Page 65 of Once Upon a Fall

“Thank you, Dean. Very helpful.”

She’s smiling. I like the way it takes over her whole face, crinkling the corners of her eyes and making her look exactly like herself.

I debate kissing the smile off her lips but take the plank from her instead. “Then, I’ll find someone to list it, I guess.”

“So, you’ve decided to sell?”

I pause, her question giving me that same hollow feeling I’ve had every time I’ve thought about it.

“Yeah. I think so,” I finally answer.

She looks down at the measuring tape in her hand. “Do you think it’ll be hard to sell?”

“Do you mean what kind of person buys a burned apple orchard?”

She laughs. “Maybe someone who’s always dreamed of owning several acres of dead trees. Wait.” She pauses like she’s just had the best idea. “You could advertise it as haunted.”

“That should improve the asking price.”

“Of course it will,” she says. “People will pay extra for ghosts.”

“You’re probably right.”

She pulls another plank out of the box.

“You forgot the best selling point, though,” she says.

“Which is?”

“Walking distance to a charming princess-themed inn.”

I look at her. “That might lower the value.”

She gasps and points the measuring tape at me. “Take that back.”

I grin as I reach for the next plank. “No.”

The alarm on her phone goes off, and she pulls it out of her pocket to turn it off. “Time to go,” she says.

When I told her about my meeting this afternoon, she insisted on setting an alarm on her phone so I wouldn’t be late.

She holds her hand out for the mallet. “I’ll take over from here,” she says.

“Hopefully it won’t take too long,” I say, handing it to her, and meaning it. I’d actually stay right here with her, working on the floor of a room that will soon be covered in apples. That’s what she told me, at least.

The apple is the only part of Snow White I know anything about. Rosie was appalled by this and insisted we watch it tonight. I agreed, but only because I figured she’d fall asleep in my arms this time. Or I’m hoping that’s a possibility.

“Go evict some raccoons,” she says.

I lean over and plant a kiss on her lips before going to my room to grab my keys.

It’s not until I’m in my car and on my way over to the farm that I realize how very domestic that goodbye kiss was.

The meeting takes a lot longer than I was expecting, and unfortunately, the raccoons get to keep their home for a while longer.

At least I finally got some answers. But none of them were what I was hoping for.

Basically, they can trap and remove the animals, but unless we find and seal the entry points, they’ll be back within a week. That means checking the roofline and whatever soffits are, then bringing in a contractor to make the repairs. Not exactly an afternoon job.