The kettle corn came in big bags, so I bought one for us to share, along with two cups of cocoa. Pen took hers with a smile, and we moved across the path to get out of the way.
She sipped her cocoa, getting whipped cream on her lip. As much as I wanted to kiss it off, I held back.
I glanced away as she licked her lips and had to do a double take. Was that Amanda? A man held her hand and led her to one of the little shops. He looked around, as if he were checking his surroundings, and I caught a glimpse of his face. It was Michael Morris.
“Pen,” I whispered, nudging her with my elbow. “Look.”
“Look where? What am I looking at?”
Instead of going into the shop, Michael led Amanda around the side of the building.
“I just saw Amanda with Michael Morris.”
“Where?”
“They went around the side of that shop over there.”
“But why would they be together?” she asked.
I shrugged. Without saying another word, we casually walked past the shop and stopped on the path, pretending to dig into our bag of kettle corn. I angled so I could just see behind the small building and took a handful.
The couple clearly thought they were out of sight. Michael put his arms around her and brought her in for a long kiss.
“He’s married,” Pen whispered. “And I don’t think it’s to her.”
He broke the kiss, and they started talking. I wondered if we could get close enough to hear. Nodding toward the shop, I took Pen’s hand. We hurried around the other side and took careful steps toward the back. We couldn’t see them, but their voices carried enough that we could hear their conversation.
“I just don’t understand why you have to cancel,” Amanda said.
“I told you, it’s not a good time,” Michael answered. “I have some things I have to handle.”
“What things?”
“Things you don’t need to worry about.”
“You mean her.” Her tone had an edge of anger.
“It’s not about that.”
“Of course it is. Everything is about her.”
“Will you stop?” he snapped. “I already told you, I’m going to take care of it. She’s at her parents’ anyway. I doubt she’s coming back this time. I’m not worried about her.”
“Then what’s going on?”
“I think somebody knows.”
“About—”
“Shh. Don’t. Not here.”
“But, how? It’s not possible.”
“It shouldn’t be possible. But Curt keeps asking questions.”
“He gives me the creeps,” she said.
“You and me both. Listen, I just need to lie low for a while. If Curt keeps poking his nose where it doesn’t belong, eventually he’s going to—”
