The Apple Tree (9 page)

Levi remembered the warm summer day, back in 1878. He’d walked downstairs to find his wife, wearing her blue traveling dress and standing beside her trunk, by the door.

“
Edith, where are you going?”

“
I’m leaving. I’m going to my sister’s and I’m not coming back. I’m sorry, Levi.” She avoided his eyes, looking instead at the gas lamps hanging from the wall.

He stepped forward, reaching out to her. “You aren’t coming back?” He dropped his hand, letting the meaning of her words sink in. “We have a life here. How can you just leave?” Admittedly, it hadn’t been the happiest life, but he was committed to her. How could she not feel the same?

“
What kind of life is this?” She threw up her arms. “We have no children. It’s been twenty years, Levi. You haven’t changed at all. My face is covered in wrinkles and yours…It’s not natural. The devil has been here.” She pointed her finger toward him. “I don’t know what kind of deal you made with him but I want no part of it.”

The words sliced through him like a sword. “The devil? What are you talking about? I don’t know why I haven’t aged, but I’m not the only one. Look at Charles and Anna. Look at Wiley, Margaret, Peter. I can’t explain it, but I’m not the only one!” He fiddled with the button on his waistcoat. He knew Edith had never been happy with him. But…they were married in the eyes of God. There had to be a way to make it work.

“
Levi, I’m leaving. You’re a demon and I will not be a part of it.” She turned,
her skirt swishing as she stepped outside. “I’ll send James for my trunk.”

The squawk of an angry hen, on the other side of the cabin, brought Levi back to the present. He laid his head against the chopping stump and sighed. No, Bianca could never accept him.

B
ianca awoke the next morning thinking of Levi. Why was the guy so hard to get out of her head? Sitting up, she stretched and remembered she and Peter were heading to the park that morning. She hopped out from under the covers and pulled the sheets back over the pillow.

Should she feel guilty for thinking about Levi when she had a date with Peter? It wasn’t like she had a commitment to either one of them. They’d just met. And she wasn’t really interested in Levi. After all, he’d been sitting outside her apartment. Creepy. But, there was still something about him…

After making her bed, she opened the closet to find something to wear. She removed a yellow sweater and held it against herself in the mirror. The color made her skin look washed-out. She must’ve had a temporary bout of psychosis when she’d bought it. Such a waste of money.

Replacing the sweater, she settled on a green sundress and added a cardigan, leggings and brown boots to make it more fall appropriate. Then, she hopped downstairs to have breakfast.

Owen sat in his booster seat, scooping his cereal with his spoon and dumping it on the kitchen table. Her mother ignored the mess and instead made coffee.

“
Pour me a cup too, please.” Bianca pulled a mug from the cupboard. She frowned at the box of cereal on the counter. “Why do you feed Owen that junk? Did you know eating the cardboard box is more nutritious than the cereal? They’ve done studies.”

“
Sorry, we can’t all be food purists like you.” Her mother rolled her eyes.

Bianca gave her a smirk and grabbed a hard-boiled egg and a grapefruit from the fridge. “By the way, Dad called yesterday.”

Her mother looked up from the cup she poured. “He did?”

“
Yeah.” She paused, unsure how to break the news. “Apparently, Amber’s pregnant.”

Her mother’s face froze. She eased the decanter back on the coffee machine, turned and walked upstairs without a word.

Bianca watched her leave, regretting having brought it up. It was obvious her mother had never gotten over the rejection of her father leaving them. Regardless of the fact that she’d already had a child by another man, her father would always be the bad one for breaking up the marriage. Bianca sighed. Her mother would’ve found out about the new baby eventually. Might as well get it out in the open.

After finishing breakfast, she cleaned up Owen’s mess and placed some crayons and coloring books in front of him. Then she sat down on the futon, facing the window and waited for Peter. The clock read nine fifty-eight.

He should be here any minute. She tapped her foot.

On the wall, beside the TV, hung her collection of beach photographs. They’d been taken the summer before her father left, and reminded her of happier times, but looking at them now, they seemed rather amateurish. Were Peter’s photos any better? She tapped her foot again.

Standing, she walked to the small mirror hanging beside the coat closet and examined her hair. A sigh of relief escaped her. It hadn’t turned into a frizzy mess and was passable. Returning to the futon, she tapped her foot.

The sound of a car engine roared down the street and she popped up to look out the window.

An extravagant silver sports car pulled into the parking spot in front of her apartment. Peter sat in the driver’s seat.

Uh… Wow.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside, and met him on the walkway. She paused for a moment, taking him in.

He wore a tight charcoal henley shirt with dark wash jeans. While Levi had the huge developed muscles of someone who worked physically every day, Peter was tall and lean, still firm, but in a city boy kind of way.

“
Good morning.” Peter gave her a wink. He walked around, opened the passenger door and nodded for her to hop in.

The leather seats were soft and warm against her hands. Every knob and dial on his dashboard shined and it smelled like expensive cologne. The car screamed sexy, rich male and only intensified her nerves.

After they both buckled, she turned to him. “You must be a pretty successful photographer.”

He chuckled and swung out of the parking space.

