Page 47 of The Perfect Secret

“Not sure I can say anything in the car with my daughter in the backseat.”

A groan from behind made Hannah hunch and cover her face in embarrassment. She remained that way, wondering howto respond, until Dan pulled her hand away from her face and squeezed.

The car bumped along the dirt road as Dan navigated to the parking area. When they stopped, Hannah jumped out of the car, with Dan following at a slower pace. Tess remained inside. Dan and Hannah met at the back of the car; he glared at Tess. Hannah leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Relax,” she whispered and stroked his back. Pressing her lips softly to his, she teased his mouth until his body loosened and he sighed.

He leaned his forehead against hers. “I know. It’s just…it’s like she’s pissing me off on purpose.”

“Of course she is.”

He frowned and pulled away, but Hannah wouldn’t let him. Instead, she played with the hair at the base of his head. It was soft and freshly trimmed, and she loved the feel of it on her fingertips.

“Come on, she’s fifteen. She’s doing this to get you back. Don’t rise to the bait. Ignore it and eventually she’ll come around.” She unclasped her hands and ran them down his chest.

His face smoothed out. “It’s like you’re the parent of a teen.”

She shook her head. “Nope, but I’m a little more objective than you.”

He kissed her. “Okay, I’ll try not to ruin things.”

Trailing her hand down his back, she winked at him before opening the door for Tess.

Tess stared at her for a moment and climbed out. Ignoring her father, she walked ahead toward the weathered gray barn and stopped in front of the handwritten Pick-UR-Own sign.

“What kinds of pumpkins should we pick? Large or small?” Hannah asked.

Tess shrugged and out of the corner of Hannah’s eye, Dan moved. Waving him away, she turned to Tess and grinned. “Howabout we start with large ones, since they’re great for carving Jack-o-lanterns, and if there’s time we can look for smaller ones too,” Hannah said.

They took a wagon and walked toward the pumpkin field. The ground was rocky and uneven, and Hannah slowed her natural pace to accommodate Dan. Tess walked next to her and rolled her eyes, but she slowed too and Hannah breathed a sigh of relief.

Once they reached the field, Tess walked ahead, and left Hannah and Dan to follow.

“This looks like a good area, Tess,” Dan called. There were lots of pumpkins on the ground.

She ignored him and chose an area farther across the field. Exchanging looks, Dan and Hannah stayed silent, but joined her as she examined a variety of pumpkins. Around them, families raced around, called to each other and picked their perfect pumpkin. A little girl sat on one, while her older brother tried to lift it with her on it. Her mom laughed. The loamy scent of soil wafted around them; the bright sunlight beat upon their heads.

Hannah turned a pumpkin over. “This looks good.” She held it up. The pumpkin was heavy and she jostled it, trying to keep a grip on it. Dan reached out a steadying hand and she gazed at him, offering a silent thank you. He maintained eye contact and for a moment, it was as if the two of them were the only ones in the field. A bead of sweat dripped down her back and the spell was broken. Darting a glance toward Tess, she added the pumpkin to the wagon.

“I like this one better,” Tess said. She carried another, rounder, pumpkin over and placed it in the wagon.

“I like that one too,” Hannah said.

“So, you really live with your grandma?” Tess asked.

“Yup.”

“Why?”

“Well, she has a big apartment with room for me, and sharing it helps both of us keep costs down. She saves me time by cooking and I help her out with the laundry. It lets me take care of her, kind of payback for all she’s done for me.”

“Cool. So, how many more pumpkins do we need?”

Hannah looked at the two pumpkins in the wagon. “Up to you all. I need a large one for thesukkah, although I also want to grab some smaller ones and some gourds. But if you two want more, we can keep going.”

“Let’s find the smaller ones,” Dan said. “Tess, do you want to pick out some gourds? You know, the weird looking things.”

“Yeah.” Her mouth dropped as if she realized she’d violated her own “No Talking To Dad” rule, but she grabbed the wagon and walked ahead of the adults toward the smaller pumpkins.

“Progress,” he said.