Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“Hurry, Mommy! Hurry, Adam! I need to get my balloonth!”
Jenna pulled on both their hands as she walked between them down Main Street.
An eight-block strip of the primary thoroughfare was shut down to traffic for the Fourth of July parade and carnival.
Each year, a different town in the county hosted the summer celebration, and this year it was Rosewood.
The fire department had hung red, white, and blue banners across the street along the route, and several vendors sold balloons, flags, and other patriotic items, adding to the festive atmosphere.
The carnival occupied the elementary school’s baseball and soccer fields, situated at the opposite end of the strip from where Adam had parked Sage’s truck.
Despite the distance, she could see the Ferris wheel.
Jenna had begged them to take her on it all morning.
Matthew was with Toby and the rest of their baseball teammates, who would march with the other Little League teams, and Sage wanted to wait for them near the firehouse where the parade would end.
While many people greeted them warmly during their walk from the church parking lot a few blocks away, several eyed Adam warily, and it annoyed her.
More than a few people whispered behind cupped hands.
Obviously, word about Adam’s prison record had spread.
She still didn’t know how it had gotten out, but she wondered if Ashley had gone against her wishes and blurted out the secret.
Sage mentally shook the thought from her head.
If anyone had blabbed, it was probably Sheriff Cosgrove.
As Jenna tugged on their arms again, Sage tried to calm the excited child. “Easy, sweetheart. There are plenty of balloons. I promise they won’t run out.”
“But I have to be thure they have red, white, and blue oneth. Adam thaid I could get all three.”
Smiling, he squeezed the girl’s hand. “That’s right, Little Bird. But your mom is also right. There are plenty of them.”
Jenna sighed as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and the adults just didn’t understand how important red, white, and blue balloons were to a Fourth of July celebration. “Okay, but I’ll be mad if they’re all gone.”
Sage grinned and shook her head in amusement as Adam chuckled.
It was nice to see him relaxed. In fact, she was too.
No further incidents had occurred at the ranch, and everything had remained quiet since the day someone shot at Adam.
Sheriff’s deputies were unable to find a lead on the shooter, and the county forensic office reported that damage to the slug pulled from Evan’s truck rendered it useless.
Every night since then, Sage had gone to Adam’s cabin after Jenna and Matthew were asleep, spending a few private hours with him before returning to the house.
She never stayed the whole night, though.
She didn’t know where this thing between them was going and was still afraid he would wake up one day and tell her it was time for him to move on.
That was the main reason she’d insisted they keep their blossoming relationship to themselves, although it wasn’t the reason she’d given him.
She’d told him it was for the children’s sake.
While it was true she was protecting them from getting their hopes up, she was also trying to protect her own heart.
Yes, she’d fallen in love with him, but despite how close they’d become, he still hadn’t come anywhere near professing his love for her. For all she knew, she was just a stepping stone for him.
Was what they shared truly special to Adam, or had she simply been the first woman to come along when he was finally ready to open that part of himself to someone again?
For now, she’d enjoy what he was willing to give her, but she had to maintain a certain distance. Having him break her heart if he left was one thing. Letting him know he’d broken it was something completely different. He had to want to stay with her, not because he felt guilty about anything.
Pushing all worries and doubts from her mind, she was determined to have a fun day.
When they reached the first souvenir vendor, Adam let Jenna pick out her balloons, then bought different versions of patriotic hats for all three of them.
Afterward, they found a spot along the parade route where they could all see the marchers go by.
Music from the opening band floated through the air, as the mayor rode in a beautifully restored black 1955 Ford Thunderbird convertible and waved to the crowd as he led the parade.
Forty-five minutes of marching bands, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, mounted police, cheerleaders, Little League players, veterans, flag bearers, and more followed.
After collecting Matthew and Toby, Sage and Adam followed the children through the crowd toward the carnival.
There, they found Maddie and Evan in the blue-ribbon tent, waiting for the judging to begin for several events.
Evan was at one table, monitoring a large vat of Maddie’s chili, while his wife stood behind another where her blueberry, blackberry, and peach cobblers were on display.