The tires crunched over the gravel as he pulled into the parking lot on the south side of Avery Park. They stopped in front of the covered picnic area and she climbed out to meet him at the hood of the car.

An auburn camera bag hung over his shoulder. He held out his hand and when their fingers touched, it sent tingles through her arm and down the rest of her body. He smiled. “Did I tell you, you look beautiful today?”

Her cheeks warmed. “Thank you. You look… great…too.” Great was too tame a word. More like sexy and alluring, but she’d never say that out loud.

A smirk crossed his face and his fingers threaded through hers. They walked together into the grassy expanse. Old growth trees surrounded the area and dotted the inside, covering it in shade. In the distance, an old black steam engine stood on a bed of sawdust. Children used it as a climbing structure, including herself when she’d been small.

She shivered, pulled her cardigan closed and wished she’d worn something warmer. When they reached the line of trees, Peter set his bag down and retrieved a large black camera. He pointed it at the sun streaming through the moss covered branches overhead, clicking away and then moving to a slightly different angle, where he took more. He showed her the digital images. They were stunning.

“
The cameras today are so much easier to use. I love being able to see the photograph right away. Much better than film.”

She nodded. “You have such a fancy camera though. I bet any picture taken with that thing would turn out great.”

He pulled the lens from his face and raised an eyebrow. “You think you can take one that looks as nice?”

What had she just gotten herself into? She smiled.

“
Give me your cell phone,” he said. “I’ll take a photo with your phone’s camera and you can use my big fancy camera. We’ll see whose picture is better.”

“
You’re on.” She feigned confidence, pulled her phone out of her bag and tossed it to Peter.

With a grin, he handed her his camera. It weighed more than she’d imagined.

“
Except, I have no idea how to use this thing.” She examined the screen, tapping the power switch by accident.

He mock gasped at her mistake, chuckled and then gave her a quick lesson, showing her what each dial and button did. She was in over her head.

Holding out her phone, he focused on a bird hopping along one of the picnic tables. She tried to do the same with his camera. They each took a few photos and then the bird flew away.

“
Okay, look through what you took and show me the best one.”

She pushed the arrow button, flipping through the photos. They were pretty good. Selecting one, she held it out for him to see.

He raised an eyebrow, smiled and seemed to be suppressing a laugh. “Not bad.” His arm extended, showing her the phone screen. “Here’s mine.”

The sun filtered through the trees at exactly the right angle so it lit up the bird’s indigo feathers. It was an amazing photograph.

“
Fine, you win.”

A pleasant chuckle broke through him. “Here, I’ll give you a really simple tip. Pay attention to the background.”

She looked down at her photo and realized what he meant. Behind the bird she’d captured another picnic bench and a garbage can. “Wow, that’s a no brainer.”

“
So you admit it requires skill and not just expensive equipment?” He held out his hand for his camera.

Passing it back, she took her cell phone in her other hand. “Yes, Mr. Amazing Photographer.” Her eyes rolled.

He playfully shoved her shoulder and they both laughed.

“
Are you hungry?” he asked. “I’ve got a picnic lunch in the car.”

She tossed her phone back in her bag. “That sounds great.”

“
Wait here, I’ll go get it.” He jogged to the car, while she sat on a bench and waited. A couple lay on a blanket a little ways away. She turned her head, as the woman giggled and rolled on top of the man. Bianca stood and found a better spot to have their picnic, away from the couple. It would be awkward to have that going on next to them when Peter returned.

A few minutes later, he returned carrying a wicker picnic basket and the black leather jacket he’d worn at the bar. “You looked cold.” He handed her the jacket.

“
Thank you.” She smiled and wrapped it around her shoulders, grateful for the warmth it offered.

He withdrew a green checkered blanket from the basket and spread it across the grass. Lying on his side, he patted the spot next to him. What could be more inviting than that?

She sat, caressing the soft fibers of the blanket and wondering how it compared to his skin. Her cheeks grew warm.

His gaze ran over her face and he winked. Had he noticed her blush? Her unfortunate reaction was to blush even harder.

The basket contained a tray of fruit, cheese and crackers and a bottle of white wine. Obviously, he’d picked the tray up at a fancy deli. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who did a lot of cooking. He held up the wine. “Sorry, I forgot glasses. We’ll have to just drink from the bottle.”

“
You know, it’s barely noon. Isn’t it a little early for drinking?”

He used a corkscrew from the basket. “It’s only wine. I’m not making you take shots.”

The wine did sound good, refreshing. She gathered a cluster of grapes from the tray and popped one in her mouth. It tasted perfectly sweet and crisp.

“
I hope you don’t mind coming here,” he said. “I could have taken you to some posh restaurant, but honestly, I’m bored with those places. This is more fun.” He took a swig from the bottle and passed it to her.

She took a sip. “I always feel out of place in fancy restaurants anyway. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly as loaded as you seem to be.”

A grin crossed his lips and he ran his hand through his shaggy black hair. “Rich people can be snobby, but you shouldn’t feel out of place. I can tell you have class, even if you don’t have a lot of money.”

This guy was smooth, but she had to admit, she liked the flattery. She lifted a slice of cheese. “So, did you really make your fortune with just photography or do you have some sort of scandalous secret business?”