The Apple Tree (7 page)

Bianca gathered the drinks she’d ordered as the music continued to pulse in the background. She balanced one carefully between her arm and side, holding another drink in each hand. Concentrating, so she wouldn’t drop one and look like a total idiot in front of the sexy guy she’d just met.

“
Let me help you with that.” Peter took the glass of wine from her.

“
Thank you.” So, he was attractive and a gentleman. Things were looking up. They walked back to the table where they overheard her friends discussing the merits of college football.

“
Hey, guys, this is Peter.” She nodded toward him while handing Stephanie her drink.

“
Good evening, ladies.” He set the glass in front of Kate. “This must be yours?”

Kate nodded, gaping at him.

“
Sit down with us.” Stephanie patted the empty bench beside her, widening her eyes at Bianca with a look that said,
Nice catch!

Bianca smiled and sat on the leather bench, next to Kate.

“
You were talking about this town’s lousy football team?” Peter raised an eyebrow in Kate and Stephanie's direction as he sat.

“
They are not lousy!” Stephanie punched him lightly in the arm.

He chuckled. “They haven’t won any games yet this season, but I guess it’s only just started. What do you think, Bianca?”

She shrugged and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t care about football. I guess the games are fun sometimes.”

“
What do you care about?”
His deep blue eyes stared straight at hers.

“
Uh…” She had no idea what to say to that and felt like a stammering idiot.

He smiled and a dimple sunk into his left cheek. “I’m sorry, that was a weird question. I just meant, tell me about yourself. Are you a student?”

“
I was. I dropped out last year.” She fiddled with her glass. It wasn’t like she was proud to be twenty-three and spending her life making pizzas.

“
You can’t decide what to do with your life,” he said, not a question, he stated it as fact.

Not entirely true. She loved food, but how could she explain she ran a tiny little blog and hoped to one day turn it into something successful? The idea sounded ridiculous, even to her.

“
I’m a student,” Kate interjected. “I’m almost finished with my master’s in history.”

“
Ah, history.” He rested his arm on the bench behind him. “One of my favorite subjects.”

The conversation turned toward movies. When they debated the greatest movie of all time, Bianca argued for
Gone with the Wind
while Stephanie and Kate chose
The Notebook
. Peter declared them all wrong and claimed the greatest movies of all time were the
Star Wars
Trilogy
. The girls laughed at his statement.

“
I knew you couldn’t be as perfect as you look,” said Stephanie. “Here, Peter.” She pushed her empty glass toward him with a huge grin. “Why don’t you use the force to fill up my glass?”

He laughed, a deep booming sound, drawing the attention of the people around their table. Then he did as he was told and returned from the bar a few minutes later with new drinks for them all. His sense of humor pleased Bianca. Some men were intimidated by Stephanie’s teasing and boldness, although her friend always meant well.

“
So Peter, what do you do?” asked Kate as he handed her another pinot noir.

“
I’m a photographer.” The candlelight danced in his eyes, temporarily entrancing Bianca. The man was drop dead sexy, but there was something deeper, something almost dangerous in his gaze and it made her shiver. Although, she wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or excitement.

“
Ay, don’t tell us,” said Stephanie. “You’re looking for models and you want us to come back with you to your hotel room so you can make us famous, right?”

Peter laughed again. “You’re funny.” He pointed toward Stephanie. “But no, I mostly do landscapes. Sometimes I’ll do an event or two.”

Bianca smiled at him, wishing she could see some of his work.

“
I love photography.” Kate looked up through her black mascara covered lashes, “I’ve always wanted to learn how to take better pictures.”

A wave of annoyance washed through Bianca at the look in Kate’s eyes, but she pushed it back and forced herself to stay pleasant.

“
It’s not that hard, I taught myself,” Peter said. “You can learn anything you want to on the internet these days.”

Kate nodded and reached across the table to the triangle folded bar menu, knocking her drink over in the process. Deep red liquid spread over the table like blood.

“
I’ll get something to clean it up.” Bianca hurried to the bar where a stack of white napkins sat beside the straws. Bringing them to the table, she helped Kate clean the mess. Peter’s eyes followed her carefully, making her a little uncomfortable. “What?” she asked.

“
I’m sorry, nothing. It’s just…” His eyes narrowed. “You remind me of someone I used to know.”

Unsure how to respond, she offered a shy smile.

“
It’s getting late, girls.” Stephanie glanced around the table at her friends.

“
You’re right,” said Bianca. The thumping music was starting to give her a headache anyway. “It was nice to meet you, Peter.”

“
The pleasure’s all mine.” He nodded toward her. “But before you leave, give me your number.”

She bit her lip, considering. Something about his charming smile and flirty eyes convinced her to say yes.

The sound of her ringing cell phone woke Bianca the next morning. Groaning, she reached for the phone and looked at the caller ID. She sat up, surprised and panicked for a moment, unsure if she should answer or let it go to voicemail. Finally, she took a deep breath and pressed the button, squeezing the phone to her ear.

