Page 41 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

WREN

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Hu Gh : @Dale Garrett , you want some turkeys to freeze for the Thanksgiving season?

Comments:

Dale Garrett : No ... that’s not how this works.

Hu Gh : I’ve got fresh meat right here and you’re turning me down?

Tammy Jane : My man wants to know how much you’re selling them for.

SherriffMike Finch : Hugh, it is NOT hunting season. You can’t be going after turkeys right now.

Hu Gh : If I’m packing heat, it’s the season to me.

Jade Clark : Oh my God, Hugh’s gonna get arrested.

Marjorie Brown : Can you get a video?

Mollie kept staring at the cake in my hands as I took it out of the fridge.

“There are no hints on the top of this cake,” I said. “And you’re not finding out early.”

“The suspense is killing me ,” she whined.

“It’s killing all of us,” Maribelle said. She’d stayed the night in Cain’s old room. I’d been happy to see her since I’d spent a lot of my childhood with her. She seemed thrilled that Mollie was pregnant, and doted on her daughter much like Cain did.

I shook my head. “You guys only have to wait an hour.”

The day I’d learned the gender of Mollie’s baby had snuck up quickly. After one of her appointments, she’d shoved a sealed envelope in my hands and begged me to look and then burn it because her curiosity was too much.

I’d done that and then ordered the cake.

Her need to know what she was having was only getting worse. Cain hadn’t asked, but I could tell he was giving me double glances when he thought I wasn’t looking. Mollie had resorted to following me around, begging for a hint.

“An hour’s too long,” she said. “Gimme something.”

“You’ve made it weeks while the results came in. One more hour won’t kill you.”

“No,” she moaned. “I just need to know if Cain’s right or not.”

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “What’s your guess?”

“Boy.”

“Interesting,” I replied.

“Is that a hint?” Mollie asked.

“Nope.”

Mollie groaned.

“I think Cain’s wrong,” Maribelle said. “You’re carrying like I did.”

Mollie’s eyes cut to me, but I kept my face blank.

“I’m leaving for the diner early so you don’t ruin the party.”

“Wren!”

“Bye!”

I loaded the cake into my truck and took off before Mollie chased after me. Tammy offered to host the gender reveal at the diner since it was raining and nearly the entire town wanted to come. Mollie wanted to have it at the farm before Cain begged her not to let that many people into their house.

Forty minutes later, I was pulling up to Center Point. I’d driven like a grandma to make sure that I didn’t accidentally knock over the cake, which not only earned me a honk from a woman I didn’t know, but also made my drive that much longer.

When I walked in, the neon sign was covered with a banner that said “CONGRATS MOLLIE AND CAIN” in both pink and blue letters. There were balloons everywhere , and Kerry was at a booth blowing up more.

“Whoa, this is . . .”

“Too much?” Tammy asked from beside me. “I tried to tell her, but she told me this was the first gender reveal she’s gotten to host in years, and she was going all out.”

“Nothing can stop Kerry.”

“Now you know how the town works.” Tammy winked. “Let’s go put that in the back before someone tries to sneak a peek.”

“I’m being respectful!” Kerry yelled.

“It’s not only you,” I said with a laugh. “Mollie isn’t playing around today.”

Tammy laughed too. “Follow me. I’ll show you where all the fun happens.”

The back of the diner featured stainless steel counters and a massive coffee pot. Ron was sitting on a chair reading a newspaper. He had longer gray hair and a thick, gray mustache.

“Did ya hire someone else?” he asked.

“Nope. She’s just putting the cake up.”

“You brought a customer back here?”

“Oh, come on. She’s not a customer.”

Ron narrowed his eyes. “Then what is she?”

“A woman who’s good at forgetting what I saw,” I said with a wink.

“Just don’t go lookin’ through my books. All my recipes are there.” He went back to his newspaper.

“Don’t mind him. His secrets have secrets.”

I nodded, trying not to let my eyes linger. He reminded me of my dad, if he were still alive. Dad had been there when no one else was, and though he was quiet and gruff, he’d made sure I ate and taught me everything I knew.

Like all grief, I missed him at random intervals. But that hadn’t been my first brush with losing someone, and I’d been able to lose myself in work until the pain wasn’t as unbearable.

Tammy took me to the cooler, where I hid the cake behind a bunch of eggs from the farm.

“So,” she said as we walked out, “how are you and Henry?”

“We’re good. He’ll be here later today.”

“No feelings for Jude or anything?”

“Nope,” I said. “Ignore the show. They’re making drama out of nothing.”

As more episodes came out, the love triangle grew more obvious, though I refused to play into it even for a second.

