Free Season of Dreams by Jenna Mindel

“What about your mom?”
    His face softened. “She died from cancer when I was nine.”
    The picture of Adam’s mother with all that flaming-red hair and brilliant blue eyes like her son’s flashed in her mind with a twinge of sorrow. “I saw a picture of your mom at your town house. I’m really sorry.”
    â€œYeah, me, too. She was a strong woman right up to the end.” Even with the distance between them, Eva could read the intensity in his eyes.
    â€œWhat was her name?”
    â€œCatherine.”
    Eva couldn’t look away from him. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Even though my parents are miles away, I don’t know what I’d do without either one of them.”
    â€œI lost my way for a long while, but I’m back on the right path. This time I’m staying on it.”
    â€œThat’s good.” But her heart ached for him. He’d been so young when he lost his mother. With his father’s remarriages, it was no wonder Adam kept his guard up. Another unexpected tidbit of Adam’s life struck a chord within her, making him more approachable. Even more likeable.
    Adam felt as if he’d been talking too much this morning. With every frosty puff of air, his throat felt raw, but he didn’t want this conversation to end. “What about you? You grew up in a Christian home. Did you ever stray from what you’d been taught to believe in?”
    â€œNot really.” Eva looked away from him as she positioned her loppers around a thin branch.
    Her shuttered response made him curious. “No drunken rebellion? No questioning your purpose in life?”
    â€œEveryone questions his or her purpose,” she finally said. “Or at least they should.”
    He cocked his head, pruning completely forgotten. “And what’d you find out?”
    She shrugged. “We’re designed to have a relationship with God because we’re made in His image.”
    Adam considered her answer a cop-out. Like Lake Michigan, there were hidden depths to Eva Marsh. She didn’t ’fess up easily, but something about the stiff way she sat during church told him she’d been going through the motions. “Sounds pretty textbook to me. What about the practical stuff?”
    â€œPeece, these sweets won’t prune themselves.”
    He chuckled at her effective shutout. He’d take her no trespassing hint even though it made him that much more curious about her. “Now who’s grumpy?”
    She grinned. “Not me.”
    â€œNo?” He’d seen the impatient look on her face when he’d pulled in late. This morning’s headache found company with aches deep in his muscles about an hour ago. The fresh air wasn’t helping. Despite moving around, he couldn’t get warm.
    Eva let out a sigh. “I’m getting sick of snow. It doesn’t help that every time I talk to my folks, my father gives me their weather report. Do you know how warm it is in the Keys right now?”
    â€œWhy don’t you visit them when we’re done pruning? You said yourself there’s a bit of a break until the snow melts. We agreed to paid vacation, so why not take it?” He grabbed his milk crate and moved to the next tree.
    â€œFlights out of Traverse City are too expensive.”
    â€œSo? Fly out of Detroit.” He watched Eva make busy work of snapping back straggly branches.
    She let out another sigh. “I’m not a fan of the city.”
    â€œBut you spent a year in New York.” He remembered that she’d studied pastry there. He tended to remember a lot about Eva.
    â€œI felt safe in New York.”
    â€œWhat are you afraid of?” The words slipped out before he could catch them. A woman had every reason to be cautious, but catching a flight out of a major airport shouldn’t be a big deal.
    â€œI’m the play-it-safe one in the Marsh family and Detroit’s a