“You know, your small-town guy.” Emily waggled her eyebrows.
Too bad she wasn’t here in person so Ava could give her arm a swat. “Stop. He lives in Chicago. And he wants to move to the West Coast. Nothing small-town about him. It doesn’t matter if Ilike him or not. We aren’t going to be living in the same place in a month or two.”
“Ah, star-crossed lovers.” Emily batted her eyes.
“I’m hanging up now.” Ava grinned at her friend, then cut the call.
A moment later, a text chimed.
Emily
I’m not overlooking the fact that you said you like him. We are definitely going to come back to that later.
Ava wandered back to town, Emily’s text ringing through her. She reached Kelley’s Bar & Grill and pushed through the door. The scent of grilling onions and hamburger patties hung in the air.
Patrick waved at her from behind the long, dark bar. “Ava, over here. I hope you’re hungry.” Tall stools were tucked under the glossy surface of the bar counter.
A few patrons sat at the wooden tables scattered through the open space. On one wall stood a jukebox and a karaoke entertainment system.
As she walked across the scarred wood flooring, she scanned the other customers for a familiar shock of dark hair, heart pinching when she didn’t see him. Silly to expect him to be here, of course. But this only proved Emily’s intuition right.
She was falling for Zach.
Chapter Eleven
Time to invest in some new shoes.
Ava sat in a folding chair near the back of the crowd gathered at Blueberry Hill Park for Mia and Cody’s wedding. After spending the day on her feet, pacing as she rewrote her articles, as well as walking through town, it was a relief to rest her tired arches. If she was going to be a Jonathon Island local, she’d need to get better footwear than her current pair of casual shoes. Her tennis shoes hadn’t survived their tart bath. So, shoes were definitely on a shopping list. Or maybe a bike. She looked to her right, where a line of bikes waited in a row.
Folding chairs spread out before her, arranged in rows for the outdoor wedding in the park. People occupied nearly all of the hundred or so chairs. A white runner split the chairs down the middle, ending at an arch covered in flowers. A tall pine stood sentry near the left front corner of the makeshift sanctuary. A little way off, picnic tables waited under a stand of trees.
Off to the side of the arches, a man with a shock of red hair was adjusting the sound system. Behind him, a younger person Ava didn’t recognize held a guitar, and Olive Kelley sat on acajón. At six o’clock on the nose, they started playing quietly. The opening strains of “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” filled the air, wafting along on the pine-scented breeze.
The redheaded man, who must be the pastor, moved under the arch and was joined by Cody. No baseball cap tonight with his dark suit and purple tie. A murmur passed through the crowd before everyone settled again.
A woman bearing a strong resemblance to Ollie, a camera in her hands, moved to the front of the aisle and faced the congregation. Didn’t someone say that one of Zach’s sisters was a wedding photographer?
Three sets of couples made their way down the aisle, the men in jeans, white button-ups, and purple ties, the women in purple sundresses topped with a light shawl. One of the couples was Dani and Liam, but Ava didn’t recognize the other two, one a woman with a streak of purple in her hair, and the other a slightly older couple, the woman bearing a small resemblance to Mia.
The music changed to a lively version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D. A ripple of amusement ran through the crowd as a child—who must be Finn Franklin—dressed in a short-sleeve button-up shirt and a purple bow tie, walked down the aisle, a serious look on his face, a small tackle box in his hands. Behind him, his tiny sister, dark curls matted to her head, toddled behind, clutching a sprig of lilacs.
“Would the congregation please rise,” the pastor said.
They rose and faced the bride. Mia, hand clasping her father’s crooked elbow, floated on the music. Her cap-sleeved lace dress fell in an A-line to the white runner. In her hands, she carried a bouquet of lilacs and peonies. Keeping her eyes trained on Cody, she practically looked like the heart-eye emoji in the flesh. Seb gave the bride away and took his seat, as did the rest of the congregation.
“Welcome, everyone,” the man with the mic said. “I’m Pastor Arnie Chamberlain. I’m so glad you came out for the wedding of Mia and Cody. They’ve requested we begin by singing ‘’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.’”
The musicians transitioned back into the hymn, and the congregation launched into singing.
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word.
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Ava let the song flow through her and into her heart. Trust. What a strange concept. Sure, she believed Godcoulddo what He said He would do, but she had little experience with people following through. After all, her parents—the two people who were supposed to love her more than anything—never had time for her. They would promise to come home and then not show.
