She almost laughed. The short, stout, and slightly bored sixtyish man was trying to make it sound like a deal. She handed him a dollar.
Sebastian appeared in the spot next to her and handed the attendant a dollar bill. “Twenty for me too.”
She glanced at him.
His eyebrow arched.
“Game on?” she said with a grin.
“Oh yeah. It’s on.”
The attendant dumped the appropriate number of brown balls into each of their wells. The counters zeroed out. “One,” Seb said, crouching slightly. “Two...”
“Three!” She quickly grabbed a ball and started rolling, sliding into battle mode as she grabbed the balls and zipped them up the incline, immediately in a groove. When she tossed the last one, her counter buzzed and she looked at Sebastian, who still had five balls left. She did some quick math. Even if he hit one hundred points with each ball, he’d never catch up.
“We have a winner,” the attendant blandly announced. He pulled down a fuzzy pink polar bear, a little bigger than a loaf of Wonder Bread and handed it to Jade. “Congrats.”
“Thank you,” she said, accepting her prize. She clutched the bear to her chest, not caring if she looked like a little kid. She couldn’t help it. And it wasn’t about beating Sebastian. That was a tiny bonus. It was about the thrill of finally getting a win, when lately she seemed to be racking losses.
Three kids came up behind them, so they both moved to the side. “Congratulations,” Sebastian said with a grin. “I didn’t realize you were so good. You smoked me.”
She grinned. He was genuinely happy she’d won. “Thank you.”
“You must have played a lot as a kid.”
She touched the polar bear’s black nose. “It’s going to sound silly,” she said, not looking at him. “I used to go to ShowBiz Pizza and play when I was in college with a couple of my friends. They liked the electronic games, but I’d play Skee-Ball the whole time.” She lifted her gaze. Sebastian had such an amazing smile. “The pizza was pretty good too.”
“That was in Little Rock, on Rodney Parham, right?” At her nod, he added, “Did you play there when you were a kid too?”
And just like that, the thrill was gone. Some of it anyway. It wasn’t his fault, though. He didn’t know about her past or how she’d never gone to a carnival or a fair until she was an adult. Her foster families never went, and of course Lydia wouldn’t have taken her. “No,” she said quickly. Refusing to let the past destroy her mood, she managed a half smile. “Still hungry?”
“Yep. Let’s find something good and we’ll celebrate your win.”
Her full smile returned, along with a little toe curling again. There really was no ego with this man. “Lead the way.”
* * *
Kalista looked out the back kitchen window at Viv’s house at the huge crowd of people roaming outside. Men, women, and children of all ages were swarming Bo’s farm, and the noise was so loud she could hear it in the house, including the Flippin Biscuit Boys playing their nonstop country music. She’d begrudgingly helped Viv with the rest of the preparations yesterday but resisted being a part of the event. It was one thing to be stuck in a small town, another thing to be a paper delivery girl, a third thing to be without her phone and money. Attending a hoedown was crossing the line. She was suffering enough.
To make things worse, Viv and Bo didn’t have cable or internet, and the only radio stations she could find either played the same country music or were just people talking. She was bored. Like, really bored.
She was also starving, and just like the sounds of the hoedown permeating the house walls, she could smell the different foods being cooked and served outside. There was some food in the house, but other than peanut butter, grape jelly, and white bread, the pantry and fridge were filled with ingredients. Kalista had never cooked a meal before in her life.
The back kitchen door suddenly opened, and she spun around to see Tyler walk inside, a camera hanging around his neck. He was three steps into the kitchen when he froze. “Uh, hi,” he said. “I didn’t know you were in here.”
A rush of deliciousness drifted in, like someone was smoking meat. Or maybe it was a campfire. She didn’t know the difference, but whatever it was made her stomach growl. “Duh, I live here.” She rolled her eyes. “I already told you that.”
His goofy smile slipped a little. “I figured you were out enjoying the hoedown.”
“Obviously not.” Her stomach growled again. Annoying. “What are you doing ’ere? I’m sure Viv won’t appreciate you barging into her house.”
“She said I could use the facilities. There’s a record number of people here, and they’re short a couple of Porta Potties.”
TMI. She waved her hand toward the hallway and said, “It’s on the left,” before looking out the window again.
“Thanks.” He dashed down the hall.
Her mood darkened and she crossed her arms. Why was she being so stubborn about going outside? All she had to do was go find something to eat—preferably something healthy. This was afarm after all. Viv had asked her several times this morning if she was going to join in the fun. Kalista refused. She wasn’t here to have fun. With the exception of being with Viv, her time here was miserable.
