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She lifted a brow at me, and I could have slapped myself. Given her recent predicament, I wouldn’t want a surprise either.

“Okay, bad line. But I promise, I won’t do that to you, and it’s something for your enjoyment. But I really want to see your face when you see it.”

“I’m trusting you, Eddie,” she told me, poking me in the chest. And while I knew she meant it casually, I took it to heart. Because I vowed that I wouldn’t hurt her. Not if I could ever avoid it.

I led her out to the truck, opening the door for her and helping her climb in. Quickly, I went around to the driver side, and climbed in. Minutes later, we were hitting the main road out of town, the windows open and the fresh air rolling in.

She sighed as she leaned out, her eyes alight with the joy at the simple pleasure of seeing Fall in these parts.

I didn’t always like the cold, but colors like these, and in Spring, just couldn’t be beaten anywhere else.

“I’m glad I came up. I would hate to think of what I’d be missing.”

“I still think you need to talk to your brother about staying on full time up here.”

“And when the time comes, he has renters?” she asked.

“You come stay in one of my guestrooms. Or stay in the master room. Either works for me.”

She made it a point of turning around to look at me, then rolled her eyes.

“What? It’s not like you haven’t been cuddling with me all this time, right?”

“I guess. I’ll see, okay? I’m still not thinking of that part of my future. Really, I’m just living day to day and enjoying it while I can.” Her attention turned back outside, and I let it. There were a few reasons why I wanted to take this road trip. Seeing the trees like this was one. And I knew she would love it.

I rested my hand on her leg as I drove us, content with the silence that had settled between us. That was another reason I liked Justice so much. Not only was I truly myself with her, but I didn’t always have to talk to make things less awkward. She was okay with silence, or cuddling, or just being with someone. She didn’t need to feel it with mundane topics.

She hummed in approval as we went along, the trees and colors picturesque, giving her a peace that I loved. And as we drove along, and the trees gave way to fields, I saw the moment she started to move, started to see what was coming up.

“Are those,” she started, her eyes opening wide as she turned to look at me. “Are those sunflowers?” she finished, making me grin.

“They are. I looked for a while, trying to find someplace that you might like. It’s a sunflower field and an apple orchard. I thought we might want to go apple picking after we did some sunflower picking.”

Her jaw dropped slightly and I couldn’t help but grin, glad to see that it would make her happy. I should question why, but I already knew. I would do everything I could to make her smile again and again. Not just because of her past, but it’s what I wanted to do. Had always wanted to do it.

“I can’t believe you would want to do that. I mean, you know those are things I love, right?”

“Uh, yes, I do know that. Why else would I plan this?”

She grinned as she leaned over and smacked my arm. But her smile was still perfect. And when we parked and climbed out, it was even better. Because she was beaming.

“Oh, this is beautiful! They are just in full bloom and I love it.” She ran into the field, her arms open wide, and I couldn’t find my phone fast enough to take a picture of her, a smile now on my face. She was even more gorgeous this way.

I snapped a few photos before joining her, going through the rows as we looked at the flowers.

“We can just take what we want?”

“Yup. We pay for them afterward.”

She stopped at a few that were bright and yellow before cutting them, then grabbed an orange one. She held them carefully as we walked to the front counter.

“These are lovely. I’m going to wrap them up for you while you go pick your apples. If you need anything, just come on back,” the sales lady told us.

“Thank you,” I responded, setting my hand on her lower back and heading to the apple trees. We went down a few different lines, grabbing some of the best ones that we could, then headed back with a bucket full.

She laughed as I paid the bill, her eyes alight, and it was just one of the best things to see. I vowed that no matter what happened or what came, I would always do whatever I could to make her smile. Because there was nothing better than that to me.

I drove us back home and she was far more animated now than she had been. She kept talking about all the many things she could make with the apples, and one of her favorite things was turnovers. Which would be great with coffee and the sunrise. I also seemed to have been volunteering to help her.