Epilogue
Cassidy stood at the top of the hill looking down at the crowded midway. If anyone had asked her a day ago if they’d ever get the fair up and running, she would have been torn between laughter and tears. But here they were, open for business and welcoming record-setting crowds.
As Colonel Aronson had predicted, Troy Baker’s identity had been confirmed before she’d even left State Police headquarters the night of his arrest. He’d continued to play cat and mouse with the investigators well into the next day, but eventually they’d informed him they were sitting on a pile of evidence high enough for them to move ahead with or without his statement.
Then Baker’s tale of woe and persecution came tumbling out.
For her part, Cassidy had spent the past few days trying to focus on the task at hand.
A conversation with Trevor Baker went a long way in helping her understand his convoluted reasoning.
Troy Baker believed she turned his brother against him, and if they hadn’t both testified in court, he would have received a lighter sentence.
And he might still have a relationship with his brother.
Cassidy knew there was nothing she could do to set their relationship to rights, but she could focus on getting the grounds cleared and secured. The governor’s office, the board of directors and the fair’s staff had done most of the hustling.
Once the damaged rides were removed from the site, a local amusement company had brought in an elaborate inflatable obstacle course to fill open spaces. From the length of the line to go through the course, it looked like the addition was going to be a hit with fairgoers of all ages.
A few of the musical acts set to perform were unable to reschedule and a couple had dropped out, but the entertainment chair was the type of woman who always had backups for her backups, so they were able to make sure the main stage was fully covered.
The livestock judging had resumed early morning, as had the arts, crafts and culinary contests. So far, the revised schedule seemed to be working smoothly. Hands on her hips, she smiled as she pivoted in a semicircle, taking it all in.
“You’re looking smug this morning,” Jake Donovan said, his voice gruff in her ear.
She didn’t jump, or even blink in surprise when his arm slid around her waist. Over the past few days, Jake and Max had quickly melded into the fabric of her life.
Letting her head fall back against his shoulder, she hummed noncommittally.
“Do I? Good, because I feel smug.” She gestured to the festivities. “Can you believe this is happening?”
“I never doubted you for a minute.” He tilted his head to brush a kiss to her temple. “Shall we go survey your domain?”
She laughed as she wriggled from his grasp. “We shall.”
“Hey, big guy,” she cooed, bending down to offer her knuckles to Max. He bathed them with a sloppy kiss. “Thank you. I needed a big sloppy kiss.”
“Oh, if that’s the case—”
Jake attempted to tug her back into his arms, but she resisted.
“Hey, come on,” she said, pushing him away. “Don’t be jealous.” She took his hand and pulled him in the direction of the midway. “Come on. I’ll let you win me an enormous stuffed gorilla.”
“You greatly overestimate my basketball skills.”
“We’ll stick to firing corks at empty cans then,” she assured him. “Surely they taught you to shoot at the police academy, didn’t they?”
“We need to change the saying to ‘Don’t mock a man with a Glock.’”
She threw her head back and laughed. Stepping onto the paved lane, they hooked a sharp right, sticking to the arcade side of the midway rather than getting snarled up in the lines queueing for the rides. As they passed the corn dog stand, Cassidy waved to Manny, who was busy working the deep fryer.
They paused to watch a couple of teenagers taking their best shots at the basketball hoops. They were so engrossed in the competition between a young man and woman, they barely noticed Manny’s approach.
But Max did.
The dog let out a woof of approval as he eyed the footlong corn dogs the older man offered like a prized bouquet.
“Oh! Thank you, Manny,” she said, beaming at her friend.
“Thank you,” Jake said as he took one of the proffered treats.
“The least I can do,” Manny said, pulling packets of mustard from an apron pocket. “And if I may, I have something for our hero,” he said, raising expectant brows at Jake as he gestured to Max.
“Oh, I’m sorry. He eats a specialized diet—”
Manny pulled a paper-wrapped package from the same pocket and presented it to Jake. “Miss Cassidy told me he had to be treated special. I have a little chicken for him. Not much. No seasonings. Good chicken.”
He looked so hopeful. Cassidy held her breath as she, Manny and poor salivating Max awaited his answer.
Jake looked from Manny to her, then back again. “Oh. That’s very nice of you. Thank you.” He accepted the gift on Max’s behalf.
