The Apple Tree by Jewel E. Ann

Alisha Eadle
Apr 30
24 min read

The Apple Tree

by Jewel E. Ann

Self-Published

Book 2 in the Sunday Morning Series

He’s a single dad starting over in a new town. She’s a relentless flirt with a penchant for trouble, ten years younger than him, and the babysitter. What could go wrong?

Eve has just graduated from high school, but she doesn’t know what’s next aside from working at the local motel, spying on Kyle, her neighbor, and stealing apples from his orchard. If she doesn’t figure things out soon, she’ll be stuck at home and treated like a child forever.

Kyle is a single dad and the new football coach who needs a babysitter for his adorable son. When he meets Eve, there’s an instant connection because she reminds him of someone—himself. But Eve is the preacher’s daughter, off-limits, and Kyle has already had his heart trampled by his ex.

After earning his son’s affection with her homemade apple sauce and youthful spirit, Eve asks Kyle to teach her things like driving his fishing boat and shooting his hunting bow. Despite his better judgment, he agrees, but swears Eve to secrecy so no one gets the wrong idea about them.

Their playful banter and innocent flirting crosses a line, and Kyle misses the heartbreaking secret Eve’s hidden in plain sight.

When tragedy strikes, can they find their way back to each other?

Genre

#NewAdultRomance

#ContemporaryRomance

#InterconnectedRomance

Triggers

Single parent, alcoholism, rehab

The Apple Tree was ... not what I was expecting.

I liked it. Not as much as I loved Sunday Morning. I just liked it.

The story was good. Great even.

I just had a hard time believing that Kyle would be interested in Eve. As a single dad in his late twenties, he is a responsible man.

Eve, while sweet and fun, is immature. Which, of course she is. She is eighteen! How she reacted to certain things, tracks with her age.

I just didn't understand how Kyle's character could get past that.

That being said, everything else I enjoyed.

I loved the dynamics between Eve and her family. Once again, Jewel wrote a story that calls out the trauma that can be unknowingly dumped on a child's shoulders, and how it can (and will) continue to hurt them as an adult.

That is one of the things I love about these books.

Yes, there is the slightly taboo nature of Kyle and Eve's relationship, which has a certain allure, but I love how Jewel dives into the other relationships Eve has in her life. Not just Kyle. With her sisters. Her parents. Her religion.

It just makes this story so much more interesting, and not just a romance.

The Apple Tree didn't reach it's claws in me as much as Sunday Morning did, but I think it's because of the other storylines in the book. Whereas Sunday Morning was mostly a forbidden romance story, and the story of a young woman breaking free from the restraints of her family and religion to be who she is, The Apple Tree falls short of that, because Eve doesn't know who she is and what she wants to do. It just left something to be desired. That being said, I can't wait for the next (and final) book in the trilogy, A Good Book.

Mom: "Yes, and he was the best man at our wedding."

Eve: "And yet, you married dad. Does that mean you settled for the second-best man?"

Mom: "We taught you better, young lady. You're eighteen. Out of high school. And -"

Eve: "Grounded. Yes. I'm aware. That seems ridiculous. Adults shouldn't be grounded. I think Grandma Bonnie should ground your as-"

I cleared my throat.

Eve: "Your butt for the speeding ticket you got in Evansville last month."

Mom: "Get up. Let's see if he needs help."

Mom jerked her chin like yanking on a fishing pole with a big bass on the end of the line.

I wasn't a fish.

Eve: "I'm not allowed to leave my room unless it's to work, eat, or go to the bathroom,"

I said with an exaggerated shrug.

Mom: "Unless your dad and I give you permission."

Eve: "Gabby can help. I just started a new book, and I'm in the middle of a chapter."

Mom: "What book?"

She stopped at my door and eyed me through tiny, distrustful slits.

Eve: "The Bible."

Mom returned a raised eyebrow.

I shot her a cheesy grin while slipping the binoculars into their case.

Mom: "What book in The Bible are you reading?"

Eve: "Ezekiel."

She didn't believe me for a second.

Mom: "That's a good one."

