“I wish we could tell him that the farm is spicy.” Becks laughed and shoved a chip in her mouth.
“What?” Max asked.
“When I have snacks that I don’t want my kids to have,” Becks began with a mouthful of food, “I just tell them it’s too spicy for them to eat and then they don’t want it anymore.”
“Yeah,” Erica said. “That used to work on Melissa. I miss those days,” she said with a wistful sigh.
“Wait.” I sat up and turned to Rebecca. “That could work.”
“What could work? Telling Preston and Teddy that the farm is spicy?”
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Max put her hand up for emphasis, wearing a huge grin. “I am definitely picking up what you’re putting down. You’re a fucking genius.”
“Well, could someone hand some of it to me? Because I’m confused,” Erica said, pursing her lips. The four of us laughed.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out a way to fix this.”
“Emma, are you serious?” Erica gave me a stern look.
“I’m dead serious. This could definitely work, but…” I took a deep breath, smiled, and looked into the faces of my three best friends. “I’m gonna need your help to pull it off.”
“Emma Walters asking for help.” Rebecca gave me a sarcastic look and shook her head. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Well, it’s about damn time,” Max chimed in. “Shit, I should’ve recorded that,” she added.
“I think we should have T-shirts made,” Erica added.
“Okay, are y’all finished?” I asked with a chuckle. They all nodded. “Here’s my plan…”
“I don’t know what the hell we’re doing here,” an older woman grumbled without even bothering to lower her voice. “Why should we listen to anything that child has to say? She’s been nothing but trouble since she got here, and this is the final straw.”
“We’re here, Louise,” Erica shouted, effectively silencing the woman, “because Emma here has a chance to save the town.”
“And how do we know we can trust her?” a man called from the back of the diner. “All of this mess started when she got here.”
“Mm-hmm. That’s right,” added another voice.
“And I heard she was engaged to this Teddy fellow the whole time she was running around town with our poor Dan.”
“Yup,” the woman sitting next to her said, “and that’s why he left.”
“Are you sure you wanna help these people?” Maxima leaned over and whispered to me, “’cause we can leave right now.” I shot her a nervous smile and turned my attention back to the crowd.
“Okay, okay!” I put my hands up. “First of all, this is none of your business, but Teddy and I broke up before I moved here. That is not why Dan left; he’s in London for a family wedding. So now that that’s out of the way, I have something that I want to say… I’m sorry.” An unnatural hush fell over the crowd at Greenie’s.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think over the past week. I thought about my life—both the life I left behind in Atlanta and the life I’ve built here. This town will be my legacy. I was always meant to be here and always meant to protect it. I’m going to make a lot of mistakes, and I’m still learning. I know that I’m not your favorite person right now, but over the past three months, you have made me a part of your family.” I felt like I was rambling. I took a deep breath and looked into the booth filled with my three best friends. Becks gave me an encouraging nod, Max held up her fist, and Erica mouthed the wordsYou got this.
“The truth is, I don’t like asking for help. I usually don’t have to. I’m smart, I’m not afraid of hard work, and I love to solve problems, especially for other people.”
“Just like her mother,” Erica’s mom whispered loudly.
“But I’m especially good at ignoring my own problems, being stubborn, and refusing to ask for help when I need it.”
“Exactly like her mother.”
“Okay, Mom,” Erica chided.
“As many or all of you know, my grandfather loved the game of chess. He taught it to me when I was a child, and one of the few lessons that I remember clearly is that the queen may be the most powerful piece on the board, but she can’t win the game without help from the other pieces.” I took a break because my eyes were stinging with tears. Erica stood behind me and squeezed my shoulders for support. “I’m so sorry that I brought the problems from my life here, but I love this town, and I want to save it. To do that, I’m gonna need your help. Will you help me?”
