The ride to the orchard was quiet and Wendy placed all her attention on the road ahead. A few times she made to start up a conversation but on all occasions, she found the words stuck in her throat. It was best she kept quiet as she was not sure what to say to Deacon anyway.

She had practically fled from his body nestled up to hers like a thief in the night in the late morning  when she had finally woken when more than anything she wanted to lay in the warm embrace of his arms and the sweet feel of his soft breath on the side of her neck as she bask in the memories of their love making.

That was how she wanted to refer to it. She had wanted what they shared to be more than just mind blowing encounter of sexual escapades.

The desire to lay there was almost more than she could fight but in the end, she had carefully detangled herself from his cuddle, quickly showered and fled downstairs.

She was sure now that morning was here it was going to make last night nothing more than regrets but she held no regrets. Every feeling and thoughts that came from lastnight made her deliriously happy.

She was relieved when she came to the wooden fencing with its ajar gate that led to the vast orchard. Not far off was parked pickups that were used for transporting workers and the picked apples but no one was present. She needed the distraction.

"Are you just going to ignore me?" Deacon finally asks after she parked and made to open the door of the pickup.

"Honk the horn," was all she said as she continued out of the vehicle.

With a deep scowl, he opened his door and storm around to her. She was almost to the back of the pickup when he stopped her.

"I ask you a question dammit!" he snapped holding onto her hand before pressing her up against the pickup.

The feel of her being held by him sent last night sweet surrender rushing to the forefront of her mind. Her breath became unsteady as feelings surfaced and needs started to wreak havoc on her barely in check composure.

"We need to get the lunches to the workers," Wendy informed making to push him away but to no avail. She stared at him reluctantly.

Deacon was not the guy who the opposite sex brush aside. He was the one who did the love them and keep them at bay until they are needed again, or just typically no longer of any interest to him. He gets them out of his life.

He was sure as hell not up for Wendy's treatment of indifference.

"Listen," Wendy said trying to steady her raging emotions and more so as she saw the telltale sign of her love bite on his neck, "We have no reason to be pretending now ok, so let's just get the meal to the workers so I can get back to Georgia and the plans she has for the rest of the evening."

Deacon stared at the woman who he can not keep from craving and let out a deep unsteady breath. When he spoke his voice was a harsh whisper.

"Was last night just a pretence Wendy?"

She stared at him her cheeks burning at the mention of what they shared, she glanced away and then turn eyes filled with awakened memories to his glaring and intense grey ones.

"I am not the one who bed woman for just the satisfaction," she said hoping that he would not come to realise that what she shared with him was a testament to the fact that she loved him but all that matters is her protecting her stupid heart.

"So last night did mean something."

It was said with a realisation that indicated pleasure at the prospect that she felt more than she was letting on.

"Last night was beautiful it was an occasion that I will always treasure," Wendy said taking on her matter of fact tone, "but it's no use in pretending it's more than what it is..."

His eyes got darker as his face masked into a scowl.

"...let us not forget we are here together because I lied and you offered a compromise. We just had a lapse in judgement which we both know won't happen again."

Deacon in all his life has never been so angry with a woman for making their affair of such  menial value. How many times he wished a few of his female counterparts would approach their affair with such preciseness and yet now here he was getting it he was so pissed he was shaking in his sneakers.

He said nothing only let go of her hand pushed himself from her body that was burned into his from just that mere encounter of being pressed into her. He walked to the driver's door and pushed his hand through the window to press long and hard on the horn.

The blaring sound filled the quiet atmosphere and Wendy felt her heart sank knowing that Deacon was not going to assure her that last night could be much more than sex. She knew she was expecting too much but yet she still longed for it.

She felt her eyes burn with unshed tears as she yanks a crate from the bed of the pickup and marched past him. This was exactly how it should be because falling in love with Deacon Ffrench was a fast crash and burn down heartache highway and she had been there and done that and had no intention to travel that route again.

She was nobody's fool and she vowed never to let love take her for granted ever again. Deacon was no gentleman he was a damn devil that collected hearts and she valued hers too much to let him have it.

"Hey Wen," a familiar jovial voice said as she approached the neat rows of apple trees most having ladders against their massive trunks and crates piled with apples at their base.

A few other workers approach to join the huge figure that grinned down at her and a curious boy came to cling to his overall-clad leg as they greeted.

"Charlie, it's sure nice to see you again," she beamed as she stared into the familiar face of the man who had worked with her father and mother for years.

When she handed the crate to a younger guy who came up to them Charlie took her into a fatherly hug and she returned the embrace before pulling away to smile at the curious child that stared at her.

"There are more crates in the pickup," she told a few guys standing by and she was glad for the distraction it provided her to get her mind off Deacon but it wasn't easy as he came carrying a few empty crates that were for packing up any apples that the workers seem fit to take home under Charlie's supervision.

"So that's the lucky guy," Charlie stated as he waited for the women to hand the food over and join the others in eating.

She reluctantly glances over to where Deacon stood and watch as two younger guys had propelled him into some rather intense conversation. He seemed rather taken in by the discussion and she admired the way he took control over what they were discussing even if he was not entirely familiar with orchards.

"Maybe I could be the ones that lucky," she replied with a little chuckle that sounded force to her ears.

Charlie did not reply he only smiled as he looks at Deacon then back at her. The silence between them caused her to hurry to find something to fill the silence and she quickly said.

"So I heard you've gone into peaches on the back area near to the pasture, how is it going?"

"The orchards there are run by your ex-husband, its not my doing," he informed looking to her from the woman who was coming towards them holding his lunch.

The shock that registered on her face caused Charlie to clear his throat and shift uncomfortably on his bulky legs.

"What?"

Charlie moved away and she followed. He was not going to drop such a bombshell then act as if it was plausible.

"Charlie why the hell is Brandon using our back acreage for peaches?"

"Listen, Wen, Cynthia is in charge here I just do the work am hired to do," he said then pull the boy away that still hovered by his legs to settle down by him and have their lunch.

Why the hell did Cynthia and Precilla keep this part of the details from her? They knew she would eventually find out.

"Listen Wen don't be hard on the gals things are not how we often plan and no one knows what tomorrow brings."

She said nothing but took the path that leads from the apple orchard to the back acre where the peaches were planted. Her mind was racing with so many questions and her one intention was to seek clarity.

She was caught up in thinking about how to deal with it when she saw Brandon walking towards her, she felt her feet faltered. When she made up her mind to retreat he look up to see her standing there.

Just her rotten luck!

𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷

ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕠 ☺︎︎

Seems more than one person is keeping the truth hidden. What is going to happen now that Wendy knows that Brandon is closer to home than she would like?

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