“Why do you think I did something?” Hunter said. “Gosh, you really must think I’m the worst, brother.”
“No, you’re not the worst at all, you just don’t always let people see your best,” Jack pointed out, as he walked over to Hunter and pulled him into a hug. “I think you’re the best, and I’m glad we’ve gotten to hang out more lately.”
I stayed silent, giving them a moment as Hunter ducked his head and whispered something in Jack’s ear. They broke apart, both trying their best not to look teary eyed, while avoiding eye contact. Deciding to go out on a limb and give them an easy out, I proposed my next idea.
“If you want to spend more time together, I kind of have the perfect idea. Although fair warning, I will be using both of your gorgeous bodies and putting them to work.”
Hunter grunted while Jack knocked into his side.
“I’m listening,” the youngest Halston said eagerly.
“How would you all like to help me with trying my hand at making Cedarwick’s Famous Cider?”
Chapter16
Autumn
“Um, Autumn? How many kinds of cider did you have in mind?” Hunter asked as he glanced down at the huge stack of recipe cards and photocopies in front of me. I gave him a sheepish smile as I took one and tossed it aside.
“Enough to figure out our classic version, and a new version,” I said evenly.
“Out of all these? You’ll go through your entire crop,” Boone noted. “Let’s see what we’re working with.”
He was in full business mode now, grabbing the pencil from behind my ear and making notes right on the cards. Soon he had three stacks. The entire time he was sorting and marking up the cards I’d spent days pouring over, his eyebrows were wrinkled in deep thought. He mumbled quietly under his breath and I couldn’t help but study him.
Boone was adorable and thoughtful, and I was lucky to be getting to know him like this. I knew there were many sides to himself he kept hidden from others, but he couldn’t hide the way he cared for his people, and I was quickly becoming addicted to having that in my life. To having him in my life.
All of them honestly, but I had to keep them separate in my mind so I didn’t neglect someone. Not to mention Hunter was acting strange still. Holding back physically while still flirting, we were at a slightly awkward place and I wasn’t sure how to take it. Then there was sweet and sexy Jack. We hadn’t fully connected yet, but spending time with him was so easy. We just fit together and I felt like I’d known him my whole life.
“What did you figure out?” I asked, curious to see what he found that I’d missed. Honestly it was a desperate attempt to get my mind off of them and back in reality for a bit.
“This stack, they use maple syrup as their sweetener. The additions vary outside of that but it’s the common factor. This second stack, it’s brown sugar and sometimes a mix of white and brown. Then this last is just straight white sugar. You only have one odd man out and I’d just chuck it aside. No one wants to use molasses,” he concluded, handing over the recipe in question. I tossed it aside before stepping in next to him. Our shoulders brushed but he leaned into it this time instead of pulling away. A smile pulled at my lips as I pretended to study them, but secretly I was breathing in his scent and enjoying the touch.
“So how do we eliminate these down to one?” Jack asked as he and Hunter stepped up to the work table we’d drug to the middle of the barn.
“Find the common ingredients and make our own?” Hunter suggested. We all glanced up at him, the guys just as surprised as I was by his input.
“That’s a great plan,” I said. “We get them down to one recipe each then try all three and pick our favorite. Then I’ll make a Cedarwick classic batch. This is their recipe.”
I held up the weathered recipe card. Grandma had written little notes on the sides and had even added a few cute apple drawings to the edges. She used a precise blend of spices, adding way more than any of the new recipes had.
“You should frame that,” Jack said. “Hang it in the kitchen somewhere or out here.”
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed. “For now, we’re going to use it. I figured with how spiced this one is, a more subtle blend would be good too. Which all of these fit that.”
It took us literally hours to peel, core, cut, and boil the apples to perfection. It smelled amazing in the barn, but I was covered in juice from the apples and a thin layer of sweat. This was much harder than I anticipated. If I didn’t have the guys around I’d have no hope of operating the huge apple press that grandpa had installed out here, smooshing the apples and filtering out the pulp so just the thick juice remained.
“So wait, what’s the difference between cider and juice?” Hunter asked as we watched it fill the big tub under the press.
“Processing,” I answered. “I did a bunch of research on it. It’s essentially ultra filtered and has a sweeter taste and none of the pulp gets through at all. Whereas apple cider gets a bit more of that and is thicker, and often spiced to some extent. It’s also often blended with citrus too.”
Boone grinned over at me. “You sound like an apple expert. It seems to be doing you good to be out here at the orchard.”
“That and years of summers spent out here,” I countered. “I’m not just your average city girl.”
“No you’re not,” Hunter said absently. From the way he didn’t even glance up I don’t think he meant for anyone to hear it and since he sounded happy about that fact, I didn’t bother to point it out. Jack and Boone exchanged a look but didn’t say anything as they finished pressing out the last of the apples.
“This feels like a waste,” Jack noted, pointing to the huge tub of apple cores and peels.