Page 19 of As It Was (Strawberry Springs #1)

“Of course I want it, but all of these people ... It’s too much.”

“I figured that one day of misery would be enough. You can get everyone at once.”

“Maybe this is hopeless. The lawyer said I needed as many letters as I could get, but yours would be enough.”

“Are you sure?”

And that was the issue. I could delude myself, but I knew the truth. I needed more.

My eyes drifted to Eric, who was still on the playground. I’d never felt like more of a failure.

But my nephew wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were on the road, and he took off suddenly.

“Mollie!” he yelled.

And there she was, in a striped sweater and jeans. I hadn’t told her about this, and I was pretty sure she hadn’t heard of the market.

Yet here she was.

“Son of a—I’ll be right back.” I raised my voice. “Eric! Don’t run across roads! ”

“But they’re closed!” he said, pulling out of his tight hug with Mollie.

“I’m stealing him,” she said. “Especially since he tells me about the farmers market.”

“There are signs in the square,” I replied.

She patted Eric’s back before drawing a dick in the air and pointing at me.

“Jackie’s here,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “She might show you around.”

“I think I want you to do it.” She crossed her arms. “As penance for not telling me.”

“I will not be doing that.”

“Please?” Eric begged. “I’ll go too.”

“I thought you wanted to play with your friends,” I said.

“Mollie’s my friend.”

“Two against one,” she teased. “You’re overruled.”

I was hopeless against Eric’s begging anyway—not that I would tell her that.

“Don’t expect me to talk.”

“That’s my favorite side of you.”

I opened my mouth, but she grabbed the front of my flannel and dragged me toward the people.

“What are you doing?”

“Making you do what you hate.”

Jackie was waiting across the street, her eyebrows nearly at her hairline. “Hi!” Mollie greeted, letting me go. “I’m sorry to steal Cain, but I need to torture him. Can you believe I’ve been here for weeks and didn’t know about the farmers market?”

“That’s ... He hates them anyway.”

“Exactly,” she said with a wink.

I groaned.

“Mind if I tag along?” Jackie asked. “I’ve already shopped, but I can show you all the good places. ”

“Absolutely,” she said. “Come, Cain.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“Until you learn manners you are.”

Jackie laughed but covered her mouth.

I cleared my throat and looked at Eric, then back at Jackie.

But Eric was laughing too. “It’s like watching a funny show.”

“And you get a front row seat every day. I’ll have to come over more.”

Jackie told Mollie about the baker, and she made a beeline for the booth. I was forced to look at the same woman I’d awkwardly smiled at while she talked about her process of bread making. I was many things, but a baker was not one of them.

“I’m getting two,” Mollie said, pulling out her card.

“What are you even gonna do with that much bread?”

“Smother garlic and butter on it, of course.”

“Yes!” Eric cheered.

“Oh, that sounds so good.” The vendor clapped her hands together. “Especially with a homemade sauce.”

“He may not look like much, but Mister Grump here”—she pointed to me— “makes an amazing homemade sauce.”

The vendor laughed, but I shook my head. “What do I look like, then?”

“Like you’d burn water.”

Now Jackie and Eric joined the laughter.

“You definitely know that’s not true.”

“You two are so cute together,” the vendor said.

Both of us froze. Together? Us?

This was bad .

“Oh, we’re not together. I’m his boss. Mostly of making his life terrible, but also of the farm he works on.” Mollie was unbothered, so much so that it loosened the tightness in my chest .

“I’m so sorry!” The vendor’s eyes went wide. “I thought ... Ignore me. I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“It’s fine.” Mollie waved her hand. “We just don’t want to give this guy an aneurysm when he’s finally out of the house.”

The vendor smiled and handed Mollie the two loaves of bread before turning to me. “I’ve only seen you today. Do you live here?”

“Uh, yeah. I just don’t get out much.”

“It’s nice to meet you. Maybe both of you will be back in the spring.”

“I certainly will.” Mollie shoved her haul into my arms. “And depending on how mad Cain’s made me, I’ll have him come to carry all the bags.”

“Do that, and I won’t share my sauce with you.”

She sighed and started to take the bag back, but I held it out of her grip.

“Pick a side, Cain.”

“I’m being nice while also being rude. It’s my thing.”

“Fine. I suppose of all the things to have,” she said with a smile, “it’s not the worst.”

My heart nearly stopped, but she was on to the next vendor.

“I saw that,” Jackie said.

“You saw nothing.”

She was at the sweets vendor when I caught up to her.

“How many cookies can you and Cain eat in a week or so?” she asked Eric.

“Jackie already got us cake.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“I have all kinds of flavors,” the vendor said. “Even some that are less sweet, if you prefer!”

