Downtown is already packed. The whole town shuts their businesses down after three p.m. to make sure that everyone is able to attend the festival. Although the small businesses are technically working at the festival, it’s the best way to kick off the tourist season, which is usually from spring until the end of summer. The local lake brings in a variety of people. I’ve noticed the traffic picking up over the weekend as everyone is returning to their lake homes or renting the local Airbnbs.
I catch Luke in his work attire, looking grumpier than usual. He despises this time of year. Our small town doesn’t normally have a lot of ruckus going on, especially since Luke has joined the police force, but the tourists bring in some crime for him and his team to deal with. I slap a hand to his shoulder in greeting. He tenses up at first, but he lightens up once he sees that it’s Annabelle and me.
“Uncle Luke!” Annabelle shouts as she wiggles against my shoulders, and I gladly place her into his arms and roll my shoulders back to relieve the strain. “Look at the flowers Daddy got me.”
“Well, they’re almost as pretty as you are, Princess.” He gives her a bright smile, and she melts into him as she wraps her tiny arms around his neck.
“You’re such a softy.” I chuckle and shake my head.
He shrugs. “Only for this one.” He places his fingers into her armpits and gives hera tickle.
“How’s work?” I ask, already knowing what he’s going to say.
He huffs before placing Annabelle back into my arms. “I hate summer.”
“Uncle Luke, you said a bad word!” Annabelle shrieks, and my smirk grows, especially when Luke slaps a hand to his mouth, his eyes growing wide, as he plays into her accusation. Annabelle is oblivious to actual bad words because she rarely hears them, but to her,hateis on her bad list.
“I mean, Idislikesummer. Very much. Like the most ever.”
A flash of red weaves through the crowd until Olivia bumps into Luke’s shoulders. “Faye Grady and Mrs. Calaway are having a heated argument over by the mac and cheese truck. It's pretty epic! You might want to go take care of the situation before the mess gets worse.”
“Gets worse? Are you kidding me?” Luke grumbles and jogs away from us.
Just then, the song “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard starts playing over the speakers, and I’m pretty sure the song is inappropriate for this crowd. However, Olivia lights up next to me and starts clapping with excitement. She sings, “Pour some mac and cheese on me!” and I burst out laughing. She stands on her tippy toes, peeking over to where I assume Luke is heading, and says, “This song is perfect for the fight. I hope someone is recording it.”
“I might need to take Annabelle somewhere else,” I admit through my laughter.
“But I love mac and cheese,” she admits in my arms.
Olivia reaches over and takes Annabelle into her arms. She gives me a wink and points over towardHoney and Tasty,where I see Raine standing, observing jars of honey. “Mind if Auntie Liv takes this little squirt over to the bouncy houses for a bit?”
“Daddy, can she please?!”
As if I could say no to those puppy-dog eyes Annabelle has learned to master, thanks to her Uncle Zane. “Alright, but whenAunt Liv says it’s time to go, you can’t argue with her, okay?” Annabelle nods her head quickly, practically tossing her bouquet toward me to hold onto, before waving her arms in excitement.
“Let's go!” Annabelle squawks and jumps down from Olivia’s arms to grab her hand and tug her toward the courthouse where the bouncy houses are set up. I smile, thankful for this found family Annabelle and I are blessed with, before I turn my attention back to Raine.
Instead of walking toward her, I grab my phone from my pocket and send her a quick text.
Did you make it to the festival yet?
I watch her pull her phone from her back pocket and take in the brightness of her smile as she reads my message. Her thumbs go to work in texting me back.
Raine
Yes, did you?
Yup. I’ve been here for a while now. I’ve been searching for this girl I used to date in high school.
Raine’s smile grows, but she tries to hide it by biting her bottom lip. I remind myself that slow and steady wins this race, and I’m all about winning when it comes to Raine. I plan to ask her this evening what she wants to do after the renovations are done to see where we go from here.
Raine
Oh yeah?
Yeah, but there’s this woman wearing a pair of tight blue jeans and a pink floral top that has me distracted.
She snaps her head up and begins searching through the crowd until her eyes land on me. And boy, do I love how she beams as soon as they do. It’s as if time slows down, just for a moment, etching in a private moment for just the two of us. I’ve been trying to ignore the gravitational pull between us, as if it was never severed from the past. But as I watch her jog toward me, her dirty-blonde curls bouncing around her, I know there is no way I can ignore my feelings for this woman.
