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I wave goodbye as he drives away, telling myself it’s a good thing I’m letting him go, even if it feels like another stupid decision I rushed into.
Juliet
The day of the festival finally arrives. I’m as relieved as Rosie that things are coming together, but there are still wrinkles to iron out.
First, we run out of bacon for the community breakfast with Dad, so we have to send someone out to get more. Then I’m told the apple cider press isn’t going to be ready until nightfall. Fortunately, Rosie’s brother Dom is a master fixer of, well, everything, so he gets that sorted for us quickly.
I swear, at the end of this week, I’m going to curl up in a blanket in bed and sleep for a month.
Unless I hang out with Archer.
I’ve seen him five times already this morning, but who’s counting? He’s volunteered to help with the pony rides tomorrow, but today, he’s manning the hayrides.
As I’m running from event to event, putting out fires and answering too many questions, I catch sight of him leading his massive horses from his wagon down the road, his arms taut as he holds the reins firmly, his legs bent and relaxed, one resting on the front ledge of the wagon.
This is a whole other level of attractive I’m not ready for, so I leave to check on the candle making activity—and to learn more about Genevieve.
Instead of setting up her activity in her shop, we’ve opted for more space in the meeting hall in the room Dad’s birthday party was held. The whole space is bustling, tables filled with different scents, jars, wicks, and orange, yellow, red, and white wax.
Genevieve is moving from table to table in a relaxed manner as she helps each person with their candle, though she takes a minute to sneak off to the side and munch on a pastry. My attention snags on the Keller’s Bakehouse bag she tucks the food back into.
Dad purchases two maple cinnamon sticky buns...
When Genevieve finds me in the doorway, she brightens and immediately moves to greet me, swallowing her mouthful. “You caught me sneaking a break,” she says with a laugh.
“I’m glad you’re taking a second while you can.” I motion to the bag she holds in her hand. “Keller’s Bakehouse?”
“Of course. They’re the best.”
“Sticky buns?”
She wrinkles her nose. “I’m not a fan of those, to be honest. I’m more of an apple muffin kind of girl.”
Dang it. I guess Dad shares the sticky buns with someone else. I was so ready to cast my vote.
“It looks like things are going great in here,” I say, motioning around the room.
“Yeah, I’ve already had to send someone to get more jars. I’m glad I have enough, but I really didn’t expect this much interest.”
“It’s a tight squeeze for everyone, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. But they’re being good sports about it.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “It’ll be so good to have that barn up so we have some actual space in town to do these sorts of things.” She snaps her fingers as if she’d just remembered something, then leans toward me with a lowered voice. “Speaking of the barn...have you heard anything about this anonymous donor?”
Dad mentioned it to me a while ago when the donation had been made. Apparently, someone gave over a hundred thousand dollars and completely funded the barn raising we’ll be doing this Saturday. I asked if it was Dad’s own donation, but he’d confided in me that not even he knew who it was.
“I don’t like not knowing,” he said. “I prefer to be able to express my gratitude straightaway. But I can’t deny what a help this will be to Autumn Ridge.”
I shake my head. “I have no idea who it is, unfortunately.”
Genevieve pulls in her lips with a look of mild disappointment. “Darn. I love a good mystery, but not when it isn’t solved.”
I couldn’t have come up with a better segue. “Speaking of mysteries. Have you heard the one of my dad and his dating life?”
Her eyes sparkle with intrigue. “No, but I think I’m going to now.”
I open my mouth to share, wondering if Genevieve is the best liar in town or genuinely not an interest of Dad’s, but my phone rings, cutting me off.
I pull it up, seeing Rosie’s name, and I wince. “You okay with a raincheck?”