“You’re sweet, Manny,” Cassidy said, leaning in to hug him. “Now, get back to it before we have a corn dog revolt on our hands.”
Manny waved and flashed a bright smile as he backed away. He took three steps then turned and took off for his battered food stand at a dead run, expertly dodging meandering fairgoers as they stepped into his path.
She nodded toward a bench only half occupied by a woman rocking a stroller to and fro. “Let’s settle for a minute.”
It wasn’t until she took a seat on the bench that she realized she was staring straight at the spot where the carousel stood. “Oh.”
He frowned down at her. “You wanna move?”
“No. No.” She waved his concern away. “I’m good.” She plucked the corn dog from his hand. “Here, I’ll hold this while you take care of Max.”
“Okay.” He chuckled as he unwrapped the package. When he saw the palm-size pile of boneless, skinless chicken, he smiled. “This was nice of him. Max will generally behave himself, but he is a dog, after all.”
“As evidenced by the drooling,” she said, nodding to the slobber trickling from the corners of the dog’s mouth.
Sure enough, Max gulped down the offering in record time. Satisfied with his treat, he stretched out at Cassidy’s feet and took in the crowd passing by.
After relinquishing Jake’s treat, Cassidy squeezed a thin line of mustard along the cornbread-battered hot dog and took a hearty bite. “I still can’t believe you showed up here,” she said, talking through stuffed cheeks.
Jake was polite enough to wait until he’d swallowed his bite to respond. “The minute I realized the woman slipping a backpack containing heaven knows what onto her back was you, I almost lost it.”
“Yeah, well, if you think you’re going to dump me after this trip to the fair, I’d think again,” she warned, pointing the corn dog at him. “I’m not as sweet as I used to be.”
“Yes, you are.” Jake exhaled loudly, turning to look at the spot where they’d met again after so many years. “Thankfully, I’m not as dumb as I used to be.”
“So, we have that going for us,” she said, flashing a cheeky smile.
But Jake remained somber. “You know it wasn’t you, right?”
“What?”
“It’s a cliché, I know. But aren’t all teenagers?”
He tilted his head in the direction of the free-throw game, where the couple who’d been competing minutes before were now kissing.
“I was so in love with you, I didn’t know what to do. I convinced myself you didn’t feel the same way about me, so I thought it would be better if I…”
“Dumped me?” she interjected.
“Saved myself,” he argued.
“And now you’ve saved me.” She flashed him a rueful smile. “You’re quite the heroes, you and Max.”
“I could do the whole bit about doing my job, ma’am, but I think we both know this was different.” His smile was crooked, but it felt as warm as the bright sunshine. “I guess I should say different and still the same.”
“How?”
“Different because we’re not kids anymore,” he said.
He looked down at her, searching her eyes as if they might hold all the answers. But all she had for him was a spill of sentimental tears.
She reached up to touch his cheek. “And still the same?”
“Because I saw you and all I could think was how much I still love you.”
She exhaled in a whoosh and the woman on the bench next to her gave a soft, “Oooooh,” as she jumped up. “Here you go. Sit here.”
“Wait—” Jake protested.
But the woman already had her phone pressed to her ear. “Oh my gosh, I heard the sweetest thing,” she crowed, nudging the stroller ahead of her. They were quickly swallowed up by the crowd.
Cassidy beamed as Jake took the seat the woman vacated. “It was the sweetest thing,” she said, wrinkling her nose playfully. “We may need to book dentist appointments.”
“Not right now,” he said, leaning in to steal a soft kiss from her.
She angled her head, inviting him to make the kiss last a little longer.
He accepted.
When they finally pulled back, Cass was wearing her heart in her eyes, but she didn’t have the energy or the inclination to shield herself. Not after all they’d been through. Not after all the years they’d wasted.
“I still love you, too.”
Jake smiled and started to move in for another kiss, but suddenly someone yanked her corn dog straight out of her hand.
“What the—” she started, then stopped when she spotted Max holding the mustard-smeared remains between his paws and cheerfully gnawing it off the stick.
“Not so well-trained after all,” she said.
“Corn dogs are not his area of expertise.” Jake shrugged, then offered the remainder of his corn dog to his partner. “It’s okay. I have a feeling we’re going to need to be hands free for a while.”
With that, he slid his fingers into her hair and planted one on her as if there was a blue ribbon in kissing on the line.
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