by Natalie Ann
“Okay, show me the barns now.”
As they walked the whole property, he found there was a ton to do that he hadn’t even considered. Everything was workable for the most part, but just in need of some repair. He could do a lot of it easily enough but imagined that if he didn’t offer to buy the property, it would be falling down around their feet in another year or so. Thankfully he had the means and the crew to do it all.
“We’ve looked at all the buildings. So now what?”
“When do you start getting ready for the haunted house?” he asked. It was the last barn they walked through. At the moment it was pretty empty.
“Next week I’ll really start working on it. I’ve got a design all set up on paper that I’ll look over one more time. I do it differently each year, or at least try to blend parts from previous years and come up with one or two new elements.”
“I’d like to help you this year if I could. I’m a pretty handy guy to have around,” he said, his hand searching for hers and holding it for the minute. He just needed to touch her. Something about being on this land with her was reaching a part of him he hadn’t expected or knew existed.
“I guess that will give me a sample of how good you are with your hands if I let you help.”
He laughed. “I’m really good with my hands and anytime you want a sample before next week, just let me know.”
She laughed, leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, then said, “Let’s walk the orchard now.”
Because He Wanted To
Several days had gone by since Ali and he walked around the farm, then had dinner with her mother afterward. Had it been awkward? Yeah, it had.
Belinda was treating him more like a potential suitor for Ali than the new owner of her family business.
On one hand, it was fine with him; on the other hand, this was business too. And business always came first for him, but he was starting to rethink, considering his mind was wandering down the “Ali” path more than the “orchard” path.
And for as much as he felt uncomfortable, he knew Ali felt it a hundred times worse.
He’d actually lost count of the number of instances her face had turned red over something “innocent” her mother had said. If boasting about all of Ali’s good qualities was considered innocent. He concluded Ali didn’t appreciate Liam knowing she could climb an apple tree faster than any employee by the look on her face. He found it funny, but she didn’t even crack a grin, not even a lip curl. Though her eye did start to twitch.
Here he was a few days later in the store with his mother out back with Belinda. The two women were hitting it off and talking baking and recipes. He was thrilled his mother was still so excited about everything and her energy seemed to be rubbing off on Belinda too. He could hear them laughing back there like two long lost best friends in elementary school.
So far the business transition seemed to be going smoothly. Now if only he and Ali could take a page from that book.
The mothers were banging things around while his stomach grumbled with the scent of sweetness and cinnamon all around him as he took measurements on the windows in the store. They had to be replaced. Not only were they drafty, but they weren’t secure either. The utility bills had to be huge here.
He’d already installed the new security locks in this building, which Belinda hadn’t even batted an eye at, so that was a plus. He was going to be doing that at the house as soon as he was done here.
Snapping his tape measure back and putting it on his tool belt, he grabbed what he needed, then walked out back to see the two women engrossed in measuring flour. “I’m going over to the house now, if it’s okay,” he said to Belinda. It was still her house, so it was only the polite thing to let her know.
“The door is open, Liam,” she said, grinning at him. “Are you hungry? Help yourself to anything you want.”
Wonder if she caught him staring at the stash of goodies back here. He grabbed a donut and then a muffin, sent Belinda and his mother a wave and walked out the back door across the property to the farmhouse.
By the time he’d gotten to the porch, his donut was gone and half his muffin had followed suit. Belinda sure did bake like a dream. He wondered if Ali did. Nah, she had other talents, or so her mother boasted.
With his muffin gone and everything out of the box for the security locks he’d dropped off earlier, he set about getting this done and moving on to a few other things to tinker with in the house.
He was all set on the outside of the house and moved inside, silently working and losing himself in his thoughts of Ali and what she might be doing tonight. It was getting close to when school would be out and he wondered if she’d be interested in dinner.
He hadn’t seen her in four days, then had dinner after she walked him all over the orchard and schooled him on the different types of apples, when some were ready and when some tasted the best. At this point, most of the trees were picked bare. She acted like she didn’t know all that much about the farm, but she knew enough.
Then he’d met some of the farm hands that helped out. There was one full-timer, Jim, who was in his early fifties, Liam was guessing, and a few part-timers. He and Jim would be talking soon about the possibility of relocating here to the farm and running the day-to-day operations.
Again, a conversation for another time.
He was just finishing up when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned.
No way. He had to be dreaming.
He took his electric drill and pressed his finger on it, heard the buzz and knew he was awake.
Shit.
“What’s the matter, boy?”
“You’re not here,” he said to Anthony Michaels.
“Why wouldn’t I be in my own house?” he asked, smirking.
