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“I thought you liked it there. Why take a year off?”

A year? We’re talking forever here, Dad.

The band begins to play a loud rendition of some tune I can’t really make out, which prevents any more conversation. Dad looks disappointed, but I’m relieved.

I glance at Ann, who gives me a look of understanding, but a movement behind her draws my attention.

Ben is gone from his seat, but Carson Price lingers nearby, his hand on his daughter’s shoulder as they sit down next to the Walkers. Then Sharon, his mom, appears next.

I sit forward, chewing on my upper lip. Carson gives me a brief nod in greeting, though Sharon waves happily at me before her eyes drop to the back of my dad’s head. There, she lingers before sitting down beside her granddaughter, Penny.

Sharon points out things on the field, and every once in a while, the nine-year-old grins, laughing at the jokes her grandma cracks.

Ready for more sleuthing, I tap on Dad’s shoulder. He still has that look of concern on his features, but I motion down the row.

“The Prices just got here. You should say hi so they feel welcomed.”

He glances at them, his features shifting almost indiscernibly from worry to pleasant surprise.

“You’re right,” he says, his eyes fixed on Sharon. “I’ll do that before the second half starts.”

He stands, smooths down his shirt, then sidles his way toward them. I watch as he greets them, his eyes lingering longer on Sharon. She grins up at him, fluffing her blonde locks as he sits in front of her.

I think they’re connecting, but truth be told, I could be imagining all of it.

“Being a little matchmaker, are we?” Ann asks, still beside me.

“More like a detective,” I clarify.

“Good. Because I hear your dad has no trouble finding his own women to date.”

Does she know about the bulletin board in the library and the “I Voted” stickers? Has she voted?

Before I have time to ask, halftime starts, and the seating shifts again as Ben appears with Maven at his side, one hand holding a thing of nachos, the other on Maven’s back.

“They’re back together?” I whisper to Ann, but she merely shrugs.

“I can never tell where the two of them are.”

Maven greets her mom with a smile of her own, then Dad next as he lingers near the Prices.

I don’t know a lot about Sharon, but as I watch Maven, Carson, and Penny with their mother and grandmother, it’s clear how much they love her.

But...does Dad love her? He seems more engaged than with Lisa. Sharon’s not trying to cling to him, either. To be honest, though, I don’t see a spark. I haven’t seen that in Dad apart from old home videos of him and Mom, so I’m probably just being picky.

A cheer sounds, but my attention remains on Dad. He said before at the potluck that he wanted to talk to me. Maybe he’ll find time now that he knows I’ll be staying in Autumn Ridge.

Then again, he’ll probably just talk about my own future instead of his. Either way, things are winding down—or gearing up—and the truth between us is going to blow wide open whether we’re ready for it or not.

Juliet

Saturday holds the culminating event of the festival—the barn raising. It really is a sight to behold, all those men working together to build an entire structure in a single day.

A few women join in, but most of us are here to keep waters filled, morale high, and photos taken as the boys do their work. Archer’s with them, though he’s moving so swiftly with everyone else, I don’t get to talk with him.

The Walker men are all helping—Tom, Jaxon, and Luke. Ben’s running the show in all of his carpenter glory, and Liv’s close to Tate, handing him tools and hammering things with him. Wade and Dom and Dean are all pitching in, as well as Carson, though he’s paying more attention to Emma than he is to the barn at the moment.

James is here, too—a sight to behold after being gone for so long.