out there. Do you want me to drive you?”
“You’ve never gone snowshoeing by moonlight? You’ve really missed something. I’ll have to take you sometime. Anyway, I’ve done it plenty of times, and I know the way home.”
“Hey, you two,” Bree interrupted, “I’m going to go upstairs and get blankets and pillows and stuff. Very slowly. You take all the time you want.” She got up and pounded up the back stairs to her room.
“Tactful girl, that.”
“She is. Either that or she’s ducking out on doing the dishes.”
“Smart, too. Listen, Meg, call me if you see or hear anything odd.”
“You think I have anything to worry about? Really?”
“I don’t know, but you seem to attract trouble. I can be back here in a couple of minutes if you need me.”
“Thank you for the thought. Maybe it was nothing, just somebody who was curious. I certainly hope so. Are we ready to say good night, since we have Bree’s permission?”
“Definitely.”
Several minutes later Seth pulled away and shrugged on his coat. “Come on, Max. We’re going home.” At the word “home” Max leapt to his feet and waited eagerly by the door. “Night, Meg. And lock your doors.”
“I will. Safe home, Seth.” She watched until he and Max disappeared into the darkness and she could no longer hear the crunch of his steps, then closed the door. And locked it.
10
“Is the coast clear?” Bree said, peering down the staircase, clutching pillows and blankets.
Meg suppressed a giggle. “Yes, he’s gone. So you’re camping out with me down here?”
Bree clomped down the stairs, her arms full. “It’s freezing up there! You know how much my windows leak? The panes have really neat frost patterns on them. If I want to wake up in the morning, we’d better stick together.” She went through the kitchen and dropped her bedding in a heap on the floor in front of the fire. “Do we close the doors and stuff?”
“Yes. Lolly’s already figured out the routine, and knows where all the warmest spots are. We’ll build up the fire before we go to sleep, and it should last until morning, more or less. Toughen up! We’re living on a farm.”
“Yeah, in the twenty-first century, not the eighteenth. I like modern conveniences.”
“At least we have light and hot water back. What was Amherst like?”
“Snowy, duh. Kids were sledding on the hill at the college. Looked like fun, but Michael and I stayed inside.”
“You could go sledding down the orchard hill,” Meg pointed out.
“What, you think I’m a kid?”
“Well, compared to me you are. You want anything from the kitchen before we settle in here?”
“Maybe something hot to drink. We could do cocoa and marshmallows,” Bree said hopefully, and for a moment she did look like an eager kid.
“No marshmallows, I’m afraid, but I can handle cocoa. Remind me to tell you about what we found in a closet while Seth and I were cleaning up the house.”
“Oh, you found time to clean?” Bree grinned wickedly.
“Yes, we did. Although we didn’t touch your room. If you’ve got vermin nesting in there, you’re on your own.”
“They’re probably going to freeze to death.”
Meg smiled as she made one last trip to the kitchen, which still retained some of the heat from dinner. She filled two mugs with milk and stuck them in the microwave to heat, blessing the appliance as she did so. Yes, she did like modern conveniences, too, she thought, as she watched the mugs circle slowly in the microwave. Although the process of maintaining the orchard couldn’t be much different than it was a hundred years earlier—a lot of stuff still had to be done by hand, tree by tree.
The microwave pinged, and Meg fished out the hot mugs gingerly. In compensation for the lack of marshmallows, she added a dash of brandy. Bree was an adult, and they weren’t about to go anywhere. She carried the mugs back to the parlor and handed one to Bree.
“Here you go. Have you seen
“You’ve never gone snowshoeing by moonlight? You’ve really missed something. I’ll have to take you sometime. Anyway, I’ve done it plenty of times, and I know the way home.”
“Hey, you two,” Bree interrupted, “I’m going to go upstairs and get blankets and pillows and stuff. Very slowly. You take all the time you want.” She got up and pounded up the back stairs to her room.
“Tactful girl, that.”
“She is. Either that or she’s ducking out on doing the dishes.”
“Smart, too. Listen, Meg, call me if you see or hear anything odd.”
“You think I have anything to worry about? Really?”
“I don’t know, but you seem to attract trouble. I can be back here in a couple of minutes if you need me.”
“Thank you for the thought. Maybe it was nothing, just somebody who was curious. I certainly hope so. Are we ready to say good night, since we have Bree’s permission?”
“Definitely.”
Several minutes later Seth pulled away and shrugged on his coat. “Come on, Max. We’re going home.” At the word “home” Max leapt to his feet and waited eagerly by the door. “Night, Meg. And lock your doors.”
“I will. Safe home, Seth.” She watched until he and Max disappeared into the darkness and she could no longer hear the crunch of his steps, then closed the door. And locked it.
10
“Is the coast clear?” Bree said, peering down the staircase, clutching pillows and blankets.
Meg suppressed a giggle. “Yes, he’s gone. So you’re camping out with me down here?”
Bree clomped down the stairs, her arms full. “It’s freezing up there! You know how much my windows leak? The panes have really neat frost patterns on them. If I want to wake up in the morning, we’d better stick together.” She went through the kitchen and dropped her bedding in a heap on the floor in front of the fire. “Do we close the doors and stuff?”
“Yes. Lolly’s already figured out the routine, and knows where all the warmest spots are. We’ll build up the fire before we go to sleep, and it should last until morning, more or less. Toughen up! We’re living on a farm.”
“Yeah, in the twenty-first century, not the eighteenth. I like modern conveniences.”
“At least we have light and hot water back. What was Amherst like?”
“Snowy, duh. Kids were sledding on the hill at the college. Looked like fun, but Michael and I stayed inside.”
“You could go sledding down the orchard hill,” Meg pointed out.
“What, you think I’m a kid?”
“Well, compared to me you are. You want anything from the kitchen before we settle in here?”
“Maybe something hot to drink. We could do cocoa and marshmallows,” Bree said hopefully, and for a moment she did look like an eager kid.
“No marshmallows, I’m afraid, but I can handle cocoa. Remind me to tell you about what we found in a closet while Seth and I were cleaning up the house.”
“Oh, you found time to clean?” Bree grinned wickedly.
“Yes, we did. Although we didn’t touch your room. If you’ve got vermin nesting in there, you’re on your own.”
“They’re probably going to freeze to death.”
Meg smiled as she made one last trip to the kitchen, which still retained some of the heat from dinner. She filled two mugs with milk and stuck them in the microwave to heat, blessing the appliance as she did so. Yes, she did like modern conveniences, too, she thought, as she watched the mugs circle slowly in the microwave. Although the process of maintaining the orchard couldn’t be much different than it was a hundred years earlier—a lot of stuff still had to be done by hand, tree by tree.
The microwave pinged, and Meg fished out the hot mugs gingerly. In compensation for the lack of marshmallows, she added a dash of brandy. Bree was an adult, and they weren’t about to go anywhere. She carried the mugs back to the parlor and handed one to Bree.
“Here you go. Have you seen
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