The Fruit of My Affection

Previously

…As they stood there, bathed in the soft twilight, Elara felt a profound sense of peace settle over her. The lingering unease, the ghosts of past doubts, had finally begun to recede. She looked at Liam, at the man who had patiently helped her unearth not just the hidden beauty of the orchard, but the hidden strength within herself, and she knew, with a certainty as deep and true as the roots of the oldest apple tree, that they were going to be alright. The fences, both the ones around the land and the ones around their hearts, were slowly, beautifully, being mended.