The hum of preparation filled the ballroom again—silverware clinking, hushed laughter from the kitchen doors, someone testing the mic near the stage. Cali slowed her pace between the tables, studying the handwritten bid cards while her pulse worked to steady itself. The tables gleamed under the chandelier light, a patchwork of generosity and small-town pride—baskets of wine, vouchers for spa days, a birdhouse she was ninety percent certain had been repurposed from one of Russell’s craft-night disasters at the library.
“Thank God for bad decoupage,” she muttered under her breath.
So many stories were tucked into each item. But the one that stopped her was a small oak wood box at the far end of the table, its lid carved with the image of two cats sitting yin-yang style, one light wood color and one dark from the stain. They had button noses and their whiskers were so finely carved. She wanted to touch it, but the displays instructed them not to. The dovetail lid was pushed to one side. No donor name. So it was one of the three anonymous donations Ethan had secured. Just a note that readHand-crafted. One of a kind.
Cali imagined her grandmother’s heirloom jewelry nestled inside it or maybe Charley’s old collar and tag, which were currently in a plastic bag of keepsakes in her closet. Both thejewelry and collar deserved more, and the box was worthy of display on any of her shelves.
Then again, there was also a photo of a gorgeous wooden porch swing a few displays down. But the starting bid was out of her reach, and she didn’t know how on earth she’d get it down to the lake house anyway.
She glanced over her shoulder and caught Ethan sitting by the front doors, his eyes still locked on her.
A loud whistle sounded from the center of the ballroom. “Places,” Mrs. Ellery instructed them. “We’re about to open, and it looks like all of Autumn Ridge is on the other side of that door. You ready, Lynne?” she shouted toward the bar.
Lynne gave her a thumbs up.
“Mayor Pennington and sound crew?”
The folks on the stage hooted and hollered.
Cali scurried back to Ethan’s side in the nick of time.
“Cali and Ethan?”
“Ready, Mrs. E,” Ethan called back.
Then the hotel staff opened the doors. It was a flurry of activity of both Cali and Ethan for nearly forty-five minutes straight, and they danced around each other as they collected coats and passed out tickets. Each time she felt concern over the line backing up, Ethan picked up his pace or reminded her that sometimes waiting for things only made people want them more. When he thought he’d forgotten to collect the entrance fee from a couple people, Cali was quick to point out each one of them were either likely to bid big tonight anyway or should be an exception to the rule—long-time residents who’d already helped them with the cat searches. By the end of the hour, they were more than just volunteers. They were a team.
Cali noticed, at one point, several men from Ethan’s construction crew showed up as well. The switch from construction hats to suits made them all act different, exceptCarl. Carl heckled Ethan, and while Ethan fell into brief conversation with the guys, Carl leaned down to take his drink tickets from Cali.
“We told him we came to win one of those gift cards for Sutton’s Auto Body since we didn’t win anything back at the festival,” he explained to her. “But the Mayor actually invited us for some kind of send-off.” His expression turned very serious then. “Hey. Shhh. Don’t tell him I told you that, okay? The crew will kill me.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. But Carl, being Carl, failed to notice. He told the guys to get a move on, and they headed toward the auction displays as one big, uncomfortable pile of polyester.
Cali couldn’t help but notice, as the line thinned out and the interior of the ballroom bloomed with noise and motion, how many people had personally greeted Ethan at the door. Handshakes and thank you’s sprinkled every round of small talk, and it occurred to her Ethan hadn’t just been building Mrs. Ellery’s gazebo or Bernadette’s cat tower recently. He’d been rebuilding the whole town.
When the last coat was collected and the last ticket passed out, the hotel staff closed the doors and offered Cali and Ethan some hors d’oeuvres. Minka swung around for some final candid pics with The Nine, and everyone took a seat. Cali and Ethan hung out together in the back of the room, watching Mayor Pennington sashay up on stage and give her introduction for the event.
“Good evening, Autumn Ridge! Thank you all for coming out tonight to support our four-legged residents and the two-legged heroes who help them. I see some familiar faces here, and a few I only recognize from the comments on Minka’s social media posts.”
Ethan and Cali turned to each other and giggled just as the crowd joined in. Mayor Pennington paused for Minka to snap another picture from below the stage.
“Tonight’s gala is about more than fancy outfits and bidding wars. Though I’ll be honest, I’mverycurious to see which of our fine firefighters earns the highest bid.”
She winked at Leo, and Leo blew the crowd a kiss.
“Such a showman,” Cali whispered, as the hearts of every single lady and man in Autumn Ridge in that room skipped a beat.
Mayor Pennington continued. “It’s about giving our town’s strays a shot at a home, a belly full of food, and the love every creature deserves. Since we don’t have a shelter, you all make that possible. So thank you for being the heart of this community.” She motioned for the three firefighters to come to the front of the stage. “Alright, folks. Now for the moment half of Autumn Ridge has been waiting for and the other half’s been pretending not to… the firefighter date auction!” Everyone clapped as Leo stepped forward. One woman at a table in the middle whistled. “Starting off strong with Leo March here. You know him. You’ve probably called him to save a kitten from a tree, and now’s your chance to thank him personally over dinner. Rumor has it he can operate a grill without setting off the alarms. Bidding starts at fifty dollars, and remember, this is adate—not a house call. The department has enough of those already.”
“Fifty dollars!” Russell screamed from the library staff’s table. The crowd practically fell over with laughter.
The Mayor leaned into the mic again. “Gentle reminder to use the paddles at your tables, please.” Her eyes flitted to the library’s table. “Russ, I’m sure it’s not the first time someone’s asked you that politely.” A low rumble of laughter. “Joking.Joking. But remember folks, if the bidders get too wild, wewillcall in Animal Control.”
As the bids quickly escalated, Cali noticed some playful heckling.
“I’ll bid if he brings his older brother!”
“Does the date come with dessert?”
