The Apple Of My Eye

by Christine McGreggor

  Seeing that her friend was still rooted to the spot, Kara clapped her enthusiastically on the back. “Ok, that’s enough brooding for you. Go get cleaned up. I’m going to tackle setting up the entertainment center.”

  Michelle nodded her head, thankful for her friend’s boundless energy and high spirits. “Hey, I thought Jeff was coming over last night to do that?”

  Kara winced and turned towards the mess of equipment piled on the TV stand. “Yeah about that…” she said, running her hands through her hair. “We broke up two nights ago.”

  “What? Why didn’t you say something Kara?” Michele was flabbergasted. How could she have missed learning of something that important?

  “It’s not that big of a deal. He was a jerk.” Kara shrugged nonchalantly, but Michelle could see by her averted gaze that her friend was embarrassed.

  “Not a big deal? You were living with him. Where are you going to stay?”

  “Well, he’s giving me till the weekend to move my stuff. I guess I will probably move back in with mom.” Kara looked at her toes, embarrassed to have been talking about her situation.

  “No. You’re coming here. God knows I have plenty of room- there’s the spare bedroom upstairs, or you can have the study and library if you want.” Michelle gestured to the back of the house, where they had moved her grandmother after her infirmity had made it difficult to go up and down steps.

  Kara turned back to look at her friend. “Shell, you really don’t have to do that. I can make do. You don’t have to bail me out of trouble.”

  “It’s not bailing you out, and I want to help. Greenville is fifteen minutes closer to your office anyway. We can carpool.”

  Kara gave her friend a shaky, relieved smile. “Thanks, Shell. I mean it. I’d love to move in, and yes I will take the study. There’s plenty of room back there for me.” She gave her friend a hug. “Plus when you hook up with the hottie behind us, I won’t be in the way.”

  Michelle gave her friend a teasing push. “You never stop, do you? Next time, you should tell me when something like that happens. I will let you detangle the wire hell while I take a bath. When do you want to go get your stuff?”

  “We can go tomorrow. Most of the furniture is his, so there isn’t a lot of heavy stuff to move. You go on, I’ve got this!” Rolling up the sleeves of her Tiger pajamas, Kara headed over to the entertainment center with a renewed aura of determination.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The afternoon found the two women out in the yard, bundled up against the cool, early March weather. Michelle wanted to take a careful look at the gardens, to figure out what besides the trees might need attention. “There, the bed lining has pulled up; we are going to have to replace that.” Kara scribbled notes as Michelle toured the various fruit and flower beds.

  “Are the automatic sprinklers still working?” Kara asked, tapping a semi-buried sprinkler head with her shoe.

  “I’m not sure. We probably need to test them, but that will have to wait until things warm up.” Michelle moved down the length of the house and stopped in front of a huge rose bush that rested against the outer bricks of the living room’s fireplace. “It looks like some of the roses are going to need to be pruned; there is a lot of dead wood on them.” Gingerly, Michelle touched a thorny cane where the tiny green buds of new growth that were prominent on the rest of the cane had stopped two thirds of the way up.

  “I’d wait until after that rambler blooms, if I were you.” A masculine voice joined the conversation. “Then you won’t accidentally prune off this year’s blooms. Plus you will stimulate growth for the rest of the season.”

  Startled, Michelle spun around towards the sound of the voice. Standing behind her was the handsome man from the morning before. Now he was dressed in jeans and a dark green jacket that matched his eyes. Emblazoned on the front of his coat was a name: “Marshall”.

  “I’m Hayes Marshall, with Oak Forest Arborists. You called this morning, about the apple tree?” Hayes smiled at her and held out his hand.

  Michelle snapped her gaping mouth closed with a click and smiled. “Yes, thank you for making time in your schedule, Mr. Marshall. I really appreciate it. I’m Michelle, this is my friend Kara.” Michelle took the proffered hand and couldn’t help feeling a warm glow at his touch.

  “It’s not a problem, Michelle. Please, call me Hayes. It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry about yesterday, there wasn’t really time to stop and chat.” Was it her imagination, or did Michelle detect the slightest hint of pink in his cheeks.

