Chapter 28 Davis
DAVIS
“Mr. Brenton, how nice of you to stop in again…for the third time this week,” Mabel said in a tart tone, like she was worried I’d jump and attack her any second.
“Is it a problem that I’m visiting so frequently, Mabel?”
Her face turned a pinkish color. “No, not at all. I just… Well, you’ve never stopped in so often.”
I fucking hated coming into town, but I was still stupidly here, no matter how many times I had talked myself out of coming. Somehow, I still found myself driving down the mountain and spending my days here, with these exasperating people.
I was two steps from passing Mabel’s desk when she piped up again.
“Although—” She paused, waiting to garner my attention. “Today, we’re closing early, so I don’t know if it’s a good time to start browsing.”
I could feel the sunburn I’d gotten over the weekend pull tight as I frowned. “It’s only noon.”
Mabel beamed excitedly. “Yes, well, do you know the Jacksons’ daughter, Raelyn?
She’s holding a small gathering in the town square, where she hopes to drum up some extra business for the local shops around town.
It’s the last warm weekend of tourist season, so she’s hosting a big market, with booths and games.
There’s bouncy houses for the kids and music. ”
It had only been a week since I had seen Rae. How the fuck did she get all this shit done—and why?
My mind spun back to a few conversations about helping the town, and her being worried about the shops here.
I must have been standing there too long because Mabel cleared her throat. “Anyway, it’ll be quite the event.”
“Uh…” I grabbed a random brochure about the best place in Macon to get Wi-Fi, something I already knew, but I needed something to do with my hands. “So Rae will be at this event then, since she’s spearheading it?”
Mabel beamed brightly, shuffling papers and tucking a few stray pens back into her drawer. “Absolutely. She’s going to be stopping at each shop booth to give her marketing tips to the owners. We’re all looking forward to it.”
“What on earth could the library gain from all that? You’re funded by our tax dollars.”
Clicking her tongue, she answered tersely. “There’s people in charge of how we spend that money, and it wouldn’t hurt to hear her ideas on how to make the town look better.”
Right. Turning on my heel, I exited the library, wincing as the sun slammed into me.
It was nice, but it was also annoying. I should have brought a hat.
Climbing back into my truck, I reversed and headed to the town square.
There seemed to be a bit of a bounce in everyone’s step as I watched families walk down the sidewalks.
There were colorful balloons everywhere, and kids with half their faces painted and a shit ton of cotton candy.
Somewhere inside me was a flicker of pride for what Rae was doing for this town.
I may hate Macon, but it was still where I bought groceries and filled up my tank with gas.
Finding a place to park was nearly impossible, so I parked near the diner and just decided to walk the rest of the way. I was out of the truck and ducking to see if I had a hat stashed somewhere under the seat, when I heard someone clearing their throat behind me.
“Davis, right?”
I spun around, seeing Rae’s friend Nora. On instinct, I narrowed my eyes, already defensive. Whatever the fuck this chick was about to dish out, I was ready to—
“I have wanted to catch you alone for some time. Walk with me?” She cut into my thoughts and placed her hand in the crook of my arm.
Slamming my truck door, I walked woodenly next to her. I hated being unsure if I should trust someone or not.
“You know I’ve lived here my entire life?” Nora tilted her head, then amended her statement. “Well, except for my time in California, when I was in college.”
I didn’t respond, but we continued to walk. I noticed the flower baskets that had previously been dead weeds were now overflowing with color and fresh flowers.
“Rae has lived here her whole life too, except for New York.”
I knew this already.
“She’s changed a lot over the years, though. Did you know she had braces?”
Not trying to be a total dick, I shook my head.
“Yeah, and so did I…except I had mine in middle school. Rae didn’t get hers until later in high school.”
Why did I need to know any of this?
“No offense, but why the fuck are you telling me any of this? The last person I want to talk about is Rae, and I have a feeling you already know that.”
She waited a moment before answering, leaving her hand tucked into my arm, until finally she let out a small breath and stopped.
