Page 11 of Handling Skylar (Hope Parish #5)

I ducked another phone call from Anna Kate, the message about having lunch, but I couldn’t muster up the interest or the patience to listen to her denigrate Sky for another hour.

I was well aware it was a bad sign, but the last few days had been increasingly confusing, especially after I’d given into the buried hunger for Sky.

I opted for a quick lunch and brief stop in at the groves to make sure everything was running smoothly, checking over my heavily laden project trees and fielding questions from some of my workers.

One of them asked me about the area I had just started to clear, but I told him to leave it.

For some reason, one I couldn’t fathom, I wanted to clear it myself.

Then, it was back to town for the meeting of business owners.

My family was deeply involved in all matters of both politics and management of Suttontowne.

It was a given since we followed in the footsteps of the founder.

Even with his disgrace, tradition lived on.

My daddy usually attended these meetings, discussing trends and ways to advance our businesses, but I was taking over today as the de facto leader.

I had news that would impact the town and changes weren’t always easily accepted.

The room was packed when I walked in, and Anna Kate was there in the back with the Belles.

Anna Kate was the current leader/head Belle, my momma, Amelia “Amy” Sutton, who held the coveted Steward position, Penelope Crenshaw, Alice Delford, Coraline Parnell, and Naomi Walden with Verity and Aubree Outlaw and my sister who had once been the leader, rounding out the group to nine.

The Suttontowne Belles had been around since the Colonel’s time, actually started by his wife, Caroline.

There was a long standing tradition of Sutton women involved in the establishment to keep the history and traditions of Suttontowne alive, in addition to helping with town events.

Anna Kate smugly patted the chair next to her, but I gave a quick shake of my head.

I needed to be up front since I was going to be talking.

I was too aware of Sky also in the crowd.

She was sitting a few rows up from Anna Kate next to her manager, the bubbly Jordan Summers, a transplant like Sky and now married to one of the town’s deputies.

I went to the front of the room and stood behind the podium.

The room quieted and I said, “Thank y’all for attending.

I have a few announcements and some important changes to come.

First, our Suttontowne Days was not as brisk as last year and we might think of alternatives to presenting our products to the outlying populations and garnering interest in our town. ”

Someone in the front row chimed in. “Maybe we could look to collaborating with Tarltown. I know they have been our rival in the past, but with economic situations as they are, we might want to bury the hatchet.”

“Over my dead body,” someone else grumbled and the room erupted into conversation.

“We can discuss that,” I said bringing the din down.

“We are planning on making changes to our store and take the focus off our nuts and making it more general, selling niche and specialty products we think our customers would love. We’re open to vendors.

We’ll be closing the store for a brief time to renovate. Are there any questions?”

Sky stood. “I don’t have any questions, but I do have something to add.

Since you’re closing the store and renovating, I wanted to bring up the fact that our facades are a bit dated and worn.

I think it would be a great idea to redo them.

Also, our town is so beautiful and quaint.

To go with that theme, I thought store owners could landscape the front of the buildings as well.

Boone, I’m sure you could come up with an affordable plan. ”

Boone who was sitting next to Sky and Brax nodded. “Easy as pie, sugar.”

“Also, the Suttontowne Days is a good concept, but limited. I was thinking why not do a Harvest Festival with Sutton pecans the focus. We could all benefit from statewide exposure and all our agricultural business owners would benefit. Charlie’s grocery comes to mind.”

Charlie half rose and said, “I second that. It’s a great idea.” There was a low hum in the room.

“A festival,” I said. “That’s an intriguing idea.” And it was. Festivals were a good way to get people to visit. “What did you have in mind?”

“Just some ideas I was kicking around. Three-day festival. Blessing of the crops, vendors, cooking contest, children’s day, carnival, antique carriage show, live music—”

“And a Queen’s Ball. Of course we have to have a Pecan Court!” Anna Kate said, clapping with enthusiasm. “The Belles will be there to help plan and implement. Whatever you…um…the town needs.”

I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sky. “Let’s discuss it more.”

The meeting broke up after that, and I naturally gravitated toward Sky.

“Hey,” I said. We talked for a few minutes and decided on a time to draw up a preliminary plan and then bring it back to the business owners.

Anna Kate came up to me and slipped her arm through mine. “Jake, how about an early supper.”

I still needed to talk to my brother, but that would work as an excuse to make an early night of it with Anna Kate.

We went to Outlaws, and I was completely preoccupied throughout dinner with how I was feeling about Sky.

Challenging everything and finding brick walls in my way.

Could I be resigned to making a commitment to a woman I had lost any interest in?

Caught between a rock and a hard place. Nothing new.

But what was I going to do about it?

Sky walked in with some guy, her smile lighting up the room and my gut clenched hard. Who was this man? I hadn’t ever seen him before. He wasn’t from Suttontowne, but it seemed from the way she was with him that he was familiar to her.

I ended up staring at them most of the night while Anna Kate was, once again, preoccupied with her phone and the people around her.

What was I doing? What the hell was I waiting for?