Chapter 15 Gracie #3
“We’ll find Petunia,” Benny said, looking around with a serious scowl. “I promise you, Annie.” With that, he marched away, shoulders straight, whistle out. No, that was a real whistle this time. He blew it with full force.
“Attention! I need everyone’s attention! Right now!”
Conversations quieted and a few families stepped out from the side doors, listening to him.
“We are missing Petunia the Yorkie!” Benny informed them with the strength and authority of a man twice his age. “Form teams. Go in every direction. No cars can move. No one leaves until we find her! Move!”
“Let’s go this way, Benny!” Olivia grabbed his arm and pulled him.
“I’ll stay with you, Annie,” Gracie said to the little girl.
As Gracie turned, she came face to face with Marshall, who gave her a strange look she couldn’t interpret.
“Can you watch Kat, too?” he said, holding the dog’s leash out to her. “I’ll look for the missing dog.”
“Of course. Come on, Annie. Let’s wait together.”
“Benny will find her,” Annie whispered, looking up with a sincerity in her eyes that absolutely seized Gracie’s heart. “Benny can do anything. He was my favorite person at camp. He’s everybody’s favorite.”
“He is?” Gracie felt a wash of warm pride and satisfaction. “Well, he’s my favorite, that’s for sure.”
With her hands full of dogs and one sweet little girl, Gracie headed inside, insanely proud of her son, who might have lost the contest but certainly won at life.
In the time it took for the firetruck to come and give the all clear—with a stern warning to Red—Benny’s “specially designed for small dogs” whistle brought Petunia home. Gracie and Renee were able to call her grandmother, who had to leave work to pick up Annie early.
The families and dogs were invited back into the rec room to “finish” the dog show, though most of them had left. The room wasn’t nearly as crowded when they gathered, so Red took the opportunity to walk around to those who were there and personally apologize for the inconvenience.
One family that had stayed? The Hamptons.
Olivia and Marshall sat in the row behind Gracie, with Kat. Gracie introduced them to her family, and Uncle Jack instantly recognized the man who must have been a decently well-known running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While the men chatted, Nicole inched over with her “I told you so” look.
“If he wasn’t interested, he would have left,” she murmured. “I demand you ask him for coffee.”
Gracie just slid her a look, saved by Renee taking the stage again.
“Well, that was eventful,” she said, not bothering with a microphone.
There weren’t enough people to require one, and the remaining dogs were sound asleep at their owners’ feet.
“The trophy may have toppled, but it didn’t break.
We’d like to award it to the most outstanding combination of training and tricks. ”
Benny looked at Gracie, the competitive spark gone from his eyes. “’Sokay, Mom,” he whispered. “Olivia and Kat deserve it. They were an outstanding combination.”
“So that award,” Miss Renee continued, “goes to Olivia Hampton—”
Benny gave a gracious, “Woot!” and clapped, turning to smile at the girl.
“—and Benny McBride.”
He froze. “Me? I caused the problems!”
“Uh, I think I did,” Red mumbled.
“For outstanding rescue efforts using homemade dog whistles!” Renee continued cheerfully.
Behind him, Olivia stood and gave his shoulder a nudge. “Come on, Dr. Smartypants. Sharing is caring and all that.”
Benny looked up at her, a blush that he surely inherited from his mother coloring his cheeks. “Okay.” He stood. “How do we share it?”
“Joint custody, like my parents do.” She flicked her hand for him to come with her.
As they did, Nicole slid a sneaky glance to Gracie and lifted a brow, not having to say a word. Joint custody? Okay, he was divorced and probably, maybe, single.
While the kids accepted the trophy and Olivia gave a short speech about teamwork with friends, the parents clapped. Red gave them a standing ovation and Jack whistled.
The whole thing ended on a high note with some cookies, lemonade, and friendly chatter.
As the small group began to disperse, it only took one more “Do it or die!” look from Nicole for Gracie to suck in a breath, tamp down her nerves, and walk over to Marshall.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, chatting with Renee when Gracie joined them.
“You two have the most amazing kids,” the woman cooed. “Both so smart and resourceful. It’s been a pleasure to have them at camp. I dare say they’ll be counselors soon.”
“Thank you,” Gracie said, smiling at her. “You know I was worried about Benny making friends.”
“No need to worry about that. Oh!” She pointed her cookie across the room. “There’s Annie’s grandmother. I’ll go get her.”
When she left, they stood quietly for a beat, then Marshall sighed. “Kids as smart as ours are a blessing, although sometimes I wonder what God was thinking.”
She smiled. “He was thinking that we needed them to complete our lives.”
