The morning sun rose over the more than 60 acres of Thornton Family Orchard. Walking along the rows of apple trees, Jack Thornton breathed in the morning dew. This was home. He and his brother Tom grew up climbing these trees and exploring the seemingly endless rows of the orchard. Tom had been working this land ever since he graduated college with a degree in business and agriculture. Jack on the other hand had different dreams. He joined the United States Army after college, serving valiantly until the day he knew without a doubt, it was time to come home.

7 years ago, Jack was deployed to Afghanistan on his 4th deployment. He was sandy, bruised, and tired after a difficult mission that barely left his unit standing. His most difficult deployment yet. After being checked out and tended to by medical staff, he was ready for a good long nights sleep. Unfortunately, sleep would have to wait. He was called into the main communications tent for an emergency message from home.

Tom and his wife, Megan were expecting their first child. She was a little more than 6 months along. The message stated that Megan had been rushed to the hospital with significant bleeding. The doctors later said she suffered from placental abruption, where the placenta had detached from the uterine wall. It was life threatening for both her and the baby.

After reading the message, Jack rushed to the morale tent to call home. The three rings it took for Jack's mom, Charlotte, to answer seemed to take an eternity. Finally she answered.

"Hello?" Charlotte's voice was weak.

"Mom! It's me. How's Megan? How's the baby?"

"Oh, Jack," Charlotte sobbed. "Megan's gone. The doctors did everything they could, but she's gone."

"No…" Jack felt the whole tent spinning. "What about the baby?"

"His name is Ryan. He's in the NICU. So small, but strong. The doctors said we need to be patient and hope for the best. He's not out of the woods yet."

That was it for Jack. He requested emergency leave for bereavement. Thankfully, it was granted quickly, something that was unheard of in his unit. The journey home took over 24 hours. When his mom picked him up from the airport, they drove straight to the hospital.

A nurse found a room for Jack to change out of his uniform before taking him to the NICU to meet Ryan.

Inside the NICU, Tom sat in a chair next to his son's incubator, his hand resting on the outside. That was as close as he could be to his little boy. Jack approached quietly, placing his hand on Tom's shoulder.

"Jack." Tom stood and hugged his big brother. Letting his tears pour out. "I don't know how to do this, Jack. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I… I don't know what to do. I don't want to do this alone."

"You're not alone. I'm here for you, little bro. Always." Jack resigned from his commission a week later to be another loving set of hands for Ryan and support his brother. It was a decision he never regretted. It was what you did for family.

Ryan was now a 7 year old spit fire. Keeping all of them on their toes and beloved by everyone working at the orchard. The only tell that he'd had a rough entry into this world, other than being without his mom, was the fact that he was deaf. Being born so early though, Tom and the rest of the family were grateful that was the only marker of his traumatic entrance.

Tom never remarried. He was content with his son and having his mom and brother close by. Jack remained single as well. He kept busy with work and family and, for the most part, that was enough for him.

Yes, this was a good life, even if sometimes he felt something was missing.

…..

The green lights on Elizabeth Thatcher's alarm clock were showing 5:30 AM as the obnoxious alarm blared like a siren through the master bedroom in her townhouse home. She hit the off button hard before rolling out of bed with a thud.

Standing up, Elizabeth stretched her arms high over her head, ready to take on the day. It was Tuesday. She liked Tuesdays. As a high school teacher, Mondays could be dreadful depending on how much rest and homework her students managed to get done over the weekend. Fridays were also challenging as the kids tended to be more focused on their weekend plans than her teaching. Regardless, she loved her job.

After a quick shower she grabbed her robe and went downstairs. Taking her favorite mug off the rack, she placed it under the Keurig machine. She looked in the little basket of k-cups next to the machine. Monday's and Friday's were her chai tea mornings. It was her favorite. On a Tuesday though she tended to go for something different. She popped in the dark roasted blend cup and hit brew.

While the aroma filled the air of her small but cozy kitchen, she made two lunches and then pulled out two boxes of cereal, Lucky Charms and Raisin Bran. She left them on the counter along with two bowls and went back up the stairs, stopping in the doorway of the room across the hall from hers.

There tucked warmly under the covers was her 7 year old son, Levi. His out of control dark brown curly hair spread out over the blue solar system pillow case.