Others, though? They were seeing the wrong side of all of this. While Henry hadn’t been made into a villain, he also didn’t get the attention that Jude did.

I counted down the days until I was done filming. My house reno projects were so much easier than the drama of television.

“Good. No one but Kerry cares about Jude. He’s nothing more than a visitor. Not even a good one.”

“Small-town life doesn’t agree with him.”

“But does it agree with you?”

I blinked. “Me? It’s great, but I have things planned after this. I’ll be back in Nashville.”

“Are you not gonna visit Henry?” She raised an eyebrow.

I paused. At the end of this, Henry and I would be broken up.

The thought made my chest ache. It had been nearly two months since he’d entered my life and I was used to having him around, even with his rules to keep our distance.

“I ... suppose I’ll have to figure that out.”

“I hope you do.”

“Were you this friendly to Mollie?” I asked, eager to change the subject.

“I was friendly, though not like this. I like you.”

I thought changing the subject would make the ache in my chest go away. Instead, it only made it worse. “Why?”

“ Why? Do you want the whole laundry list?” She held out her hand and began counting them off. “You’re redoing our beloved library. You’re kind in a way a lot of people aren’t. You work your ass off, and you remind me of Kelsey.”

I didn’t know what to do with three compliments, so I focused on the last thing.

“Who’s that?”

“My daughter. She moved away a while ago.”

“Do you miss her?”

If Tammy caught onto my topic change, she didn’t mention it. “Of course I do. I’m proud of her, but these days, she’s so busy with her friends and job hunting that we barely get to talk.”

“I hope you get to talk to her more.”

“I’m not the kind of mom who’ll hover. She’s got her life, but she always did this thing that drove me up a wall.”

“What’s that?”

“She’d change the subject when someone was getting a little too close to a painful topic. And if I pressed, she would say she’s fine.” Tammy set her hands on her hips. “How similar are you?”

My stomach fell to the floor. “I-I don’t ... You caught that?”

“Yeah, I did. I notice things, kid. And you”—she pointed at me—“you have something going on. Something you’re really trying to avoid.”

“It’s nothing major.”

“Problems make themselves known. You can run, but they’re always faster. The best thing to do is find someone you trust. Have you told Mollie?”

“No,” I said. “I’m not ruining things for her.”

“Henry?”

“A little, but I don’t wanna go into details with him.”

“Have you told anyone ?”

I paused. My mantra was to pretend it wasn’t happening.

And how had that been going for me lately?

“You know, I’m some woman you barely know. And I bet it’s hard for you to trust. But if you need someone, and you look around and can’t find anyone, I’ll listen.”

“Because I remind you of your daughter?”

“And you just seem like you need someone. Whatever this is, it’s deep. It’s been following you since you got here.”

“I don’t even know where to begin .” I let out a sigh. “And the party starts soon.”

“Begin with a feeling. The bad ones. When you feel that again, come find me.”

“You’re busy with the diner.”

“The high school girls can handle it for a bit.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I might take you up on that.”

“You can even have your little chat back here,” a deep voice said. “I won’t listen.”

“Ron!” Tammy admonished. “You’re way too quiet.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s a talent.”

I laughed, wondering if this was what life could have been like with Dad if things had been slightly different, if he’d married her when they were young, if Mom had liked us enough to stay.

And if I had been enough for her.

I rubbed my chest. Tammy was right. These thoughts were chasing me.

“Where’s my cake?” I heard from the diner. Mollie had arrived, and she wouldn’t be deterred for long.

“I guess we’re starting.”

“Whoa, when did all of these people get here?” Tammy peered out the door.

“Probably when you were yapping,” Ron said, flipping a page of the newspaper.

“Keep it up and I’ll make you come out with the cake and announce that it’s time to cut it.”

His eyes slid upward. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

I resisted a laugh as Mollie called my name. In the seating area, she waited for me in a floral dress. Her bump was getting bigger, though that didn’t seem to slow her down.

It was one of the things I loved about her.

“There you are!” Mollie ran over to me and pulled me into a hug.

“We just saw each other an hour ago.”

Her arms squeezed. “I know. I just like hugging you.”

That was exactly what I needed to hear. For a second, I felt normal.

“Mollie!” another woman called. “You look so good!”

My best friend pulled away and turned to Jade, who had another woman with long, curly black hair with her.

“Thank you!” she said. “Oh, Wren, have you met Grace?”

“I’ve probably seen you around,” I said, forcing a smile. “Sorry, I’ve been so busy with the show and ...” I gestured to Mollie.

“It’s totally fine,” Grace said. “Although I’m dying to give you a makeover at the clothing shop.”