Ready to confess, Dale spoke first. “Will, there’s another reason I wanted to call. I know things have been busy with helping your family, but a position just opened up that we’d like you to apply for. The company has been pleased with your work and is prepared to reward you for it.”
Will shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around what Dale was telling him. “You’re offering me a promotion?”
“You’ll have to go through the application and interview process but that’s more of a formality but in so few words, yes, we’re offering you a promotion. But first, how soon can you get back?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Katie adjusted her legs, trying to get comfortable. She was sitting on the unforgiving concrete curb and pulled her sweater tighter around her shoulders as the Harvest Festival Parade had kicked off with the high school marching band belting out their fight song. The already excited crowd erupted with cheering and catcalls that filled every inch of the crisp air. It was no Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, but it might as well have been, judging by the size of the crowd lining the streets.
“Cold?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m fine,” Katie said as a small shiver rattled down her spine, making Charlotte laugh. Her breath came out in curling wisps of steam, highlighted by the late morning light. “Or rather, I will be fine when the sun gets up over the tops of the buildings and we get some direct rays.”
A nearby group of children shrieked with glee as a group of 4-H kids came around the corner with their haltered alpacas in tow, several of them dressed up in turkey and pilgrim costumes. Katie chuckled at the funny sight, clapping as the alpaca herders waved with enthusiasm.
Taking a sip of steaming hot cider, Charlotte sighed with a small smile and a dreamy, content look in her eyes. “This stuff is so good.” Handing over her tumbler, she asked, “Want some? It’ll warm you up, straight from the heart.”
Scrunching up her nose, Katie pushed away her friend’s offering. “You know I don’t like hot cider.”
“I know,” Charlotte teased. Taking another long sip, an impish look flashed across her face. “I just like watching you squirm. I can’t believe you spent like, four hours helping my mom press cider and you don’t even like it.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t accept that other people enjoy it. If I want to warm up, give me a giant mug of hot chocolate. With marshmallows.”
Charlotte wrapped her arm around Katie and gave her a squeeze. “You and your hot chocolate. I believe you’d swim in a vat of it if you had the chance. Besides, I think there’s something else warming your heart. Or rather, someone.”
Katie’s head snapped over, and her mouth gaped open. “Excuse me?”
Charlotte grinned like a cat who’d cornered a mouse. “Don’t think you or my brother are fooling anyone. He’s been walking around with a goofy smile on his face since I caught you two at Tex Mex Oasis. Rumors are all over town that there have been sightings of you two together. Don’t even try to deny it.”
Katie shook her head as a slow smile curled her lips. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she pulled them tight into her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She’d been putting off so much when it came to Will—she’d chickened out talking to Charlotte about it, rationalizing that she didn’t need anyone’s permission to date whoever she wanted. Heck, she hadn’t even brought up the fact that Will was going to be leaving town again once Thanksgiving was over. He’d helped his dad finish bringing in the last of the corn but casually mentioned he might as well stay until Thanksgiving. Then, after that...Katie swallowed the lump of emotion that lodged itself painfully at the back of her throat. “You’re not mad at me? I wasn’t sure what you’d think of me drooling over your brother.”
“What? Me? Why would I be mad that you’re seeing my brother?”
Katie shrugged, the huge weight of keeping her feelings for Will tucked inside and away from Charlotte immediately lightened by her best friend’s reaction. “I dunno. If I was in the same situation, I might’ve thought it was weird to have my brother and best friend dating. I mean, what if it didn’t work out? That’d be a hard position to be in. You’d always be caught in the middle.”
“Oh,” Charlotte’s face went slack as her happy demeanor evaporated. Katie’s stomach took an express trip down to her toes. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Charlotte, if you want me to—”
Before Katie could get out that she’d call it off with Will in order to protect their friendship, a loud stutter of laughter burst out of Charlotte. “I’m teasing! Of course I’ve thought of that, but I’d prefer to be an optimist and assume it’s going to work out perfectly. Just promise me that you’ll name your firstborn after me.”