She crouched down next to the bed and began rubbing her hand over his back, slowly stirring him from his slumber. When he awoke, she smiled, giving him a wave. He waved back.

Elizabeth's right hand formed a sideways "c" shape and ran from the top of her chest down to her stomach, the American Sign Language sign for "hungry."

Levi nodded and climbed out of bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as they walked back downstairs. He tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder. When she was looking at him he signed, "school today?"

"Yes," Elizabeth signed as she spoke. She always did both, encouraging him to not only know sign, but read lips. It would serve him well as he got older and had to live out in the world. They were two weeks into the new school year already. "You have a field trip today, remember?"

Levi thought for a moment. "Apple farm?" he signed.

"Yes! You will love it!"

"Okay."

Levi was Elizabeth's pride and joy, and even though he had crazy curls just like she did as a child, there was no biological connection between them.

When Elizabeth was 24 years old, living in Sarasota Florida, a woman came to the church she was attending talking about the need for good foster families in the area. Being a single woman, Elizabeth paid only some attention at first. Then the woman mentioned the need for respite providers as well. That got her attention. Respite was short term, weekends to a week or so long commitments. It allows foster parents to take a break, which helps prevent burn out. Respite offers birth children of the foster home quality time with their parents. It also gives the foster children a break.

The woman was asking on behalf of the organization for people to consider doing respite foster care. That was something Elizabeth could do. She was living close to her parents but in her own condo and her job as a teacher was steady and predictable. Elizabeth was dating someone at the time but they weren't serious, and truth be told she wasn't sure if it was going anywhere. She wanted it to, at least she thought so.

After the church service, Elizabeth introduced herself to the woman and began the process. She had her first placement within a month.

Three years later, Elizabeth was doing regular respite care for a family with a little toddler who had been born deaf, Levi. He was bright and happy. She always looked forward to his visits. When the time came that Levi needed a forever home, the foster family that had been caring for him felt unable to be that home. Elizabeth felt such a pull towards the little boy, and hated the thought of him possibly floating around the system. Children with disabilities could be hard to place. So after much prayer and long talks with her family and the social worker, Elizabeth adopted Levi. The decision caused a rift between her and her boyfriend that eventually lead to their break up, but even so, it was a decision she still thought of as the best she'd ever made.

Elizabeth's parents were proud of her for the choice, but still they worried Elizabeth was setting herself up for a life alone as a single mother. The thought bothered Elizabeth very little. If she were to marry, the right man wouldn't mind Levi, but would love him just as she did. Now at the age of 32, that man hadn't arrived yet, but that was okay. She could wait. Right now her love for her son was enough.

After they'd finished breakfast, Elizabeth went to her room to get ready for the day, leaving Levi to do the same.

She opened her closet door and began looking for the right outfit for the day. Her eyes glanced down at the few unopened boxes from when they'd moved to a small town outside of Rochester, NY a year ago. She missed her home state and family in Florida, but hoped the move here would be good for them.

The Rochester area was known for having a strong deaf community. It was important to Elizabeth that Levi didn't live his life always feeling like an outsider. Unfortunately, in the last year, with her adjusting to a new job and city, they'd done very little in trying to get to know that community. He was on the waiting list for a good school in the area that was well equipped for children who were deaf or hard of hearing. It was only a matter of time. Until then, he attended a small school in town. It was a good school, just one where he was the only child like him.

As she finished getting dressed in her fitted jeans, blouse and cardigan there was a soft knock on the door. She hurried over to answer it. Levi was there and gestured to his outfit. With two fingers together she circled her face and said, "Very handsome." Levi smiled.

"School time?" he signed.

"Yes. Time to go."

…...

At 8:30, with his travel mug in hand, Jack walked up the wooden stairs to the office inside the orchard's main barn. It was the largest on the property and had recently been renovated. The upstairs office was a beautiful space. Windows facing the inside gave a perfect view of the old rafters and down to the first floor of the barn where the shop and children's sections was.

The children's section was like a little hands-on museum that talked about the history of the orchard and the differences in the kinds of apples that grew there as well some of the other farm elements that could be found on the orchard. There was a soft area with mats and pillows where Jack and Tom's mom would lead story times each week for babies and toddlers as well as a small play area. Most school trips started in the children's area as well. It was their mother's favorite place, as she'd taken a great deal of time and care in creating it.

