Page 27 of Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls #1)

“Thinking of the things you could do with him? I’m definitely not.”

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

“Well?” Cooper says as he gets closer. “Anyone come to complain to you about the riddles?”

“Not yet, but it’s still early,” I say. Fern scoots over, making space between us on the bench.

Cooper ambles over and sits in the open spot.

“So, are you just visiting Ellis, or are you here on official business?” Cooper asks Fern.

“I’m just here for our gorgeous girl,” she says, grinning at Cooper. He glances at me for a split second, then nods at Fern. I know what he thinks of me doesn’t matter, but my traitorous brain wonders if he’s agreeing that I’m gorgeous. If he’s as enamored with me as I am with him.

But seeing as his eyes are glued to my best friend, probably not.

I clear my throat and push the thought away. “Fern is actually stopping by on her way to meet with Spider Spices.”

Cooper’s eyebrows lift. “No way. That’s awesome.”

I lean back and sigh. I’m only making her sound cooler.

“Ellis!” A tiny body suddenly jumps on my back, and sticky fingers poking out of black gauntlet-covered sleeves wrap around my neck.

There’s only one little guy this could be.

I stand up, and he hangs on. “Oh my gosh, everyone!” I exclaim. “Is that Batman on my back?”

“Oh man. I think so,” Cooper says, going with the shtick. “I didn’t realize Batman lived around here.”

The little body unravels himself from me and drops to the ground. He lifts his mask. “It’s just me!”

“Harley,” Dorothy says, coming up behind him. “I’ve told you a hundred times you have to stop jumping on people. Sorry about that, Ellis.”

“No worries,” I say, ruffling Harley’s hair.

She shakes the sheet of paper in her hand at me. “By the way, this scavenger hunt isn’t for the faint of heart. Some of these are much too hard.”

“Well, why didn’t you choose the easier version?” I ask with a laugh.

She lifts her chin. “Because my girls all took the challenging one, and I’ll be damned if they’re going to show me up. I’m determined to finish the hunt first.”

“ That I get.” I laugh and lean in conspiratorially. “Do you want the answers?”

She grins but shakes her head. “No, no. I have to beat them fair and square.”

“All right. Well, a little challenge never hurt anyone,” I tell her. “ But I’ll give you a hint—one of the answers is an animal.”

She looks down at the list and frowns. “Hmph. Okay, well, we’re off to look for an animal, I suppose. Have a good day, Ellis.”

Dorothy saunters over to Harley, who pulls his mask back down, returning to his superhero state.

When I turn around, Cooper is talking earnestly to Fern about how much he enjoys her account. He’s gushing over the latest bakery she covered and asking questions about New York neighborhoods, which Fern enthusiastically answers.

I join them as Cooper takes his phone from his pocket and looks at it.

He turns to me. “Well, I’ll let you two catch up.”

“Um, sure,” I say, swallowing my disappointment. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Jake just texted. He’s with Slug and Chloe, so I’m going to go meet up with them. That way you two can have some time to visit each other without me talking Fern’s ear off.”

I nod. “Oh. Yeah, okay.” I want to spend the day with him, getting drunk off his laugh and stifling my sighs every time his dimple pops, but I can’t say I’m not happy to see his mind-meld with Fern come to an end.

Although, him hanging out with Chloe all day is probably worse.

“Talk later?” he says.

I force a smile. “Sounds good.”

With one last wave to Fern, he walks across the lawn toward Sparrow Drive, where Chloe lives.

I shake off my jealousy because it’s ugly, and instead focus on the fact that I have my best friend in Bramble Falls, a tiny piece of home that I want to grasp on to as hard as I can for as long as she’s here.

“So,” I say, turning back to Fern, “tell me everything I’ve missed. ”

She grins and dives right into narrating recent life in NYC with gusto.

Fern and I eat at the diner for lunch, which she describes as “finger-licking good.” I introduce her to Aunt Naomi when we run into her on our way to the bookstore.

We visit the small shops and stop into the art store to see Mom.

We run into Jake picking up pizza for everyone, and Fern can’t stop ogling him.

By mid-afternoon, I think she might genuinely be convinced that the town has something in the water that makes the boys hot, the cats big, the food delish, and the people weirdly friendly.

When five o’clock rolls around, it’s time for her to leave.

But it feels like she just got here. My heart sinks as I hug her, desperately wishing she could stay with me in Bramble Falls.

But having her here has been an affirmation that even if things are moving forward without me in New York, at least Fern and I will always be the same.

I wish her luck, and she shimmies out of my unrelenting grip.

“Go enjoy that ‘family friend’ of yours,” she says with a devious smirk. Then she hops in her Uber, and I watch as she heads east out of Bramble Falls.

I’m on my way home when Sloane texts. Come meet up at Jake’s! We’re going bowling. You can bring your friend. I grin at my phone and turn left onto Pine Street, toward Jake’s house.

When I arrive, everyone’s waiting outside for me.

“Mitchell!” Coop yells when he sees me walking up the driveway.

“Cuz! You made it!” Sloane calls.

“There she is!” Jake says with a huge grin as he jogs toward me. I yelp as he scoops me up and carries me over to our group of friends. He sets me down next to his SUV and says, “Get in, losers.”

“I’m picking the playlist!” Asher announces as he opens the car door.

“Dream on, Ash,” Jake says. “It’s driver’s choice.”

Asher sighs. “I guess we all already know what we’re listening to, then….”

Jake slaps him on the shoulder. “Only to the goddess herself.”

As Chloe, Hannah, Sloane, Asher, Preeti, Slug, and Jake climb into the vehicle, Cooper turns to me.

“How’d the rest of the day go with Fern Berry?” he asks.

“She’s just Fern,” I laugh. “And we had a great time. It was really sweet of her to surprise me.” I arch an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t realize you were still such a foodie, though.”

He opens his mouth to answer, but he’s interrupted by the sharp honk of the car horn.

“Come on, Coop!” Chloe calls out the front window as she leans over Jake. “Get in. I have to sit on your lap. There aren’t enough seats.”

Cooper tears his gaze from me and climbs into the SUV.

Chloe sits on his lap, and I get into the open passenger seat next to Jake.

He blasts his favorite playlist as he pulls out, and everyone, including Asher, starts dancing in their seats and scream-singing along to “Getaway Car.” I turn around, grinning hard at this group of friends I’ve somehow acquired.

Chloe holds her phone to my mouth, urging me to sing.

I laugh and join in, singing into my pretend microphone.

When my eyes snag on Cooper, he grins and winks at me, and I turn to absolute goo.

Ugh, I am down bad.