“Charlotte,” Katie groaned as her eyes rolled back in her head. “We’ve barely been on three dates, and if you recall, Will doesn’t live here. It’s going to be a lot more work than normal to sustain a relationship.”
“And if anyone can do it, you two can. When the spark is there, it doesn’t take much for a raging fire of passion to ignite. Sort of like Harvey and me.” Charlotte tossed her newly-dyed honey colored hair behind her shoulder and wriggled her eyebrows.
Katie dropped her head, chuckling for only herself to hear. “You and passion. It takes more than that to keep a relationship alive.”
“Sure,” Charlotte agreed with a shrug, “but passion is like the heartbeat of a couple. Sometimes it races, sometimes it’s slow and steady, but once it stops, they might as well dig a grave.”
Eyeing her friend, Katie complimented, “That’s profound.”
“You sound surprised,” Charlotte teased. “Speaking of your beau, it looks like he’s trying to get your attention.”
Charlotte gestured to where Will was slowly driving down the street in a freshly washed John Deere tractor, pulling a wagon with Carol and Roger inside. The Ryans tossed handfuls of candy out to giddy children who awaited the bounty with unbridled enthusiasm, held back only by their parents’ warnings to be careful. Katie couldn’t deny the flutter in her stomach as her eyes locked with Will’s, and he smiled adorably, straight at her.
Waving and blowing a kiss to him, Will winked in appreciation. Without taking her eyes off Will’s handsome face, Katie leaned over and asked Charlotte, “How come you’re not on the wagon throwing candy, too?”
Will grabbed a fistful of candy from his bucket and tossed it over to Katie and Charlotte’s feet. Picking up a sucker, Charlotte unwrapped it and stuck it in the side of her cheek. “I’m only here for the candy.”
Katie snorted and picked up her own sucker, then helped the children nearby her add the rest of the candy to their own stashes. “Somehow, I don’t find that answer totally implausible.”
“If you want my adult answer, it’s that I’m going to man my mom’s booth at the farmer’s market until she can get there, since Will and Dad are helping give hayrack rides to people from the parade over there. Then once she shows up, I have to go to the salon. So many women waited to the last minute to get their hair done before the ball, and since it’s Blessings’ biggest social event of the year, I couldn’t turn anyone away.”
“I’m running the booth for the café, too. I hope my feet aren’t too tired to dance after being on them all day today and tomorrow.”
Charlotte nodded solemnly. “Make sure you take it easy. I know Will won’t admit it, but he loves dancing. He’s a romantic at heart.”
“Well, he might have to drag me around the dance floor, if I manage to put heels on at all.”
Charlotte sucked in a sharp breath and shook a scolding finger at Katie. “You’d better wear the entire outfit I helped you choose.”
“Or what?” Katie said, raising her eyebrows in mock-defiance.
“Or...I’m going to keep the heels for myself.”
“Good luck,” Katie snorted. “Your feet are two sizes bigger than mine.”
Charlotte and Katie locked in a staring contest until both of them collapsed in a giggling fit. “
You’ve got me there. Not everybody has little fairy feet like you that look adorable in every shoe they wear.”
The parade continued to sail by. At fifteen minutes to nine, Katie and Charlotte both stood and snuck away, foregoing stretching and rubbing at their numb rear ends so they didn’t detract from the magic of a small-town Thanksgiving parade. Within five minutes, Katie was tying a frilly polka dot apron around her waist as she set out the last of the baked goods the café was selling at their farmer’s market stand, whispering a prayer of thanks that the weather was warming up since the sun was no longer hiding behind the horizon. The year before, she’d had to hand over muffins with her hands tucked in thick mittens, clenching her teeth every time she had to remove them to get change from her cash box.
