Just as that idea began to take root, I quickly dismissed it. I was being ridiculous. That time for me passed by long ago. I wasn’t a naïve teen anymore. And now that I started to spread my wings here with a job and a place to call home, I was content. I had responsibilities and people that depended on me. Plus, I was part of a business venture with my family—an event venue on the ranch. Each of us had a part in it, but really it was Autumn’s baby, and she asked me to help with the catering. It was something I took seriously, and I couldn’t flake out on it, even though I mostly delegated my part to others. I wanted to help as many other businesses around Ashfield succeed as I could. I was going to have to be content with my job at the bar and the side project I wanted to get up and running.
Glancing beyond the gravel lot, I took in the scenic view. If there was one thing I’d miss if I ever left town, it would be the mountains. Their green, lush beauty in the spring was unmatched. At least in my eyes.
Our little town was nestled between the mounds of the Smoky Mountains. Generations of my family gazed up at these same peaks from the valley where Ashfield, Tennessee rested.
Closing my eyes, I let the smell of the freshly cut grass and a hint of honeysuckle cascade over my senses. To me, it was the quintessential smell of spring transitioning into summer. Tilting my head back, the warmth of the afternoon sun caressed my skin like a gentle kiss. The kind that left your body heated in its wake.
“Wow,” a tiny voice said from close by.
I pried open one eye, and I was shocked to find a little brown-haired girl staring at me in awe.
Quickly, my eyes darted around the market, looking for a frantic parent trying to find their missing child, but my search came up empty.
“Uh, hi!” I said warmly as I approached her, moving around to the other side of the booth and squatting down to her level.
Thinking back to my sister Rory’s first-grade class, I assumed this little girl was no older than four or five. She was a tiny one though.
Her dark hair was up in two lopsided pigtails, each tied with a different-color ribbon. The silky strip was tied in knots instead of bows, and the little girl kept flicking the ends as they tickled her ears. That’s when I noticed the flesh-colored hearing aid tucked behind her left ear.
“Hi!” the little girl responded enthusiastically. The curls of her pigtails bounced in unison. “You look like a Barbie doll,” she added with wide eyes, as if seeing something miraculous. I imagined that if she thought her favorite doll were real, then she’d be in shock.
“Thank you. You’re very sweet.”
“Is that your truck? It’s pretty. My favorite color is red.”
“Oh. Well, thank you… again.” Reaching out, I grasped her hand and noticed the dirt stuck underneath the trimmed nails. “Sweetie, where is your mom or dad?”
Her wide smile quickly crumbled into a sorrowful frown. “My mommy is gone.” In a typical young-girl fashion, her smile readily grew at her change of thought. “But my daddy is around here with my sister, Eloise. They were looking at some books, and I got bored. I saw your vegetables, and I wanted a carrot.”
“Oh. Well, carrots are my favorite too.”
Standing, I leaned over the display and found the best carrot in the stand.
“You know, normally, we charge money for our veggies, but this carrot is the prettiest in the stand. And you’re just the prettiest little girl. So, I figure the prettiest carrot should go to you.”
I didn’t think the girl’s eyes could widen more, but she surprised me when they shifted to the size of saucers.
“Really?” she asked in a breathy, surprised voice.
“Yeah, of course. I’m getting ready to pack them all up and take them to some people who need them more than I do.”
“Wow. Can I take one to my sister?”
Well, damn if that wasn’t the sweetest thing.
“Of course. I’ll even let you pick it out.”
The girl gleefully clapped her hands as she moved to the other end of the display and grabbed an almost-identical carrot to the one I had given her.
“Eloise will love this.”
“Okay, sweetie. Now, do you see your dad anywhere?”
She spun around and pointed to the far end of the market toward two figures standing at the local library’s stand. It didn’t even look like her father noticed she was missing.
“Okay. Well, maybe you should head back so he doesn’t worry.”
“Yeah. You’re right. My dad worriesa lot. Like… all the time.”
