Did I want to settle down? Get a dog? Have a family?
Trying for that felt more daunting than any contract I had gone after. I had time to date casually, but I was too busy to foster a real connection with a woman, to find someone whose soul harmonized with mine.
Hanging out with Shelby recently had been the most time I had spent with any one woman ever, and even that was for work, not fun. Itwasfun but that wasn’t technically why I had been helping her out.
Shelby seemed like the kind of woman I could vibe with, but unless I could physically move her entire farm to California, she and I could never have anything long term. It was a hard truth to swallow, even with all these desserts.
Loaded with sugar, we finally concluded all the judging and turned in all our scoring sheets to Mrs. Presley, who would tally it all up with her team. I made my way back to the main area where the crowds were still happily munching on their neighbors’ goodies.
I was looking for Shelby, but the camera crew I had noticed earlier caught my eye. No wonder they had looked out of place. They weren’t from a local news station. This was the social media team from the company. I pulled my phone out to see a missed text telling me they were heading to the bake-off.
Fuckers.
They were supposed to drive into town, check into their motel, and await their marching orders from me. This was notthe plan. I had told Brian from PR I would meet with them tomorrow. Either the wires had gotten crossed somewhere along the lines, or Brian had flat out ignored me.
Tonight’s bake-off was not about good press for Allory. I had set up the whole sponsorship idea for Shelby, to start showing Ferris she wasn’t the traitor they thought she was. None of this was supposed to be in front of the cameras.
I was about to march over there and tell them to pack up their shit and stop filming. Shelby hadn’t agreed to be involved in the campaign and I didn’t want her thinking I had gone behind her back to set this up.
Before I could confront the social media team, Mrs. Presley intercepted me and took me up on stage for the announcement of the prizes. It wasn’t just because I was a judge, either. I was announcing the most popular award.
I stood behind Mrs. Presley with the other judges, and she got everyone’s attention. The social media team was filming all of it, and I wasn’t thrilled about it. I caught sight of Shelby in the crowd, with Lila and Jake, and it didn’t seem like she had noticed the camera crew yet. I was hoping to keep it that way.
Mrs. Presley announced the winners of the various categories, calling people up on stage to get their trophies. Because of the sponsorship deal, they were getting a cash prize to go with their trophies. It was the first time the bake-off had offered money as a prize, and the people of Ferris were loving it, making an already intense competition even more exciting.
Then it was time for the last award, which was going to the most popular dessert overall, based on everyone’s votes. Mrs. Presley handed me the envelope and she introduced me simply as Carter.
Taking the mic from her, I pulled out the name and read it, although I didn’t know the woman who had won, Josie Lang. Alittle old woman with blue hair hustled up to the stage and held up her trophy in victory.
I clapped for her and then addressed the crowd again. “As you all know, this year’s bake-off is being sponsored by a generous donation from Granny’s Acre Farm, run by Ferris’s own Shelby Whitaker.” There was some clapping, although a few people looked uncomfortable at the mention of her name.
“Because of Shelby’s commitment and loyalty to this town, she has offered a special prize to tonight’s most popular dessert winner. Ten thousand dollars!”
A roar of excitement and surprise ran through the crowd. Ten grand was a lot of money no matter who you were, but in Ferris, it was a small fortune. Tears sprang to Josie’s eyes and she leaned into the microphone to thank Shelby personally. The clapping got louder.
Everyone turned to look at Shelby. The social media team rushed over and shoved a camera in her face, and anger flared in me. She tried to keep her composure, but I could see she was overwhelmed. Shelby smiled and waved a little, and as soon as people looked back toward the stage, Shelby slipped away.
I quickly handed the mic to Mrs. Presley. She gave me a knowing look and patted my arm. “Go check on her.”
I didn’t need her encouragement, but I appreciated it nonetheless. Shelby had gone out the exit, and I was hoping to catch up with her. I just hoped she was outside getting some fresh air.
One of the social media team, a kid named Aiden, caught my arm and stopped me. “Mr. Allory, we got some amazing footage. You should see?—”
I gently but firmly removed the young guy’s hand from my arm. “We’ll discuss your inability to follow simple instructions later. If you don’t want to be fired on the spot, get out of my way.”
The guy tripped over his feet backing up from me.
I rushed out the doors into the parking lot. A couple of people loitered around the sidewalk, but they weren’t Shelby. Then I saw her sweet caboose, which had been looking amazing all night in the sweater-dress thing she was wearing, as she walked away down one of the rows of parked vehicles.
I sprinted after her, trying not to slip in my leather-soled shoes. Shelby was worth twisting an ankle for, but I would never catch her if I fell.
“Stop,” I called out, loud enough for her to hear me but not loud enough to draw any more attention to her. That had been why she ran in the first place.
She glanced over her shoulder and kept walking. I finally caught up to her at her van, and she whirled on me.
“What the hell were you thinking?” she asked, eyes burning like blue fire. “How could you put my name on everything and spend all that money without even running it by me first?”
I shook my head. “I’m footing the bill for everything. Don’t worry about that part. I did all of this for you, so that you can actually live in this town again instead of haunting it like a ghost.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I did it because it’s the only thing I can do to fix the sins of the past.”