Sage waved across the tent to Ashley, Hilde, and two other women as three judges critiqued their lasagnas.
The winners would be announced after all the food tastings were finished.
“Mom! Can Toby and I go with Josh and his dad on some rides?”
“May Toby and I…” Sage admonished her son.
Matthew rolled his eyes, then bounced on the balls of his feet. “May Toby and I go with Josh and his dad?”
“Yes, as long as you pay attention to Mr. Garner and don’t go running off on your own.”
Sage had barely finished speaking before the boys hurried out of the tent. “We will!”
A bark of laughter escaped Adam. “Was that ‘we will’ for paying attention or running off on their own?”
“I hope it was for paying attention, but with those two, you never know.”
As they walked around the tent, she introduced him to several people. When they reached Ashley’s table, Jenna started squirming. “Mommy, I have to go to the baffroom.”
“Okay, sweetheart.” She took her daughter’s hand. “Adam, we’ll be right back.”
As they hurried away, Adam studied Ashley for a moment, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Okay. Say what’s on your mind before you blow a gasket. You don’t like me.”
She raised an eyebrow, clearly thrown by his straightforwardness. “Okay, I’ll play. You’re partially right. I think you’re a nice enough guy—”
“But not nice enough for Sage,” he finished for her.
“She’s my best friend, Adam. I don’t want her to get hurt. She suffered enough after she lost Mark.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a hip against the table.
“That’s understandable. But the last thing I would ever do is hurt Sage or her children.
Please don’t judge me by what you’ve heard about my past. Not everything is black and white.
” He was tempted to remind her about casting the first stone, but he suspected that she would only get riled up.
She seemed to consider his words for a moment before nodding. “Fair enough. I’ll reserve judgment for now.”
“That’s all I ask.” He gave her a friendly grin. “Well, that and a taste of your lasagna. Sage says it’s blue-ribbon worthy.”
A little while later, he and Sage stood outside the waist-high portable fence surrounding the small carousel where Jenna was riding a pink-and-white unicorn.
Adam held the little girl’s balloons—he was the only one she trusted with them.
She was such a sweet kid and would always have a permanent place in his heart, right next to Matthew and Sage.
His thoughts returned to the information Shane had called him with the night before.
After Adam had filled his foster brother in on what happened at the ranch, Shane had called in a favor with an FBI buddy who’d made a few discreet inquiries about Bart Sherman.
They hadn’t wanted to ruffle any feathers with the local sheriff or risk alerting Sherman that someone was looking into him.
Unfortunately, the rancher had come through squeaky clean.
He paid his taxes diligently, and nothing suggested embezzlement, shady business practices, or anything else that raised a red flag.
There hadn’t even been reports of disgruntled employees or business associates, much less any domestic violence complaints.
According to everything Shane’s friend had uncovered, Sherman was the salt of the earth.
Adam struggled to believe it.
The man wanted Sage’s property badly. The questions were why—and how far he would go to get it.
Beside him, Sage chatted with two women about a PTA meeting that had gotten everyone in an uproar over a new school curriculum.
Over the carnival noises and chatter, he heard someone call his name.
Looking around, he spotted Matthew and Toby sharing a seat on the Ferris wheel, waving at him as they descended from the top.
Josh and his father were in the seat ahead of them.
Adam smiled and waved back at the boys before turning to check on Jenna.
Barely a minute had passed when the sound of metal grinding against metal clanged loudly, immediately followed by screams of terror. One of the loudest belonged to Matthew.
Adam’s gaze shot toward the Ferris wheel. The seat the two boys were in, near the top of the ride, had partially disconnected from the frame. Toby’s feet dangled in the air as Matthew desperately tried to keep him from falling while holding onto the chair, which hung at a dangerous angle.
Beside Adam, Sage shrieked her son’s name.
Releasing the balloons, Adam pushed through the gasping and screaming crowd. He vaulted the metal divider to where the attendant frantically pushed buttons on the ride's control panel. The young man glanced up, his eyes wide with fear. “It’s stuck! It won’t move! I can’t get them down!”