Eve: "It's not,"

I said, shaking my head.

Eve: "It's rather apocalyptic."

She narrowed her eyes and twisted her lips. I was slightly offended that she seemed so surprised by my biblical knowledge. Preachers' daughters knew more than anyone needed to know about The Bible. Of course, Dad spent most of his time reciting Exodus and the Ten Commandments while I stashed alcohol by the creek and masturbated to sinful music.

I may have peeked at his abs.

My mom was happily married to a man of God (except during traffic violations), so I stared at the guy's abs long enough for the both of us.

I wanted to stay and help Kyle and Adam. If I left, who was going to keep an eye on Kyle's nice ass?

Josh hesitated to take my proffered hand, doing his shy chin tuck before resting his little hand in mine. He didn't know we were about to be best friends because I had an instant crush on his daddy.

Kyle: "What are your plans for tomorrow night?"

I shrugged.

Eve: "Does it matter?"

Kyle: "Yes. It matters. I can't aid you if you plan on doing something your parents don't want you to do."

Eve: "My parents don't want me to leave the house, laugh, or have an original thought."

He narrowed his eyes for a few seconds and smirked.

Kyle: "What did you do to get grounded?"

Eve: "Does it matter?"

He slowly nodded.

Kyle: "Yeah, it matters."

I sighed.

Eve: "I had a few drinks."

Kyle: "Driving?"

I shook my head.

Eve: "By the creek."

I gestured to my right.

Kyle: "Are you going to drink tomorrow night?"

Eve: "No."

Maybe.

Kyle: "Drugs?"

I grinned.

Eve: "No."

Kyle: "Unprotected sex?"

All the blood in my body surged to my head until I felt my pulse in my burning cheeks. Was he making me an offer?

Eve: "I'm a preacher's daughter. What do you think?"

His smile beamed. He was so sexy.

Kyle: "If you hadn't confessed to drinking by the creek, I would have assumed you were a rule-follower. A perfect angel. But I'm getting more of a rebel vibe now."

Eve: "Pfft. Angels are just rebels in disguise. I'm going to the bowling alley with friends. We bowl between memorizing Bible verses and exclusively snack on Gold Fish, Animal Crackers, and grape juice as a nod to Jesus."

Eve: "My mom said I have to stop taking apples from the orchard now that you own it, but since I've lost all respect for you, I'm taking the best ones and leaving you with the wormholes."

Kyle: "What time are you sneaking out?"

I deflated.

Eve: "I'm not. My best friend is sick. Did you save me any beer?"

Kyle lifted his eyebrows.

Kyle: "You know those really cool teachers who give students alcohol?"

Eve: "No. I've never met a teacher who gave their students alcohol."

He shook his head.

Kyle: "Me neither."

Eve: "Can I ask you about Josh's mom?"

I jumped the track to a completely different subject.

His smile faded.

Kyle: "What do you want to ask?"

Eve: "Does he have one?"

Kyle: "No. I pushed him out of my vagina."

Kyle: "Can you walk home by yourself?"

I rolled my eyes.

Eve: "Yes. But I'm not going home. Mind if I borrow your flashlight?"

Kyle: "For what?"

Eve: "It's my turn to stargaze by the creek. And I wouldn't be opposed to you loaning me a can of beer too. Since I'm not your student, your silly rules shouldn't apply to me."

Kyle: "I can't be your accomplice any longer. You said it yourself. There are bears."

Eve: "I'll take your gun."

He nodded slowly.

Kyle: "Yeah, that seems like the best idea. I don't see any ethical dilemma at all with giving an eighteen-year-old a flashlight, beer, and a gun."

Eve: "If you wouldn't mind, I could use the blanket too. By any chance, do you have a bag of Ruffles?"

Kyle: "Oh"

-his face soured-

Kyle: "that is tart. How can you eat it plain like this?"

Eve: "My grandma says the sweetest people can eat the tartest apples. My grandpa never could eat them; she said it was because he was a grump. I guess we know what this says about you."

Kyle: " That I have normal tastebuds?"

He spat out the apple and chucked the rest of it behind us like a baseball.

