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Behind them, paper rustled with suspicious enthusiasm.

“I should get going,” Joel said.

Good, his bear said smugly. We need alone time with our mate.

Mara glanced toward the table and finally noticed Joel. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”

Joel lifted one hand. “Please don’t apologize on my account. I’m trying to understand these schedules. But they will remain a mystery whether I’m drinking Gabe’s coffee or not.”

Gabe looked at the papers. “You don’t have to go. I said I’d give you a hand with the Fall Festival.”

“You have other things to do.” Joel nodded toward the kitchen. “Like not burning your bread.”

“My bread.” Gabe spun around and rushed out to the kitchen.

Mara crossed to Joel’s table. “What are you trying to figure out?”

Joel spread his hands. “That depends on how much time you have.”

“I’m heading to the Thornberg vineyard later.” She tilted her head to one side. “But I have some time to spare if you want help.”

“Then I’ll give you the short version.” Joel tapped one of the sheets in front of him. “I’ve got vendors on one schedule, volunteers on another, setup on a third, and deliveries on something that started life as a spreadsheet and has become a threat to my sanity.”

Gabe carried the tray of bread, thankfully not burned, to the display case and listened without meaning to.

Mara winced in sympathy. “That sounds like you have your hands full.”

“I do. Hands full of lists. Every sheet works on its own,” Joel went on. “It’s when they touch each other that everything gets ugly.”

That caught her attention. Or her sympathy. Gabe couldn’t tell which, as Mara put her bag over the back of the empty chair and leaned closer to the table. “What are you using as the master?”

Joel looked at her. “The master?”

“The thing that tells you what has to happen before something else can happen.”

Joel was quiet for a beat. “I don’t have one.”

Mara pulled out the chair.

Gabe smiled to himself and went back behind the counter. He had known she wouldn’t be able to leave it alone. Not because Joel was helpless. He wasn’t. Gabe had watched him organize half the town before now. But Mara had that look on her face, the same one she got when she’d told him about her job.

This is her version of your baking, Gabe’s bear said.

It is, Gabe agreed. She loves her job.

“I’m not taking this over,” Mara said.

“I didn’t ask you to.” Joel looked up slyly. “But part of me wouldn’t mind if you did. And I’m sure the town and my mom would thank you for it.”

“Hey. You’ve got this,” Mara assured him.

“I’m not sure.” Joel nudged the folder. “It just feels like there’s something I’m not grasping. My mom makes it look so easy.”

“She usually organizes the Fall Festival?” Mara asked.

“She does. Although I have no idea how,” Joel sighed. “My admiration for her has skyrocketed.”

“I bet she didn’t always have it figured out,” Mara said. “It’s just the more times you do a thing, the easier it gets. Like riding a bike.”