“
Hello.”

“
Bianca, hi. It’s your father,” said a deep gruff voice. “How have you been? I’ve been meaning to call you.”

It’d been over a year since he’d spoken to her. “I’m fine. How are you?”

“
Doing good, yep.” An awkward pause. “Still work at that pizza place?”

“
Yes.”

“
Oh, okay.” He sniffed and they suffered through another moment of silence.

“
How’s Amber?” Amber was the woman he’d run away with six years ago. She was twenty years younger than him and thought spandex was appropriate everyday attire.

“
Actually that’s why I called, Amber’s pregnant. You’re going to have a little brother.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Wow, okay. Another brother.
Congratulations Dad.”

“
Another one? Oh, yeah. I always forget about that little boy of your mother’s.”

“
Yeah, his own father forgets about him too.”

“
Oh. Well, I should have called sooner. The baby’s due in a couple weeks.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the notice.”

There was a pause. “I’m sorry it’s been so long, Bianca. You know, I’m proud of you. You remind me of your mother.”

“
The woman she used to be, you mean? Before you left her.” She hated the way her voice sounded so bitter.

“
Yes, well, we all change, Bianca.” He cleared his throat. “I know you’re still angry with me, but I’m happier now. It was for the best that I left. Besides, you’re old enough to care for yourself now.”

Except that she spent most of her time caring for her emotionally damaged mother. But, it didn’t seem right to bring that up. No sense in everyone being unhappy, even if he was the cause of it all.

“
I should go. Tell your mom hi for me. I’ll send pictures of the baby when he’s born.”

“
Okay. Bye, Dad.” Hanging up, she regretted answering at all.

Her head fell back on the fluffy pillow and she lay in bed for a few minutes, thinking about her father’s news. Despite her bitterness, it made her happy to know that he was happy. Would her mother ever find the same kind of peace?

She pulled the covers up higher around her shoulders. The mornings were getting colder and she thought of her plants outside on the porch. Today she should pick the vegetables before they froze and if she had time, she’d go to the farmer’s market to buy more.

The clock on her dresser said eight. She should probably get up. Pushing the blankets aside, she swung her cold toes out to the carpet and rubbed her face.

Levi had a garden beside his cabin. Would he be harvesting soon as well?

Sighing, she stood and turned around to make her bed, adjusting the sheets until they lay flat. She hardly knew Levi and yet, he seemed to keep popping into her thoughts.

She was still confused about what happened the other day at the pizza parlor. Surely, she’d seen blood on Levi’s finger, but there hadn’t been a mark on his hand. Had the blood come from somewhere else? She racked her brain for ideas, but nothing made sense.

After changing into a pair of jeans and a vintage t-shirt, she hopped down the stairs to find some breakfast.

Levi meandered his way through the crowded farmer’s market. Families with strollers and dogs lingered in front of packed produce stands. The scent of mint and sage hung in the air as he passed a table covered in herbs. He nodded toward the older gentleman behind the money box and continued down the street.

He planned to check on Bianca later, but had forced himself to go through with his normal routine first and Saturdays meant the market. Most weeks, he didn’t buy much. His garden and chickens provided substantial food for his needs, but there were things he’d given up on producing himself since he was only one man. And it felt good to lose himself in the crowd.

He paused in front of a bread stand, looking over the loaves.

“
Can I help you?” A young blonde sat behind the table and batted her eyelashes at him. She wore a teal sundress, a white cardigan and entirely too much make-up.

“
Uh, yeah. I’ll take this one.” He grabbed a sourdough and held it up.

“
Okay, that’s six dollars.”

He dug through his wallet and handed her the cash.

She accepted with a smile and then leaned over the stacks of baked goods, her cleavage spilling out, to hand him a business card. “Give me a call if you have a special order… or anything.”

He nodded and quickly turned away, dropping the bread into his cloth shopping bag along with the package of ground beef and the honey he’d bought earlier. The woman was attractive, but he didn’t date. It wasn’t worth the risk to get close to anyone and he wasn’t a one night stand kind of guy.

So why couldn’t he stop thinking about Bianca?

A guitar player stood at the corner and he threw a few bucks in the open case, then found a bench to sit and eat a slice of the sour bread. A middle aged couple strolled past, holding several baskets of groceries.

“
I can’t believe you paid seventeen dollars for a dead chicken!” The man huffed and shook his balding head.

The woman rolled her brown eyes. “It’s pastured and organic. Besides, you’ll thank me when you smell it roasting in the oven.”

Levi chuckled to himself and the memory of his arguments with Edith streamed through his head. Of course, his wife hadn’t wasted money on practical things like food. Her favorite splurges had been expensive bolts of cloth and exotic concoctions from the apothecary. They never had gotten along very well.

Levi, you don’t understand me. Levi, can’t you do anything right? Levi, leave me alone. I don’t want you to touch me.
Edith’s cold, calculated voice still rang in head accompanied by the familiar sinking of his stomach. No matter how hard he tried, he’d never been a good enough husband for her.