Eve: "Josh loved my applesauce. Granted, I put a little cinnamon and sugar on it, but it was still tart, and he gobbled it up because he's so sweet."

Mom: "Eve, your father was just singing your praises."

Eve: "Pastor Peter Jacobson never sings my praises,"

I replied, leering at my dad.

Kyle: "Your parents invited Josh and me to your house for Sunday dinner. And your mom said you made apple pie with the apples I gave you. But I only recall you picking one apple, which you ate the night I walked you home."

Eve: "She misheard me. I told her I used apples from the ground that blew off your trees and landed in our yard."

Gabby: "Eww, Ben's my friend, not my boyfriend."

Eve: "Yes. But Mom and Dad know that given the chance to have sex, their girls will have sex with anyone."

Mom: "Eve!"

Mom's voice jumped an octave, and Gabby giggled.

Grandma Bonnie: "Amen, sister,"

Grandma Bonnie added, earning a scowl from Mom.

Eve: "It's true."

I nodded.

Eve: "Last month, when I was volunteering at the nursing home, I delivered some magazines to Milton Bean in his room, and I as tempted."

Mom: "Eve Marie Jacobson,"

Mom said slowly, but she couldn't hide her grin.

Grandma Bonnie: "Rumor has it, Milton was quite the Casanova in his day. You could do worse, Eve,"

Grandma Bonnie added with a straight face.

Josh: "I can't see,"

Josh complained with his head barely peeking over the top of the table.

Mom: "Eve, get the phonebook and a few other books for him to sit on."

Mom nodded to me.

I grabbed a stack of books and set them on the chair.

Dad: "Eve,"

Dad scolded, removing the top book before Kyle lifted Josh onto the pile.

It was an old family Bible bigger than the dictionary and phone beneath it.

Eve: "What? You always say God is here to life us up no matter what we need. And Josh needs to reach his plate."

Kyle: "Nice to meet you, Mrs.?"

Kyle's implied question hung in the air.

Grandma Bonnie: "My husband died. I'm no longer a Mrs. anything. I'm just an old lady for whom everyone is waiting to die."

Mom: "Mom!"

My mom gasped.

Gabby and I laughed, but Kyle restrained his, just barely.

Grandma Bonnie: "It's true. My granddaughters are the only ones who acknowledge my existence, except on Sundays when I get invited to dinner so Peter can ask God to save my wretched soul."

Dad: "I'll never stop praying for you,"

Dad said, earning him an eye roll from Grandma Bonnie.

Eve: "I'm going to be your best unofficial student, Mr. Collins."

Kyle: "Straight A's?"

I hopped off the fence.

Eve: "I've never gotten straight A's."

I headed toward the house so he wouldn't see me drool over him, melt at his feet, and lose all my dignity because I had an incurable crush on my neighbor.

Kyle: "You've never had me as your teacher,"

he said.

Oh my god ...

Kyle: "I didn't get a chance to ask what you and Josh did this afternoon,"

he said.

Eve: "We picked apples, chased butterflies, and then he played in his room while I snooped around in yours,"

I said, and bit my lip to keep from grinning while my attention stayed on my line.

I felt his gaze on me briefly before he watched his line again.

Kyle: "I know you're trying to get a reaction out of me, but I also don't think you're lying. So, did you find anything interesting in my room?"

Eve: "Besides you Playboy magazines? No."

Kyle paused his hands.

Kyle: "July is my favorite."

Then he resumed reeling in his line.

Kyle: "Everything about you is memorable."

As soon as he said the words, he got a look on his face that I would never forget.

Panic.

Eve: "Why? Worried you can't control yourself?"

Kyle: "Eve, I haven't strangled you. I think I'm showing a lot of control."

Eve: "I want to feel in control of my happiness. I don't want to live my life for anyone else. And if I make mistakes, I want to find something good to take from them. I want to be fearless."

Kyle: "What makes you think I don't care what other people think?"

I smirked.

Eve: "Duh. You're a math teacher."

Kyle: "Which is an admirable profession."