“I need some for a sweet treat after dinner. What do you think of the red velvet one, Cain?”

“Red velvet is just chocolate in a costume. ”

She gasped. “You take that back, you monster!”

I looked at the vendor. She nodded.

“Get the velvet,” I said. “As more of a punishment for me.”

“I was trying to get you something you’d actually eat. Do you have cookie opinions?”

“Get the cinnamon streusel,” Jackie said with a wink.

Mollie turned and did exactly that, plus a few red velvets. Eric ordered a chocolate chip one, and by the time we were on to the next place, I had another bag in my hand.

I should have never let her shove her bag into my arms. Her shopping put Jackie’s to shame.

And Jackie made it all worse by leading Mollie to the best vendors. Bags increased, as did the number of people in the square.

“Ooh, is that a coffee truck?” Mollie asked.

“Yep,” I said.

“Finally, I can get a good latte.”

I didn’t know about good . The one thing Strawberry Springs didn’t have was great coffee. Most people went to the diner for a cup, but it wasn’t good.

Eric walked with Jackie, who was holding onto his hand tightly as she followed Mollie and me around. For some reason, I stuck close to the woman who’d made me carry all her stuff. She was easier than all the people around me.

Mollie got everyone a drink. Eric and I got something non-caffeinated while she got coffee-based drinks for herself and Jackie.

“Time for a taste test,” she said, bouncing as she took a sip. She quickly stilled.

“Yeah,” Jackie muttered. “Not great.”

“We need a damn good coffee shop,” another voice said. Mollie and I turned to see Theo, another one of the younger men in town, standing next to us. He had dark hair and tattoos, something he had gone to the next town over to get.

Theo had moved into town about eight years ago. He was always quiet, yet had been welcomed warmly since he did a lot of the handyman work that anyone needed.

“You like coffee,” Jackie said. “You should do it.”

“I’d need a lot of money for that.”

“There’s the grant,” she offered.

Theo shrugged, grimacing as he took another sip. His eyes met mine, and he gave me a nod. I didn’t get to see him much, but when I did, it was like he knew I shared his hesitance to speak to people.

If I could have called that a friendship, it would have been the best I’d ever had.

Theo’s eyes then moved to Mollie. “Hi,” she said with a bright smile. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Mollie.”

“Theo.”

That was it. No double take. No checking her out.

Just the same as he did with every woman in town.

“You two should be friends,” Mollie said, elbowing me. “You could sit in silence and enjoy it.”

“Would be a good way to spend a Friday night,” I said.

“Agreed.” Theo took another sip and sighed. “I’m gonna go throw this away. I can’t believe I spent ten dollars on this shit.”

He walked off, still shaking his head, and Mollie dragged me to the next vendor in line.

It should have been a terrible experience, yet I didn’t find myself hating it. Mollie was good at dragging me into conversations. She bought most of the food and told me I could use it to cook with for the rest of the week.

We stayed until the market dwindled, and finally, she announced she was done.

“Help me load all of this in the car and I’ll free you,” she said.

“At least I’ll have my arms again.”

“No quips about how much I spent?”

“It’s your money.”

“Or how terrible it was?”

“Not really.”

“Interesting. Sounds like you enjoyed it.”

“I have nothing to say about that.”

“I have to go get the salon open for some afternoon appointments,” Jackie said. “But I had so much fun. When this starts up next year, we’ll have to go again.” Then she turned to me. “Come talk to me after you help Mollie.”

“Can’t you just say it here?”

“Nope.”

Well, shit . That didn’t mean anything good.

“Come on,” she said. “I won’t keep you from whatever thing Jackie has to tell you.”

“This time, you can keep me. I have a feeling I won’t like it.”

“Yeah!” Eric added as he skipped across the street. “We should stay with Mollie.”

Mollie gave him a smile as we neared her car. I started to load the bread, cakes, and sauces she’d gotten, wondering what Jackie needed to tell me.

“There you are!” a loud voice called. “I’ve been dying to meet you!”

I sighed. Kerry.

I knew she’d been here. I’d figured as much when I had seen Tommy, but we’d been lucky enough not to run into her. Until now, it seemed.

“Hi,” Mollie said, completely unbothered by the stranger currently running toward her. “You must have heard of me.”

“Oh, I know everything that goes on in this town. ”

I dropped the last of Mollie’s things in her SUV before closing the trunk.

That was when Kerry finally saw me. Her jaw dropped.

“Or not everything. Cain, is that you?”

“Yep,” I said. “Just putting some stuff away. Nothing more.”

Kerry hummed, appraising us. Eric was right next to Mollie, smiling away without a care in the world. That wasn’t unusual. He didn’t hate people like I did.

