“That’s what I want,” he insisted. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“See you soon.”
Riggs and I disconnected the call, and I immediately sent him a text with my address.
Just over thirty minutes later, he arrived.
When I opened the door, Riggs stepped in carrying a pizza box and a six-pack of beer. He leaned forward and touched his mouth to mine before he said, “Hey.”
“Hey,” I returned with a smile.
Holding up the beer, he declared, “I wasn’t sure if you drank beer, so I figured I better pick it up just in case.”
“It’s good that you did,” I noted. “I’m not necessarily opposed to drinking a beer here and there, but since it’s not something I drink regularly, I just don’t buy it. I prefer a glass of wine.”
“Grab yourself a glass then, and let’s find a place to sit and eat. I’m starved,” he stated. I hesitated a moment because he grinned. He then added, “I’m starved for food and affection.”
“Then you better head into the living room while I go grab a glass of wine, a couple of plates, and some napkins,” I urged, pointing in the direction I wanted him to go.
Riggs took off toward the living room while I moved to the kitchen. After I’d poured my glass of wine and grabbed some plates and napkins, I walked back out to meet him in the living room. I found him flipping through the channels as he waited for me to return. As soon as Riggs saw me, he put the remote down and jerked his head toward the empty space beside him on the couch.
I joined him and held out the plates. Riggs took them out of my hands, put a slice on each one, and handed one back to me.
Since he said he was starved, I figured it was best to allow him to get a few bites in before I started yakking his ear off.
When he’d gotten about two-thirds of the way through with his first slice, I asked, “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow.”
Riggs’ face softened and he held my eyes intensely for a moment before he answered, “I missed you.”
I liked that.
I liked that a lot.
“Well that’s good because I missed you, too.”
Riggs grinned at me before he brought his slice up to his mouth and took another bite.
With that, the two of us settled in to watch some TV and eat pizza. When we finished our food, it turned to watching TV and cuddling with one another. And once we had enough of that, Riggs carried me to my bedroom where he showed me just how much he had missed me.
The bright, early morning sun warmed the chilly fall air. Temperatures had been slowly dropping with each week that went by. One of the things I loved about living in northeastern Pennsylvania was that we got to experience all the seasons.
Fall was probably my favorite. It wasn’t too hot, the kids were back in school, and the leaves changing their colors made for some impressive and breathtaking views.
Views like the one I was staring at right now.
It was very early in the morning, and Riggs and I had just arrived at his place. Since I was going to be spending the weekend at the farm, he suggested I pack a bag so I could stay the night with him. Riggs insisted on driving me here and promised he’d take me home Sunday night, so I’d be able to get ready and make it to school on time.
When we got here, he went to get changed. I decided to walk out onto his covered porch, which was quickly becoming my favorite spot at his house, just so I could look out at the view again.
A few minutes later, Riggs walked out and stood beside me.
“Does it get old?” I asked.
“What?”
I tore my attention from the view, turned my head to look up at him, and clarified, “The view. Does it ever get old being able to come out and look at this?”
Riggs put his arm around my shoulder and curled me into his body. He kissed the top of my head before he shared, “I wouldn’t say it gets old. I’ve gotten used to seeing it, though, so I don’t come out here and enjoy it as often as I used to. Lucky for me, I’ve got a woman who seems to love this view, and she’s making me find a completely different reason to appreciate it.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed.
Following a beat of silence, Riggs asked, “Are you ready to head down?”
“Yeah.”
The next thing I knew, I was in the thick of it. I’d barely had an opportunity to eat a single donut before the crowds started arriving. Kacey hadn’t yet shown up, but I expected her to be late. She and Gerry had already had plans for this morning when I originally told her about Riggs’ offer for us to set up on the farm.
But because this was our first official fundraising event, she promised she’d get here as soon as she could and would put in the full day tomorrow. From the moment she knew it was happening, Kacey worked hard on helping to organize everything with me this past week.
As I’d explained to Riggs when we were out picking apples, our initial plan was to raise money by offering chances to win expensive or highly sought-after items at low entry fees. With it being such short notice, we didn’t really have much time to reach out to organizations to ask for their donations. So, I’d gone ahead and pulled money out of my own pocket to purchase some prizes. Kacey did the same. The one donation we did receive was from a local concert venue. They were offering two free tickets to an upcoming concert given by a major music-industry superstar, Theo. That was going to be huge for us.
I was standing at my booth that Riggs had set up for me when I heard, “Morning, Adele.”
Turning my head to the right, I saw both Piper and Eden heading my way. I smiled and returned, “Hey, ladies. How’s it going?”
When they stopped in front of me, Eden said, “We don’t have much time before things start to get crazy here, but we wanted to let you know that Riggs told us about what you’re doing.”
I tipped my head to the side, curious as to where this conversation was going. That’s when Piper chimed in, “We think it’s really admirable that you’re doing something to help all these children, and we want to help.”
I was sure my surprise was showing on my face at that moment. Because of it, I couldn’t seem to find any words. Luckily, I didn’t have to because Eden spoke next.
“We’d like to donate a prize.”
“Really?” I managed to squeak out.
Nodding, Piper said, “Yes. Eden and I thought about it, and we’d like to offer a box of a dozen donuts once a week for a year for someone.”
Their donuts were divine. This would be a huge prize.
“Thank you so much,” I said. “If I didn’t think it’d be unfair, I’d be half tempted to enter that raffle myself.”
“You’ll be able to have donuts every day,” Eden began. “Riggs will see to that.”
When she put it like that, I couldn’t say I had anything to complain about. I would get donuts and Riggs.
“Speaking of our brother,” Piper started. “Eden and I talked to Riggs, Leo, Sam, and Layne about what we wanted to do for you. They decided they wanted to get in on it as well, so they’re going to be offering a years’ worth of produce to one lucky family.”