by Amberlee Day
“Do you have any idea how annoying it is to grow up around someone so perfect? And she was the younger one, so I was supposed to be the example, not her. And now here she is, swooping in, trying to be the hero and save the inn. Not that I mind, because it would save my job. And really, I love her, I do. It’s just these old deep-seated jealousies from when we were kids ...”
Freddie stepped in front of her to stop her. “Wait a minute. Am I supposed to know what all that means? That part about the inn.”
Dora rolled her eyes. “I figured since you two were all chummy that she would have told you. Apparently, Uncle Bill and Aunt Sharon—her parents—want to sell the inn.”
“Why? Are they retiring?”
“Probably.” Dora snorted a laugh. “I don’t know. Kate’s got it in her head that if she can do all this fixing things up, they’ll remember they love it and they’ll change their minds.”
Now that made sense. That explained Kate’s Project Cornucopia notebook and her relentless enthusiasm for fixing the place up. “Do you think it will work?”
“Who knows. The thing is, if Bill and Sharon are done, they’re done, you know what I mean? But you’ve got to hand it to her, giving it a try with her track record.”
“What, all the different jobs she’s had?”
“Yes. And the love-life disasters. It’s all bad luck.”
“She did mention that to me, a little.”
“It’s a real thing, but the relationship part? That’s just the family curse talking.”
Freddie blinked. “Family curse?”
Dora waved her hand as if pushing away a pesky detail, and she started walking again. “It skips a generation. Her parents are great together. My parents were too, even though they’re gone now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. I still go visit them, though you won’t ever catch me retiring to Florida. Like I told Kate, when that fiancé of hers fired her and then broke up with her, she shouldn’t have been surprised.”
Freddie slowed his walking. He felt like a hand had reached in and clamped on his stomach. He’d forgotten there had been a recent fiancé, or almost fiancé. “Kate said something about that. Do you know why they broke up?”
“The jerk blindsided her!” Dora motioned for him to keep up with her, so he did. “Apparently, like an hour before she left for her flight, she was saying goodbye to him, and he just said, ‘It’s been fun, but you’re not the one.’ Those exact words. He even complimented himself on the rhyme. Clearly he’s a pig, but it’s what we O’Halloran girls of a certain generation come to expect.”
“That’s terrible.” And except that it had left Kate single for him to meet, it was.
“But it could have been worse,” Dora said with a dramatic look on her face. “She could have married him.”
An angry laugh forced its way up Freddie’s throat. “Yeah, that would be a way to make it worse.”
“That’s what I did,” Dora continued. They’d reached the shed, and she produced a set of keys from a pocket, unlocking the door.
Freddie was still trying to keep up with the conversation, which kept getting weirder and weirder. “You married Kate’s fiancé from last week? That’s ... well, that’s quick work.”
Dora looked at him like he was a dolt. “No, I didn’t marry Kate’s fiancé. Sheesh. I married Scott.”
“Scott?”
“My husband, Scott.”
“And ... Scott’s a disaster?”
Dora made a noise in the back of her throat. “He’s a disaster if you’re looking for someone who works around the house, who talks to you, and who doesn’t hog the television remote.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” At least she hadn’t married Kate’s ex in the last week.
“That’s why I have to watch Vampire Diaries on Sostenes’s phone. Can’t watch it at home.”
“Makes sense.”
They got the containers, and Freddie heard far more about Scott the bad husband and Vampire Diaries in the four minutes it took to get them and return to Kate than he would have thought possible.
Later, when he had Kate alone with him again, the two of them finishing up the nails, he couldn’t hold back his questions if he’d wanted to. “So, Dora told me all about your breakup.”
Kate’s large eyes met his, questioning. “Did she?”
“Yep.” He told her Dora’s version of things.
She put down the one of the containers. “As usual, Dora has only part of the details correct. There was a someone in my life until recently. He did dump me right before I headed back here—total blindside, but it probably shouldn’t have been, if I’d paid any attention to the clues.”