  “Oh no, there’s nothing to be sorry about, really. I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping.”

  “Was Mr. Olson asking you to chop down our apple tree?” Kara interjected, her tone oddly threatening.

  “Kara, stop that,” Michelle hissed at her friend. She was surprised by the vehemence in her voice.

  “No, it’s all right. You two have every reason to be suspicious.” Hayes’ expression grew serious. “He was asking me to cut your tree down. Ed has been bothering me about that apple tree for the last year or two. Every time I am out to do work on his property, he mentions it. Let me be clear, I am not about to help him do anything. If you do decide to hire me, I will do everything I can to assist you with your problem.”

  Kara folded her arms over her chest, her eyes sliding between her friend and the arborist. After a moment she blew out a breath. “I’ve got to run to the store, Shell. I’ll be back. Bye!” With that, Kara turned and headed to her car.

  “She’s kind of having a bad day,” Michelle said apologetically.

  “Don’t worry about it. Should we have a look at the tree?” Hayes strode forward, Michelle trailing in his wake. Michelle found herself entranced by his powerful stride, her eyes rooted to the denim as it slid over his athletic legs. While they walked, Hayes asked her what she knew about the tree, if anything.

  Michelle dragged her eyes back to his handsome face as he looked over his shoulder at her. “It’s a McIntosh semi-dwarf apple tree. It was planted when I was three or four, so about twenty one years ago. The other apple tree in the west yard was planted at the same time. I know they were both well taken care of, up until my grandfather passed away five years ago. After that, I’m not so sure.”

  “Good, that’s more information than most owners have for me.” Hayes reached the tree. He knelt on the ground carefully inspecting the tree’s base and then ran a reverent hand over the trunk. He spent several minutes carefully circling the apple tree, silently evaluating the tree’s health, while Michelle looked on.

  He was mesmerizing to watch. There was more to it than simply his good looks, although that didn’t hurt. He was intent, completely focused on his evaluation of the tree. His hands stroked the tree bark, searching for something. He bent down and picked up some soil from the base of the tree roots, rubbing it between his fingers. Michelle found herself wondering what that fully focused attention would be like if he turned it on her. A tiny, anticipatory shiver of delight threaded its way up her back at the thought. She had the feeling Hayes would be an incredibly attentive lover. She could imagine what his strong hands would feel like stroking her back in the same way he touched the bark of the apple tree. She could almost feel his fingers sifting through her hair as tenderly as he sifted through the soil he currently held.

  Hayes turned back to her from his perusal of the tree, and Michelle was suddenly glad he couldn’t see the erotic thoughts dancing in her head. She hoped he would chalk up the pink in her cheeks to the cool March weather. “Well, what do you think?”

  Hayes pursed his lips as he thought. “Well there is good news, and there is bad news. Which do you want first?”

  Michelle hugged herself. “Give me the bad news first.”

  “Well, this tree is getting close to the maximum age at which it will still bear fruit. Semi-dwarf trees like this one usually only have a fruiting expectancy of twenty five to thirty years. Plus, it is very overgrown. I don’t believe the tree has been pruned in t
he last five years at least. I think the tree may have had some trouble with fire blight over the last year or two.” He bent down and gestured for her to come over to where he crouched. Michelle knelt next to him and looked to where he pointed at the ground under the tree.

  “There is a lot of leaf litter and even some old fruit on the ground under the tree” Hayes showed her the detritus under the tree. “All of this can harbor disease, as well insect larva that will attack the tree once everything wakes up in a few more weeks.”

  Michelle felt a little wave of helplessness roll over her. “Is there anything we can do at this point? My grandmother was really sick last year. Everything in the yard went to hell while we concentrated on trying to help her get better.” Michelle picked up a mummified apple from under the tree and looked at it despondently.

  “Hey, don’t blame yourself. These things happen, and people are always more important than plants.” Hayes gave her a warm smile and gently removed the old apple from her hand. “Like I said, there is good news too. All of this can be fixed, without having to cut down the tree.”

  “It can?” Michelle blinked, surprised. From the way he had been talking, it sounded like removing the tree was going to be necessary.

