Daisy shrieked with delight as her father hoisted her onto his shoulders. Her tiny fingers clutched fistfuls of his sun-bleached hair. Suddenly, she yanked it, and Mitch yelped, dropping the bag of apples slung over his shoulder. Shelly leapt over the apples rolling all around them.
Ivy laughed as she snapped a series of photos. “Got it.”
Looking over her shoulder, Bennett laughed. “That’s a great shot. Look at their expressions.”
Mitch made a face. “You want to trade places?”
Bennett shook his head. “My hair is too short for her to hang onto.”
Vanz quickly knelt to help pick up apples.
Knowing how much this outing meant to her sister, Ivy kept taking photos. In a few months, snow would blanket this quaint mountain village that was so close to Summer Beach.
Ivy filmed a short video, recalling how she used to take her daughters to play in the snow in Boston as kids. But she and Shelly had grown up along the sunny Southern California coast.
Ivy turned to Shelly. “Remember when Mom and Dad used to bring us up here to see the snow?”
Shelly’s eyes brightened. “We’ll have to do that later this year. Daisy can build a snowman, and I’ll teach her how to throw snowballs at Daddy.”
Daisy laughed and squealed at the idea.
Shelly motioned to Ivy and Bennett. “Come help us. Before Daisy gets cranky, we need more apples for all those pies Mitch has planned.”
“She’s doing fine,” Mitch said. “Ginger Delavie gave me some family recipes for apple pie, apple fritters, and analmond-apple butter cake. Those will go well with our pumpkin spice coffee.”
“Sounds like you’ll be busy in the kitchen,” Ivy said.
“Anything for my girls.” Mitch grinned as he plucked an apple for Daisy, and Shelly kissed him on the cheek.
Laughing, Ivy snapped a few more photos. She noticed Vanz holding back, so she encouraged him to join them. He was a little awkward at first, but Mitch clowned around with him until he laughed.
“Look at Daisy go.” Shelly picked an apple with her daughter and laughed, placing it in the canvas bag slung across her shoulder. Already half-full, the bag bounced against her hip as she reached for another branch. They switched off with Daisy again.
A few minutes later, Mitch emerged from between the rows, his paper bag bulging. Leaves clung to his flannel shirt. “This is so cool. Maybe we could invest in an orchard up here someday.”
“Don’t even joke about that,” Shelly shot back, though her smile softened the words.
Ivy watched her sister’s easy banter with Mitch and Vanz as they picked apples. Mitch instinctively steadied Shelly when she stood on her toes to reach higher fruit, and Vanz shyly helped her pick apples.
Bennett held out his hand to her. “Let’s pick some apples, sweetheart.”
“We need a lot of apple pies for our extended family.” She tucked her hand into his. “We’ll have a huge celebration this year.”
Ivy’s mind was spinning with Thanksgiving feast possibilities. Pumpkins arranged across the inn’s wide frontterrace, strings of lights giving a soft glow, and a buffet laden with a harvest-themed menu.
Bennett chuckled. “We should fill a barrel with water and have apple bobbing. The kids would love that.”
“More, Daddy.” Daisy’s high voice rang out. She was perched on Mitch’s shoulders, reaching toward an apple just beyond her grasp.
He obliged, lifting her higher.
After they finished picking apples, they loaded them into the back of the vehicle. Next, they stopped for pumpkin soup at a cafe and then stopped to buy pies.
“Can’t go wrong when a place is called Mom’s.” Mitch took his time to choose the best-looking flaky pies to bring home with them. “We’ll have homemade pies for our big feast, though.”
As the pies were being wrapped for take-out, Daisy began to grow tired and fussy.
“Babe, can you hurry?” Shelly held Daisy in her arms, pacing to soothe her. “I think we need to get back on the road. Daisy is growing tired. I hope the car ride will lull her to sleep before she starts screaming.”
