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“Not that part. I mean working with you. It was stressful, and I would happily never spend another morning worrying about somebody else’s oven schedule, but I liked figuring it out with you.”

“I liked it too.”

“You sound surprised.”

“A little. I’m used to the bakery being mine. Matilda’s been there long enough that she barely counts as another person anymore, and when things go wrong, I usually just deal with them.” His expression changed, and he stepped closer. “I liked having you there, Mara. Not because you were organizing us all. Because every time I looked up, you were in the middle of it with me.”

“Me too,” she said quietly. It was true, and that was what caught her by surprise. She was supposed to be leaving in a few days. She had an apartment to empty and a job to go back to. None of it had crossed her mind once today, not in all the hours at his worktable with a phone in one hand. How many days did she even have left?

Gabe held her gaze.

They stood between the rows, their half-filled picking bags forgotten for the moment. Mara caught hold of his jacket and pulled him toward her.

The kiss began gently, but it didn’t stay that way. Mara had spent too much of the day thinking about last night on the porch at cabin seven and what had nearly happened there. So when Gabe drew her against him, she didn’t hold back.

Eventually Mara eased away just enough to rest her forehead against his. “We’re supposed to be working.”

“We are.” Gabe didn’t let her go as he reached up and plucked an apple from the nearest tree.

“We’ll be here all night if we pick apples at that speed.” Mara kissed him once more, quicker this time, before stepping away.

They had barely started picking again when the sound of a car carried from the direction of the barn.

“Looks like reinforcements.” Gabe peered through the trees and lifted a hand when Dana’s SUV came into view.

A moment later Toby and Nell spilled out of the back seat, both still wearing their school clothes beneath their jackets and both talking at once.

“Mom said you need help picking apples.” Toby reached them first with Nell only a few steps behind.

“We do.” Gabe handed him an empty bag. “A lot of them.”

“How many?” Toby looked toward the crates near the end of the row and then back at Gabe.

“Enough that you’re going to regret asking.”

“That sounds like a challenge.” Toby straightened immediately.

Dana caught up with them, shaking her head. “Please don’t encourage him. He spent the whole drive explaining why homework could wait until after we’d picked the orchard clean of apples.”

“It is for charity.” Toby turned to his mother as though this settled everything.

“This is the one and only time we are putting schoolwork on hold for charity.” Dana gave him a look that clearly ended the argument.

“You’re a welcome sight.” Mara shifted the weight of the picking bag higher on her shoulder. “These apples need to get back to Karina tonight.”

Dana smiled at her. “How bad has it been?”

“Hectic, but fun. I’ve learned more about commercial baking in the last twenty-four hours than I ever expected to know.” She tugged her brows together. “Maybe more than I ever wanted to know.”

“And now you’re picking apples.” Dana reached for an empty bag.

“Apparently I’m getting the complete Bear Creek experience,” Mara said.

“Not until you’ve been chased by a pig.” Dana said it so casually Mara had to look at her twice.

“Is that likely?”

“Uncle Gabe got chased last fall,” Toby said helpfully. “You should have seen him run away!”