Page 14 of Finding a Melody

“Don’t do that,” Justin said.

“I’ll buy it,” Bryan said.

“Oh! Wait!” Something got Toby’s attention. He took off again, disappearing into a tent.

“What is he doing?” I asked.

“Who knows, let’s leave him.” Seth grabbed my hand and pulled me with him, weaving expertly through the crowd with Bryan and Justin following.

I managed to spot Calvin first as he huddled against his dad’s leg, clearly uncomfortable but at least not scared. Then I spotted his dad as he talked to the food truck vendor who was putting small boxes into a plastic bag. Once she was done, she handed the bag to Paxon’s dad. He flashed a smile that was practically a carbon copy of Paxon’s and the woman swooned over him.

Even I could admit for an older man, he was handsome, and it was interesting to see what Paxon and even Calvin were going to look like when they were older. Their dad had some strong genes in him.

“Hey,” he said, noticing us. He passed the bag to Justin. “For you guys to share.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Bryan said.

Mr. Stokes shrugged. “But I did.” His expression softened into something between worry and concern when he looked at me. “How are you doing, Cadence? I heard all about the break-in.”

I blinked in surprise, not expecting the pure concern that came from him.

“I’m okay. I was able to get away.”

“She had to jump out of her window,” Seth said, voice a bit bitter.

I frowned at him. “It wasn’t that dramatic. I climbed out of my window and got down from my garage roof. It’s lower.”

“She fell off,” Seth once again said.

I sighed. “Doesn’t matter. I got out. I didn’t get hurt.”

“Too badly.”

That time I scowled at him. He scowled back at me. “Do not make light of what happened to you. Ever.”

That took me aback and all that anger dissipated. Seth wasn’t mad at me, he was being mad for me. There was a difference.

“He’s right, Cadence. What happened to you isn’t something to easily dismiss. It was a serious crime and there’s no telling what the intruder would have done to you if he had gotten his hands on you.”

Mr. Stokes’ warning made me shudder.

“I know,” I said softly. “I know.”

Mr. Stokes slowly reached over and patted my shoulder. “You’re a brave girl. You did really well that night, better than most. I can tell you’re a very strong woman.”

For some reason, his words hit me hard and my view blurred for a moment as I fought back tears. That was such a fatherly thing to say and not something I ever expected to hear. I nodded jerkily and turned so that he couldn’t see how much his words really affected me. He nearly turned me into a crybaby. I subtly took in a deep breath and forced a smile, but when I finally looked back at Mr. Stokes, I swore he knew by the sad way he smiled at me.

“So, how was the drive here?” he asked, turning to Seth and thankfully changing the direction of the conversation.

“Quiet. Light traffic.”

“That’s good. We stayed the night here. Wanted to give Calvin time to explore.” He motioned to his son, who had finally calmed down enough to move next to me.

“Did you see the music booth?” Calvin asked.

“No,” I said. “Will you show me?”

He glanced at his dad and when he nodded, he tugged me away, eager to show off his find.