She hadn’t had time to eat since the caramel apple she’d grabbed for breakfast. That was when she’d made eye contact with Gavin, who was crossing the green with Wes and Avery. It was the first time she’d seen him since they’d had words on Tuesday. A moment later the group was gone. Had she dreamed the whole thing?
She didn’t have time to dwell on the thought as she’d nearly ran smack into Kyle Lemmings. “Sorry!”
He steadied her with his hands. “No worries.”
She hadn’t seen him since their breakup almost three weeks ago.
His hands dropped as an awkward silence brewed between them.
“I was, um...”—Charlotte held up her caramel apple—“just grabbing breakfast.”
“Looks good. Do you have a booth this year?”
“I do.” Had he heard about her breakup with Gunner? She wasn’t about to bring it up.
“Me too.” He gave her a tentative smile as his gaze zeroed in on her. “I hope it goes well for you, Charlotte.”
Relief bloomed in her chest. “Thanks, Kyle. I hope the same for you.”
She smiled at the memory as she greeted a set of parents, took their ticket, and handed them a ranch brochure that promoted their lessons. She tried not to think about what she’d do if that part of the business exploded. She was already in over her head.
After adjusting the little girl’s helmet, she boosted her onto Firefly and sent them off around the makeshift ring. They’d started letting parents spot their own kids a long time ago. It wasn’t ideal, but there was no other choice.
She’d called Brianna this morning to see if she was available today, but her friend had long hours at the coffee shop. Brianna had shown up at her door last night with a gallon of rocky road ice cream. She’d begged a neighbor to stay with her grandma so she could come over and commiserate with Charlotte. It had meant so much to her.
“Here’s our ticket,” a woman said.
Charlotte turned to greet the parent—and found Gavin andJeff standing nearby. She balked, speechless for full seconds.
Gavin couldn’t seem to hold eye contact with her.
Her spine stiffened at his guardedness. This was the first time she’d seen his stepfather since the news had broken. Cooper never said how Jeff was responding to all this. But he couldn’t be enjoying the upheaval she’d caused in his family. Nonetheless, his smile seemed friendly enough.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi, Charlotte.” Jeff frowned pointedly at Gavin. Nudged him in the gut.
“Um, my mom sent us over to see if you needed some help.” His tone was somewhat begrudging.
She wished she were too proud to accept the offer, but she didn’t have that luxury. “I’ll take whatever help I can get.”
“Where would you like us?” Jeff asked.
“Can one of you man the booth? Pass out brochures and attempt to field questions? Most of the answers are in the brochure.”
“I’m on it.” Jeff scooted off, leaving her standing awkwardly with Gavin, who was clearly only here at Lisa’s request.
“I can take tickets, I guess.”
“Okay.” Charlotte handed him a stack of brochures. “Give these to the parents, please.”
She turned and greeted the older woman whose grandson wanted a pony ride.
Even with the extra help, the line was still slow since she had to put on helmets and get the kids onto the ponies. Her arms were getting so tired. To say nothing of her back. Some of these kids were not so small. What a day. When she got home, she would take a nice, long shower and flop into bed.
A half hour later Charlotte sent Firefly on another ride around the ring. How much longer could she go on? Across the ring, Emerson looked ready to drop too.
“Reinforcements have arrived,” Cooper announced as he approached with Laurel and Avery.
