“Great, how about ten?”
Another hand. It continued and ended up selling for thirty dollars. I thought that was a great start. The auction continued through different desserts and Randy auctioned one of his new car inventions.
Ashley auctioned off her designer handbag. Nan was selling some of her rolls, and Steve sold fifteen dollars off at the Merc. Frank offered a bag of his fertilizer, and Mrs. Bates a set of garden gnomes. Merritt sold her pumpkin pie recipe. Gasps sounded through the crowd as Carol called it out. I recognized several women from the pie contest standing, raising their hands in the air.
“One hundred dollars,” one yelled.
“Two hundred!” came a shout from the other side.
I looked beside them where their husbands were trying to pullthem back to their chairs as they swatted them away. I chuckled. This town was something else, in the best way.
I noticed Faith near the entrance, checking her phone, wringing her hands, and tapping her foot. She was worried about something.
Should I go see if she needed anything? I stood and headed that way, but a man with a baseball cap and jacket that said Hillsdale Coach got to her first. I waited and watched to see if she wanted me to help. Faith looked at the coach, but then she smiled. Looked like she wouldn’t need saving after all. I headed back to my seat. Mom tilted her head toward me. “Great idea about turning this into a historical building. It will take some paperwork, but I really think it might work.”
My shoulders sagged in relief.
“Scott Elliot, will you come up here please?” Carol said through the mic. “He is our last item of the night. Don’t hold back.”
I sighed. The other things that had been on that stage were items. I felt strange being the only human auctioned off. But I owed Carol, and I would do as she asked.
I walked up to the platform. I noticed so many familiar faces in the crowd, grinning up at me with wide smiles. I would be happy to help any of them with house repairs or legal matters.
“Alright, Scott has kindly offered two hours of his services for auction. He is great as a handyman and as we all know, graduated top of his class at Harvard Law.” Carol chuckled, and I rolled my eyes at the reminder of the man I had been when I first showed up in this town. I chuckled too.
“What should we start the bidding at?”
“Twenty-five dollars!” Mrs. Bates shouted from the back.
“Thirty,” came from the left.
“Scott is single. Let’s auction him for a date!” Betty Ann yelled.
Several other women cheered, and the bidding skyrocketed.
Whoa. This was not what I had in mind.
“Wait.” I held my hands up to stop the momentum, but the price kept rising. Ashley was fighting to win. I glanced at Carol, begging for help.
“Scott, come on, it’s just a date. It’s for the kids,” she whispered back at me.
I groaned.Not again!
Chapter Thirty-Six
MARISSA
My flight wasan hour late because of a storm, and then I was at the back of the plane. I watched everyone stand and slowly grab their bags. I tried to keep my fidgeting down. I glanced at my watch. At this rate, I would miss the whole auction and Scott would end up on a date with someone else! Probably Ashley.
I leaned to the man in front of me. “Excuse me, but could I maybe sneak through? I’m late for something important.”
He scowled. “The plane was late. I’m sure everyone on here is late for something.”
I flinched. It was true. I was sure I wasn’t the only one in a rush. “I know. And I apologize, but this is very time sensitive,” I begged.
The man shrugged in confusion but let me through.
I made it halfway to the front before the doors opened and people began shuffling off the plane.
