“Glad to hear it. I worry about her.”
“Me, too.” Garrett didn’t know how much Jayden knew about Taryn’s relationship with her parents, so he didn’t want to bring it up. “But she’s strong and smart. She’ll figure this out.”
Jayden turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. “She is. And once things click into place, the Summit Ridge Bakery had better watch out.”
The guy seemed on the level and caring, but someone was passing on info to their competitor. The question was, who?
Ten minutes later, they unloaded the pieces in the spot marked for Lawson’s Bakery.
He glanced around at all the pop-tents and folded tables being set up in two rows with an ample space in between. “It doesn’t look like much yet.”
Jayden snickered. “Just wait. The booths will go up quickly, and soon, the aisle between them will be crowded. It’ll stay that way each day. People enjoy the entertainment and the rides, but this part always gets a lot of traffic, too.”
Jayden pulled out the pop-up tent from the case. “She ran to the bakery to help Carl get the next load. She’ll be here soon.”
Together, they put the tent in place. That not only marked their spot, but the canopy also provided shade. Garrett set up the table in the front. There was another, but he would wait for Taryn for that one.
“Look at all this stuff.” Margot came up to them. She wore a quilted vest with long fringe on the bottom. That would be cooler out in the temperature that hovered in the eighties today. “Impressive.”
Garrett nodded. “It’s just like our favorite baker.”
“You mean me,” Jayden teased.
Margot laughed. She appeared to have grown two, possibly three inches, and her face beamed brighter than a streetlight on Main Street. Her eyes twinkled. “You like her.”
Garrett glanced around. “Who?”
Margot winked. “Taryn.”
“Shhhh.”
“I heard nothing.” Jayden adjusted the pop-up tent legs.
“You tried fooling me this morning, but I see through ‘friends.’”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She raised her chin. “Nice try, but I always knew the two of you would be good together.”
They were. Garrett’s smile felt as if it was spreading wide enough to fall off his face. He’d had his reasons for not calling her before. But this time would be different. And friends, even ones who kissed occasionally, was better than nothing.
“Don’t look now, but your favorite baker has arrived.”
“Jayden’s here,” Garrett deadpanned.
Margot rolled her eyes. “Go make yourself useful and hug her nerves away. Better yet, kiss her.”
With that, she turned and walked to her booth as if she were the queen bee of the hive. And in Silver Falls, Margot Winslow kind of was.
“It’s coming together.” Taryn carried a box. Nerves poured from her like heat waves off the asphalt.
A man dressed in white followed her with another box. That must be Carl, who she’d mentioned as a long-time employee.
Garrett wanted to do what Margot had said—hug and kiss Taryn—but he settled for touching her shoulder for now. “Now that you’re here, we can put up all the fun decorations. It’s going to be great.”
She nodded, though it appeared as if she were trying to convince herself.
He squeezed. “It doesn’t matter what happens when they announce the winner. You pulled this together when most people would have given up. You did it.”
