to them.”
“He can’t possibly only use his apples for the cider, right?”
“No. On the off-season he has them shipped in. The other fruit trees are closer to the cafe since my mother used them more for that. Plus the blueberry patch.”
“I love blueberries. Do you have strawberries here too?” Gracie asked.
“We do. Pretty much any fruit or vegetable we could grow we did. Funny though because my mother was busier in the summerso it’s not like it was the best time of the year for her to be tending to those things also.”
“That’s what having five kids off for the summer is for,” Arden said.
“You’re right. We did a lot of work in the garden. Did a lot of canning too.”
“What’s canning?” Gracie asked.
“It’s putting fruit in jars to make them last longer,” she said.
“Then why isn’t it called jarring?”
Arden looked at Blaze hoping he’d help. He shrugged. “No clue.”
“Is that where all the weddings and events take place now?” she asked, looking at the first building they passed.
“Yes. We can check it out. No event going on today, but I can get in.”
She looked at Gracie. “Maybe another time. I don’t think she’s as interested as I am.”
He laughed. “Got it. We’ll park at the cafe in the back. Before we start picking, I thought we could stop in and let someone get a you know what?”
“She’d like that a lot.”
He parked and they got out, then walked around to the front. The cafe was pretty full being almost one on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
He pulled the door open and held it for her and Gracie, her daughter going right toward the cases with all the cookies, pastries and donuts.
Oh lord, she wasn’t going to be able to decide any more than her daughter could.
“Can I get a donut and a cookie, Mom?”
“Sure. We’ll get a few things and put them away for another day. But you can eat one thing now.”
They moved to the counter after two other people had left with their orders.
“Meredith,” Blaze said. “This is Arden and her daughter, Gracie.” He put his hand on Gracie’s shoulder and squatted down. “Meredith is married to my brother Clay. She’s a kindergarten teacher.”
“At my new school?”
“No,” Meredith said. “I’m in Lake George.”
Gracie didn’t ask how Meredith knew that. “It’s nice to meet you. Gracie, can you tell her what you want?”