“Such as?”
“Such as ... I’d run into him when he was with other women, and he’d always tell me that entertaining guests was just part of his job description.”
“Ouch.”
“When his parents were in town, he didn’t want me to meet them because I was too special to him.”
“Ooh, slam.”
“When I suggested we spend our day off visiting the local waterfalls and checking out the fall foliage, he said that would be too much time together.”
“Okay, yeah. You had some serious red flags there.”
She sighed, but she looked so cute with that what-can-I-do smile on her lips. “Enough red flags to hang a banner.”
“It would look great in the lobby,” he tried teasing, and she did laugh.
“Wouldn’t it? So as you can see, there’s no fiancé, barely even a boyfriend. The only engagement we were close to was in my imagination.”
Freddie’s relief spilled through him like warm coffee on a cold day. “I’m sorry, Kate. He’s the one who missed out. You must have been ...” Was this indelicate? He didn’t want her to think he meant it in a negative way. “Ready for a relationship.”
Kate’s lips turned downward in regret. “I thought I was, so much so that I let myself think that Steven was the one.”
“Steven, huh?”
“That was his name, yes.”
“And he was your boss, too?”
Kate looked at the porch ceiling. “Yes, that too. When I was more crushed about losing the job than Steven, I realized he may not have been the one for me.”
Freddie laughed, and she gave him an appreciative smile. He kissed her quickly on her intoxicating lips. “His loss on both counts.”
“Thanks.”
They resumed working, him sending up thanks that this Steven had ended things before Freddie met Kate, pushing away thoughts of his looming return to New York on Monday.
“You must love your job,” she said, interupting his thoughts, and his stomach clenched again.
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s exciting, isn’t it? You get to work with celebrities, travel, stay in beautiful places.”
“Like the Cornucopia, yeah,” he teased. “Pick up dog messes, deal with divas of all species.”
Pumpkin, lying on the porch where she’d been sleeping the past hour, groaned.
“But it pays well,” she pointed out.
“It does, if I can keep my job.” He’d been pushing that worry away for days, since there was little he could do about it. Brenda Lee might be finally coming to Harvest Ranch, and with Kate’s help he might have kept it covered up, but he still hadn’t heard back from his dad. What if Kravitz Group really did steal away the Love at Home account? But there wasn’t anything else he could do about it.
“Freddie, is your job at risk? Don’t tell me your boss is going to fire you, too.”
Freddie’s jaw tightened. “It’s possible. And if he does, it will be about as bad as you getting fired by your boyfriend.”
“Sorry, I have trouble believing that.”
“I work for my dad.”
Kate bit her lip. “Oh. Yes, that might be worse.”
They shifted over to clear shelf space inside the shed for the containers. This secre
t that Freddie had held on to for over a week had been weighing heavier on him than he’d realized. Should he tell Kate? Every fiber in his being told him he could trust her. He set down the containers. “The thing is, Brenda Lee has had a good reason for not being here.”
“Oh?” Kate settled against the wall and gave him her full attention. What was it about this woman that brought him such a sense of coming home, of belonging? Her beautiful dark eyes that turned slightly down at the edges but lit up like fireflies when she smiled? The curve of her jaw and lips that tantalized him? Her sense of humor, how she could laugh at herself in a way that made him smile, and help him not take himself so seriously either? No, there was something special here, and he decided to open up.
“It’s her husband, Lester,” Freddie said, just loud enough for Kate to hear. “He’s a compulsive gambler.”
“Uh-oh. That’s not good.”
“She has to keep a close guard on their money, or he goes wild.”
“How wild? Like ‘runs off to Vegas’ wild?”
“Actually, yes, this time. Other times it’s online gambling, or even neighborhood poker games.”
“That has to be exhausting for her.”
“I think it is. He disappeared last week, and all she had to go on was some credit card charges to Las Vegas. After that, he went dark. She didn’t know if he got hold of some cash, or somehow got another line of credit, or what. She’s been hunting all over the city for him.”