The upstairs office wall facing the outside world had been redone during the renovation and now had large windows that overlooked the orchard with a breathtaking view of the Lake Ontario. If you had to work in an office sometimes, this was the one to be in.

"Hey, Tom," Jack greeted his brother as he entered the office. "Ryan get to school okay?"

"Yup. He's all set. What's in the cup?" Tom asked as he reclined in his office chair.

"Coffee. Can't start my day without it." Ever since Jack's 4th and final deployment, he didn't sleep well. Visions and sounds from it would sneak up on him when he least expected, making him uneasy.

"You know I make coffee here every morning, right?" He laughed and pointed to the brewing pot over on the counter.

Jack gave a shrug. "I'm picky first thing in the morning."

Tom laughed. "Alright. Looks like we have a busy day today. We've got a school field trip coming in before lunch and there's a number of trees on the east side ready for picking and then of course we need to keep up with the cider orders."

"No problem. The cider donuts downstairs in the store?"

"The first few batches, yes. I'm going to work up front today so I'll keep an eye on that."

"That leaves orchard work for me. Perfect." Jack smiled. He loved working outside, especially now in the early September air. "Who's leading the field trip around today?"

"Mom offered."

"Good. She's great at that stuff." Jack scanned the papers sitting on his desk. "Let's make sure the kids get cider donuts at some point during the tour."

"Sure thing. I'll try to time it so they're nice and warm for them." Jack nodded and returned his attention back to the papers.

The Thornton brothers had their family's orchard running like a well oiled machine. Their father, the late Thomas Thornton, would have been very proud.

…..

Charlotte stood outside the main barn dressed in her work boots and red flannel shirt under her black fleece vest, waiting for the bus of first graders to arrive. Being a former educator, she loved leading field trips. Her long straight dark hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail under her "Thornton Orchards" hat.

She loved this land. Had ever since her late husband Tom brought her there for a late night picnic for the third date. It had been hard at times over the past 10 years without him, but working the land side by side with her sons made her feel close to him again.

The bus pulled in and Charlotte waved. She watched as the kids, a couple chaperones and two teachers stepped off. One teacher stayed close to one adorable, curly haired boy. Watching their interactions, she smiled and approached them.

"I'm Charlotte, what's your name?" She signed as she spoke to the boy. His face lit up.

"Levi."

"Welcome Levi!" Giving the boy a wink, she walked up to the front of the group to begin the tour. "Alright children, eyes and ears on me, please. My name is Charlotte, and I'll be showing you around a bit today! First, let's line up and go inside this big barn here. I'll tell you a story about the history of our beloved orchard and some about the many things we do here."

Inside, Levi sat tight with the rest of his classmates as they listened to Charlotte speak. She read them a story about apple picking. He watched as his aid signed along as Charlotte spoke. When that was done, they went for a hayride out to the orchard and each kid got to pick apples to be made into cider.

Levi was loving it. The orchard was like a giant, beautiful playground to him. Something out of a fairytale.

The class road the hayride back to the barn where Charlotte told them all about how they made cider and their famous cider donuts. They watched as the apples they picked were turned into cider and even got to try a taste.

Just as they were getting ready to go back on the hayride to pick some apples to take home, Levi's aid got a call on her cell phone.

"Mrs. Roberts?" the aid, Jen Nelson waved the teacher over. "That was the school. My daughter's sick. I need to go get her. You think you'll be alright?"

"I suppose so." Mrs. Roberts glanced over at Levi. He was busy watching the cider press machine do its work. "Levi is such an easy going child. I don't imagine any issues. Besides, you've taught me a few signs. I'll do my best."

"Great! He is learning to read lips, so just look at him when you speak and hopefully that will help. Just look out for him. He can easily get lost in his own little world."

Jen hurried over to Levi and explained her situation. She told him to be a good boy and pay attention. He nodded and signed to her that he hoped her daughter felt better soon.

"Such a sweet boy," she smiled. "See you soon."

Levi waved. As he looked around the room, he noticed Charlotte starting to speak and hurried over. She talked a bit fast for him to read her lips. He waved at her and she immediately noticed. She repeated her words while signing, saying that the kids were to go back out on the hay wagon with their apple bags and pick some apples to share with their families before getting back on the bus. That made Levi excited. His mom loved apples. He would make sure to pick the very best he could find for her.

