A Wedding in Apple Grove Read Free

ace up her sleeve.
    Needing a few moments to herself, she sought out her dad to tell him she was going for a short walk and would be right back. She was relieved that the widow wasn’t with him. Mary Murphy was very observant and might pick up on what was really bothering Meg.
    But if her father suspected she was brooding, he didn’t let on. “I’ll save you a slice of cake,” he promised.
    â€œThanks, Pop.”
    ***
    Daniel Eagan downshifted then accelerated through the curve in the road leading him toward his new home—his new life in Ohio. Weeping hemlocks and spruce trees grew side by side with oak and maple trees. The sheer size and number of the trees were daunting.
    The shades of green melded into a blur as he picked up speed on the straightaway. “No sidewalks.” He knew he was getting closer to the town of Apple Grove but still hadn’t seen more than a handful of homes along Route 70. Up ahead, there was a break in the trees; he slowed down to see if it was a driveway or the street he’d been looking for: Eden Church Road.
    It was a pond just a few feet from the edge of the road. The weathered split-rail fence by the road was covered with vines. He couldn’t guess what it was—he’d have to wait until spring. He checked his watch and saw that he’d made good time and could slow down and admire his surroundings. What he saw made him smile. There was a brightly colored, inflatable, kid-sized canoe on the other side of the pond next to a beat-up rowboat, with a fence just beyond. Seeing the horses grazing on the other side of the fence, he wondered if the owners competed in equestrian events, like his friends back home in Sussex County, New Jersey. He’d have to find out later; he wanted to get to his destination before late afternoon.
    He’d started to wonder if he’d missed his turn when all at once he noticed the bright yellow water tower looming ahead and knew he was almost there. He drove past a cornfield with a ship’s mast and crow’s nest and had to pull over, grab his cell phone, and snap a picture out the window to send to his cousin back home. As he approached the water tower, he noticed writing on the side of it; in bold green letters it read: Marry me, Edie, Love Bill. He wasn’t sure if it was the John Deere color scheme or the fact that someone would write a marriage proposal on the side of a water tower that tipped him off to the fact that he wasn’t back East anymore—life was definitely different in the Midwest. He only hoped he’d fit in. He couldn’t go back; he could only go forward.
    A few miles later, he saw the sign for Eden Church Road and slowed down to make the turn. He smiled. The county name at the top of the street sign—Licking County—just added to the charm. The road ahead wound through gently rolling hills. Ten minutes down the road he noticed a farmer’s wall—stones piled a few feet high and deep—outlining the property he could see up ahead. A huge barn, corral, and freshly painted white, two-story farmhouse, complete with the requisite wraparound porch and rocking chairs, were off to the left. As he drove past, he saw a crowd of people gathered out on the lawn. He slowed down and took it all in—the women dressed in myriad colors standing amid the background of grays and dark blues of the men in jackets and ties. There were long tables clothed in white and folding chairs sporting ridiculously large bows. Everyone seemed to be talking, laughing, and having a wonderful time. A wedding—he wondered if it was Edie and Bill from the water tower.
    As he drove past, he saw a figure up ahead and laughed. “Must be my perspective.” A few more feet and he saw he wasn’t hallucinating; there was a young woman walking along the top of the fence as if it were a balance beam!
    His heart stuttered as the figure windmilled her arms to keep from falling, barely