“I’m so sorry, Freddie, for her and for you.” She put her hand over his, her fingers gently tracing his. Funny how such a small gesture could calm him and excite him at the same time.
“She’s found him now,” he said, watching their hands. “Getting him settled at her brother’s house in Oklahoma. The brother’s a real tough guy, lives in the middle of nowhere with no Wi-Fi, so she thinks he’ll be safe there for now.”
“That must be so stressful,” Kate said, still caressing his hand. “Will she be alright to come here after all that?”
“Brenda Lee? Yeah, she’ll be fine. She’s a tough lady, but a good person, too. She doesn’t tell me everything, but I know she’s gone through a lot in the couple of years I’ve worked with her. I know one time he ...”
Freddie paused. The gears in his brain suddenly started to move when he hadn’t realized they’d been idle. Isolated thoughts that had been bothering him about this whole Brenda Lee situation suddenly began to connect. Could that be what this situation was connected with the Kravitz Group?
“What?” Kate asked, taking his hand. Her warm, smooth fingers grounded him.
“I’m not sure yet, but something is starting to make sense.” He looked at the still-cluttered shelf. “Would it be alright if I helped you finish this tomorrow morning? And maybe we can plan how to hang that awning, too. There should be time before Brenda Lee arrives.”
“Of course,” Kate said, standing up when he did. “What are you going to do?”
He gave in to the need to touch her and swept his thumb gently over her jaw. Her lips curved up in a smile that made him feel wanted, maybe even loved. “I need to make some calls, see if what I’m thinking is right. If it is, I might not get fired by my father after all. Can I meet you at the dance tonight?”
“I’ll be there.” Her smile lit him up from the inside. He might not have to worry about losing his job, but he was beginning to wonder what would he do to keep this woman in his life.
Chapter 14
“Brenda Lee” would be missing tonight’s barn dance, leaving Kate free to attend as her normal self. She dressed for the evening with tingling anticipation and walked through the doors of the hotel lobby carrying a happy secret with her. She’d known Freddie a week, and while she knew it was much too early for love, that was exactly the direction her feelings were heading.
Freddie had sent her a text confirming that he would meet her at the dance. She looked at the clock hanging behind the hotel desk, a classy timepiece without a hint of a harvest theme. Nearly seven; she was running late.
“How many of these flyers do you think you passed out?” Kate asked Vanna, thumbing through what remained of the stack.
Vanna shrugged. “Five, maybe? Virgil probably gave out more of them earlier. I didn’t exactly ask him about it.”
Kate wasn’t sure what to make of Virgil and Vernon’s younger sister, but her willingness to step in during the day shift—what would have been Kate’s shift—made it possible for Kate to play the role of Brenda Lee. It had also given her extra time to work on some of those cosmetic changes so needed at the Cornucopia.
“As long as people know about the dance,” Kate said. She leaned over Vanna’s shoulder, which she’d already come to realize the woman didn’t like. Too bad. She’d just have to get used to it. “So we’re still at capacity, right? No cancellations?”
“Right.” Vanna sounded like she couldn’t decide if she was disgusted or bored—more of a teenage response than one from someone in their fifties, but okay. “The last reservation checked in half an hour ago. They’re from Detroit.”
Which, the way Vanna said, “Detroit,” wasn’t very nice of them, but hope trilled in Kate’s chest like a musical with a happy ending. Knock on the wooden desk, she might just get it yet. “That’s amazing! Not that it should be. The Cornucopia used to always sell out the entire month of Harvest Festival, so this is actually back to normal!”
Vanna didn’t give her the excited reaction Kate hoped for, so Kate said goodbye and left for the barn dance.
