Page 29 of When It Reins (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #5)

juniper

Festivals were so much fun. They have crafts and trinkets, food and drinks, music playing all day, and the squeals of happy children running all over the place. It was fun.

You wouldn’t think we were in such a place with one look at Mitch’s face.

I repress the urge to laugh at the glare he is sending around his orbit, daring anyone to bump into him again. The funny part is, when a child ran into him—which, yes, this has happened more than once—he smiled and said it’s okay.

When an adult bumps him…It’s a different story.

“Here. Sugar is good for you.” I peel off a bite of the funnel cake muffins that Belle’s Bakery made special for this day, and he reluctantly takes the bite with his lips from my fingers.

It’s such an intimate moment that I feel a shiver race down my spine, but I do my best to ignore it and pay attention to where we’re walking.

Today is the Acton Street Fair, where the city closes down Main Street, and all of the businesses set up booths outside their shops for people to come and gather around. There are extra booths for people who don’t own storefronts to show off their wares.

I’d already bought several gorgeous pieces of jewelry off of one lady who lives over in Four Foxes. She recognized me from a meeting Rosemary and I held last week, and I could feel Mitch’s gaze on me when she mentioned it.

He might not know what I’m planning yet.

There was another man snooping around over the weekend, working on buying out people’s homes, but thankfully, they were standing firm.

It still doesn’t help the folks who are about to be evicted if they can’t pay their taxes.

The thought burned and renewed a sense of purpose in me. Our charity concert is coming up, and technically, I still need to ask Mitch for help at the bar, to bring extra security—for free labor—to help us all out.

Felicity had agreed quickly to the whole plan, like I had a suspicion she would, and we were ready for a full night of fun entertainment.

“You gonna tell me about your meeting?” Mitch muses, wandering next to me as I finish off the muffin and toss my trash.

“Hmm.” He lasted longer than I thought he would, but I’m still nervous about what he’s going to say, so I change the subject. “I love those rocking chairs you bought. They’ll look great on your front porch.”

He turns to me, his gaze skeptical, but he nods. “Ethan does great work. They’ll be good for us.”

My heart blooms at his words, and I gaze up at him, stopping us in the middle of the crowded and busy street. “For us?”

He frowns, like my words sound crazy. “Of course. Who else would I sit with?”

I grin, picturing it for a moment until I feel his lips touch mine.

I melt into the man, letting him hold me close and kiss the bejeezus out of me right there in the middle of the street.

I give myself over to him, letting him pull me closer and closer until I’m dang near ready to climb him like a tree right here and now.

“Juniper!” a voice calls, breaking the trance Mitch put me under, and we pull away just enough for air, his forehead resting on mine. “Juniper Weaver! Over here! I’m not in your man’s eyes there, girlie.”

I smile and turn away, already knowing based on the comments who I am going to find.

Rosemary.

“Hey there, Rose. What are you doing?” I accept the hug she gives and smile over her shoulder at Sienna. I still haven’t had much chance to get to know her, but she is helping with the event and is supposed to come over this week for setup.

“Just tracking you down. Look.” She holds up a piece of paper, and I take it, my eyes skimming over it as a smile forms.

“This looks great!” I look back at her. “Who made this?”

She juts her finger over her shoulder at Sienna. “This talented girl right here.”

“Sienna, these are so wonderful.”

“Good—”

Sienna is cut off by Rosemary. The woman seems to be on a mission and won’t be deterred.

“Glad you like them. I printed three hundred.”

My eyes widen as she reaches under the stroller Sienna is pushing and hands me a large stack. “Spread them everywhere. There’s no better opportunity for the word to get out than when everyone is in town.”

“Okay—” But before I can say another word, the woman is off, talking to another person and handing them a flyer. Sienna gives me a sheepish smile and walks off after Rosemary.

With all my distractions, I don’t realize for a moment that Mitch has snatched one of the flyers and is reading it over. His expression is hard to gauge, but when his eyes meet mine, I can tell he’s conflicted.

“So this was your meeting last week,” he says, bringing the conversation he started to have with me back up.

“I…Yes. It was.” I stand my ground, knowing that he told me to stay out of the issues they were having with the Four Foxes community.

“I told you to drop it.” His tone is not accusatory, like I expect. More like reaffirming his statement.

“I know.” I hold my head high, meeting his eyes. “I understand you are worried for my safety. I do. But the truth is I can’t sit back and watch people suffer, knowing there’s something I can do to help.”

He hums in his throat, folding the flyer and sticking it in his back pocket, all the while his eyes are latched on mine.

I wait, knowing that he’s processing all this new information, and when he opens his mouth to berate me, I’m ready for it.

“How can I help?”

I blink, letting the air out of my lungs that I was holding in and give him a beaming smile, one that he almost returns.

“What?” he asks.

I shake my head, laughing softly. “I thought you were going to scold me.”

“Scold you?” Mitch looks at me like he’s never heard crazier words. “I would never scold you for trying to help out a community.”

“But you said to stay out of it.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near David, Starling.

He’s a dangerous person, whether you believe it or not,” he says, staring me down.

“But raising money for these families is a selfless thing to do. It’s something that I’m not surprised you’re doing, given what a kind person you are. How can I not love you for that?”

His words have me sucking in a breath. How can I not love you for that? It wasn’t necessarily a declaration of love, but it wasn’t not a declaration of love either.

“Well,” I say, trying not to let my heart beat out of my chest. He watches me like he knows what I’m thinking. I smile at him, stepping into him, the flyers trapped between our chests as he wraps his arms back around me again. “I could use your help.”

“Name it.”

“How would your club like to play bodyguards?”