Page 12 of Cider for the Mountain Man

As if feeling my eyes on her, she turns to look my way. "Want a taste?"

Oh, if only she knew.

Slowing to a stop, I bend down to her level and snag a bite. It tastes exactly how it smells, and even more; it earns me a giggle from the beauty.

She reaches up and swipes away the powder clinging to my beard hairs. Her touch slows as I lick at the remaining crumbs against my lips.

Maybe we both have it pretty bad.

We get lost staring at each other for a few passing seconds before a sudden gasp comes from my other side.

"Daddy! Mommy! Look!"

Before I can answer, a blur of energy hurtles away from us. Alicia, our six-year-old, skids to a stop in front of us, her brown curls bouncing under a tiny knitted orange beanie. She points with full-bodied enthusiasm toward the center pavilion, where a long wooden trough brimming with water and bright red apples sits surrounded by cheering kids.

"They're bobbing for apples!" Alicia bounces on her toes, her hands clutched together. "Can I do it? Please? I'm fast, I can catch a big one!"

Valerie glances at me, raising an eyebrow at our daughter's sheer determination. We both know it’ll be a terrible idea.

"You sure you want to get your face soaking wet, squirt?" I ask, chuckling as I drop to one knee to meet her eye level. "The water's pretty cold today."

"I don't care!" she insists, puffing out her chest. "I want the biggest apple they have!"

"Alright, go at it," I tell her, giving her a gentle nudge toward the line. "We'll be right here watching."

"Yes!" She turns and darts toward the trough, blending right into the energetic pack of local kids waiting for their turn.

I wrap an arm around Valerie’s waist from behind, and pull her back against my chest. She leans into me naturally, resting her head against my shoulder as we watch Alicia jockey for a spot at the edge of the tub. Swooping down, I breathe her in and groan deep in my throat.

I bury my face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of crisp autumn air, sweet apples, and her. A low rumble builds in my chest as I lock my arms around her waist.

"What's that growl for?" she chuckles, resting her hands over mine.

"Just remembering," I mutter against her skin. "I used to hate this damn festival. Thought it was the biggest headache of the year—until the day you showed up and changed everything. It’s crazy how long it’s been, but how it still feels like yesterday."

She turns around in my hold, her eyes sparkling as she looks up at me. "So you're saying I'm your favorite festival souvenir?"

"You're my entire life, sweet girl. Both of you are."

She twists around in my grip and wraps her arms around my neck, leaning up on her tiptoes. When her lips meet mine, the kiss is slow, gentle, and tastes distinctly like cinnamon sugar and pumpkin spice.

No matter how many times I taste this woman, I never get tired of it.

A loud cheer erupts from the crowd near the pavilion, breaking our kiss. We pull back just in time to see Alicia pop up from the trough, dripping wet and grinning from ear to ear, a massive red apple clamped firmly in her teeth.

"I got it!" she shouts, her voice muffled around the fruit as she holds it up like a trophy. Water drips from her curls onto her sweater, but she couldn't care less.

“She’s going to freeze to death trying to go through the cornfields next,” I murmur against Valerie’s soft strands.

My wife nods, but then she shakes her head. "There's no way we can skip it, though. It's tradition."

"Far be it from me to break tradition," I say softly, tightening my arm around her waist as Alicia comes sprinting back toward us with her trophy held high. "Especially the part where we go home and celebrate how we got here. Though at this rate, we're going to end up making Alicia a big sister by next autumn."

Valerie turns slightly in my arms, her cheeks flushing a delicious shade of pink as she swats my chest. "Is that a threat, Caden?"

"A promise, sweetheart," I mutter, catching her hand and kissing her knuckles as our daughter decides she wants to go in for another prize.

She can take as long as she wants. No matter what we’re doing here, I know I’ll enjoy myself.