“He just doesn’t want you making the same mistakes he made.”

“What? Like finding the woman he married and not letting anyone else’s rules stand between them?”

Laurie laughed, giving him a small smile. “Didn’t know you were such a romantic rebel.”

“Guess it’s in my genes.” Dante smirked back at her.

Laurie laughed again.

Dante pulled up to the farmhouse. He switched off the truck engine. He sat, shaking his head for a couple of minutes.

“You told him you care about me.”

Dante smiled and turned to her.

“You heard that, huh?”

“Yes.”

He reached for her hand.

“Must have been the heat of the moment.” He looked her up and down.

“I care about you too.” She bit her lip, as if she wanted to say more.

Dante leaned forward, taking Laurie by the chin. He kissed her, slow and sweet. When he pulled back, he ran his fingers through her hair. It grabbed at his hand in damp tangles, but he didn’t care. Then he sighed.

“Come on,” he said finally. “Let’s go take care of these apples.”

She laughed, opening the car door. They grabbed the apple picker, heading out into the orchard with baskets in hand. They worked until well past noon, scooping up apples dangling from above. The sun was high. The day got warm enough to burn off the morning dew on the leaves of the trees. It was just turning into fall, and some of the apple tree leaves were beginning to yellow. As they walked back toward the farmhouse, Dante and Laurie could almost feel the seasons changing.

When they got to the front porch, Dante unlocked the door. They entered into a large sitting room that still had an assortment of antique wooden furniture. There were two matching end tables and a coffee table, all made out of deep mahogany, with ornate golden accents. The room was painted a light green, with dark green trim. To their right was the entrance to the hallway. They saw the base of the staircase leading to the second floor. At the back of the sitting room, a door led to the kitchen.

They headed toward the kitchen. The room had pristine, tiled floors with a blue and white pattern. There was an oak kitchen table in front of them, with six matching chairs. Beyond it, was a door leading to the back yard and several windows with views of the grape vineyard out back. The walls were painted a light blue with dark blue trim, which matched the floor tiles. To their right was an island in the center of a large kitchen. The island was tiled to match the floor, but the rest of the kitchen counter top was a polished oak, like the kitchen cabinets.

“This kitchen is so amazing.” Laurie sucked in a breath as she took it all in.

“Nicest kitchen I’ve ever seen.” Dante set their lunch down on the table. “Mom said their neighbors just remodeled it. They did a good job.”

“I agree.” Laurie sat down at the table.

Their work in the orchard made them so hungry they devoured their food without saying a word.

“Let’s take a look at the rest of the house.” Laurie said when they finished.

“All right.” He wasn’t one to snoop around, but it was his parents’ house now.

They went from room to room. Almost every room still had a smattering of furniture left inside, a desk, a lamp, some tables, or chairs. They were pieces the previous owners didn’t care about or just couldn’t fit into their new home. There was a formal dining room off the kitchen, and a family room next to that. Upstairs were several bedrooms and bathrooms. The master bedroom had a large, four-poster bed, complete with mattress and box spring. The bathroom attached to the master bedroom was enormous, with two large sinks, a shower, and a full tub. There was even room for a vanity, which was beside the door. Everything in the room was light sandstone.

“This bathroom is incredible. I can’t even believe this. Why don’t your parents live here?” Laurie gestured to the vanity.

“I have no idea, but they seem pretty settled into their simple farm house.”

“I’d move in about a heartbeat. This house is beautiful!”

“It is.” He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her toward him. “So are you.”

Laurie blushed. He kissed a trail from her forehead to her mouth. Then he covered her mouth with his, backing her out of the bathroom.

“Dante!” Laurie squirmed in his grasp. He held her tightly, determined to make it to the bed.

“What?” he asked, smiling. “There are no parents here. No other Marshals. I finally have you to myself.”

Laurie chuckled at him.

“Besides, they were nice enough to leave us a bed. I think we shouldn’t let it go to waste.”

He fell onto the bed on his back, pulling her with him. She laughed at him, trying to wrestle against him, but she didn’t try very hard. She gave in to his lovemaking, and soon enough he had her naked skin pressed against the length of his.

Afterwards, they lay on the bed beside one another, exhausted. Dante made a mental note to steal a blanket and sheets from his mother’s hall closet. He smiled to himself. If he was going to be here with Laurie often, well, that would suit him just fine. He made a circular pattern on Laurie’s shoulder with his finger, as he closed his eyes.

“I’m ready for a nap.” Laurie nuzzled his neck.

“Sounds good to me.” He pulled her closer. “Then we can finish in the orchard.”

“Deal.”

They slept for half an hour, before the chill that crept through the window chased them off the bed and back out into the sun. They worked on the pear trees in the afternoon, which lined either side of the driveway. They had to be more careful with the pears, which bruised easily. Their work was slower. They didn’t have as much fruit to carry back to the barn at the end of the day. As they drove back to the house, they talked about all of the different kinds of apples and pears they had yet to harvest.

“Dad told me before we left we could keep most of the money from the apple and pear harvest so we can get some winter clothes. I think we’re going to need them soon.” Dante reached for her hand as he drove with the other.

“Dante, how long do you think we’ll live here?”

He winced. Laurie rushed to continue.

“It’s not that I don’t like it here, I do. I like it here. I just wondered.”

Dante sighed. He turned his head to look at her.

“I don’t know, Laurie. I just don’t know.”

“I do like it here.” She squeezed his hand.

“I know. I do too. I just…I have to know Kaimi is behind bars, hopefully behind maximum-security bars. I need to know the mole is in prison.” Dante glanced at her as he turned into the driveway. “Anything less and I can’t take you back.”

Dante looked out over the peaceful landscape.

“How will we find out if Kaimi and the mole are caught? Are you going to call Rick?”

“I can’t. He could be the mole, for all I know. I can’t talk to anyone in the Marshals Service,”

“Then how will you know?” Laurie glanced at him.

He hesitated. He didn’t like hiding it from her.

“Dante?”

He sighed. Dante ran his hand through his hair.

“My dad’s talking to some of his contacts still at the CIA. You can’t tell my mom, Laurie. He made me promise it would just be between him and myself, okay? My mom wouldn’t be happy if she knew he was still talking to his old contacts when he’s supposed to be retired.” He glanced at her. “Promise me you won’t tell her?”

Laurie grimaced.

“I promise. I won’t tell her. Besides, he’s only looking into it because of me anyway.”

“Just don’t let it slip out either. Remember, she worked for the CIA too, apparently.”

Laurie laughed.

“You’re right, she might question me while we’re pulling up potatoes.”

Dante let out a hard laugh. He couldn’t reconcile his mother with his image of an agent either. He pulled up to the house. He grabbed a small basket of pears from the back before joining Laurie on the porch.