Thankfully, I had a healthy distance from her. Just minutes ago, when we were on the crowded street, that hadn’t been the case. I’d gravitated to her like she was a source of comfort.

It was the candle thing. She smelled too much like my favorite one. It had to be that.

“Cain didn’t tell me the farmers market was a thing, so I made him hang out with me as punishment.”

Kerry laughed. “Is hanging out with you a punishment?”

“For him? It definitely is. We get along like two roosters fighting over the same hen.”

“There’d be a lot more violence if that were the case,” I corrected. The last thing Kerry needed to think was that. She already had a low enough opinion of me.

“Hm. Cats and dogs?”

“No. Those can get along.”

“Oh, I’ve got it. Me and Hennifer.”

“She doesn’t hate you when you feed her.”

“And I don’t hate you as much when you feed me, but the feeling is mutual all of the other times.”

“Well,” Kerry said, “aren’t you just two peas in a pod?”

I frowned. Did she not just hear that we fought all the time?

Fuck. I shouldn’t have said anything. I had a feeling I would be hearing this from Nicole on Monday once Kerry told everyone we fought frequently .

“Tell me about you,” Mollie said smoothly. “I don’t even know your name!”

“Kerry,” she said. “Otherwise known as the town’s mom and gossip.”

Mollie nodded, but her eyes flicked to me as if she knew exactly why I was so hesitant to talk to her.

“You’ll have to catch me up on all of the gossip, then. I haven’t heard much.”

“I’d love that.” She looked at me and then back at Mollie. “There’s a lot you don’t know.”

Yeah, I should have seen that coming. I already knew Kerry would tell her everything I’d done as a teen. I’d be lucky if she didn’t fire me, or worse, look at me the same way everyone else in this town did.

“Eric and I should go,” I said, walking up to him. “We need to talk to Jackie.”

“Of course,” Mollie said. “Have fun being lectured.”

“Yeah, right.”

I walked away before I could hear anything else, and I tried my best not to turn around to see if I could guess if Kerry was talking about me or not.

I didn’t need to know.

“You look annoyed,” Jackie said when I walked in. “But less annoyed than I expected after all of that socializing Mollie put you through.”

“I’m fine,” I replied. “Ready to go home. What did you need to tell me?”

“Ah, well. I’ll try to say this as gently as possible.” She took a breath. “I can’t help you.”

“Can’t help me? ”

“With the town.”

I blinked. Jackie wasn’t usually the kind to not help unless I’d fucked up. Badly.

I hadn’t tried hard enough. I should have forced myself to talk more.

“I understand.”

“Now hang on. Don’t get all broody until I explain.”

“What’s there to explain?”

“A lot.” She handed Eric a coloring page, and he ran off to one of the extra stations. “First of all, I can’t help you because I’m not the person for the job. I don’t push you in the way you need. You hated every second of us going around the square. Until Mollie showed up.”

“Mollie? What does she have to do with this?”

“She’s the one .”

“No. No. Absolutely not. I’m not dating her. Ever?—”

“Not for that .” Jackie rolled her eyes. “Though I do think there could be something there. I mean for helping you. You saw how she handled talking with the baker. And with the other people. You weren’t as tense, and you even spoke.”

“Because she kept dragging me into conversations.”

“Exactly,” Jackie said. “She knows how to get you to talk.”

“She doesn’t even like me.”

“Well, whose fault is that?”

“It’s mutual.”

Jackie rolled her eyes again. “Really? Or were you grumpy with her?”

“Okay, fine . Maybe I could have been nicer when she broke into my house and critiqued my work. But the damage is done. We barely talk without fighting. She definitely wouldn’t help me.”

Again , I added mentally .

“You could offer her something in return. I’m sure there’s something she wants to do.”

The strawberries. She wanted to bring those back.

I thought about it. I could plant the roots as soon as possible for a field. It would make my days endless, but it could get done, and she would have them by spring, if she were even around.

“There . . . is something.”

“Then offer it. I think she’s the key to this.”

“Can’t you and I keep trying?”

“We could, but you’re on borrowed time, and she got you to open up like that. ” She snapped her fingers. “Just ask her.”

I groaned. “You know how much I hate asking for help.”

“I do,” she replied. “But you’ll have to do it eventually. And I have a feeling she’ll say yes.”

“You haven’t seen her when we’re alone.”

“She’s a nice girl. She’s Bennie’s granddaughter. Kindness may have skipped over a generation of that family, but not her.”

Even if I hated the idea, I knew Jackie was right.

But the timing couldn’t be worse. If Kerry spilled everything I’d done, and I knew she would, then I had a feeling asking for help was going to be far more difficult than usual.