"Small town," Meg replied with a shrug. She was about to take a bite of the cookie she held when she looked over and yelled, "Get away from them! Excuse me."
Meg handed me her cookie, then she marched over and dragged away two young teenage girls who were very obviously flirting with Isaac and Bruno Svensson.
"They're just friends from school!" one of the brown-haired girls complained when Meghan hauled them back over to where we were standing.
"There will be none of that," Meghan scolded her little sisters.
The girls looked longingly at Isaac and Bruno, who elbowed each other and laughed. Meg scowled in their direction.
Hunter, who seemed to have a nose for when anything was amiss with the younger Svenssons, strode over and handed them each a bag. "Don't stand there, gawping," he growled. "Go pick up trash and be useful." He smiled slightly in Meghan's direction. She kept scowling.
"Don't think," she said to me, "that just because I let that land deal slide through that the Svenssons are just going to run roughshod over the town of Harrogate."
"I wasn't planning on it," I said, backing away slowly. I fled to the terrace, where Remy was manning the grill. He had his Marine Corps Veteran hat on. Susie was there talking to him. Every time she would laugh at something he said, he blushed straight up through his beard to his forehead.
"They're swapping stories about the service," Cliff, the fireman, said when I came up.
"Making sure Josie doesn't set anything on fire?" Mace asked from behind me.
The fireman laughed. "That and this is where the hot food is! It barely seems to make it to the table before it's scarfed up."
"My brothers eat a lot," Mace said sheepishly.
"No kidding!" Cliff replied, saluting to Mayor Barry, and headed across the lawn to go talk to him.
"This turned out really nice," Mace said, handing me a plate. "Did you even eat? You made all this food."
"You helped!" I took the plate with a hot dog smothered in cheese, chili, and minced onions.
"That's the best way to eat a hot dog," Mace told me. I bit into it and gave a thumbs-up.
Otis, Nate, and Peyton ran up to the grill and started jostling for food.
"Don't fight around the grill," Mace reprimanded them. Two of his brothers, I think it was Carl and maybe Mike, were in some sort of drunken argument about the latest football game. Isaac and Bruno were standing by them, watching them wave their arms.
"Hey!" Hunter yelled across the lawn. "You are not done yet." He stormed over to them, collecting Otis, Nate, and Peyton on his way. He handed the three of them trash bags, then he handed Carl and Mike trash bags as well and pointed them to opposite corners of the large lawn. Then he went to keep Henry from sticking his whole face in the potato salad.
"Are you sure you want to wake up to this every morning?" Mace asked me after a moment.
"You mean to you and this awesome house and the wonderful—" Henry screamed at Hunter, and Hunter scolded him. Mace and I winced. "Sometimes wonderful people." I smiled up at him. "I couldn't think of anything I want more." He leaned over and kissed me, causing me to almost spill the plate of food.
"Don't let me lose that!" I shrieked, lunging to catch my cupcake before it fell. Except I overcorrected, and the cupcake ended up smooshed on Mace's neck and part of his cheek. "You look good enough to eat," I said as red, white, and blue sprinkles dripped off him. Mace stood there in shock.
"It's like both of my great loves all in one delicious sugary package," I quipped. A grin spread slowly across Mace's face, and he grabbed me, wrapping his arms around me.
"You're smearing cake in my hair!" I shrieked as he nuzzled me.
"You know," Mace said, "I think I'm starting to be on board with your life philosophy."
"YOLO?"
He shook his head then kissed me, the sweetness of the cake lingering on my lips. He pulled back and said against my mouth, "If it's covered in candy, eat it!"