  “Sure. We will have to come in and do some remedial pruning, particularly on the alley side to make certain you are back in compliance with city codes. All of the detritus will have to be raked out, and you will want to put down some fresh mulch. Then we can treat with a sulfur spray to keep the fire blight at bay. Long term, I’d recommend looking at planting two new trees, so they are ready to bear when your older trees stop. The new trees will probably take three years or so to start bearing. It’d be best to get them in the ground this season, if possible.” He stood up and held his hand out to Michelle to help her up. “Let’s go look at the other apple tree, to make sure there is nothing catastrophic going on over there.”

  Michelle took his hand and let him help her up. Michelle stood up, but as she turned around to head towards the side yard, her foot caught on a tree root. She tripped and landed straight on Hayes. Instantly his strong arms were around her, steadying her against his chest. “Whoa, watch your step beautiful, I’ve got you.” She froze, his words sinking in as she stood in his arms. He thought she was beautiful? She couldn’t keep a delighted smile from spreading across her face.

  “Sorry about that.” Michelle said softly, still not moving from the safety of his arms.

  “Don’t be.” Hayes voice had become a sexy growl. He cleared his throat and continued. “Let’s go look at the other tree”. Hayes gently extricated her from his arms, but took her gloved hand in his. He led the way back towards the western yard, where the Fireside tree grew.

  He spent another several minutes evaluating the second tree. This time he showed Michelle what he saw as he went. Hayes pointed out the branches which would need pruning, the spots where a rabbit had been chewing on the lower bark of the tree. There wasn’t as much detritus under this tree. Michelle could remember Uncle Tom raking the side and front yard last autumn.

  “Honestly, there is a lot less work needed over here than in the back yard,” Hayes told her, sounding satisfied. “Some pruning, a little mulch and some pesticide, and you should be good to go.”

  “Wonderful. That’s a huge relief.” She smiled at the handsome man. “Would you like to come inside for a bit? We should probably talk about costs.”

  “Absolutely, I’d love to.” Hayes let Michelle lead him into the warmth of her home. She took his jacket and hung it with her own on the coat hook in the hall. He sat down in the living room and pulled a small form out from the back of the notebook he held. Michelle took a moment to enjoy the way his simple fleece shirt stretched over his athletic frame. His head bent over the coffee table while he considered the form he had placed there. When he began to write, Michelle sat down across from him.

  “Can I get you anything? I think we have some soda in the fridge, or I can make some coffee?” Michelle asked, eager to think of ways to keep Hayes in her house a little bit longer.

  He looked up from his work, his green eyes considering her appreciatively. “Oh, you wouldn’t happen to have any tea would you? If it’s not too much work, I mean. I’ve been outside all day, and I’m freezing. I’d love a cup of tea.”

  Something about the request set Michelle’s heart aglow. Perhaps it was the juxtaposition of his hard working exterior, coupled with such a refined request. Michelle ran through the contents of her cupboard in her head. “I know I still have some Earl Grey, I just unpacked it. Is that ok? Oh, I have some loose leaf English breakfast too.” That had been a Christmas gift from Aunt Deb. Michelle enjoyed trying different types of foods. She found she had enjoyed the process of steeping loose leaf tea and the richer flavor that resulted.

  Hayes smiled at her, looking impressed. “I haven’t had loose leaf tea in forever. That would be amazing.”

  Michelle couldn’t keep the beaming smile off of her face. She sauntered to the kitchen to heat the kettle. “Note to self, buy more loose leaf tea.” She muttered quietly as she filled up the tea kettle with water. She set the kettle on her new stove and took the tea down from the cabinet. Movement beyond the kitchen window caught her eye. She leaned forward over the counter to see what was going on, her sweater pulling up to expose a hint of her waist, her honey blond hair sliding forward across her cheek.

