Rilee dropped her spoon against her half-empty bowl. “I thought you said you weren’t this year!”
“I’m not.”
Liam scooted into the booth next to Rilee. His traitorous sister actually made room for the lug. The last thing Ford wanted to do was enter a competition. Today could be his last chance to convince Cadence to stay. Her heart was opening—to him, to the lodge, to Sunset Ridge. But she was still due on a red-eye flight out of Anchorage tomorrow evening. Ford didn’t have much time to change her mind. This was about more than extending her stay. It was about making it permanent.
“Actually, you are. It’s a team event this year, and I can’t do it without you.” Liam pushed the flyer even closer to Ford. “Plus, I already signed us up.”
Ford set his spoon back in his bowl, accepting that his chili would be cold before he got to finish it. “I’m not interested in being a spectacle for the people of Sunset Ridge today.” He was pretty sure this competition involved an axe, and that always made the little old ladies in the crowd make extra noise.
“You owe me that favor, remember?” Liam shined his pearly whites right in Ford’s face, like they were kids again. He knew he had him. Liam had come through on that alternator when Ford needed it. It wasn’t the first time. “Hey, I’m Liam by the way,” he said to Cadence. “Don’t know if you remember me?”
“I do.”
“Crazy that you’re all grown up now.”
Cadence let out a soft laugh. “That happens, you know.”
“Why?” Ford asked, already resigned to the fact he would be competing whether he wanted to or not. That, and if Liam stayed too long, the topic would turn to Tessa Whitmore and they’d all end up with cold chili.
“Because this year, Maxwell’s giving away a plane to the winning duo.”
Ford went back to eating, ignoring the curious looks from Cadence and the wide eyes from Rilee. “What am I going to do with a plane?” He didn’t have a pilot’s license. Wasn’t planning to get one, either. The only thing a plane would do for him was sit in his driveway and attract Ed’s curiosity.
“Nothing. The Super Cub is for me.” Liam slid the paper closer to Ford. “You can have the other prize.”
“A gift certificate to Warren’s Sea Shack?”
“For a hundred bucks.” That dangerously charming smile found its way onto Liam’s lips, and Ford knew he was about to be ambushed. “I can think of two lovely ladies who would be very happy to use that gift certificate with you.”
“He’s right, you know,” said Cadence, leaning closer to speak near Ford’s ear. Their shoulders brushed briefly, and dang it if his heart didn’t thunder in his chest. The lilac scent of her shampoo lingered, even after she sat back.
“Fine, I’ll do it.” Ford was still unconvinced this was really about a plane. At least, not entirely. But there wasn’t a chance he could shimmy his way out of the competition. It was easier to agree and get it over with.
Liam hopped out of the booth and clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to rock him backward. “Good. See you at five. Bring a change of clothes.”
“A change of clothes?” Cadence repeated once Liam hurried out the front door.
“I guess that means there’s something with logs and water.” He picked up his spoon and resumed eating his now-lukewarm lunch. “Ought to be a blast,” he mumbled under his breath. But both women heard him, if their fit of giggles was any indication.
Chapter Thirteen
Cadence
Riggs led the charge beyond the rope that marked the beginning of the designated festival grounds, his nose alert and shoulders tall. The dog pulled harder against the leash than she’d seen him do before. Ford gripped it so tightly that his bicep flexed beneath the old T-shirt he’d changed into. Cadence pretended not to notice.
“He’ll calm down in a few minutes,” Ford reassured her. “He needs time to adjust to everything. Poor guy doesn’t know where to focus his attention first.”
“I know how he feels.”
The road along the water had been blocked off. From what Cadence could see, the grounds extended from the park to the beach. Vendor tents, carnival rides, and food stands had popped up in different places. Music played faintly somewhere down the beach. Kids squealed in delight. Droves of people were scattered everywhere.
And the lodge sat empty.
Cadence stared at her feet, wondering how sad this would make Great-Aunt Patty.
Her conversation with Mr. Jenkins about keeping the lodge was on constant replay in her mind, but she still couldn’t envision how to make it work. She’d tried calling Sophie again after lunch while she waited for Ford to change his clothes, but again she was sent right to voicemail. If the two of them found a united front, maybe they could convince Tessa.Maybe.
“Most of the vendors are set up on Forget Me Not Drive,” Ford said, pointing toward the road along the beach. “Carnival games in the park. Live entertainment and a sand volleyball tournament along the beach.”