Liam looked around, a chill spreading up his back and down his arms. There was a faint ringing in his ears at the same time. He started to speculate if he was losing his mind and knew there was no one he could even ask. Not that he would because he really was terrified the answer would tell him he was.
“What do you want?” he asked, hoping his voice was calm, but knowing it most likely wasn’t.
“Take her out tonight. Show her a good time. Let her know it’s not about the farm.”
“Ali?” he asked.
“Of course Ali. Not Belinda. She could be your mother. Though if I had my guess, she’s got a sweet spot for you too.”
If it was possible to blush while thinking you’re going insane and talking to a ghost, he did it. “I don’t need any help with Ali, thank you very much.”
Anthony laughed. “I like you, boy.”
Liam was just getting ready to tell Anthony he had a name and boy wasn’t it, but he heard a sound to his right and turned to look. Whatever it was, was gone, just like Anthony was when he turned back around.
He took a few deep breaths and pulled his phone out. He was going to text Ali, because he wanted to, not because he was told to.
***
Ali was thrilled when class had been let out for the day. She had some papers to grade but wanted to get to the barn and try to start moving things around and get them set up for the haunted house. There were only three weeks until Halloween and she was more excited over this year than any other.
She should be sad since it was the last year she’d be doing this, but Liam had offered to help and had some great ideas since he was such a big fan of Halloween. She was looking forward to this when everything else around her might not be going so great.
That wasn’t true though. Things weren’t going as bad as she thought or even imagined when this all came about weeks ago.
Her mother was happy and healthy.
Ali was happy and healthy as well. Well, happier than she was when her mother dropped the bombshell on her.
Though she knew darn well she’d get more upset about everything as the time got closer to when her mother would sign it all over to Liam.
But deep down, there
was a weight lifted off of Ali’s shoulders right now. As much as she’d always wanted to keep the farm in the family, she did wonder how she would have made it all work. How she would have pulled it together with time and money when she had so little of both.
At least she’d know the farm would be carrying on everything her grandfather always wanted.
When the last student was out the door, she took her phone out and saw a text from Liam. Just the person she’d been thinking about all day.
She was missing him. Sure, they’d texted back and forth every day for the last four days, but they only talked once and she hadn’t seen him since they parted ways at the farm. He hadn’t even kissed her when he left because her mother was there watching.
Ali didn’t remember a time when her mother watched as much as she did that night, and it was both annoying and frustrating.
She typed back a quick reply to Liam that she’d love to have dinner tonight. It didn’t take long for him to say he’d pick her up at five at her house.
She wanted to tell him she had plans, if it could be later, but she decided to let it go. She just wanted to see him so much and there was time yet for the haunted house.
Once she’d left the school, she drove home and showered, then changed her clothes. With an hour left before he was due to show up, she pulled out pictures of the haunted houses of the past and looked at all the things she’d done prior.
She must have been looking through them longer than she thought because the next thing she knew there was a knock at the door.
She jumped up and opened it to see Liam standing there smiling away...until he got a good look at her face. “Why are you crying?”
She lifted her hands to her face, noticing they came away wet. “Sorry. I didn’t even know I was. I was looking at old pictures.”
“Of what?” he asked, moving in and then giving her a little cuddle. It was exactly what she needed right now without even knowing she actually needed it. Or craved it so much.
“Pictures of the haunted house from years ago. I pull them out and look at my notes before I get ready to do things. There were several in there from when I was a kid with my grandfather. I guess I lost track of time.”
“It made you upset?” he asked, knuckling a tear that was escaping.
“Actually, no. I didn’t even realize I was crying. I know I was smiling. I guess they were good memories, but kind of sad too. I just love doing the haunted house. It was mine and my grandfather’s thing. I came up with the idea and he dove right in like he always did when he got his teeth into something.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah. It’s one of my fondest memories of the orchard. How the trees were even spooky leading to the barn. Whatever you guys did, it worked great.”
“I usually rent a smoke machine and have it all around the outside and inside. Nothing like getting people worked up before they get to the barn.”
“And the tombstones? Those things were eerily real.”
She laughed. “I’m an elementary school teacher. I’ve got all sorts of tricks up my sleeve for decorations.”
“You made all of them?” he asked.
She felt some pride in his reaction. “Most of the stuff outside is my doing. Even inside. I’ve got a good hand with paints and makeup even though I’m kind of plain myself when it comes to makeup. My grandfather did a lot of the heavy lifting and constructing of it.”
Just the memory was making her smile rather than be weepy. This was definitely the best send off she could get for turning the farm over.
“Then I can be the one to step into your grandfather’s shoes.”
“He had some big shoes to fill, but if anyone can do it, you can.”
She leaned up and kissed him quick.