  “Michelle? I have the quote done when you’re…” Hayes had come into the kitchen with a piece of paper, but stopped abruptly when he saw her stretched over the counter. Michelle turned away from the window, and the heat she saw in his eyes was anything but businesslike. She could feel an answering flush of longing pulse through her as Hayes made his way through the kitchen to her. Her breath caught in her throat as he stood next to her and reached over to push an errant strand of honey colored hair away from her face. Just like in her fantasy, his strong fingers sifted through the soft strands. He let them slide over his fingers as he tenderly tucked the errant hair behind her ear. With a sigh Michelle tilted her face towards him, so his fingertips brushed against her cheek as he withdrew his hand.

  A loud knock on the kitchen door broke the spell his touch had spun between the two of them. They sprang apart, startled. Michelle hurried to the door. Just as she touched the knob, the door opened and Betsy Turner pushed past her into the kitchen.

  “Oh, hello my dear. I brought the pie! Gerry and I have been talking and we think you should really call…” She stopped midstream as her eyes lit on Hayes. “Well, what have we here? Hayes Marshall. Are you here to do your Uncle’s dirty work young man?”

  “Good afternoon Mrs. Turner. How are you?” Hayes’ cheeks flushed as Michelle’s neighbor glared at him. “Michelle is hiring me to help her with her apple trees.” He glanced at Michelle. “At least I hope she will be hiring me. I’m here on a consultation.” His tone bordered on defensive.

  “Thanks for bringing over the pie, Mrs. Turner.” Michelle took the apple pie from her neighbor and set it on the counter next to the two tea mugs. “Hayes is the arborist the inspector recommended I call. From what he tells me, I shouldn’t have to tear the McIntosh down after all.” She gave Hayes an encouraging smile.

  “I’m sure the inspector wouldn’t have recommended him if he had known he was the nephew of the man responsible for the complaint in the first place. I saw Ed skulking around his lawn, eying the tree as I came in. Don’t you think there is some conflict of interest here?” Betsy pointed an accusatory finger at the arborist.

  “Respectfully ma’am, I work for my clients, not my Great Uncle. My job is to help Miss Perry save her apple tree, and that is exactly what I am going to do.” Hayes countered his voice cool and determined. “Won’t you excuse us for a moment? I need to speak with my client in private.” Hayes turned abruptly and walked back out of the kitchen.

  Betsy harrumphed as Michelle excused herself to follow Hayes. She found him standing in the hallway putting on his jacket. “Oh
no!” Michelle held out a hand to try to stop him. “Please don’t go. You haven’t even had your tea yet. Don’t let Mrs. Turner chase you away. She’s just feeling a bit overprotective.”

  Hayes smiled as he zipped up his jacket. “Don’t worry; I’m not being chased away. It will take more than an angry Betsy Turner to run me off. It seems that I need to have a little talk with Ed. I don’t want him trying anything stupid because he doesn’t get his way.” Hayes glanced at the quote he had in his hand and then very deliberately tucked it back into his notebook. “Would you let me take you to dinner tonight? We can talk about the quote and the work at the River Bell?”

  “That sounds wonderful.” Michelle agreed, relieved.

  “Give me a rain check on the tea then, and I will pick you up at…” Hayes pulled his cell phone from his pocket, “let’s say 7?”

  “That sounds perfect. See you then. Thanks again for coming out today.” Michelle smiled as she held out her hand.

  Rather than shake it, Hayes turned Michelle’s hand up right and kissed it. “It was my pleasure. See you this evening.” He glanced up and smiled ruefully. “Goodbye, Mrs. Turner,” he called down the hall.

  “Goodbye, young man.” Betsy stood in the hallway just in front of the kitchen door. “I will be keeping an eye on you, be sure you behave yourself.”

  Hayes nodded obediently and with a quick wink at Michelle, left. Michelle turned to her exasperating guest. “Mrs. Turner…”

  Betsy cut the younger woman off. “I know what you are going to say, my dear. That was terribly rude of me, wasn’t it? Normally I would never interfere with your business, or your love life for that matter.” Michelle raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I saw the two of you together, and when I noticed Ed watching… Well I just needed to be absolutely certain he wasn’t in cahoots with his uncle. I don’t want Ed trying to take advantage of the situation. Judging by Hayes’ reaction, I think it’s fair to say he’s being honest with you.”

  “Mr. Olson was watching us?” Michelle shivered, the idea leaving a bad taste in her mouth.