Krista lifted a hand when they got closer and called out a hello.
Madison looked up and her face lit. “Krista!”
Zach straightened, wiping his hands on his shorts. “Hey. Swap people.”
“Swap people,” Krista echoed, laughing as she and Joe stepped closer.
Madison popped up from her crouch, a streak of dirt on her shorts. “How’s downtown photography bootcamp going? Please tell me Joe hasn’t made you lie in the street for the perfect angle.”
“Not yet,” Krista said.
Joe held up a hand. “I’d like to clarify that I only make people lie in the street if it’s for art or a particularly compelling insurance claim.”
Madison’s eyes bounced between them, catching on the camera bag, the way Joe kept angling his body toward Krista. Then her expression softened.
“So,” she said, like she couldn’t help herself. “I heard about the Hideaway listing.”
Krista tried to keep smiling, but the comment caught her off guard. She felt herself cracking, piece by piece.
Madison rushed on, palms up. “I’m not trying to ambush you. It’s just…I can’t wrap my head around it. That place is you.”
“It’s also a building with insurance, utilities, repairs, payroll,” Krista said lightly, voice too cheerful.
Zach shot Madison a look that said,Easy, but Madison had always been the kind of woman who stepped toward fires.
“I get it,” Madison said, softer. “I do. I know whatit feels like to have something everyone thinks is this dreamy little town landmark, but it’s so much more, and it takes so much more to keep it going.”
Krista knew Madison was talking about how she’d come back home and saved the Cinnamon Spice Inn for her family.
She let out a breath that was almost a laugh. “Not everyone gets a fairy-tale rescue.”
“I don’t know. Maybe they do. This is Maple Falls after all.” Zach spoke up.
Madison stepped closer, lowering her voice. “If you don’t want to sell it, don’t. Tell me what you need. We’ll figure something out. A fundraiser. A summer event. Hell, we’ll make Mayor Bloomfield dress up like a bee and dance on the dock if that’s what it takes.”
Despite herself, Krista’s eyes flickered with amusement. “He’d do it too.”
“He would,” Madison agreed, dead serious. “He’d choreograph it.”
“I appreciate it,” Krista said. “I do. It’s just…complicated.”
“Maybe, but I’m sure we could figure something out,” Madison replied, unwilling to drop it.
Krista’s smile turned brittle. “Okay,” she said, voice careful. “I should— We should go…”
Madison nodded, but her eyes stayed on Krista. “Just…don’t make the decision alone, okay? Not in that spiral headspace where everything feels like the only option.”
Krista lifted a hand, a half wave that was also a quiet boundary. “I won’t. Bye.”
Zach raised two fingers. “See you guys later.”
Krista didn’t speak until they were inside the SUV, doors shut, the world muted.
Joe glanced at her as he started the engine. Her hands were in her lap, fingers lacedtight.
“You okay?” he asked.
Krista let out a short laugh. “With which part? The part where Madison ambushed me? Or the part where no one seems to listen?”