As they walked on, one of the boys in his class, Josiah, smiled and said, "Want to pick apples together?" He pointed between the two of them and their bags, making his words clearer.

Levi nodded and was grateful not to feel alone at the moment. Charlotte came over to him, telling him goodbye and that it was nice having him at the orchard that day. He didn't know why, but this woman was really nice and seemed to understand him more than his teacher did. Not that he didn't like his teacher. She was nice, but she would forget sometimes that Levi wasn't like the other kids.

Back out in the fields, the class picked apples for another 20 minutes. Levi and Josiah picked apples together almost the entire time. Just before they were ready to board the hayride for the bus, Josiah told the teacher he needed to use the bathroom. The chaperone took him while Levi climbed out of the tree.

Mrs. Roberts made an announcement for all the kids to get ready to leave, but Levi didn't notice. He walked over to the next row of apple trees and saw a bunch of perfectly shaped apples near the top of one of the trees. He hurried up the tree to try and pick some before it was time to go. Those apples, he thought, would be perfect for his mom.

…..

A little while later back at the high school, the heels of Rosie LaVeaux's fancy shoes clicked loudly down the hallway of the English wing as she rushed towards Elizabeth's classroom. The music and drama teacher had been a long time childhood friend of Elizabeth's as well as the one to encourage the move to New York. She poked her head into the classroom and knocked.

"Ms. Thatcher, may I speak to you for a moment?"

"Excuse me, class. Please continue your round-robin reading to the end of the chapter." She walked over to Rosie. "What is it?"

"Okay, now don't panic…"

"Rosie, nothing good ever comes from the phrase, "don't panic." Besides you look nervous. What's going on?"

"Levi's school just called. They sort of accidentally left him at the orchard after the field trip."

"They what?!" Her voice rose well above its normal octave. Her students all turned to see what was going on. "Class, keep reading. I'll be right out in the hall." She closed the door as she stepped out with Rosie.

"Apparently his aid had to leave on an emergency and the teacher thought she could handle it but they miscounted back on the bus and…"

"None of the other children noticed? What about the parents that went?"

"A couple of the children did, but the teacher just said she'd counted heads and it was fine. The rest thought he went with the aid or something."

"Unbelievable! I need to go get my son."

"I know, I'm here until your sub comes for the rest of the day. You give that school of his an earful for me, will you?"

"Oh, you can count on it!"

Elizabeth made a brief announcement to her students and rushed out the door.

Back at the orchard, Tom slammed the phone back on the receiver at the front desk downstairs.

"Unbelievable," he groaned. He left the register and walked out back to find Jack. Thankfully, he didn't have to look very far. Jack was sitting on the four-wheeler looking over the papers on his clipboard, getting ready to go back out to the east field.

"Jack, we have a problem."

"What is it?"

"That school that was here earlier just called. They left a kid behind."

Jack looked around where he sat. "You're kidding. Where?"

"No idea. But we have to find him and make sure he's okay."

"What's the name?"

"Levi, he's got curly brown hair. But you should know, he won't answer if you call. He's deaf."

"They lost a child who's deaf? What's wrong with them?"

"The teacher said she counted but somehow it still happened."

"I'll drive around. Get a couple of the other guys to look too."

"Got it. His mom's on her way."

"Wouldn't want to mess with her today."

"Tell me about it! If it were my kid, I'd be ticked!"

Jack drove out to where he remembered the class being for apple picking. Turning off the engine he looked around. All he could see were apple trees. If there was a kid out here, something would move. He knew what it was like to have Ryan out here with him. That kid could climb anything.

Walking in a little ways, Jack squatted down in the middle of the section, looking every which way for any signs of movement.

At first, there was nothing. Then just as he was about to get up, there was something. Three rows down, he heard a thud, followed but a couple more. Apples had just fallen from one of the Macintosh trees. Jack rose and went towards the tree in question.

Sure enough as he looked up from the base of the tree, he saw a little boy with a wild mop of curly brown hair up about as high as you could climb.

Jack made sure he was standing where the boy could see him and spoke aloud as he signed.

"Are you Levi?"

"Yes," the boy signed.

"Your class left."

"Sorry. I got lost."