Eve: "Mr. Collins, I'm not sure admirable is the right word. I wasn't an A student in English, but admirable implies people admire you for being a math teacher, like they think being a math teacher is cool and you make them want to be a math teacher."

Eve: "I think I'm on the verge of doing something stupid, but I don't know how to stop,"

I said. Grandma Bonnie paused her hands and eyed me over the top of her glasses.

Bonnie: "Well, my dear, I guess the question is, do you want to stop? And if you don't, what are the consequences?"

That right there was the reason I spent so much time at the nursing home. My parents would never have given me that response. They would have beaten the truth out of me with a big guilt trip and the threat of spending another moon cycle locked in my room.

Eve: "I don't want to stop, but I also don't know the consequences for sure."

Bonnie: "Is it dangerous?"

I shook my head.

Bonnie: "Illegal?"

Again, I shook my head.

Bonnie: "Does it involve a boy?"

I grinned.

She nodded slowly and returned her attention to the half-finished blanket on her lap.

Bonnie: "Have you prayed about it?"

I giggled. Grandma didn't believe in God but supported what she called my parents' need to "imagine."

My dad always corrected her with the word "faith" or "belief."

Bonnie: "If you want to fly, you have to be willing to fall and even crash. But if you can do that and show them that your strength is greater than your mistakes and imperfections, they will see that they raised you right."

Kyle: "I do get it,"

he repeated it, scraping his teeth along his lower lip several times.

Kyle: "And it's fun. Liking you is fun. Everything about you is fun and refreshing. Eve, women like you"

-he smirked-

Kyle: "not that there's anyone else like you, bring men like me to our knees. But,"

he chuckled, shaking his head,

Kyle: "I have grown up responsibilities, including a child. So my fun needs to be safer than liking my brother's best friend's eighteen-year-old daughter."

His words shot through my veins, and I felt powerful.

Eve: "I can bring you to your knees?"

My smile lost all control.

He veered off toward the house.

Kyle: "Let's not find out. I'll see you at church tomorrow, where getting on my knees is pleasing to God ... and Pastor Jacobson."

Not find out? Was he crazy? Oh, we were going to find out.

Kyle: "If I didn't have the responsibility of being a father, I wouldn't think twice about being a little reckless with you."

Eve: "Is this a warning or a promise?"

I couldn't look at him and act confident, so I continued down the four stairs to the yard.

Eve: "Because I'm terrible at heeding warnings but relentless at making people keep their promises."

Kyle: "Or I can go with you too."

Yes!

Eve: "Um, sure. I mean, if you want to. Don't feel you have to if you're busy doing laundry. I'd hate for you to wear dirty underwear to school Friday since you're supposed to look your best on game days."

Kyle: "I'd just go without underwear if I didn't have clean ones."

I pressed my lips together, trying not to imagine him without underwear.

Kyle: "You're not picturing me naked, are you?"

Eve: "Stop."

I coughed a laugh.

Eve: "No. I'm not."

"Liar," he mouthed.

Kyle: "Are you friends with my quarterback?"

She watched him over my shoulder.

Eve: "It's a small school. I'm friends with everyone."

Kyle: "Just friends?"

I asked and regretted the question before it made it all the way out of my mouth.

Josh took her hand and tried to pull her away from the field.

Her white teeth peeked out from her glossed lips.

Eve: "Coach, are you jealous of your quarterback?"

It wasn't the time or the place to discuss my fucked-up feelings, so I nodded towards the bench.

Kyle: "Have Josh grab his backpack. Do you have the money I gave you for the concession stand?"

Eve: "It's in my back pocket. Do you want to check?"

she baited me.

I'd met my match. But I never imagined she'd be eighteen.

Kyle: "Why do you have to be eighteen, Eve?"

I said, gazing at my hand as my knuckles brushed her neck.

Eve: "Because my parents had unprotected sex in 1968."

Kyle: "This is a terrible idea,"

I whispered more to myself than her.

She shrugged a shoulder.

Eve: "How do you know? You haven't kissed me yet."

Take a bite of the apple.

Eve: "I won't be anyone's regret,"

Eve said, teasing her fingers down my neck.

