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She filled two quart-sized containers with fresh strawberries. The day before, she and Reese had gone strawberry picking at Nash Farm, a family-owned farm in town. They usually went three or four times a year. It was a tradition she’d started right after Reese started walking. Since then they’d added blueberry and raspberry picking in the summer and, of course, apple picking in the fall. Often, they’d eat some of what they picked then Mom would use some to make strawberry jam before freezing the rest. Rather than freeze any this time, Mom suggested she bring some with her when she went over to Curt’s house. She’d last seen him Friday night after work. Reese had insisted she should ask him to come strawberry picking with them, but she hadn’t mentioned it. As much as she enjoyed spending time with him, there were some traditions she didn’t want anyone, including Curt, intruding on. Yesterday’s outing was one of them. Turned out he had plans anyway. He hadn’t gone into detail, but let her know he was attending his cousin’s bachelor party in Rhode Island.
“Good, you remembered the strawberries.” Mom walked into the kitchen, Reese trailing behind her. They both had on old clothes and hats. She stole a strawberry from the large bowl Taylor hadn’t yet put away. “Reese and I are going to start on the garden. Hopefully, by the time you come home, we’ll have most of the plants in the ground.”
Growing up, Taylor had helped Mom plant seeds in the fenced garden area behind the house. After too many years of plants not growing well, Mom had switched her strategy. Now she planted the seeds in special containers in the house. Once they were large enough, she transplanted them into the ground. She’d noticed yesterday that Mom had carried all the containers outside to the patio.
“Have fun. What are you planting this year?”
Although she never enjoyed helping, she did like having the fresh vegetables in the house. The tomatoes and carrots from the store didn’t come close to tasting as good as the ones from Mom’s garden. Reese seemed to like helping with the garden. She even did some of the weeding and watering as the growing season progressed.
“Tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, peppers.” Reese counted each one off on her fingers as she went along. Taylor noticed she’d already slipped on her new gardening gloves, the ones the Easter bunny had left in her basket this year, along with a new bathing suit. “Did I miss anything, Mimi?”
“And zucchini. Hopefully, it does better this year.” Mom added the last item to Reese’s list.
“Sounds like we’ll have a lot of fresh veggies this summer.”
“Where are you and Curt going on your date, Auntie?”
She had no idea. He’d asked her to leave today open, but hadn’t shared any other details. So far, she’d enjoyed the time she’d spent with him. She expected the same to be true today. “I don’t know.”
“Tell him you want to go to Jump.” Reese loved the new indoor trampoline park that had opened over the winter in Manchester.
Taylor gathered up the containers and her keys. “I don’t think he’ll want to go there today.” She didn’t want to go there either. She’d seen adults enjoying Jump. The place even had a ladies’ night once a week for everyone over twenty-one, and a competitive dodge ball league for anyone over eighteen. But while she took Reese and her friends there all the time because they loved it, she had no interest in going without them. Curt didn’t seem like the type to enjoy the place either.
The motorcycle parked near the front door with two helmets dangling from the handlebars gave her a small clue of their plans today. He’d mentioned owning one, but she’d never seen him use it.
She paused and looked over the bike. She’d passed them countless times in parking lots but never got too close. Today she did, because Curt wouldn’t mind if she took a closer look. The instrument panel appeared to contain gauges similar to those in a car. She didn’t recognize the company emblem on the motorcycle, but it appeared to be a top-of-the line model. This didn’t look like the type of bike a man would put in front of his house with a For Sale sign attached. They’d never discussed finances, but if his book had been as big a hit as Mom claimed and he’d left his full-time job in Boston, she assumed he was doing rather well for himself. Not to mention all the money he must be putting into the renovation of the house. Even smaller jobs, like when Dad redid
the kitchen floor, became costly. Redoing an entire house had to be insanely expensive, even if Curt was doing most of the work himself.
“Just on my way to get you. I thought you’d forgotten about me.” Curt walked down the front steps and across the walkway.
Like any woman could forget him, and he knew it. Not that he was conceited about it, but he had a confidence about him that let Taylor know he knew the kind of effect he had on the opposite sex.
“Well, I wanted to help them plant the garden, but Reese reminded me you and I have plans today.” She enjoyed teasing him, and he often reciprocated.
Slipping his arms around her, he smiled. “I’ll have to thank her later. Right now, I want to concentrate on you.” His voice became low and sensual. “I missed you last night.”
Curt’s hands traveled lower, slipping into her back pockets, and he traced her lips for a moment before kissing her. He kept the kiss slow and undemanding, but still shivers of desire raced through her. When he did pull away, she contemplated pulling his face back to hers and enjoying herself more. The strawberries she held made it impossible.
“I missed you, too. Did you have fun at the party?”
“Are you asking if I had fun, or do you really want to know if I behaved myself?” Curt asked.
She worked with enough men to know what sometimes went on at bachelor parties. Curt seemed too classy to partake in those kinds of things, but when guys got together, stuff happened. “Maybe both,” she reluctantly admitted.
“Yes, I had fun, and yes, I behaved myself. We went to a rock climbing gym not far from Providence. My uncle Mark and father came, too. Afterwards, we went for drinks at a club downtown. As far as bachelor parties go, it was enjoyable but tame. The kind I prefer.”
She’d never met his relatives, but she liked them already. “I’m glad you had fun.”
“What did you do yesterday?”
“After strawberry picking, we had a family game night.” It killed her to do so, but she pulled away from him and held up the containers she carried. “I brought you some of them.”
“Isn’t it a little early for strawberry picking around here?” Curt asked, accepting the containers.
“For strawberries planted outside, yes. These were grown in the farm’s giant, or as Reese calls it, ginormous greenhouse. Sometime in June we’ll go again and pick the ones growing outside.”
“Never heard of a farm growing strawberries indoors.”
