I only need one, she told herself.Surely there’s one good man left in Sugarville Grove for me.
Glancing at her watch, she realized it was time to go and headed downstairs, reminding herself that it really was going to be a fun day.
“Goodness, you look so pretty,” her mother said, turning from the cinnamon buns she was rolling out to smile at Allie.
“Your date is one lucky man,” her dad said, winking at her.
“It’s not a date,” Allie said quickly. “I’m just meeting someone at the Fun Festival.”
Zane was hunched over his coffee at the long, wooden table. When she glanced over she caught her brother smiling to himself.
“It’snot,” she said firmly.
“I didn’t say anything,” Zane replied, lifting his hands in mock surrender.
But she could still see the twinkle of humor in his eyes, and that was enough, coming from Zane, who never said much anyway. He’d told her plenty with that knowing smile of his.
“Want a cup of coffee before you head out?” her dad offered.
“No time,” she told him.
“Have fun, honey,” her mother called after her.
Allie grabbed her coat off the hook by the door and shoved her feet into her boots as she pulled it on.
Pushing open the front door, she was greeted by the pretty sight of snow falling softly on the fields.
Of course Allie had sometimes wanted to see the rest of the world. A lot of her friends had gone to college far and wide. Some had even spent time on projects in other countries.
But every time she thought maybe she was a fool for sticking so close to home, she would catch the most beautiful sunset, or sit and sip coffee with her parents, or walk out into what felt like a perfect snow globe, like she had today, and rememberwhyshe had never left.
She was lucky enough to call Sugarville Grove home. Nothing was going to make her leave, not even the idea that maybe she lacked a sense of adventure for staying so long.
The station wagon started up with a reassuring roar and she let it warm up as long as she could before heading down thelong drive.
She wondered who would be at today’s festival. Normally, the Sugar Snow Carnival was the main school holiday event. It was entirely possible that the only people attending today would be the younger students and their parents.
But even if that were the case, she could still introduce Ash to some other adults. And she could tell him all about the other events in the village, where he would find practically everyone in town.
She smiled at the idea of getting to see Maya experience the big tree-lighting for the first time, or maybe convincing Ash to try singing in the choir. She could just hear his deep voice joining the others.
They could always use a little more bass. The choir only had a few men.
What if this were a real date?
She tried to stop wondering, but some ideas were like weeds with deep roots, hard to pull out and likely to spread if you let them.
I guess he wouldn’t care about my low salary if he’s working in a café himself…
She hated to think that her job could be a detriment to dating, but it wasn’t the first time the idea had loomed. Life was getting so expensive these days, and teacher’s salaries kept getting frozen. It seemed like everyone she met was hustling to earn as much as they could. It was refreshing to meet a man who didn’t mind living simply, and wouldn’t judge her for doing the same.
And after all, I’ll have a pension one day, how many people can say that?
But the whole line of thought was ridiculous, because this was not a date.
Her phone rang from the seat beside her, and she hit speaker on it to answer. The car was much too old to have any kind of hands-free system.
“You’re going to the Fun Festival with Ash Tailor?” Charlotte squealed without even saying hello.
