Chapter Three
April’s alarm woke her. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. She struggled to get out of bed that day, sliding over to the edge of the queen mattress and rolling herself out of it. She wasn’t particularly lazy, but the past few days managed to be more of a drag than she was expecting them to be. April stumbled into the shower, feeling oddly sleep-deprived.
Each night she found herself dreaming of running through the forest and the desert. She was lower to the ground as if she were a child sprinting through the Aconitum foliage and the rows of fruit trees in the Sullivan Orchard. The running, despite being in a dream, left her body weary and more exhausted than she was the night before.
She set the water as hot as she could handle, and sighed as the warm spray rained over her shoulders and back. April stretched her arms, glad to have another day off. It wasn’t often that Jesse gave any of his employees two days off in a week, but it was appreciated. The last day off had been Wednesday when she had picked up her check and talked with James.
April closed her eyes as she let the warm water wash away the flowery suds from her shampoo. Something clicked in her head, and her whole day came together.
April’s eyes flew open.
James!
Their conversation at the diner played back through her head. James had invited her to visit the orchard the next time she had a day off. Sure, James didn’t know that she had the day off, but he had made it pretty clear she could visit unannounced. April hesitated. What if James had changed his mind between Wednesday and Saturday? She shook the thought away and continued scrubbing her hair and body until she was squeaky clean.
April took extra time that morning to make sure she looked good. She wanted to impress James and leave him with sparkles in his eyes.
She had no idea what the day would entail, but she hoped they would take some time to explore the orchard. With the possibility of walking around for a long time in the air, April pulled her hair back into a ponytail and chose a nice-looking, but decently sporty outfit.
A tank top with a cute, floral button-up over it, faded jean shorts and her only pair of tennis shoes. April leaped into her car a little after twelve, figuring it was okay if she didn’t show up exactly at noon.
The drive to the Sullivan Orchard was uneventful. April waved at people from her car when they gave her a wave. It was just one more thing she was unaccustomed to. Men in their cars dipped their hats to her, and she waved back at them. She did her best to take it in stride. Different didn’t mean wrong; after all, the people of Aconitum were only trying to be polite.
April stopped short of entering the wide-open, wrought-iron gate of the Sullivan Orchard. The gate was massive, towering above her even in the car. The name Sullivan was forged in copper lettering over the arch of the gate. It had started to go green with age, but it was a sight to behold nonetheless.
Alongside the Sullivan name were a few iron animals, ranging from wolves to deer to bears. Even from far away, April could see the loving detail put into crafting the animals.
After taking the time to admire the handiwork of the gate, April drove through the gate and into the orchard. Trees stretched as far as the eye could see on either side of her, and in front of her as well. It seemed as if there was no end to them. April marveled at how healthy they looked, despite being in the heat of the desert sun all day long.
The vibrant emerald leaves shimmered in the wind, catching all colors of light and dappling the grassy ground. April drove slowly down the dirt road, taking in each new tree. Each one was a wonder of its own. There were some that were massive and already heavy with unripe fruit. Others were smaller, with only a few buds to offer to the harvest.
Amazement washed through April. She couldn’t fathom how James managed to run an orchard like this on his own. He must have had a good family that taught him well since everything was so alive and bustling.
Bees zipped by April’s car, but they seemed content enough to busy themselves with the flowers that hung from the trees. Here and there, she spotted a small critter at the base of the tree. Besides the mammals and insects, there was a never-ending stream of birds. They seemed to be everywhere, and the pleasant birdsong reached April from all over the orchard.
The beauty of the orchard, what little April got to see of it, did nothing to prepare her for the house that came up between the trees like magic. April wasn’t entirely sure that calling the building a ‘house’ was the best description.
Massive windows faced the orchard from all over, and the building was an old-style that April was not expecting to see in a desert town like Aconitum. The paint was pristine white, and the frames that held the windows and doors were just as perfect. It didn’t look as if the house had ever seen a fleck of dirt in its lifespan.
April pulled up next to the truck she recognized as James’s, and stepped out of her vehicle, still enraptured by the beauty of the manor. April mulled the word over. Manor seemed more accurate than house. It wasn’t quite a mansion, but she didn’t think it was far off.
April was suddenly very jealous. James lived in a house this huge all by himself? It sounded like a dream, tucked away in a gigantic manor with nobody to bother you.
Cautiously, April circled the building. James’s truck was there, but she had no idea if he was in the manor or out in the fields tending to the trees.
The backyard was extensive. The grass was a little bit overgrown, but it had daisies, poppies, and other desert flowers that basked in the sunlight. There was one she didn’t recognize, growing on long stalks with delicate lilac flowers. The yard was littered with old chairs and tables where the ground was flattest. On the far side, there was a shaded porch that led back into the manor. Children’s playsets were scattered all across the yard. Swing sets and a trampoline, an old above-ground pool that had long since gone empty from disuse.
April stepped onto the grass, savoring the plush feeling against the bottom of her shoes that she was so unused to. Most of Aconitum was hard-packed dirt that only grew a few sprigs of grass.
A towering tree kept the yard in the shade for the most part, sheltering the more delicate plants from the sun. April stood in the shade for a few moments, enjoying the cool breeze on her skin.
Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. April turned on her heel, expecting to see James. After all, who else would be on his property?
At first, April wasn’t sure what she was seeing. The animal was large, even from far away. She squinted as she stared at it. The creature was frozen mid-step, halfway between two trees of the orchard. April could barely make it out, but it was the biggest thing she’d ever seen in her life.
The creature’s head was low, dipping below its shoulders as if to make itself smaller, but there was no way to disguise the way its shoulders came nearly halfway up the tree.