“See, that’s exactly why I’m telling you, because I know you do want to talk about Rae, and I know she wants you to talk to her.”
“She doesn’t,” I scoffed. “She must be lying to you too, just like her parents, but we—”
“She told me that she had the best weekend of her life with you,” she said, and suddenly the air seemed to leave my lungs. “But she felt like the only option she had was to cut things off with you.”
What the… “Why?”
“That’s what I want you to figure out. I know why, and you have some work ahead of you to get her talking.
I can tell you that she cares much more deeply for you than you realize, and based off the talking she did in her sleep the other night, she has some very strong…
” Clearing her throat, she laughed and choked out, “sexual feelings for you too.”
Searching Rae’s friend’s face, like it could give me the answer, I waited for her to say more.
When she didn’t, I tried to grasp onto what she was expressing.
“So, you’re saying I need to push harder for her to explain what happened?”
“I’m saying you need to push, pull, and don’t take no for an answer. Make her talk to you.” With that, she untucked her hand and sauntered away toward a cotton candy stand.
The festival, or whatever they were calling it, was in full swing by the time I maneuvered into the center of the town square.
Billy Jameson and a few of his friends were up on a makeshift stage, strumming guitars and singing a happy melody that had people dancing and laughing.
The overall vibe of the town was jovial and carefree—it was the happiest I’d ever seen anyone in Macon.
That flicker of pride grew into a roaring flame for Rae.
I didn’t know of anyone else who could have done this for our city. No one else would have cared enough to.
The more I thought over what Nora had said, the more I realized how much of an idiot I had been regarding letting her go. She wanted to end it with a text, and I fucking let her. She wasn’t the coward, I was—but I was about to fix that.
Along the outside of the square, rows of partitioned booths were neatly arranged, open and ready to greet customers.
From what I could tell, every single shop from Macon had a little tent, showcasing what they offered.
Even the coffee shops had a spot, although theirs were set up in small food trucks, serving iced coffees for a dollar and black coffee for just fifty cents.
I scanned the different shops represented, seeing Roger and Millie greeting people while they sold pies, and there, two spots down, was Rae.
My stomach flipped, and my chest seemed to expand at seeing her stand there in a pencil skirt and flirty blouse. She was talking to the owners of the Pine Stop—a small market that saw about six customers daily, if that.
Walking slowly, I edged to the side so that she wouldn’t see me.
Just watching her in her element, pointing to the tablet she was carrying and using her hands to talk, made me smile.
I liked seeing her beam as bright as a ray of sunshine.
But with that pride came swift possessiveness.
I wanted that light all to myself. I wanted her in my life—in my dark, cloudy existence.
Currently, it felt as though all of Macon had a piece of her except me.
My chest felt empty, my head dizzy as I continued to walk in her orbit without her knowing I was there.
Finally, she smiled and said goodbye, heading in the direction of her parents’ tent. There, she set her tablet down, glanced at her phone with a cute furrow to her brows, and said something to them both before slipping through the back of their tent.
Where was she going?
Quickly, I cleared the last tent in the row and veered to the small alleyway that acted as a sort of backstage for the event, cluttered with overflow packing materials, little camping chairs, a portable bathroom, and a few rolling coolers.
Just beyond the alley was a glass door leading into city hall.
That was where I found Rae, tugging out a key and unlocking the bottom lock then slipping inside.
She had an actual key to the city. The pride growing in my chest swelled.
Within seconds, I was silently slipping in, seeing she was already up a level and seemed to be headed to the public works office.
I quickly followed, ensuring I kept pace with her.
I cleared the steps right as the glass door to one of the offices swung shut, and a lamp clicked on inside, acting like a beacon.
Twisting the brass knob, I tugged the door open and let it shut silently behind me.
The floor was covered in old, worn carpet, but past the receptionist desks were two offices, one of which was a corner office.
I would bet money that was where Rae was.
Thankfully the door to the office wasn’t shut all the way, just cracked.
Carefully placing my hand against it, I found Rae inside and tried to make sense of what I was seeing.