A glow lit up Geraldine’s eyes, as if she just remembered something very important. “Oh! Nice to meet you, dear. I’m Geraldine Franks. I live a couple blocks east of Ford.” She took Cadence’s hand and covered it with her own. “It’s so nice to see you, again. The last time you were here, you were just a little girl, weren’t you?”
“Thirteen.”
“Well, welcome back.”
“Oh, I’m not—”
“Say, is the lodge open this weekend? My oldest son and his family are going to come for the festival. He didn’t bother to tell me this until last night. But I’ve already got a full house. He said he tried to call up there but there’s some automatic message. Surely you just forgot to switch that off?”
Even though Ford had his end goal in sight, in that moment he felt bad for Cadence. Geraldine held such innocent hope, expecting the answer to be yes. Her face fell hearing, “I’m sorry, it’s not.”
“Oh well, that’s a shame. It’s never been closed on a festival weekend before.”
Ford placed an arm on Geraldine’s shoulder. “We have to get going, but it was great to see you. If that microwave gives you any grief, you call me.” With that, Ford ushered them away. Maybe that was what Cadence needed, to know the people of Sunset Ridgewantedher there.
* * *
Though Ford made an excessive amount of food, mostly so he and Rilee would have leftovers, he hadn’t expected a fourth guest. When he stopped to talk to Tanya Rivers this morning, he understood she’d be coming out around two. “Best lighting, you know,” she told him.
But here she was at their kitchen table and it wasn’t even noon. Though Tanya looked as if she felt right at home in her seat next to him, Cadence and Rilee hardly lifted their eyes from their plates or each other.
Tanya was an amazing photographer. Her photographs won awards. But Ford wasn’t blind to her interest in him, nor was he interested.
“Would you believe I’ve never been inside this place before?” she said to the table, though only Riggs would look at her. Or maybe the dog was eyeing her plate. Ford stared him down until his ears dipped below the edge and he lay back down. “I’ve lived here practically all my life, too.”
“I got the impression almost everyone in town had been up here. A lot, actually,” Cadence said, innocence in her tone, but something in her eyes that Ford couldn’t quite pin. He wondered how their encounter went this morning. No one had confessed anything unpleasant to him. They were all adults. But it still felt as if he was the one left out of the know.
“Oh, a lot of people love this place. It’s such a landmark in this town.” Tanya savored a bite. “Ford, these are simply amazing. What would it take for you to cook them for me again?” She was teasing. He thought. Or maybe she wasn’t, judging by Rilee’s lifted eyebrow in his direction.
“Sorry, I only make these for Rilee. Got to spoil her rotten before she leaves for college.” When his sister displayed her cheesy, victorious grin, he narrowed his eyes at her until she quit. Rilee had warned him of Tanya’s interest. And in her disapproval, convinced Tanya only wanted thearm candyas she called it, Ford had been clear he wasn’t interested in dating anyone at all.
“I can’t believe you’re already all grown up!” Tanya delicately dabbed at the corner of her lips with a napkin. “Where are you going?”
“Boston University.”
“Wow, that’s a pretty elite school.” Tanya glanced at Ford. “Expensive, too. Did you get a scholarship?”
The room felt uncomfortably warm, or maybe it was the three sets of eyes resting on his dipped head. The last thing he wanted was for Cadence—or worse, Rilee—to realize the full impact of her going to the school of her dreams. She was a smart kid, but she had no idea the lengths he’d been going to make this all happen. He didn’t need the pieces scattered in front of her to assemble.
“Yeah. I’m getting a job, too,” Rilee said.
Ford cleared the plates because he was done with this conversation. The last thing he wanted her to do was work when she was trying to focus on a career. Sure, lots of kids did it.Hedid it. But he wanted something more for Rilee. And that whole arrangement was none of anyone else’s business. “What do you need from us to get these pictures going?” he asked Tanya from the sink.
The whiff of her overpowering perfume hit him half a second before she appeared, leaning against his arm. Ford took a step back, breaking the unwanted contact. This was going to be a long afternoon.
“How strong are those shoulders of yours?” she cooed.
It felt like a trap, but if he had to carry a few things around to help get her out of here quicker, then so be it. “Strong enough.”
* * *
Ford had spent afternoons removing floor-to-ceiling wallpaper that felt shorter than this one. As Tanya’s personal assistant, she took her time, insisting that one could never take enough photos. “This place has so much to offer. I want to make sure I capture all its wonderful features,” she’d claimed, dragging Ford by the arm to the next spot.
She must’ve taken twenty shots of every room and closet. And twenty more of any outdoor feature she deemed important or eye-catching. She’d have over a thousand photos to go through if he had to guess.
Now that it was dinner time, Tanya’s brake lights finally flashed at the end of the driveway before she turned onto the road. He rubbed the back of his neck, sore from having her sit on his shoulders to take the main exterior photos. “No way that was necessary,” he mumbled.
He had no idea where Rilee and Cadence had gone off to, but they’d disappeared inside with Riggs over an hour ago. As tired as he was of Tanya mooning over him, no doubt. It was his fault for recommending her. But he didn’t know another photographer in the area who’d be able to accommodate the last-minute request.