Kyle: "Not kissing you is the only thing I would ever regret,"

I whispered, ghosting my lips over her cheek, dancing around the point of no return.

A grin bloomed along her face.

Eve: You think I'm a screamer?"

I smirked.

Kyle: "I think I'm that good."

Eve: "Will I be grade don a curve, Mr. Collins?"

I stepped back and laced my fingers behind my neck. Worth noting (on record) that I never had inappropriate thoughts about a student or anyone who had ever called me "Mr. Collins."

Until Eve Jacobson. It had to be in the name. Eves were evil temptresses. Period.

God must have smacked his hand against his forehead, laughing at me.

Her name is Eve, and she loves apples.

Kyle: "It's just a metaphor,"

I whispered to myself. There was nothing in the Bible specifically stating it was an apple.

Eve: "What did you say?"

Kyle: "Nothing."

I pressed my lips together and looked at her while swallowing hard.

Kyle: "You can't call me Mr. Collins. Got it?"

Her tongue made a lazy and torturous swipe along her lower lip before she grinned.

Eve: "Not into roleplaying?"

Kyle: "Not unless it's with Josh and we're playing with toys. And we call it pretend play, not roleplaying."

Eve: "What do your students call you?"

She cocked her head to the side.

Kyle: "You're not my student."

Eve: "You've been teaching me things. And I'm eager to learn more from you."

I was going to hell despite having been baptized. The "once saved, always saved" only applied to guys who didn't kiss preachers' daughters named Eve.

Kyle: "Kyle. You can and should call me Kyle. Or Handsome. Even Awesome works. But not Mr. Collins."

Eve: "Coach?"

She stepped closer.

I shook my head.

She grabbed my shirt, head tipped back.

Eve: "Boss? After all, I work for you."

Kyle: "Call me Kyle,"

I whispered.

Eve: "I have to go so I can talk to my parents about us before they're in bed,"

she said, opening her door and plopping into the driver's seat.

Kyle: "You can what? Wait!"

I held open the door.

Eve: "What can they say? We're consenting adults."

She shrugged, putting the key into the ignition.

Kyle: "Eve ..."

I narrowed my eyes.

Her gaze washed across my face before she relinquished a shit-eating grin.

Eve: "Are you panicking?"

She smirked.

Eve: "Of course you are because I'm that good."

Kyle: "Evil."

She laughed while I shut her door.

Erin: "Whatever you do, you have to call me as soon as it's over and tell me everything."

Eve: "Good idea. I'll ask to use his phone while he discards the condom."

Kyle: "Eve, you must be careful, falling to your knees like that."

Eve: "I've spent many hours praying. My knees are used to it."

Eve: "You thought I was going to ..."

I bit my lip and looked at him again.

He kept his focus on the grassy path, trying to control his grin while he shrugged.

Eve: "I haven't. I mean, I would. I think. I'll look into it."

I tapped a finger on my chin.

He lost control and snorted, pressing a fist to his mouth.

Eve: "You assumed I would be more experienced?"

Kyle playfully nudged me back.

Kyle: "No. I don't assume you're experienced. I'd like to think you've been selective."

Eve: "A virgin?"

Kyle: "Judicious."

I laughed.

Eve: "You're such a nerd."

Guys came and went. They inflated hearts and broke them. Best friends and awesome grandmas picked up the pieces and mended them. Guys were givers and takers, but best friends shared everything. They made everything real.

Eve: "If you want to look at naked women,"

she leaned over me and pulled a Playboy magazine out from under my mattress,

Eve: "there are plenty in these pages."

She lay beside me and opened the magazine.

Kyle: "Stop."

I laughed, throwing an arm over my face.

Eve: "Do you prefer blondes or brunettes?"

she asked, flipping through the pages.

Eve: "And there is a correct answer to this question."

I groaned.

Kyle: "I'm burning all of those magazines first thing tomorrow."

Eve: "Before church? God will like that."

Kyle: "Let's go. I have Ruffles downstairs."

Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth to muffle her squeal. I pulled on my jeans and T-shirt while she pieced herself back together.

