“No, it’s being held in the high school gym,” she said. “The only physical effort required is lifting your fork and marking down scores.”
Jake clapped me on the shoulder. “And helping me set up the tables and chairs.”
Was setting up chairs and tables at the high school gym the best use of my time? No. Would it win me some points with the community? Maybe. Would I lose my mind if I had to answer emails all day? Absolutely.
“You know what?” I asked. “Let’s do it.”
Jake’s truck smelled like coconut instead of the dumpster juice coming out of Tyler’s vents. Say whatever you want about Kentucky, but I had been introduced to a lot of interesting smells in the past week and a half.
“Is Shane ever coming back to Ferris?” I asked Jake as he drove.
“Oh, he’s been planning this visit with his folks for a while,” Jake said. “But I think he’ll be back in a few days. Don’t quote me on that, but I think Lila mentioned it.”
I ran a hand through my hair and let out a long breath. “I hope so. The stink from Tyler’s truck is starting to get in my pores. I’ll have to scrub it off with steel wool.”
We got to the school and a custodian let us in. Jake seemed to know his way around, presumably because he had been a student here. The place was a lot different than my high school, which was a private prep school.
Here, the ceiling tiles were water stained and sagging in spots. A few of the fluorescent lights flickered at random intervals, and wads of old gum were stuck to the painted cinderblock walls.
“This place looks like it’s seen better days,” I said, taking it all in.
Jake shot me a dark look. “Everything got hit badly when Allory closed down Whitaker Farms.” He gestured all around us. “This is the hidden cost of those boardroom decisions.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I wasn’t involved in that decision, but that didn’t matter. The effects on the town and its people were the same, regardless of who pulled the trigger.
We passed by a long, glass trophy case, and a familiar smile caught my eye, stopping me in my tracks. Young Shelby stared back at me from the past. In the photo portrait, she wore a jersey with the school colors, blue and white, and in front of the picture was a giant trophy.
“She was captain of the soccer team,” Jake said, coming back to stand next to me.
I shook my head in wonder. “Shelby looks so happy there.”
Jake gave me a sideways look, like he was curious why I even had an opinion. “Yeah, well, she was popular back then. Smart, nice, pretty. Not to mention her parents employed half the town. She was homecoming queen.” He sighed. “I think that’s part of why people turned on her so hard. Betrayal hurts worse when it comes from the golden child.”
“She had nothing to do with any of it,” I said.
“They needed someone to blame and she was an easy target.” He waved at me to keep walking toward the gym. “She barely hangs out at public gatherings anymore. She won’t show up to the bake-off, I bet.”
I frowned. “No, she promised Mrs. Presley she would be here.”
Jake scoffed. “That ain’t happening. Mark my words. She’ll tell Mrs. Presley something came up. That’s how it’s been for the last three years.”
Guilt smothered me like a wet blanket, which only got heavier as Jake talked about how her parents fled to Georgia immediately, leaving Shane and Shelby to deal with the fallout.
Shane had his own thing going on as a mechanic, and since he was the only auto shop in town, it seemed he got more of a pass than his sister. Shelby refused to give up her dream of farming here like past generations of Whitakers.
Her grandparents had passed away while she was in college. Her grandfather first, and then her grandmother a few months later. Everyone said she had died from a broken heart. They left their property to Shelby, and when she decided to get it running, some townspeople didn’t like that, saying she didn’t deserve it when so many people had lost their livelihoods.
We got to the gym. Other volunteers were already there, unfolding chairs and tables and setting them up. Jake checked in with the lady in charge, and he introduced me as Carter, not mentioning my last name, for which I was grateful.
We got to work, but I felt awful, still thinking about the change in Shelby from the smiling girl in that photo to the prickly, stubborn woman I had come to like. Time and experience stole lots of smiles from lots of people, but with Shelby, I felt responsible. Not for what happened, but for not figuring out some way to fix the damage now.
I wasn’t sure if that was even possible.
Jake bumped me with his shoulder. “You all right, man? You look like you’re chewing on gravel.”
“I was just thinking.” I wasn’t sure if I should be honest with him but it all spilled out anyway. “Is Shelby happy?”
“What? That’s a weird question.” Jake eyed me skeptically. “Do you like her or what?”
