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She turned on me. “You could help.”

“You’re doing great.”

“Beau.”

I whistled. Hades looked over.

Ruby walked over with a piece of sausage in one hand, and the wolf decided she was more interesting than either of us.

Caroline watched him go. “Another crisis averted.”

The parade started six minutes late, and nobody cared. I climbed onto the wagon seat and gathered the lines while Caroline checked the route one more time.

“Do you want a ride?” I asked.

She looked up. “I’m working.”

“So am I.” I held out a hand.

Caroline glanced at the volunteer next to her, who said, “I’ve got the staging area.”

“Did Ruby train all of you?”

The volunteer smiled.

Caroline gave up and climbed onto the wagon. “I’ve got ten minutes.”

The wagon rolled forward. Families lined the sidewalks, and kids waved from the curb. Caroline sat next to me with one hand braced against the seat as we made the first turn. The crowd opened up ahead.

This time, the corner worked the way it was supposed to. She saw it too. Her grin was worth all the arguing about five feet of fence.

“You were right,” she said.

“About what? I’m going to need you to be specific. It happens a lot.”

“The turn, big guy.” She bumped her shoulder against mine.

We passed the Mercantile, where Kaycee and Travis stood on the steps waving.

I waved back.

Caroline laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m starting to understand why people stay here.”

I turned toward her. She was watching the crowd. The comment sounded casual, but it didn’t feel that way. Before I could decide whether to ask what she meant, a little girl near the curb shouted Hank’s name, and the moment passed.

I ran two demonstrations after the parade. Caroline moved through the grounds all afternoon, but she wasn’t doing everything herself. She fixed the problems that needed her and let the volunteers handle the rest.

I’d seen enough people confuse being in charge with being indispensable. Caroline didn’t. That was part of what made her good at her job.

Near five, after the second horse demonstration, a local reporter caught me while I was loosening Gus’s harness. I recognized him from the paper, though I couldn’t remember his name.

“Beau, can I ask you something for the festival recap?”

“It depends.”