Eve: "You said you were a Lays guy."

Kyle: "I am. But the babysitter likes Ruffles."

Eve: "I think our only option right now is lovers."

Her nose wrinkled.

Eve: " Not cheesy lovers like that 'Friends and Lovers' song. I totally mean something like Billy Ocean's 'Loverboy.'"

She bit her lips and gave me the sexiest once-over.

I wanted to throw her onto the bed and tear off her clothes all over again.

Eva: "Do you wanna ne my loverboy?"

She snaked her arms around my neck and smirked.

Eve: "If you give me a beer with the chips, I'll get on my knees."

Fuck me.

Kyle: "And pray? To quote you: God would like that."

Eve: "Come on, Loverboy."

I had to restrain my grin. Eve was a fiery individual, and I loved that about her because I was pretty fiery at her age, too. Had we been the same age and met ten years earlier, we would have burned down the town and ourselves with it.

Our age difference wasn't unfortunate or inconvenient. It was necessary.

I grabbed the back of her jeans, hooking my fingers into the waist to stop her.

Eve: "Hey!"

Eve whipped around and before she could say another word, I grabbed her face, grinned, and kissed her.

She resisted for less than a second.

After making my point, I released her.

Kyle: "Now you can go home and be mad,"

I said before returning to the house.

The can of beer in his hand hissed when he opened it and handed it to me. I hesitated, gaze flitting between the beer and him. Then I took it.

Kyle tugged the button to his jeans and pulled down the zipper.

Kyle: "I don't care which you swallow first. Your choice."

In the end, I knew she needed me to be human and flawed, to see my impulsive and irrational side.

So I gave her a beer and told her to get on her knees.

A+

Eve was a quick study.

Eve: "One: Clifford is a hunting breed. I got him for you as well. Two: I'm gonna love ya, and if you don't like it, that's just too bad. I'm not even a little sorry."

Eve: "I love having sex with him. I feel like such a perv with a one-track mind. It's all I think about when we're together. He'll talk to my dad about football, and I think about his balls and how they sound slapping against me when we're doing it."

Erin: "Oh my god!"

Erin cackled, falling onto her back.

If he could love me even a little, that was enough.

Just a seed.

I would nurture that seed and wait for it to grow. And maybe, just maybe, he might find a way for us to be together without destroying everything we had between our families.

Mom: "Do you still have your virginity?"

I pressed my lips together and mirrored her narrow-eyed gaze.

Eve: "Like ... on me right now? It might be in my purse. I'd have to check. If it's not there, I could check the back seat of my car. You know I tend to lose things. I've lost my car keys twice, and I still haven't found my lower retainer."

Eve: "Where's Dad?"

I asked at breakfast on Saturday morning.

I assumed he'd be waiting for me with a new lecture scripted in my blood.

Mom set a pitcher of orange juice on the table while Gabby had her nose in a book between bites of French toast.

Mom: "Well, you're probably not going to believe it."

Eve: "Why wouldn't I believe it? Is he still at the strip club?"

Gabby whipped her head out of the book, eyes wide.

Mom scowled at me.

Mom: "What am I going to do with you?"

Eve: "Love me. That's your job,"

I said, pouring juice into my glass.

Kyle: "I hate being treated like a fucking child,"

he grumbled.

Eve: "On the upside, I bet you'll need a sponge bath several times a week. I could help with that."

Eve: "Grandma Bonnie said I have to stay on my side of the line or cross and build a fence. But what if I build a fence and Kyle tosses me over it because I'm just his poor decision?"

It was a test. He didn't think I'd tell them. But what if I did? Would he admit that he loved me too?

I had the chance to build the fence. Be brave. Risk everything for love like my sister Sarah did. But she knew she had someone's love. Kyle hadn't given me that. So I stood among his family with my heart on the verge of being exposed, open for anyone to step on it.

And that pissed me off.

He needed to love me more.

More than his need to avoid a scandal.

More than his need to appease my father.

More than I loved him.

Grandma Bonnie told me to find a man who I loved with my whole heart but who loved me just a little bit more.