Seeing Ghosts
Liam had a moment of panic when Ali opened her door and he saw the tears running down her face.
All he could think of was fixing whatever hurt she was feeling. Pulling her in, holding her tight and telling her everything would be all right. He’d find a way to make it happen.
There was part relief that her tears were happy ones, and part sadness too. He knew what she was feeling as he often felt it when he thought of his own father. He’d hoped time would make things better but had a feeling it might be a pipe dream at best on both their parts.
Even though he hadn’t lived on the same side of the US with his parents for years, he was pretty close to both of them. Being an only child tended to make that happen.
“I had planned on going out, but now I’m thinking of changing my mind,” he said, watching as she picked up the photo albums she must have been going through. He grabbed one before she could put it in a box and flipped through, finding pictures of Ali as a teen and Anthony looking much younger than he had when Liam had just seen him today.
Wait? Did that thought just cross his mind? No, he wasn’t going down that path. Not here and not now. He wasn’t seeing ghosts, nor was he carrying on annoying conversations with them.
“I don’t have anything to cook here. Or nothing that’s thawed. I’d actually thought of just making a salad tonight. I could run to the store and get something though.”
“Why don’t we bring these photos with us and go back to my place? I’ve got some steaks I can grill and potatoes to add with it. Simple enough. It will give us time to just talk.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
He grabbed the box the albums were in while she went to get her jacket and purse, then locked up, and they left.
It didn’t take long to get to his house on the lake, or hear her suck a breath in. “Okay. I didn’t expect this.”
He looked at the house as they pulled down the long driveway. It was a one-story house with a pitched roof in the center. If she was impressed by the front, she had no clue what she was going to see in the back, as the lake view was by far the most impressive part of the house in his eyes.
The back of the house was all glass up to the pitched ceilings. In the center was the main living area, all open, living room, dining room, large kitchen. One side of the house had the master suite and his office, and the other side had three bedrooms and two baths. The basement was finished too, but he never used anything down there other than the home gym. It was a lot of house, he knew, but his parents had often come to visit and it allowed everyone the privacy they all needed.
“Did you build this?” she asked.
“No. I did renovate it.” They pulled into his garage and walked through a mudroom, then down the hall where the three guest bedrooms were housed. “This part of the house was here originally. I opened up the main living area all the way to the ceilings, knocked down walls and redid it all. Then I put the addition on the other side to make the house seem more balanced rather than lopsided.”
“I would have never known that one side of the house wasn’t here.”
“That was the idea.”
“Holy shit.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Sorry. This is beautiful.” She was turning in a circle and looking everywhere, then walked over to the four glass doors off the living and dining room that opened to a covered patio. “It’s like indoor and outdoor living here.”
“That was the object.”
“You’re going to cook out there, right? It’s like there are two kitchens here,” she said, looking at the outdoor one that housed his grill.
“For now I can still use the grill. Pretty soon it will be too cold for it, but I use it as much as I can and try to keep any snow from under there too.”
“This is much better than going to a restaurant.”
He’d set the box down on the couch, then pulled her in and kissed her hard. “I’m glad I had a change of mind then.”
“Did you have any other ideas for tonight?” she asked, her eyes glowing like a sparkler on the Fourth of July.
“Are you trying to test me?”
“I’m thinking I’m si
ck of testing myself. That maybe it’s time I took a little initiative.”
“Did I ever tell you I like a woman that takes control?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You didn’t, but I can be someone you like.”
It was the look in her eyes telling him he was in for one hell of a treat and he couldn’t wait. He swung her up in his arms and started walking to the other end of the house. She was giggling, but he kissed the noise from her lips.
It seemed like he’d been waiting for this day for years rather than weeks. He was thinking...needing...craving her in a way that only a man ready to lay it all on the line ever wanted anything. Ever thought of throwing it all away for just that one person.
He’d never felt or thought that before and knew that tonight was the turning point for him.
He laid her on the bed, then came down on top of her, just feeling her body under his. Fully clothed or naked, at the moment it didn’t matter when he knew he was going to have her. When he knew she was going to yield so easily...when she was feeling the same way.
“Liam?”
“Yes,” he said, his lips moving all over her neck. She tasted like honey and he’d always had a sweet tooth.
“I want to remind you that I was the one that was taking the initiative, but I’m willing to hand it over if you get up and let me get naked.”
He laughed. “I can do that.”
Rolling off of her, he stood up and started to undress, then watched as she did the same, the two of them reaching for one another quickly after. “Don’t get any ideas about going slow tonight. There is plenty of time for slow at a different date. Now I just want it too much.”
“What is it you want?” he asked, returning them to the same position on his bed.