Page 126 of You Found Me
Ward knew they shouldn’t go anywhere near the Wires Crossing Apple Festival. It was security Swiss cheese. The town swarmed with strangers, the streets clogged with everything from buses to bicycles, and darkness turned every corner into a potential hazard.
When Dad asked them to run the Sevens Cider booth for a few hours, he should have put his foot down. They’d triggered Della’s stalker. There was no way of knowing exactly how that would play out, and Sevens was the most popular part of the festival other than the pie tent and, of course, the talent show.
Della wouldn’t just be exposed. She’d be the center of attention. Hell, he might as well put her up on the damn stage with a neon sign.
The smart move would have been to close ranks. He’d intended to do just that, but Della had been excited to help run the booth. She’d jumped at the chance, then looked at him for approval.
Whatever she saw on his face had killed the happiness in her eyes.
It made his chest ache.
“Yeah, sure”had come out of his mouth before he could stop it. He didn’t want to be the one who killed that light in her eyes, and didn’t that just kick him right in the gut.
Now here they were, manning the damn booth, while a steady stream of faces he knew, and even more he didn’t, spent way too much time with his protectee.
Sevens Cider was always placed on the main path from the street to the courthouse that sat in the middle of the square. The courthouse was bordered by lawns on three sides, and a parking lot along the front. One-way streets, bordered by shops and small restaurants and bars, turned the square intothegathering spot. It still had old-world charm despite modern upgrades. The old bell on top of the watchtower was digital now, but it still chimed on the hour all day long.
Dad’s cider booth had been the subject of several magazine articles and news stories. It was the first booth erected, and the last one removed. The line was constant, and visibility was high.
Della greeted every new arrival like a long-lost friend. She wielded that you-are-the-best-thing-I’ve-seen-all-day excitement like a weapon, and it disarmed everyone in her orbit, including him.
“What’ll it be, boys? Hot or iced?” Della beamed at the three teenagers at the front of the line.
One of them, the youngest of the Havens family if he remembered right, wiggled his eyebrows. “Hot. Definitely.”
Ward snorted in amusement. “She’s out of your league, Marty.”
“Not for long,” Marty said, flexing his muscles. “I’m eighteen this month.”
Ward held out a cup. “Move along.”
Della winked as she took their money. “Ignore him.”
He saw Rachel coming with a determined look on her face and readied himself for yet another sales pitch. She looked like a queen with her perfectly curled blonde hair, white coat, and tall white boots, but the days she could get what she wanted from him just by flaunting her ability to fill out a sweater were long gone.
He wasn’t shocked that his repeated rejections bounced off her. She’d always been the girl who got what she wanted through sheer determination and persistence. He was just damn tired of her game.
He shook his head as she approached, hoping she’d take the hint.
Rachel bypassed the line like it didn’t apply to her and headed straight for him.
“No,” Ward said as soon as she was close enough to hear him over the festival noise.
She blinked at him in pretend confusion. “No?”
“That’s right, no.” He sat a cup of iced cider down a little harder than he’d intended. Sticky liquid sloshed over the sides and onto the table. “No, I don’t want to hear you out. No to whatever you’ve come to wheedle, whine, or offer. No to anything that isn’t a cup of goddamn cider, and if you want that, the end of the line’s back that way.” He jerked a thumb in the direction of the bounce house.
“Donovan, you know I don’t do lines.” Rachel held out a ten-dollar bill to the next person in line, a twenty-something woman with a big-eyed little girl. “It’s on me if I can take your spot for just a minute.”
“Sure.” The woman scooped up the money and took a step back to let her in.
Della eyed her new customer. “Rachel. How interesting to see you. Hot or iced?”
“Lucy.” Rachel acknowledged her with a slight dip of her chin. “I just need to borrow Donovan for a second.”
“I wasn’t aware I had the power to lend him out.” Della turned to him. “You really should tell me these things. I could make a ton of money.”
He ground his teeth. Rachel was perfectly capable of hanging around all night to get what she wanted. Della was perfectly capable of standing her ground. The two together could get complicated in a way that would land both of them in a viral video.