He had my entire heart, but I didn't know if I had a single beat of his.

Kyle: "Baby,"

he whispered.

Kyle: "I only have one good arm, but I'll carry you."

Emotions beyond anything I had ever experienced bubbled over, and I blinked an endless stream of tears.

He stepped past me as I frantically wiped my face before Josh saw me crying.

Kyle: "I love her."

I couldn't turn around because the tears wouldn't stop. My heart swelled into my throat, making it impossible to breathe.

Anne: "Sorry, what?"

Anne said casually, as though she really didn't hear him.

Kyle: "I'm in love with Eve."

Kyle: "It just happened. Chemistry. Kismet. Fate. God's will. Eve is generous. Funny and nurturing. She has a young and wild heart with an old soul. To know her really is to love her. And the joy she brings to both Josh and me is immeasurable. Maybe I don't know where this is going, and I haven't said anything to her family yet, but she deserves a bold, selfless love. And if I'm honest, my feelings for her can't be contained any longer. So if you have a problem with this, then you don't know me, and you certainly don't know Eve. But I know she's worthy of the very best in life, and I think I'm at least worthy of a little luck."

Bonnie: "She's taken the role of wife too far. The 'love, honor, and obey' is too much. She feels responsible for your father's success and happiness - and you girls' too. When Sarah fell in love, your mom felt it was her fault that Sarah didn't choose a man your father approved of. She takes the blame for everything that's perceived as wrong. But she never takes credit for your successes. Being a wife and mother is a hard balance between unimaginable joy and complete insanity. You get stretched so thin some days, it feels like there's nothing left to hold yourself together. But that's not your problem."

He sat next to me and lit a cigarette.

Eve: "Can you have that in here?"

Raymond: "Yeah."

He took a puff and blew out the smoke.

Raymond: "They want me to get better, not kill myself."

He laughed.

I grinned.

Eve: "I'm not addicted to alcohol, but I abuse it. And it's hurting me and others. It robs me of my life, my happiness. I did this. It was my choice."

He took my face in his hands and kissed me.

I released a sob, gripping his jacket, When the kiss ended, he dragged his lips along my cheek to my ear and whispered,

Kyle: "I fell hard too."

Mom: "Eve, we only want what's best for you."

Eve: "But why do you get to choose? Why do you even get a say in it? I'm going to spend my whole life making mistakes. That's part of being human. Isn't it exhausting to feel responsible for everyone's choices? You have to let me do this. My decisions are mine now. I don't need you to make them for me. I need you to love me. You and Dad have always preached about unconditional love. A Godly kind of love. let me live. Let me stumble. Let me figure things out as I go. Just love me. That's it."

Eve: "I want a drink right now."

I murmured.

Eve: "Because it's how I dealt with this overwhelming feeling of judgement. And it's how I escaped emotions that were too much to bear. So, while it might be easy for everyone to ignore that I fell in love with Kyle, it's not easy for me."

My vision blurred behind my tears as I focused on my plate of half-eaten food.

Eve: "And the only thing worse than feeling like my heart doesn't matter or I'm wrong for feeling the way I do is the soul-crushing reality that he's leaving soon. And I have nothing to ease the pain."

Eve: "I should have stayed in rehab. Nobody judged me there. They just"

-I wiped more tears-

Eve: "listened. Like God - He just listens. And He lets me live my life, love who I want, and learn lessons in my own way. All the while just ... silently listening."

I sniffled and released a tiny laugh.

Eve: "I see why you like to talk about Him so much. He's pretty awesome. If only all fathers could love like that."

Kyle: "Eve, wait. Give me a minute."

She stopped, but she didn't turn.

Eve: "I can't wait. I have nothing to wait for. And I can't give you a minute because I've already given you everything. Months. Days. And so many minutes. I've given you every part of me, even the ugly parts. And I've given you my heart. Yet you don't want it. But someone will."

Kyle: "You can't go to Nashville,"

I repeated softer.

She sniffled.

Eve: "Why not?"

