Chapter 34
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
Emelia
The three of us enter the community center to wait for the announcement of the winners of the Blueberry Bake-Off. I told Elliott I would meet him and Baylor here because I had to go into town to run some errands ahead of time.
As soon as Baylor saw me waiting on the sidewalk for them, she ran forward and hugged my legs. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t feel a warm rush of love when she did it.
When we enter the large room, a lot of people are already here, and to my surprise, I actually know a good portion of them, mostly because I’ve visited their businesses or chatted with them before and after the town hall.
Off to the right, a folding table has been set up with safety pamphlets, smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide detectors, and a few members from the fire department linger there in their navy-blue cargos and T-shirts.
As soon as Baylor spots her uncle, she rushes over. “Uncle Ansel.”
He breaks off from the fellow firefighter he’s talking to, bends at the waist, and scoops her up. “How’s my favorite niece?”
He tickles her tummy, and she giggles and squirms in his arms.
“I’m your only niece, Uncle Ansel.”
“Doesn’t matter, you’d still be my favorite. Just never tell your future cousins.” He catches sight of Elliott and me approaching. “Hey, Emelia.”
My cheeks heat, remembering the last time I saw Ansel and his assumption about what his brother and I had been up to. “Hi, Ansel.”
He chuckles as though he can tell how uncomfortable I am.
Beside me, Elliott exhales through his nose.
“You coming to poker at Roy’s tonight?” Ansel asks his brother.
“Nah, think I’m going to skip this one.” He slides a look toward me.
Ansel grins. “I would too.”
“Ansel,” Elliott says, low and sharp.
He just laughs and sets Baylor down when she squirms.
“I see Gabrielle! Daddy, can I go say hi?”
Elliott cranes his neck and must spot her friend because he says, “Sure. Don’t go far, though.”
Without a care, she runs to her friend, and I watch the two girls throw their arms around each other, delighted to reunite.
Ansel gets called away by one of the other firefighters, so it’s just the two of us.
Elliott shifts in place, and I watch him roll his neck side to side a few times, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do. I don’t remember ever seeing him so restless.
“Elliott, are you nervous?” I arch an eyebrow at him.
“What? No. Why would I be nervous?” He plays it off well, but I can tell he’s full of it.
“To see whether Baylor wins or not.”
He shrugs. “It’s just a small-town bake-off.”
I can’t help but chuckle. It’s adorable to see him nervous for his little girl. “I know that, but it doesn’t mean you don’t want her to win.”
He drops all pretense, then says right into my ear, “Okay, yes, I want her to win. I guess this whole thing has gotten my competitive juices flowing.”
I laugh, and he pulls back, fixing me with a look.
“The only thing I know that can make a girl light up like that is some time well spent between the sheets. You must be doing a good job, Elliott.” Dottie gives him the once-over and winks.
I swear Elliott’s cheeks flush under his facial hair.
I hadn’t even noticed Dottie approaching.
“Hello, Dottie.” I turn toward her with a grin.
“Hey, sweetheart.” She rounds on Elliott. “Baylor did such a good job with her entry.”
“I thought so too. Ate three of those damn muffins last night.” He chuckles.
“Well, I hope she’s proud of herself. It takes guts to put yourself out there.”
We all look toward where Baylor is goofing around with her friend.
“If she’s not, I’m proud enough for the both of us,” he says.
Dottie chuckles. “Well, I gotta make the rounds. See you two later.”
“Hey, Dottie, before you go, remind me why you left Vegas?” I needle her.
“I told you, sweetheart, I won the café in a poker game. Figured I might as well move out here and see if I could make it work.” She winks at me before she walks away.
This has become our little game. I still don’t know which of her far-fetched stories are true, if any of them even are, but it never fails to entertain me.
Half an hour later, the judges gather at the front of the room to announce the winners. They start with the children’s competition, which is a good thing, because I think Elliott might crawl out of his skin if he has to wait any longer.
After a monologue about the history of the Blueberry Bake-Off from the mayor, he hands it over to the judges.
Deacon steps forward and thanks all the kids for their entries, speaking about how much he loves seeing the little ones discover new talents. “And now it’s time to announce the winner. A big congratulations goes to…Jacob Tierney for his blueberry pie.”
Everyone in the room claps, and a woman I don’t know guides a little boy Baylor’s age up to the front.
“Yay, Daddy, Jacob won!” Baylor wheels around and tips her head back to look up at us.
She doesn’t seem bothered by the fact that she didn’t win, but I can’t say the same for Elliott, who narrows his eyes at the little boy.
“You know him?” I ask her.
She nods. “He’s in my class at school.” Then she turns back around to watch the rest of the festivities.
Elliott drops his head toward me. “That’s bullshit. I’ll bet you any money Mindy helped him with that pie,” Elliott mutters.
I elbow him and cover my mouth with my hand so I won’t burst out laughing.
We stay to watch the rest of the winners be announced and leave shortly after.
Once we’re outside, Elliott hunches down in front of Baylor. “I’m sorry you didn’t win, kiddo.”
She shrugs. “It’s okay. I still had fun.”
“That’s a great attitude to have,” I tell her.
She beams at me, then swings back to her father. “Can we go to the park, Daddy?”
“I need to do the grocery shopping, kiddo. Sorry.”
Baylor drops her chin and sticks out her lip, then quickly lifts her head toward me. “Can Emelia take me?”
My eyes go wide, and I cut a look toward Elliott. I certainly don’t mind, but I also know that he’s firm about trying to create some distance between Baylor and me, which I understand and support.
“You can’t put Emelia or me on the spot like that, Baylor.”
“I don’t mind,” I say in a low voice.
Elliott pushes his hands into his pockets, and his gaze moves between us. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “We’ll go for a little bit, and when you get home, I’ll take off,” I say, so he knows I won’t spend the remainder of the day with her.
“All right.”
“Yay!” Before Elliott can say another word, Baylor seizes my hand and pulls me away.
I glance back over my shoulder at Elliott. “Guess we’ll see you at home.”
Elliott’s deep-blue eyes warm as he watches the two of us go, and it seeps right down to my bones.
Though I enjoy the feeling, it’s quickly followed by a flash of fear, because I feel myself starting to belong, and that’s the scariest thing of all. I’ve never really felt like I fit anywhere, so why am I starting to feel that way now, when I know I have to leave?