Chapter 10 #2
I wasn’t going to overthink it.
It would be hard to prove that we were in a real marriage if we didn’t speak when he was away for days at the firehouse.
Saylor had reached out and asked me to meet her at the Golden Goose for lunch today. I pulled the door open, and she waved me over.
“What’s going on with you and Grumpy-hot-fireman?” Midge asked as she greeted me at the door. I’d always liked her, even though most people found her abrasive. I clearly had a type that I was drawn to.
Grumpy.
Moody.
Annoyed most of the time.
I was about to say that nothing was going on, and I stopped myself. We needed people to think something was happening.
“What do you mean?” My voice was all tease as she led me toward the table in the back where Saylor was sitting.
“I heard you two were quite the spectacle at Whiskey Falls the other night. And he carried you home?”
I laughed. “How do you possibly know that?”
“I’ve got eyes everywhere, Savvy.” She waggled her brows. “That is one sexy, fire-blazing, unattainable man. If you can harness that, more power to you.”
Saylor shook her head in disbelief as she caught the tail end of the conversation. “Ew. That’s my brother, Midge.”
I batted my lashes at the older woman beside me. “A lady never tells her secrets.”
Where the hell did that come from?
I slid into the booth beside Saylor, and our server, Letty, came over and took our orders before we even got a word out.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” Saylor said. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing with everything. I know Abe’s passing was hard on you.”
“Yeah. Most days, I still can’t believe he’s gone. It’s a huge loss. I miss our chats. I miss his laugh. How stubborn he was when I told him to go to the doctor or eat better,” I said, feeling the ache in my chest that I’d felt since the day I’d heard the news.
“Yeah. He and Lily loved you. They missed you so much after you moved away.” Saylor reached for her soda after our drinks were set down on the table. “I’d go out there and ride, and they’d talk about you the whole time. We all missed you, you know?”
Saylor had been like a little sister to me growing up. But when I left, I cut off all ties to this town, aside from Abe and Lily.
“I missed you, too. I was just dealing with a lot back then. It was almost too much, between my mom’s affair and my father finding out he had cancer.”
“I hadn’t known about your dad, and I don’t think Hayes knew either, because he would have told me. He was shocked when you left. But that’s when everything went down here, too. I guess in Magnolia Falls, when it rains, it pours, huh?”
“Hayes knew. I told him.” I reached for my water and took a sip before setting it back down. “And I’m sorry for everything that happened with your mom and that I wasn’t there for you.”
Lily had filled me in that Hayes and Saylor had been removed from their home due to an altercation with their stepfather.
They’d gone to live with friends for a while, and eventually, Hayes took custody of his sister when he turned eighteen.
I didn’t know the details, but I knew they’d gone through a lot.
I guess we all had.
Saylor waved her hand around. “Don’t be silly. We all had things we were dealing with. Mine led me to this place, right here, right now, and it’s exactly where I want to be. Maybe yours led you back here for a reason, too.”
I chuckled. “I don’t know about that, but I’m happy to be here now.”
I wasn’t staying. Magnolia Falls was not my home anymore.
And with Abe and Lily gone, that meant there was nothing here for me anymore.
But I couldn’t say that to her. To anyone.
I was about to marry her brother, and it needed to appear like I would be staying.
This whole plan was already more complicated than I’d expected.
And lying to people I cared about was not something that I felt good about.
I needed to get this renovation started, get hitched, and then get divorced, sell the farm, and leave town.
“Oh, my gosh, is that Savannah Abbott?” Kimber’s high-pitched voice had my head turning. She’d always been ridiculously bubbly and over the top. She’d been a bit pretentious back in the day, and I wondered if she’d outgrown that now.
“Hi, Kimber,” I said.
“I heard you were back. So sorry to hear about Abe. I was sad we weren’t able to make it to the funeral, but Lenny and I were out of town for my cousin’s wedding.”
“He wouldn’t have wanted you to miss that,” I said because it was true.
She held up the bags in her hands. “I’ve been out shopping like crazy for the fundraiser Lenny and I are throwing for the firehouse. I’ve never met a credit card I didn’t love.” She chuckled.
“Yes, Hayes mentioned the fundraiser. He and I will be there,” I said, and Saylor coughed a little over the sip she’d just taken from her soda.
Hayes had actually mentioned the fundraiser, but he’d made fun of it.
He didn’t want to go, but I’d just found the next place to debut our new relationship.
Kimber arched a brow. “You’re coming with Hayes?”
“Yeah. We’ve been spending a lot of time together since I’ve been back home. I guess we’re picking up where we left off.”
“Interesting.” She eyed me suspiciously. “He’s Magnolia Falls’ most unattainable bachelor.”
“I don’t find him unattainable at all.” I reached for a french fry and smiled.
“Well, you two were always close.”
“And we’re even closer now,” I said, smiling up at her with all the confidence in the world.
“Really? How serious is this with you and Hayes?” Her eyes were wide, and she tapped her chin with her finger anxiously.
This was my moment.
I kept my face perfectly unaffected. “I’d say things are going really well. We plan on throwing a big Valentine’s bash for everyone at the firehouse, so we’ll get that invite over to you as soon as we have all the details.”
She didn’t hide her surprise. “Oh. Throwing parties together already? That was fast.”
“Nothing fast about it. It’s always been there; the timing just wasn’t right. But when you know, you know. You know?” I chuckled at my repetitive words, and Saylor’s head fell back in laughter.
“She’s right. It was always there,” Saylor said.
“Good for you. I’ll try not to make my party too over the top because that would be no fun to have to follow one of my shindigs.” She snorted.
“Don’t hold back at all. I’m guessing we can both throw a good party.”
“Well, you haven’t seen the parties that Lenny and I throw. Everyone in town talks about how fabulous they are.” She quirked her brow.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Thankfully, she walked away, and I turned to find Saylor gaping at me.
“So, what exactly is going on with you and my brother?”
I couldn’t lie to her face, but I also couldn’t tell her the truth.
“It’s complicated.” I shrugged.
“Nothing would surprise me with you two.” She picked up her grilled cheese and took a bite.
I wasn’t so sure about that. A fake marriage might surprise her.
Because it surprised the hell out of me.