“Throw again.” Zoey plucked a dollar bill from Noah’s hand and gave it to Rosalyn. “Here.”
“Might as well fork over a ten and save her the trouble of opening that bag a dozen times.” Linc grinned, his dark bun shifting.
“He’s going in, don’t worry.” Noah narrowed his eyes in concentration. Threw.
Missed.
Rosalyn tucked the money in the zippered pouch she was guarding. “One more?”
“Ah, whatever.” Noah handed over a fiver.
Across the park by the hot dog stand, Mama D screamed as she slid down the water slide in a hot pink swimsuit. Madame Paulette greeted her at the bottom, wearing a swim skirt that hung to her knees. “My turn!” Together, they scrambled up the inflatable stairs.
Near the slide, Miley lay out on a beach towel, wearing a black swimsuit and dark glasses, ignoring the kids running circles around her with water guns. To her right, Sadie and Harper camped out in lounge chairs, a pile of novels stacked next to a cooler between them. Nearby, under an umbrella, Mrs. Peters scowled at a kid playing a handheld video game.
Elisa and Zoey pressed next to Rosalyn as Noah continued his pitching attempts. “Is it true Blaine is in jail?” Elisa asked.
“Yep.” Rosalyn nodded. “For a long time—thankfully, not here in town.”
“Your life is like made-for-TV movie.” Elisa shook her head. “An aerialist in a Cajun Circus, running from the Mafia.”
Rosalyn laughed. “I’m happy to change the channel, in that case.”
She’d never dared to dream this day could come—and it felt better than she’d imagined.
“Did Bruno move forward with that lawsuit?” Noah paused his next attempt at the buzzer.
Cade shook his head. “He backed down, apologized for the threat.” He sighed. “And as part of said apology, gave me a voucher for a lifetime supply of…wait for it…free frog legs.”
“Eww.” Zoey, Elisa, and Rosalyn protested in unison.
“I’d try them.” Noah shrugged as he wound his arm up.
“You do, and you can keep your kisses to yourself,” Elisa warned.
He winked at her before releasing the next shot.
Missed.
A few of the young ballet students from Lettie’s studio skipped past, slurping popsicles as purple juice rolled down their arms. “Hi, Barbie!” They waved.
Rosalyn smiled and waved back…which reminded her…
“Tell them the other good news!” Cade called from his perch, as if reading her mind.
Elisa and Zoey looked at her with raised brows.
She could barely contain her grin. “I’m about to start looking at real estate here in town for an aerial studio.”
Zoey squealed and grabbed her arm. “Take my money! I’ll be your first student.” She wrinkled her nose. “Once I have money again, of course.”
“I’ve got to find a place first, and get a loan secured.”
“With abank,” Cade added.
She rolled her eyes at him. “There’s still a lot of legal stuff to wade through with Blaine’s theft, so in the meantime, Dad is going to co-sign for me.”
As much as she’d wanted to put things back together herself, she’d realized the beauty innotbeing able to handle everything perfectly—and the gift it gave others to help. She smiled as Cade mocked Noah’s next attempt.
