A Wedding in Apple Grove by C H Admirand Page A

for her family’s handyman company, hands were important. Her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all had wide-palmed, long-fingered hands that could finesse just about everything.
    â€œCan I see you later tonight?”
    Her throat went dry and her tongue got stuck to the roof of her mouth. Finally, she summoned up enough spit to loosen her tongue. “I’m not sure—”
    Peggy McCormack chose that moment to join their conversation. “Hey, Meg, are you still coming to take a look at the backup stove at the diner?”
    â€œYeah,” Katie said, coming to stand beside her sister. “We’re worried that we won’t be able to handle all of the baking for the diner without it.”
    Dan released her hand, and she sighed and looked at the McCormacks. “Sorry, I had forgotten, but I won’t let you down. I’ll be there and see what we can do to keep you running at full speed. Aside from Sunday afternoons, Monday’s your busiest day.”
    â€œYou’re the best, Meg!” Peggy said.
    Meg wished she didn’t feel so guilty about wanting to forego the repair and head on over to Dan’s house to distract him with another heart-pumping lip-lock… maybe a make-out session. Jeez, now she was thinking like a hormonal teenager.
    Dan put his hands in his front pockets and the regret in his gaze was echoed in hers. “Well, maybe I’ll catch up to you tomorrow.”
    â€œSounds great, Dan.” Meg looked from one sister to the other. “See you.”
    â€œAre you coming, Daniel?”
    He grinned down at Meg and called out, “Right behind you, Aunt Trudi.”
    ***
    Monday morning at half past seven, Meg and her sisters were already at the shop. When the phone rang, Meg glanced at the clock, put it on speaker, and answered it. “Mulcahy’s Funeral Home, you plug ’em, we plant ’em.” Meg smiled, held the phone away from her ear, and waited for the fireworks.
    â€œMegan Maureen Mulcahy!” her father shouted into the phone. “I told you no shenanigans when answering the telephone! Besides,” he grumbled, not quite as loudly, “it’s bad for business.”
    She smiled at her sisters, who were both trying not to laugh—their dad would hear them and reprimand them for acting like hooligans. With the press of a button, she turned the speaker off so she didn’t get her sisters in trouble. She looked from one to the other and felt a burst of familial pride fill her.
    Caitlin was dressed for another day at Mulcahy’s in jeans and a black polo shirt with their logo on the breast pocket. Her sister wore her jeans snug at the hip and thigh. Meg preferred the looser fit of carpenter jeans and had taken to wearing a chambray work shirt a size larger than she needed; that way she could move without feeling restricted when she worked.
    Grace, on the other hand, looked like a picture out of a fashion magazine in taupe slacks and silky blouse the color of a summer sky. Meg couldn’t help but wonder how much longer they’d be able to convince the youngest of the bunch to stay on in Apple Grove. The big city beckoned to Grace in a way it never had to Meg.
    â€œAre you listening, Megan?”
    â€œUh… yes, Pop.” While he listed all the reasons why she shouldn’t fool around on the phone, she rolled her eyes.
    Caitlin shook her head and walked past their father’s massive oak desk, giving Meg a thumbs up. Before she made it to the door marked “employees only” at the back of their hole-in-the-wall office, Grace passed her a steaming mug of fresh-brewed coffee. Caitlin smiled and sipped from her mug before opening the door and heading to the storage area at the back of their shop. Meg knew her sister was going to be gathering the tools she’d need for the day. Meg would be doing the same thing as soon as she could get her dad to stop talking.
    When Grace handed Meg