“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say.” Once the framed photos were back in place, Mr. Jenkins reached for his hat off the coat rack and set it atop his head. He only came in on the weekends for special appointments but was never eager to stay longer than necessary. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to lock up and head to the festival. Looking forward to my annual donut burger, you see.”
“You’ll call me?” Ford asked at the door.
“If I have reason to, yes.” Outside, half a dozen people shuffled by them on the sidewalk as Mr. Jenkins locked the door. Before long, it would be a madhouse downtown. “Thanks for taking care of that shelf.”
“Anytime.”
Ford pondered what secret Mr. Jenkins might be keeping from him as they went their opposite ways. He thought he knew all there was to know—convince Cadence to keep the lodge and she would convince her sisters. Get a solid chunk of change for Rilee’s college expenses in return. Or don’t, and get nothing.What more is there to it?He tilted his head toward the sky as he neared the Dipper.Patty, what are you up to?
The town’s population was slowly inflating and would continue until the festivities ended late afternoon tomorrow. It happened every festival weekend in the summer, and though Ford wasn’t big on crowds, he could appreciate that the tourists were good for Sunset Ridge. The revenue some businesses earned during the summer festivals was enough to cushion those bleak winter months. Inside the packed restaurant, Cadence and Rilee waved Ford over from the corner booth.
“Did you get lost?” Rilee teased as he approached their table.
“Just had to run an errand.”
“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and sit down. We’re starving over here.” His sister sat on one side, and Cadence on the other, forcing him to choose. Ford didn’t think. He slid in next to Cadence. His heart pounded at her proximity, remembering how perfect she felt in his arms. The electricity of that kiss still buzzed through his veins.
“They have caribou chili today,” Cadence said. She peeked at him from beneath her lashes, but dropped her gaze as soon as he glanced back. He wouldn’t mind if she was a little shy about what happened; he only hoped she didn’t regret it. “Rilee says I have to try it. I don’t know, though.”
“Cadence, it’s so good! It’s seriously Willamina’s best soup ever.”
“I don’t know. It’s summer. And caribou—”
“Youhaveto try it. If nothing else convinces you to stay, her caribou chili will.”
It warmed his heart that the two had grown so close in less than a week. Ford hadn’t dated anyone since Danielle passed. He hadn’t planned on finding anyone else. People he cared about came and went too frequently in his life to add anyone else in, so Rilee had never had a chance to scrutinize any potential girlfriend. The way she took to Cadence reassured him that if there were another woman for him, she was the one sitting next to him.
Willamina took their order—only because it was Ford in that booth, she told them—and promised to have her biggest bowls out soon. “You guys came at a good time. I’ll be out of it before long.”
“Glad we weren’t too late.”
“Oh, Ford?” Willamina asked two steps away from the booth, retying her apron knot in the process. “I’m having trouble with one of my microwaves shorting. Think you might be able to take a look sometime? Could be the outlet.”
“I’ll stop by Monday morning.” He suspected it’d been a problem longer than she let on, but everyone had been less demanding this week. Though he’d only mentioned to a couple of people that he would be tied up at the lodge more than usual, word seemed to spread like wildfire.
“Thanks.” She gave a wink. Her gaze dropped to Cadence briefly before she walked away, telling Ford he was right.
“Riggs missed you last night,” Rilee said to Cadence. “Poor guy wouldn’t stop pacing the house and dramatically groaning every time he did lay down. I think he likes all that room at the lodge. Our cabin is a little . . . cramped.”
Ford frowned at that, making sure Rilee saw his disapproval. Sure, the two-bedroom cabin wasn’t much. It was never intended to be more than a starter home when he first got married, but life had other plans. Still, it’d gotten them by for years. He didn’t point out that she wouldn’t even live there after the summer ended. Saying those words out loud made them too real, and Ford wasn’t ready to face her leaving, too.
“It was pretty quiet last night, that’s for sure.” Cadence stirred her straw in her iced tea glass, making Ford wonder what thoughts might be racing through her mind. He’d much rather think about that than Rilee moving across the country. “Where is he anyway?”
“Back at the cabin,” Ford answered. “Health inspector is due here any day, otherwise Willamina’s a little more lenient. We’ll pick him up after lunch.”
“I don’t know if I’d like that,” Rilee said to Cadence. “Staying by myself in that big place. I mean, it’s cool and all. But I think I’d get lonely, you know? I guess our cabin isn’t so bad,” she added, no doubt for Ford’s benefit.
A server delivered their promised heaping bowls of chili, leaving whatever Cadence was about to say a mystery. Though the thought had never occurred to him until now, Ford wondered if she’d stay and run the lodge herself if her sisters weren’t interested in moving to Alaska to contribute. Patty had done it with minimal help, but she had lived and breathed that lodge. It would be a hefty responsibility for someone with no experience.
Ford was hardly two bites into his caribou chili when a flyer slapped down on the table in front of him. “Guess what?” The mischievous gleam in his best friend’s eyes worried him. It was never good when Liam got that look.
“With you, guessing’s never a good idea.”
Liam lifted his hand, and everything became clear. He’d seen the same flyer in the store windows around town for the Alaskan Woodsman competition—the main attraction for the festival most years, including this one. Each year the prize and obstacles changed, depending on what the apparently bored logging tycoon Ted Maxwell deemed entertaining.
“You’re doing that?” Ford nodded at the flyer, but didn’t really look at it. No point.
“We’redoing this.”
