"Anyone who can put up with my brother for an extended period of time is not fragile," she said with a smile. "Far from it. If you were, he'd eat you alive. Besides, I know him. He doesn't like people like that. My brother has always enjoyed a challenge. Which is ironic, considering he poses one more often than not."
We both laughed.
"Poor Connor." I shook my head. "He's not that bad."
She gave me a speculative look. "No he's not. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were falling for him. Riley too, perhaps?"
"They… They keep life interesting," I said.
She dropped her head back and laughed. "They certainly do that. Like I said, you could do worse than them. Aurora Hollow could use more men… I could finish the sentence there, to be honest, but what I meant is they're good men. They can be absolute assholes at times, but deep down, their hearts are in the right place. Deep, deep down."
"There must be plenty of single men in town trying to get your attention," I said. I'd noticed them looking, even if she hadn't.
"One or two," she conceded. "I might even go out with them sometimes."
I had a feeling there was more to what she was saying. Someone she had her eye on. I wouldn't pry. When she was ready to tell me, if she was, I'd be here to listen.
"We should get finished with this." I nodded toward the lights still held in my hands.
"Yes, we should," she said. "Don't want you standing for longer than necessary. Honestly, I don't want to get up on this ladder more times than necessary either." She made a face that made me smile.
"The things we do for our community," I said tentatively.
Was I assuming too much in including myself in that? What was the old saying? In some places, you had to live there twenty or thirty years before you were considered a local. I'd be in my fifties before that happened.
"Exactly," she said without hesitation. "We wouldn't have it any other way, would we? Just wait until the festival, you're going to love it. We have live bands in the park and in the pub, and one down by the lake, in the little amphitheatre there. BYO blanket or chair. The streets will be lined with vendors selling every kind of food you can imagine. Word of advice, don't eat breakfast on Saturday morning. You'll want to keep some room in your stomach for a bit of everything."
"Noted." I followed her to the next spot when the lights needed to be attached. "That sounds amazing."
"It is," she agreed. "I think it's my favourite event of the year. Closely followed by Christmas. And the entirety of the summer. And the first snowfall. And the last snowfall."
"So, everything?" I teased.
She laughed. "What can I say? I adore living here. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. This place will always be home."
"I don't blame you." I handed her the last section of lights. "This town could easily be home for me as well."
The longer I was here, the more I could imagine spending the rest of my life here. Life in the city seemed unappealing and distant. Like that was another life a long time ago. Possibly one lived by someone else. It all seemed like some kind of dream. The kind that became less and less real as time went on.
"Good, because you're one of us now." She fastened the last of the lights and jumped off the ladder. "You know what I forgot is amazing around here? Halloween. There's nothing like Halloween in the hollow."
"I look forward to it," I said sincerely. What would Connor or Riley dress up as? I'd be curious to find out.
35
LEAH
"Are you ready to go?"Connor asked as he pushed the front door open and looked inside.
"Why do I bother to lock that?" I asked.
He grinned. "I have no idea. To keep honest people out?"
I snort-laughed. "That sounds accurate. Because I can't keep you two out, can I?"
"Why would you want to?" Riley called out from behind Connor.
"I can't think of a single reason." I rolled my eyes playfully but picked up my bag from the table and tucked my phone into my pocket.