Shortly after, a slow trickle of customers started drifting in, quickly followed by a deluge of people who started crowding the market as the parking lot filled up with visitors from surrounding big cities, and the hayrack rides unloaded their passengers from the parade.
Katie tried to concentrate on customer service rather than gawking at the tractors to try and catch a glimpse of Will. There would be plenty of time to spend with him later in the day, but no matter how many times she reminded herself, she caught her disloyal eyes wandering over whenever a rumbling tractor pulled up to the drop off area.
By lunchtime, over half the goodies the café was selling had been purchased—all but two of the Taste of Home Pies had found a home, but they’d planned enough of the odd assortment of donuts and muffins, sandwiches and hot drinks that they still had plenty to keep their booth open. Katie shrugged off her sweater and tossed it off to the side as the residual clouds gave way to a brilliant, cloudless sky. Sneaking bites of a sandwich between helping market goers, Katie was starting to count down the hours until Sharon could come to take over her shift so she could go get ready for the ball. Though the event was semi-formal, Charlotte had talked her into buying a silver dress that sparkled like the Milky Way on a winter’s night. It made Katie feel elegant and would probably never be worn more than once, but it was worth the splurge.
“Care to take a walk, pretty lady?”
Katie nearly dropped a basket of caramel fudge brownies, startled at the question. Realizing she’d been lost in a mid-day musing about going to the ball with Will, she felt her cheeks flush.
“Will! I didn’t see you sneak up on me.”
“I was hardly sneaking. My mom says I tromp around like an angry rhino. I think you were lost somewhere in that head of yours.”
Arranging the brownies on the display, she brushed her trembling hands off on her apron. She smiled, noticing how Will still made her insides do funny acrobatics.
“Counting brownies, that’s all.”
She wasn’t being completely honest. There was so much she wanted to talk about with Will, primarily, where their relationship stood in his priorities. Though it was still in its infancy, there was nothing else Katie would have liked than to see where her time with Will would take her. The biggest threat was their looming separation. They hadn’t talked about it, instead choosing to ignore it like the problem wasn’t there, though Katie craved knowing his plans for the future. As much as she wanted an answer, she bit her tongue. Why ruin a perfectly good day with a conversation that could wait until a little later?
“How about you take a break and come see what else the festival has to offer? I remember how much you love cotton candy, and I bet I could win you one of those giant stuffed bears at the carnival.”
“That would be a hoot to see, but I can’t shirk my duties here. People need their Taste of Home Pies, and we’re the only one who offers them.”
“Understandable,” Will said, brushing a lock of hair off his forehead, then tucking his hands into his jean pocket. “That’s why I brought reinforcements.”
“Oh, really? Reinforcements?”
“Really.”
“Who?”
“Kyle.”
“Kyle. As in the Stanleys’ neighbor, Kyle?”
“Yup,” Will said, checking his watch. “He’s meeting me here in a couple of minutes.”
Twirling the end of her hair around her finger, Katie chewed the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know...”
“You know what they say about all work and no play. Besides, I already cleared the swap with Sharon. Even she agrees with me that you work too hard.” Katie folded her arms and chuckled as she saw Kyle come around the corner toward them. Holding out his hand, Will leaned in and lowered his voice before stealing a sweet kiss that made her toes curl. “What do you say, Katie?”
Grinning shyly, she gazed deeply into his vibrant, hazel eyes. “I’m all yours.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
There was something special about watching Katie. Will couldn’t quite put a finger on it, whether it was her infectious smile or the way her eyes danced excitedly when she recounted a favorite childhood memory. Whatever it was, it filled Will’s soul with a happiness he hadn’t felt in a long time. It was almost enough to push out the nagging dread from the confession he needed to make but kept putting off. It was going to crush her that he was without question headed back to Des Moines, lured there by the promise of a promotion, but she had to understand. Opportunities like that didn’t come up every day, and it was something he couldn’t pass up.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself. Is your opinion of Blessings changing?” Katie asked, delicately placing a wispy strand of pink cotton candy on her tongue.
