“What happened to hand-eye coordination, Mr. Construction?” she teased. “Glad I didn’t have my heart set on anything.”
“Guess I’m not as focused as I thought. Best two out of three?” he asked.
“Won’t be necessary.”
She raised one dart to the level of her glasses, closed an eye, and directed it at the board. A fatpopsounded as it struck a balloon in the dead-center of the pile. She repeated the motions, securing two more wins. A few of the other gamers clapped for her.
She turned to Ethan and found the balloons weren’t the only thing deflated.
“But how … ?” he muttered in awe of her. “You said these things were rigged.”
“Right, and I know the tricks from a book I read at the library.” She turned to the clothesline of toys to choose from. “What do you want?”
For the next several minutes, Ethan clutched a brown and orange hoot-owl plushie between his hands as they wound through the vendor stalls. Cali tried not to laugh. He murmured something about how much Catsby would enjoy the owl, trying not to chuckle as well.
The cheerful swell of a bluegrass band tuned up in the distance, mingled with bursts of laughter. Kids darted past with candy apples, faces sticky and bright. One of them ran up and gave Ethan a high-five, as if they knew each other. The kid’s dad, Tom, one of the town’s realtors, greeted Ethan with a smile.
“Ethan! Didn’t I just see you up on Mrs. Porter’s roof last weekend?” he asked.
Ethan shrugged. “Just a couple shingles.”
Cali’s brows shot up. First Leo. Then diners at the café. Now the festival. How did he already know everyone in Autumn Ridge? She’d been here a couple years permanently and still felt like an outsider at times.
As they waited in line for the palm reader, Cali rocked back and forth on her heels, her mauve skirt playing between her legs and his.
“You okay?” he asked. “I’m sure she’s paid to keep a positive spin on it.”
“Just getting a little cool,” Cali admitted. “I didn’t think to bring a coat.”
Ethan glanced down at the plushie and up at her and down at the plushie again. “One sec,” he said and ran off.
When he returned, the plushie was gone and he was extending a wool-lined jean jacket in her direction. Theshoulders were way too broad for her. She practically swam in it, but it was a relief to cozy up inside the coat. It smelled exactly like Ethan, a mix of sweet and spicy. She found herself blushing at the gesture.
Ethan saddled up beside her this time, his arm softly grazing against hers, and crossed his arms over his chest. His forearms flexed beneath the Henley. She hated how her gaze lingered, how such a simple gesture could bring heat to her cheeks.
“Aren’t you getting cold, too?” she asked.
The twinkling lights above them danced. “I’ll be fine,” he said. But the wind kicked up, and she noticed his grip tighten. “Maybe we can grab some hot cider after this, though?”
“Deal.”
The palm reader’s tent was smaller than she’d remembered. The three of them crowded under the draped purple and gold fabric, faces lit up by the pink hue of a crystal ball in between them. Ethan’s knee brushed against hers under the table, warm and firm. If she dared move away, her chair might topple over.
The palmist read them separately then together, explaining the right hand reflected the present and future, while the left hand was their pasts. She picked up on Ethan’s frequent travels, his long heart line. “Your fate line shows constant change. You’re not one to stay still. But your heart line runs deep. When you choose to love, it’s steady—you don’t give it lightly.”
“And you,” she said, turning toward Cali. “You’re more anchored. Home means everything. But here—see the dip? You’ve been hurt. You don’t let just anyone in.”
The palmist placed their hands beside each other then. “Lovers?” she asked, so casually it caught them both off guard. But she shook her head before they could answer. “Ah, rivals … but not for long. Everything will work out if both of you really want it to.”
Their eyes met across the crystal ball, and for once, neither of them had a clever retort.
Chapter 10
It wasn’t until they were seated alone at a bench, hot cider cupped in their hands, that Ethan started prying. “So ‘anchored,’ huh? Is that how you really feel about Autumn Ridge?”
Cali had to admit it was. She told him how, even before her grandmother had willed her the house, her family had driven down for this exact same fall festival each year. And the holidays. And the spring flower event. And the Fourth of July. “Where do you think I get all these brooches?” she asked, pointing at the sparkling white one pinned to her chest. “They sell them at a booth right over there. I’m obsessed.”
“Must be nice,” he said, “having a place like this, a place that feels like home.”