"It's okay. Your mom is coming for you." The boy signed thank you. Jack couldn't help but smile at the adorable boy. "You hungry?"

Levi held up the apple he was munching on and nodded.

"Come with me," Jack told him with a laugh. "You can share my lunch. You like tuna?"

"My favorite," Levi signed.

"Good."

Jack helped the boy climb down safely.

"How do you know sign?" Levi asked.

"My nephew."

Levi looked at him confused. Jack wondered if he got the sign wrong, or maybe the boy wasn't familiar with it. He rephrased.

"My brother's son is deaf. He's your age."

"Oh!" Levi showed him the right sign for nephew.

"That's right. Sorry about that." Jack noticed the boy watching his lips too. "Do you read lips?"

"A little. I practice with my mom."

"Okay. I'll keep talking while a sign then. That okay?"

Levi gave him a thumbs up.

Jack grabbed the radio off the four-wheeler and told Tom that he found the boy and was bringing him back to the main barn. He waved Levi over as he climbed onto the four-wheeler, sitting Levi in front of him. Gently taking the boys hands, he placed them on something he could hold on to. He gave the boy a thumbs up, Levi nodded and they were off back to the main barn.

Levi had never been on a four-wheeler before. He loved it. He let out a laugh. Jack could feel the boy's laughter against his chest and smiled.

Tom waved as Jack pulled up around the back of the barn.

"You must be Levi?" Like Jack, he signed as he spoke. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thank you," Levi signed with a soft smile. "Sorry I got left."

"Don't worry about it." Tom ruffled the boys hair.

"I told him I'd share my lunch with him. When his mom comes, we'll be right back here."

"Sounds good. Enjoy your lunch, Levi." Levi waved.

Jack asked Levi to wait out back by a big old tractor while he ran up to grab his lunch. He did as he was told. He climbed up on the tractor's front end using the large front tire and looked around.

The orchard was a busy place. People were everywhere working. Everyone seemed nice though. They waved and smiled at Levi as they walked by. He waved back. This was nice. He didn't like going out much. People stared. He knew a lot of the time people were just curious and not trying to be mean, but for a little boy, it could be hard to tell the difference.

Jack tapped on the tractor as he came near, gaining Levi's attention. He jumped up on the hood, which made a loud noise. Even though Levi couldn't hear it, he felt it and laughed. Jack smiled, the kid had a great laugh.

Opening his lunch, Jack took half the tuna sandwich and handed it to Levi, who signed "Thank you." Next he opened a big bag of Sun Chips and placed it between them.

They sat without communicating for the first bit. It worked for both of them. Levi was enjoying feeling like one of the guys with Jack. He missed his uncles and Grandpa back in Florida and hadn't made a ton of friends at school yet. Jack didn't mind the silence either. Years of service and deployments made him more of the strong, silent type. After a bit though, he decided to break the "silence."

"Do you speak?" Jack pointed to his throat. Ryan would speak at home, or at his school some, but rarely out in public. He had some residual hearing with his hearing aids, but not enough to be considered "hearing."

Levi shook his head. "I think I sound funny."

"I bet you sound just fine." Jack gave him a playful nudge.

Levi shrugged. "I can sort of hear it with my hearing aid in. But I don't think I like it. My mom likes when I use my voice."

"What about your dad?"

"No dad, one parent."

"Oh."

"It's okay. Mom is awesome."

…..

After a 45 minute drive, Elizabeth flew into the dirt parking lot of Thornton Orchard kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake. She jumped out of the car as soon as it was in park and ran inside the main barn.

"Can I help you?" Tom asked from behind the main desk.

"My son…" she huffed catching her breath. "He was left here by his school."

"Levi! Yes. He's doing just fine, don't worry. He's out back having lunch with my brother. I'll take you to them."

"Thank you…"

"Tom. Tom Thornton."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Elizabeth."

"Nice to meet you too. Even if the circumstances are not so great."

"I still can't believe this happened. How could they forget my son?!"

"I hear ya. I'd be livid if it were my son."

They exited the barn at the side door and began walking down the hill.

"If you don't mind me asking Elizabeth, how has that school been accommodating with Levi and his needs?" Elizabeth appeared taken aback by his question. "I only ask because my son's in the same boat. He's at Eastman now." Eastman was another public school but one with a large deaf population. It was the one Levi was waitlisted on.