Kitty-corner from the Cornucopia was the Big Barn, one of the town’s most recognized landmarks. The large red building functioned as Harvest Ranch’s cultural hall, a handy indoor meeting place during the hot summers, the freezing winters, and these magical evenings in between during the weekly Harvest Festival dances. As she’d explained to Freddie, the Big Barn wasn’t actually a barn, but it had that look. Painted barn red with exposed beams inside, the place had often fueled a much younger Kate’s imagination. She approached it tonight thinking of her pretend horse, Misty, who she had imagined lived inside when she was a child.
As Kate grew near the Big Barn, strings of white lights and the twanging of live music fed her expectations of a magical night ahead. Now just to locate Freddie.
If Kate had been worried that Harvest Ranch had recognized her under her Brenda Lee Mitford disguise, the happy greetings they gave her as herself told her otherwise. From before she walked through the doors, she was greeted by old friends and neighbors, from Pruny Filmore dancing with her husband and children, to old Mr. Copely, the history teacher/festival committee member. In fact, they greeted her with more enthusiasm than she would have expected. She’d never been Miss Popularity growing up, more like Miss Unnoticed. Not tonight. Maybe it was the hard apple cider for sale along the back table talking, but everyone was jolly and having a great time.
But where was Freddie Prescott? He’d promised her a dance, and that look in his eyes had promised it would be a good one. She ached to find out how good.
“Kate!” McGee stepped out from a group of people and stopped her progress across the barn floor.
“McGee.” Not the person she was hoping to see.
“You look nice.”
“Thank you.” She scanned the room again for Freddie, but if he was there, it was too crowded to see him. She realized too late that McGee was talking. “Sorry, what?”
“I said, how are things with the author? She didn’t show up to the pig agility contest today.”
“I thought that had been canceled?”
“It was, but they still let the pigs show their stuff, just didn’t award any prizes.”
Kate chuckled. “Of course they did. Hey, did Freddie tell you when your exclusive interview’s going to be?”
“Yeah, he did, called the paper this afternoon. Two o’clock tomorrow, in your courtyard.”
Kate beamed, as much because of the publicity it would bring the Cornucopia as how considerate it was of
Freddie to have it there. “Good to know. I’ll be sure the place looks spiffy for pictures.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Was it Kate’s imagination, or was McGee hiding something? He was never good at hide-and-seek, she remembered from their brief friendship in elementary school. “What’s up, McGee? Nervous about the interview? I’ve met Brenda Lee, and I could give you some tips.” Not technically true, since the real Brenda Lee was as much a stranger to Kate as she was to McGee, but she did know Freddie pretty well. She should be able to direct him to some questions that would help Freddie. “For instance, you could ask her about why she’s featuring the Cornucopia in her next book.” Might as well help her own cause, too, while she was at it.
“Thanks, Kate. That’s a good question.”
No, there was something else going on. “Spill, McGee. What’s up?”
“It’s just ... well ...” He looked around to see who was watching. “I heard there are some people in town for the festival.”
“Lots of people are in town for the festival.”
“Buyers, from what they’re saying down at the paper. Big developers who want to move into Harvest Ranch, put in some chain restaurants and hotels.”
Kate stood a little taller, suddenly alert. “Hotels? Are these some of those buyers you mentioned before, who were looking at the inn?”
“I think so. I just wanted to give you the heads-up in case they stop by.”
“I just can’t see it, can you? Harvest Ranch is about small-town, homey places. Franchise-type businesses wouldn’t fit in here.”
“True,” McGee said, a goofy grin stretching up to one side. “Maybe we should send them somewhere else, huh? Maybe up the road to Harleysville.”
Kate had to laugh. “Yes, we should! That would serve them right, siccing the Harleysville folk on them.”
“Like in high school, senior prank.”
“‘For sale: Harleysville High School, home of the Wild Turkey-necks.’”
“That was the best, especially when that group made them an offer to use the place as a dog shelter.”
“That really was pretty good,” she laughed, pushing aside her worries about investors sniffing around the Cornucopia and enjoying the moment. Still laughing, she suddenly realized that Freddie walked toward her. Her pulse raced, she felt pleasantly light-headed, and everything else around her instantly fell away. “Hi.”
