Page 11 of A Moment In Time

“She’s good at that.”

Gage nodded. “Yes, she is. Which is a good thing, considering she’s my only sister. I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll be at the bachelor auction tomorrow.”

He cocked his head. “Are you planning on doing some bidding?”

Maya shook her head. “Of course not. I just like to watch. I have a hard enough time keeping Ian in line. I don’t need another man to take care of.”

“I heard Buddy Decker is going up on the block.”

She blushed. “You stop now. Buddy and I are ancient history.”

“Yeah. Maybe. But those high school romances are hard to get over sometimes.”

She took his arm and walked him to the door. “You go on now. I knew Ian in high school, too.”

“Yeah. But you dated buddy.” He kissed her on the cheek before opening the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Aunt Maya.”

Gage left the sheriff’s station and continued down the street, then cut over two blocks to the park. There was a community building there used for various events, and today it was the home of the Farmer’s Market. It was more of a craft fair since it was February and there was no produce for sale. But it somehow had been called the Farmer’s Market since it was added to the list of events for the festival. There were baked goods, canned jelly, honey, dried herbs, and a booth selling locally milled flour. Mrs. Dillard had her spinning wheel going, and the Andersonsisters, who were in their eighties, sold essential oils. The rest of the booths had homemade crafts, from pottery to candles.

But Gage wasn’t interested in any of it. He just wanted to find Clementine. When he spotted Sydney, he went over to her and waited until she finished the conversation she was having with one of the vendors.

She smiled at him. “I thought you weren’t coming to the market.”

“I wasn’t. And I’m not. I’m looking for Clem. Have you seen her around?”

“She and the chief were talking to the Anderson sisters a few minutes ago.”

“Thanks.” He started to go, then stopped. “How’s it going?”

“Fine. I’ve talked to a lot of people.”

Gage nodded. “That’s why I sent you. I’ll see you at the tavern tonight.”

“Okay.”

He left her then and found Clementine and Booker at the Anderson sister’s booth. When Booker saw him, he rolled his eyes.

Gage nodded. “How’s it going, Chief?”

“I now know more about essential oils than I ever cared to.”

Clementine nudged him. “Shush. You spent twenty minutes talking to Larry at the knife booth.”

“Well, yeah. Knives are cool.”

Clementine looked at Gage. “Why are you here without a camera?”

“I’m not here officially. Sydney’s covering it. I was looking for you, actually. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?” He looked around at the crowd. “Away from all these people.”

“Sure. Away from my husband, too?”

“Um…” He shrugged at Booker. “Yeah. Sorry.”

Booker raised a hand. “No problem. I should make the rounds.” He kissed Clementine. “Take your time. I think I can keep this crowd under control.”

She took Gage’s arm. “Let’s go to the gazebo.”

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