Chapter 22
Much to Cali’s dismay, everyone in Autumn Ridge except her seemed to be enjoying their Friday morning.
She woke to clear skies, the storm gone and the weather even cooler than before in its wake.
One of her neighbors was feeding the wild turkeys.
Out on the lake, two people fished from a canoe in their down vests and mittens.
Her soaked clothes from the night before still hung by her bedroom door, smelling faintly of rain and Ethan.
Of soap and aftershave. Her glasses still had a fingerprint smudge, an echo of what had happened between them last. No, what had almost happened between them.
It made her head ache. She wished someone had already dressed her for work and made her coffee and told her everything was going to be okay today.
Instead, she’d have to do it for herself, and she was sure she could do most of it. Just not that last part.
But nothing from Ethan. No private text. No group chat message. No word from Leo about whether Ethan had saved the gala’s sound system or not—and the event along with it. But she was sure he had.
Then Minka picked today, of all days, to use Max and Catsby as the featured felines on her socials advertising the gala.
The post appeared while Cali sipped her coffee on her porch.
In the photo, the two lounged side by side on stacks of books, likely in Ethan’s bedroom or another room she hadn’t seen upstairs, with a gala flier nearby.
Fairy lights were a blurred glowed above them.
“Save the Date” with Saturday’s event details were stamped onto the post. She read the description: Looks like even our mascots found their purrfect match before Saturday’s gala.
Join us for an evening of saving the strays—maybe your own happily ever after with one of our firefighters!
What (or who) will you be bidding on? #AutumnRidgeGala #CatsofAutumnRidge #PawsandProsecco #SaveTheDate #DateNightForACause
This should be exciting. If things went well, The Nine were about to get a windfall of money for their cause and maybe even a following for their before-unknown gang of local cat protectors. But Cali’s stomach dropped mid-scroll, as the comments started pouring in.
AutumnRidgeMayorOfficial: Can’t wait to see everyone there! My wife’s been talking about this for weeks!
ChiefBobisonFire: Careful, ladies. The boys are already getting competitive over those auction bids. ;)
SandyBaker799: @ChiefBobisonFire Is Leo March one of those firefighter dates up for auction? Asking for a friend.
LeoM_27: Oh, you know it. @SandyBaker799
LilaJDesigns: This post just made my whole morning. Love seeing our town come alive again!
She couldn’t take it anymore, the anticipation that every vibration, every sound her phone made was going to be a message from Ethan.
He said he’d see her at the gala. That was that.
She muted her phone, went back inside, buried it in her purse, and dumped the rest of her lukewarm coffee in the sink.
At work she kept quiet in her office for as long as possible, nursing another mug of coffee brewed in the break room.
But Russell insisted on asking her a million questions about the gala.
What should he wear? He brought her two suits and asked her to choose between them, arguing the other suit each time she landed on a reason for one.
Was there assigned seating? Would she make sure he was seated near the firemen that were being auctioned off for dates? Did everyone need to bring their pets?
“Russell,” she finally snapped. “I’m just trying to get through one more day of work. Could you please try to do the same? That returns desk pile is about to devour one of our senior volunteers.” They glanced over at the poor elderly woman surrounded by books.
Russell was gracious. “Fair enough. I’ll save the senior. But if it’s an open bar and I go past my limit and start auctioning myself off, you’re responsible. Capeesh?”
Cali rolled her eyes. “Open bar. Limit two tickets per guest. If I see you bribing anyone for their tickets, I’ll let everyone know you’re the problem. Capeesh?”
“So sassy,” he said. “This is why I love you.”
Then he disappeared down the hall.
Near closing time at the library, Minka messaged Cali. You alive? Haven’t heard from you since Candlewick.
Cali’s reply was brief. Yep. Long week. She muted her phone again. But the vibrations came quick.
Hey, I’ve been thinking about what I said to Ethan. I realize I might’ve stepped in where I shouldn’t have.
My heart was in the right place, but I overstepped. No excuses. I didn’t mean to make things harder for you two. I shed some tears over this, though, if you want to add them to that enemies vial in your purse…
Anyway, no pressure to reply. Just wanted you to know I care about you both. I’m rooting for things to land how you want them to.
Cali unmuted her phone and texted back. A peace offering, even laden with emojis, was something. It’s okay. I’ll collect your tears when you come pick me up for the gala on Friday. I could use a plus one.
Deal! Minka replied. Pick you up at 6:30. Be ready for a selfie.
Cali was relieved at least one thing had gone in her favor today. She hadn’t purposefully frozen out Minka. There was enough to distract them all this week. But she appreciated the apology.
By twilight, Cali’s house was on its way to smelling faintly of apples and lemon cleaner instead of rain.
She had to keep herself busy long enough to reach exhaustion.
Only a day and a gala to get through before she could let this thing between her and Ethan breathe or let it go entirely.
She couldn’t keep falling into his arms every time she convinced herself she was fine without him.
So she cleaned the kitchen top to bottom then decided to bake an apple pie with the apples from Candlewick.
Her grandmother’s recipe called for splashes of lemon juice and cider, thickened with a cornstarch slurry.
It was nothing if not a distraction. Better than sitting in front of the television with a bowl of popcorn, though.
Practical Magic dominated the streaming services this year, and it always made her cry.
She wasn’t a fan of horror either, but even the one zombie movie she liked was more romantic comedy than horror.
She lugged herself, groggy-eyed and full of warm pie, toward the bedroom when she remembered she hadn’t chosen a dress for the event.
Her handmade skirts and tops wouldn’t cut it this time.
She needed something fancier, more chic.
So she rummaged her grandmother’s things until she found a timeless dress that whispered old-Hollywood elegance.
She couldn’t believe her luck. A black satin slip dress with a cowl neckline.
In the same garment bag, tucked in a pocket, she found a delicate gold chain with a single teardrop pendant.
When she put them on, the dress fit like a glove and the necklace fell to the perfect length.
Perhaps suspiciously perfect. She looked at herself in the mirror from the front and side and over her shoulder. Even without makeup, she felt stunning.
“I guess we’re doing this,” she whispered at the mirror. “Thanks, Grandma. Now two things went in my favor today. Glad we’re calling it a night.”
She disrobed and carefully hung the dress and necklace in her closet and zipped up the garment bag.
In bed, she piled up her pillows and tucked her feet under layers of cozy until the bed felt like the biggest hug she’d had all year.
She turned to her phone on the nightstand and read the rest of the comments on Minka’s post then flipped back to her contacts until she found Ethan’s name.
She reread his text from nearly a week ago—Don’t stay out too long, okay?
Nights like this chill you faster than you think.
—and wondered if maybe he’d meant more by it than the weather.