"Your son's deaf?"

Tom nodded. "Since birth. He was a preemie. My wife had delivered early, which caused lots of issues. She didn't make it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Tom nodded. "I wanted to get Levi in Eastman. I've heard wonderful things about it. He's on the waiting list right now. We don't live in this district, so it's tricky."

Tom thought for a moment. "My mom's on the school board for Eastman. I'll ask a few questions and see if there's anything we can do to speed that along for you."

"You'd do that? You don't know me."

"Of course. Just leave me your number or email, okay?"

"I really appreciate it, Tom."

"No problem. It's hard, but they're such a blessing, aren't they?"

"The best kind," Elizabeth smiled, feeling as if she'd just made a new friend. Tom seemed sweet and genuine and he lit up talking about his son. It hurt her heart to know such a nice man had had such a rough go of it in this life.

Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts as they rounded the back corner of the barn. There Levi was, sitting on a tractor eating lunch with the most handsome man Elizabeth had ever seen.

Levi wasn't the least bit scared or worried. In fact, he sat there signing away to Jack who'd smiled and signed back.

"Oh wow. That's not like him. He's so quiet around strangers."

"Yeah? Maybe it's because Jack's signing to him. He feels like his with his people."

"Maybe. We moved here a year ago. A childhood friend told me this was a great area with children like him. But I haven't met many people yet. Just trying to get our feet under us. I know that sounds pathetic after a year."

"Nah, I understand. Don't worry. Now you've met me, I'll make sure you don't get lost around here." Tom gave her a friendly wink.

"Thanks." Tom was cute, but in Elizabeth's eyes he was not as good looking as his brother. If his brother was half as charming as Tom, she could be in trouble. She took a breath trying to focus her thoughts as they walked over.

Tom picked up a small stone and with perfect aim bounced it off the side of the tractor making both Jack and Levi look up.

"Mom!" Levi used his voice. Jack had been right. It was a really nice sound. Levi quickly hopped off the tractor and ran towards Elizabeth.

Jack moved a little slower. He felt something in his stomach he hadn't felt in a long time as he looked at the woman hugging Levi.

"Oh, my sweet boy!" She hugged him tight, kissing the top of his head before holding him at a distance so she could sign to him. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "I climbed a tree and everyone left."

"Ma'am?" Jack walked up. "I'm Jack Thornton. Your son's been keeping me company."

"Jack, hi." She felt flustered to say the least, trying with all her might to think of something other than how physically fit and handsome this man was. Then he smiled, a cute, deep dimpled smile. Oh dear, one could forget their name with a smile like that.

"You have a great boy here." Jack continued to sign as he talked, including Levi in the conversation. That impressed Elizabeth a great deal.

"Thank you. He's my everything. I'm really sorry about this."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. Besides, we had a good time, right?" Levi smiled up at Jack.

"Jack is cool, Mom." Levi signed.

Jack was completely taken aback by the woman in front of him. He didn't know what he was expecting, but Elizabeth was beautiful. The real surprise was that Jack hadn't felt like this, ever. Sure he'd had dates, and a girlfriend here or there in college but no one that made his heart skip a beat. Right now, his heart was doing a two-step.

"You know, Levi," Tom knelt down as he signed. "My son is just like you. Same age too. You and your mom should come over sometime to meet him."

"Please, Mom. That would be fun!"

"Sounds great." She smiled at her son's enthusiasm. "I'll leave you my number."

Watching Tom and Elizabeth converse made Jack's mind take a step back. He didn't need a woman in his life. He'd been saying that for years. Tom and Ryan on the other hand, that was a different story. Maybe this could work. He just needed to push aside his own attraction for the woman. How hard could that be? As he stood there, it seemed pretty darn hard. He watched as she gracefully moved a loose curl back behind her ear as Levi told her all about his day.

"Well, we should be going. I have the rest of the day off but we should get out of your hair."

"Jack," Levi signed. "Can I give Mom a cider donut?"

"Of course!" Jack grinned as he turned to Elizabeth. "We're famous for them here."

"Can't say no to that, can I?"

"Tom, you want to take them up?"

"Sure."

Jack watched as Tom led them back up the hill towards the front of the barn.

"Knock it off, Jack. She's not for you. No way are you that lucky," he told himself.