Her question made Will’s palms sweat, and he avoided looking her in the eye. Shrugging his shoulders felt like he was trying to lift a boulder off his back, and he was sure it looked anything but casual.
Forcing himself to relax, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to kiss the top of her head. “I think what I’m enjoying most about Blessings is you.”
She tilted her chin up to him, and judging by the smile on her face, he decided she didn’t suspect that he was hiding anything.
“Well, Blessings is a lot more enjoyable with you here.” Katie bumped her hip into him and slipped another piece of cotton candy into her mouth.
He ignored the feeling that the collar of his t-shirt was too tight, and the two of them wandered to the row of carnival games. Will managed to win her an obnoxiously large teddy bear at the strongman game, though he nearly threw out his back trying to swing the sledgehammer hard enough to hit the bell. Katie’s squeals of excitement and excited claps as she bounced up and down were enough to make it worthwhile. As the sun started tilting toward the western horizon, and an autumn chill slipped into the air; it signaled the crowds that it was time to leave.
Will walked Katie to her car, and she opened the door and climbed in. Resting his arm across the top, he leaned down to look at her. He could get lost in her soulful brown eyes. If only life were simpler.
“Give me an hour to get ready?” she asked, twisting the ends of her hair around her pointer finger. Will smiled sadly to himself, realizing he was learning all her quirks—like twirling her hair when she was nervous or frustrated or contemplative—and that he was going to miss them.
“Are you sure you want to change at all?”
“Will,” Katie said, giggling behind her hand. “If I don’t change, your sister is going to kill me. She spent hours shopping with me, like she was my very own fairy godmother.”
“For what it’s worth, you look fantastic as always.” He leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her lips. She responded by grabbing the collar of his jacket and pulling him closer.
When they both came up for a breath, Katie smiled wryly and raised her eyebrows. “Are you going to let me go change?”
Will laughed and stood. “Me?”
“You started it,” Katie teased.
Still chuckling, Will shut her door and waved as she twiddled her fingers and drove out of the grass parking lot toward her home. Finding his way through the exiting crowd and back to his parents’ house, he showered and s
haved, putting on the same suit he was going to wear to his interview on Monday. Driving back to town, he entertained several scenarios of how he was going to break the news to Katie that Blessings was definitely not in his future, but each one seemed inadequate and foolish. Easing his foot off the gas pedal when he realized he was speeding, he laughed to himself that even the short hour apart from Katie was enough to make him miss her.
The night sky was overtaking the beautifully clear weather they’d had all day, and as Will stepped from his car, he could see the very first stars shining through the last of the fading sunlight. Brushing his sweating palms across his thighs, he skipped the steps up to her deck and reached for the doorbell. He pressed it firmly, and the door swung open before the final bell chimed. Katie grinned at him from the other side, looking absolutely stunning. She’d swept her hair up in an elegant twist and wore a dress that sparkled as much as her personality.
Taking her all in, he was only able to manage a stuttered, “Wow.”
She batted her eyelashes before turning to show how freely the skirt twirled. “You think so?”
“Definitely,” Will said, knowing he probably had a dopey smile on his face.
“Thanks,” Katie said, pulling him closer by his tie, then wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “You clean up pretty well yourself, Mr. Ryan.”
Taking her in his arms, he murmured, “I aim to please.”
“Good. Although I should point out, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.”
“Is that so?”
Kissing him squarely on the mouth, it ignited a fireworks display inside his chest. “All I need is chocolate, good friends, and a cozy, homey small town to live my life. I wouldn’t complain about a few more kisses like that, either.”
Will’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as she drew him in for another fantastic kiss under the glow of her porch light. When he pulled away, breathless and trembling, all he wanted to do was dive right back in.
As he leaned in, Katie pressed her fingertips to his lips. “Hold on there, mister. We’re going to be late if we don’t get going.”
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