His dark eyes flashed. “Olivia certainly does that for me. Although you seem to have a large and vibrant family.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Some a little too vibrant…ahem, my grandfather.”
He cracked up. “He’s a hoot. And Jack Kessler is your uncle? He’s a local legend who was in the Olympics and on ESPN.”
“I understand you’re kind of famous yourself.”
“Only if you follow football, and I’ve been retired for a while, so no autographs, please.”
She smiled and saw her opening. “But you might get a free cream puff and coffee from Sugarfall. You’re welcome to one anytime.”
He held her gaze, a gleam in his eye that had to be…mutual attraction. “That’s nice, Gracie. Thank you.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding. “But…no,” she finished for him. “That’s fine. I—”
He held out a hand, stopping her. “Gracie, I haven’t been completely honest with you. Well, I haven’t had a chance but that’s my doing.”
“You have been avoiding me,” she said, grateful for the honesty.
“Not you, actually. I didn’t want to avoid you.” He huffed out a breath, sounding almost as nervous as she was. “Because getting to know you is inevitable.”
She studied him for a moment, not following.
“For one thing,” he said, “Olivia and Benny will be in the same school come January. She’s starting at Alpine Elementary in his grade for the next semester.”
“Oh, okay. It’s a great school, but…” She felt a frown pull, not sure why that would stop them from having coffee.
“For another, you mentioned the construction across the street from Sugarfall,” he said. “The renovation of what used to be a bookstore.”
She paused, trying to imagine where he was going. “Are you…the contractor?”
“Owner of the new business.”
“Oh? That’s awesome. What is it going to be?”
He didn’t answer right away, but looked…apologetic? Why? “A shop for…treats and snacks and desserts.”
“Like…a bakery?” Seriously? Across the street from Sugarfall?
“More like the anti-bakery. It’s called Craving Clean. I’m specializing in whole and healthy desserts and treats, all pure, no seed oils, high protein, super clean. It’s my hobby and I’m turning it into a business.”
She hadn’t heard too much after “anti-bakery.” “So you weren’t kidding when you called my cream puffs deadly.”
He laughed, but she could tell the conversation made him uncomfortable.
“Look, Gracie, I don’t want to put you out of business or take one cream puff off the market,” he assured her.
“Sugarfall is awesome and packed for a reason. But I just want to offer health-conscious people an alternative. I got the space for a great price and couldn’t resist. I knew the fact that it was across the street from a bakery was just… ironic.”
Not what she’d call it.
“Believe me, I know how hard it’s going to be to launch a business,” he said quickly.
“I have mad respect for you, for your shop, and for the fact that you made a landmark destination in a town like Park City. I just want to do the same thing, only pull the thousands of tourists and locals who are looking for something delicious that meets…other criteria. You know, the health nuts.”
And in a ski and outdoor sports town? They were everywhere.
“Well, that’s…yeah. Good luck and welcome to the neighborhood.”
“Thanks,” he said. “But you understand why I think it’s best if we’re just friends. Because like our kids, we will compete and I’d like to do that with as much class as they’ve shown.”
She certainly couldn’t argue that. “When do you open?”
“Construction through spring and a soft opening this summer, officially doing business in the fall. By this time next year, I hope to be reaching every person in Park City looking for a sweet, but healthy, treat.”
“Well, that’s—”
“Don’t say awesome, because we are definitely in direct competition. Friendly, but direct. So…”
“So no coffee,” she said softly.
“I just wanted to be clear and honest and explain that under any other circumstances, it would have been dinner and hours of conversation.”
She felt the old blush rise, and cursed it as always. “I understand.” She glanced over at her family and caught Nicole’s hopeful eye. “I’m sure I’ll see you in town. And at school.”
Oh, boy. She’d never escape this guy.
“I look forward to it,” he said.
With the sweetest smile she could muster, she walked over to her mom, aunt, and cousin, who were just finishing up pictures with Benny.
“I’m ready to roll,” she said after she posed with Benny and the dog in front of the “Moms ‘n’ Mutts’ display.
“Well?” Nicole raised a brow. “What happened?”
Gracie just sighed and shook her head. “I’ll tell you later, but I was right.”
“He’s not interested?”
“Actually, worse.” She gave a humorless smile. “I just went from have a crush to…being crushed.”
“What?”
“Come on, let’s go do New Year’s Eve at the lodge.”
Nicole’s eyes shuttered. “Can I pass? I don’t feel—”
“No.” MJ stuck her head between them, giving a hard look to Nicole. “You have to be there. Have to. It’s going to be a big night.”
Nicole sighed and looked at Gracie. “We’ll just be sad together in the corner, okay?”
Gracie gave a dry laugh. “Sounds like fun.”
And exactly what she needed tonight.