“And if you love him, Adrian,” Alex said softly, “then trust him.”
Before I could respond, Tommy Marian appeared beside us like he’d materialized out of thin air.
“Adrian! Perfect. I need you to?—”
I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry. No more wild goose chases. If someone needs cookies or a ride or to be saved from a rogue fireinspection, you’re gonna need to find someone else. I have to find Maddox. I have to get to?—”
“Slingshot Mountain?” Tommy finished. His smile was suspiciously bright. “Good, ‘cause I’m here to drive you. To make sure you get there safely.”
I frowned. “I can drive myself,” I said stupidly.
Alex shook his head. “You’re upset, and you’ve been drinking. You should go with Tommy. Foster kitted out his truck with every winter safety feature known to man.”
“It’s true.” Tommy’s cheeks turned pink. “Don’t mess with a Wyoming sheriff when it comes to road safety. Apparently.”
“I’ll be okay,” I insisted.
The two of them exchanged a look before Alex said. “What if you need a friend there to drive you home?”
My stomach twisted. “What, like after a breakup? Are you trying to make me cry? Jesus, Alex. Fuck.”
He held up his hands, wincing. “That’s not what I mean.”
Tommy shoved Alex away. “What my insensitive cousin meant was, if youhappento meet up with someone else and want to ride home with them, it’d be more convenient if you didn’t have your own car. Besides, parking’s tight on Starlight Spectacular night.”
This made sense, I supposed, but something was definitely off. Mrs. Hoffman’s emergency baking situation, Hazel and Avery’s sudden departure, Alex’s fire-inspection-that-wasn’t, and now SERA’s medical team lead acting as my chauffeur? I had no clue what was happening, but I also didn’t have it in me to protest any further.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But I’m probably not staying for the whole thing. I’m not in a festive mood.” Especially if my meeting with Maddox didn’t go well.
Tommy eyed me carefully. “That’s too bad. I thought tonight was supposed to be your twelfth date of Christmas?”
“I thought so, too,” I muttered. But I couldn’t imagine wanting to film this.
The drive to Slingshot Mountain took twenty minutes on winding roads that were slick with fresh snow. Tommy kept up a steady stream of conversation the whole drive about the Starlight Spectacular—how volunteers spent the whole day tricking out the slope with thousands of colored lights, how magical it looked when it all came together—but I found myself tuning him out as we climbed higher. I was way too anxious to embrace the magic.
When we reached the base of the mountain, though, I was surprised by just how much activity there was, even though the main event didn’t start for another hour. Tommy had mentioned a team of volunteers, but there were dozens and dozens of people scattered across the mountain, working with what looked like an elaborate lighting setup.
Way more elaborate than I’d expected, even knowing what a big deal this event was for the town.
“Wow,” I said, stepping out of Tommy’s truck. “This is really something.”
“Yeah, there’s a reason why people come from all over to see this. But somehow, I think tonight’s Starlight Spectacular will be extra spectacular.” Tommy grinned as he shoved a motley collection of hat, scarf, and gloves at me. “Come on, Foster’s coordinating from the base lodge. Maybe he knows where your date is.”
As we made our way through the crowd, I started recognizing faces. Mrs. Hoffman was there, along with Sadie and Hazel. Even Chief Kincaid was helping string lights, working alongside several firefighters I didn’t recognize.
Maya appeared at my elbow, slightly out of breath like she’d been running.
“Adrian! There you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“We?”
She gestured vaguely at the crowd. “I mean, ah…me. And… well, anyway, come on! You need to check out the view from over there.”
I looked around as Maya towed me toward the base lodge, noting the way people kept glancing in my direction and then quickly looking away. The way conversations seemed to stop when I got too close.
“Maya,” I said carefully, “what’s going on?”
Her eyes went wide with manufactured innocence. “What do you mean? It’s just folks getting ready for the Starlight Spectacular. Happens every year.”