There was no way to be sure, but she was positive the animal was staring back at her. Flecks of gold spread through its plush and thick coat. The snout was long, tipped by a shiny black nose.
When the head of the animal turned toward April, positively staring her down that time, she took a stumbling step back. April tripped over something in the yard, perhaps a root of the massive tree, but it didn’t matter. She landed hard on her butt, her breath coming in a shallow gasp from a mingled sense of fear and excitement.
What might have been a coyote or a dog was neither of those things.
It was a wolf.
No sooner had April thought it that the wolf vanished in a burst of speed before April could blink. She sat in the grass for a long time, almost too shaky to move before she regained her composure.
April scrambled to the other side of the house, looking for any sign of the wolf. There was nothing moving about the trees, but the birds and the chittering rodents were suddenly very quiet.
She would have to ask James about it.
With her purpose renewed, April bound up the front steps to the door. She knocked a few times with the heavy knocker, in the shape of a wolf’s snout. April had to admit, with all the wolf decorations on the gate and now the knocker—plus that massive dog—she could see why the town was so quick to pin suspicions on the reclusive family.
April waited a few moments by the door before trying the knocker again. James hadn’t said what she should do if he wasn’t there when she knocked, but his truck was out front, so where else could he be?
The silence stretched on. April moved away from the door to a set of chairs around a table on the front porch. She sat down on one of the chairs, figuring that it would be better to wait for James for a few minutes before leaving. Perhaps he was somewhere in the back of the house, unable to hear someone at the front door.
The weight of April’s phone burned in her pocket. Just as she was about to pull it out and start playing a game, the front door opened.
April, more than a little startled, looked up and spotted James in the doorway. April was glad that it was so warm out. Otherwise she wouldn’t have had an excuse for the blush that blossomed on her cheeks.
James stood in the doorway, his russet hair dripping wet and sending little rivulets down his body. He wore nothing but a baggy pair of jeans that rested far too low on his hips and pooled at his ankles. He was slightly out of breath, and the chiseled muscles on his stomach and chest shuddered with each panting breath.
“Hey, April, darlin’,” he greeted.
April refused to admit the nickname made her heart skip a beat. Everyone in this town called her ‘darlin’ or another pet name. Why was it so much more pleasing to hear James call her that?
“Sorry I didn’t get to you right away,” he apologized. “You caught me when I was in the shower.” He broke into a smile, and April smiled back at him.
“That’s all right, James. You didn’t know I had the day off; it’s not your fault.” A traitorous part of April’s brain didn’t mind at all and was content to admire James. “I am glad you’re home, though.”
“Come on in,” James said, with a smile. He stepped back from the door and held it open for April.
April stepped inside, greeted by the wonderfully cool air inside the manor. She noticed James’s leather boots on a rack by the door and made sure to pry off her tennis shoes to be polite. April did her best not to stare. The ceiling was miles above her, with dangling white lights that trailed into an open living area. A few Western-style paintings smattered the soft off-white walls.
“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable,” James said, guiding April into the house with a hand on the small of her back that made her skin burn through her shirt. “Just give me a few minutes to get ready, and then I can give you a tour of the orchard.”
James left April in the wide-open living area. He hopped up a flight of stairs and took a left, presumably toward his room.
She was so caught up in admiring the house that April barely noticed when James came back downstairs, in his usual ensemble. Her eyes finally settled on him, and the tips of her ears turned pink at the way his gaze raked over her bare legs. James was quick on the recovery. He smiled at April.
“Let’s grab some water and food and then head out. Sound good to you?” he asked.
April nodded as she followed James into the kitchen. She stood to one side of the massive kitchen, April couldn’t get over just how large everything in the house seemed to be. James foraged through his fridge and cabinets, coming back to April with bottles of water and snacks.
He motioned with his head to the front door, and April fell in line at James’s side, grabbing a bottled water from him to lighten up the load. They packed the food into James’s truck. The inside of it smelled like sandalwood and apples. The scent was intoxicating to April as she helped James gather some more things into his truck. A bucket, though he didn’t say for what, and a long pole with a hook at the end.
“Be right back,” James said after about ten minutes of loading his truck with various supplies.
He trotted back into the house and disappeared inside, abandoning April to her thoughts once more. The sun was high above them, but it didn’t seem as harsh in the orchard as it did in the middle of Aconitum. April closed her eyes and soaked in the warmth against her back. The sun was much stronger in Aconitum than it was in New York. The heady smog that filtered through the air bogged down the sunlight and dulled the colors of the world. In Aconitum, everything was straight from a painting.
April jumped when fingers brushed against her cheek. She snapped her eyes open, greeted by the sight of James, only a few inches away. He brushed a few stray hairs away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. April’s mouth fell open, wanting to say something, but unsure of what words would convey the emotions spinning through her brain.
From this close, April could see the bridge of James’s nose and the highest points of his cheeks were dotted with freckles. His usual brown eyes were positively glowing gold, and it took April off guard. No matter how many times she thought she saw the color of his eyes change, it always managed to startle her.
As if coming back to himself all at once, James pulled a step away from April and cleared his throat.
“Ready?” James asked.
It occurred to April that she was about to hop into the truck of a complete stranger and be whisked away into a dense orchard, but she found that she wasn’t even the slightest frightened by the idea of it. She wanted to cherish whatever time she got with James, and she wanted nothing more than to learn about him and his family.
“I am,” April agreed.
They separated and hopped into their respective sides of James’s truck. James waited politely for April to click her seatbelt into place before driving away from the manor. The building shrank into a speck behind them, but the orchard was still going. April was less certain than she was before that the orchard had an end to it.
April glanced to the enigmatic man beside her. She ached to know his secrets, and could only hope he trusted her enough to tell them to her.