Page 47 of Forbidden to Fall

“I should be thanking you,” I said as I pulled out my keys. “Kissing a pig will be the most romance I’ve had in a while.”

“That’s only if you win!”

I laughed and waved over my shoulder as I got to my car. “See you later, Em.”

She waved and headed in the opposite direction, while I hesitated at my car door. I needed to get the third item squared away for selling at the farm, so I had an afternoon of baking ahead of me. While the space at the sugar shack kitchen called to me like a siren song, maybe a break was warranted. All the time I’d been spending at the maple farm was making it easy to get business and pleasure mixed up.

I could bake at home today.

I put my keys away and headed back to my apartment.

Baking maple blondies in my Easy-Bake was misery. If I hadn’t just had a very fun day baking at the sugar shack yesterday, I might have thought I hated baking altogether. In comparison to that kitchen, the one at my apartment belonged in the stone age.

But I got it done—and without any stolen looks at James—and a quick trip to Mom and Dad’s reassured me that the bars were extremely edible. Wade happily demonstrated just how edible by consuming four in a matter of five minutes. Even Rusty, who managed to sneak one when no one was looking, agreed they were delicious.

Morgan was getting more comfortable in the bakery by the day. She oozed confidence—some of it not quite earned yet—but I had no doubt she would make up the deficit soon enough. She was just that type of woman: smart and capable.

My resentment was melting slowly as I got more comfortable around her. She didn’t seem like she was about to kick me to the curb. She wasn’t too proud to ask me questions or observe me to learn, which I appreciated after so many years being second in command.

I wasn’t due at the bakery until ten on Monday, so I popped over to Once Upon an Inn, the town’s one tourist accommodation, to chat with Rosie Harper. She was Ryan’s age, but since we both worked on Main Street and had stuck around Autumn Ridge since high school, we saw a lot of each other.

She helped find space for a Carver Maple Farm booth at the Harvest Festival—not without a little eyebrow-raising at the partnership, though—and happily agreed to carry some of our baked goods at the inn plus offering to make a display for them herself.

I loved Rosie Harper.

Afterward, I made my way to Dust & Timber, the carpentry shop up the road that Bennett Walker ran. He offered to give me a steep discount on some of the items in the back—an array of builds that hadn’t met his lofty expectations of himself.

Nothing perked up the ears of a poor, single woman like the word discount, so I took him up on the offer and was pleased as punch to find a few things that would work for our purposes. They were too big to fit in my car, so I told him I’d be back to pick them up in the next couple of days. I had no doubt May would let me use their truck.

I loved my town.

I’d texted James to let him know I’d be at Horseshoe Holler around 3:20, and when I pulled up a couple minutes before that, his truck was already there. I needed to be home by 3:45, when Mia would be dropped off, so I hurried to the stables.

Archer and James were facing each other, both leaning a shoulder against the wall, looking like an ad for an equestrian magazine. Good looks ran in the family.

Archer spotted me first and pushed off the wall, and James’s head turned to follow his gaze.

“Hey, cowboys,” I said.

Archer tipped his hat like we were in a western movie. “James says you two have a proposition to make, but he wouldn’t tell me until you were here.”

“You’ll do a much better job explaining,” James said to me. “And it was your idea.”

“Only if Archer likes it,” I joked.

“You’ve got my attention,” Archer said.

I explained the thought I’d had for a longer and more autumny experience for Horseshoe Holler customers. “What do you think?”

“It’s a great idea.” Archer looked at his cousin, his mouth turning up at the side. “In fact, I’m embarrassed neither one of us thought of it before.”

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it from my back pocket. It was Lily calling.

“Just a sec,” I said to Archer and James. “I’ll be right back.” I walked out of the stables before answering—taking a call from Lily in front of James felt like a poor choice. “Hey, Lil, what’s up?”

“Sadie! Are you home?” The words came out quickly, and it sounded like she was in a car on speakerphone.

“Um, no, but I’ll be home in time to take Mia.”