Kyle: "Because it's not on the way to Colorado. And we're going to Colorado. If I have to pick you up in Nashville, it will throw off our whole trip. Josh will get unruly, asking when we're going to be there. I'll have to buy twice the amount of snacks. It's just not going to work. I'm sorry."

She didn't speak or move. And as much as I wanted her to look at me, I knew I needed to earn everything.

Kyle: "It doesn't make sense for my heart to live in Nashville and yours to love in Colorado. They should just ... live together."

But before I could kiss her, she said,

Eve: "I'll think about it."

If I wasn't already frozen from the wind and flurries, her comment did it. Just as my heart began to sink into the bottom of my stomach, her lips twitched, and she rolled them between her teeth.

Was she hiding a grin?

I narrowed my eyes.

Kyle: "Are you -"

Eve: "Just kiss me like you do, so I can go home and pout before packing my things for Colorado."

Kyle: "Evil,"

I whispered before kissing her.

I heard the door close in the distance, and I knew her sisters were watching us. It didn't matter. I still kissed her hard because I never wanted to hide my feelings for her again.

When I released her, I managed a straight face.

Kyle: "Go pack your bags and be pissed off that you fell in love with a nerd who had to do the math before he discovered that you in his life added up to infinity."

Fred: "Well, you need his permission before you run off with his daughter."

I rubbed the tension from the back of my neck.

Kyle: "I will ask for his blessing, but we'll live without it if he doesn't give it to us."

Fred: "Kyle -"

Kyle: "Fred, I'm not asking for a dowry. This isn't an exchange of goods. Eve is an adult. And as sure as her father can refuse to give us his blessing, she can walk out that door without it and live her own life."

I closed my eyes as he peppered my face with light kisses.

Eve: "Kyle, I love you,"

I whispered.

Eve: "And I know you only came after me because some of Josh's favorite recipes are too complex for you to figure out."

Kyle: "Shh ... let's not dwell on the reasons,"

he said.

I giggled.

Kyle: "I don't care if anyone understands us. But it doesn't mean that I don't get it. I can take a step back and see it from their point of view. And that's called empathy. I think you - we - need to be empathetic to our families. Even if they don't understand us, we can give them space to change their minds over time as they see us thriving together."

I slowly nodded.

Eve: "We can prove them wrong."

He shook his head.

Kyle: "Maybe take a bigger step back. It's not about proving anyone wrong. It's about giving them time to see us as two people in love. And eventually they won't see a ten-year age difference. They'll just see love."

Again, I nodded.

Eve: "And then I can say I told you so."

Kyle laughed and I smirked.

Kyle: "Yes, baby."

He kneeled in front of the bed and pulled my legs, bringing me to the edge.

Kyle: "Then you can gloat."

He wrapped his arms around me, resting his forehead on my chest.

Kyle: "You're sexy when you're mad,"

he said on a chuckle.

Eve: "I'm not mad. I'm matter-of-fact. And don't think of it as sexy because I'm not having sex with you ever again if we're moving. In fact, I'm not moving. I'll keep the kids and the dog, and you can leave. You're getting kind of old anyway. It might be time to trade you in for a younger model."

Kyle: "Baby,"

he lowered his voice, brushing his lips along my ear,

Kyle: "I don't know where to start. First, we've already had sex twice today, and it's not even nine a.m. So your sex threats don't hold up."

I glanced over at the girls to see if they were listening to us.

Kyle: "Second, not other man could handle you. They'd try to tame you, and that would be a crime."

Eve: "Thank you,"

I said with a face-splitting grin.

Kyle: "For this morning?"

He was a relentless flirt.

Eve: "I'm pretty sure it is you who should be thanking me for this morning, but I meant to say thank you for not leaving me behind ten years ago when I was newly sober, stupid as the day was long, and so stubborn because -"

Kyle: "Because you were hot for teacher."

Eve: "Stop."

I giggled, giving him a playful shove.

Eve: "You're letting me spread my wings because you know the chances of finding someone who thinks you're irresistible despite your weird love for arithmetic is slim to none."

Kyle: 'Slim to none is not a real statistic."

I shook my head, brushing past him.

Eve: "You make my job so easy by always proving my point."