Page 21 of Who Pissed Off Ivy Dell?

“Maybe that can be my gift.”

“What gift?”

“After I leave, I want to give something useful to Ivydell. I’ll be back to visit, but I want there to be something more than painted signs to show my appreciation for my time here. Petra didn’t have to let me come, and nobody had to be nice to me once I got here, but everyone’s been great.”

“The signs are enough. You don’t need to do anything else.”

“Well, I’m going to, anyway. I like the grill idea. Where do y’all have stuff delivered when you order it?”

“The few of us who live here year-round use a post office box, but I don’t think they’ll take delivery of something as big as a grill.”

“Hmm, okay. I’ll have to buy it at a store, and we can pick it up in your truck. Do you know a good place to go for a grill?”

I flip the fish. “I honestly don’t have the first clue.”

“Yes, you do. You’re a grill guy. I know you know where to buy one.” She sits forward in her chair and glares at me. “I am buying one, so you may as well just tell me where to go.”

“I’ll help you find a place. We can do it after the festival, okay?”

“No, I want to do it before then. Petra said y’all do a big meal together on the Monday night after. That would be the perfect time to break in a new grill.”

“We can go buy one on that Monday during the day. That way it’ll be a surprise for everybody.”

“Why are you being weird about it?”

“I’m not being weird. I’ve just got a lot to take care of between now and the festival. It makes more sense to do that after.”

“How come everything I want to contribute around here gets treated like an afterthought?”

“Okay, now you’re just reaching.” I take the fish off the grill. “Don’t look for a reason to be mad. It’s the busiest time of the year. That’s all.”

“It’s been a weird day.” She sighs and leans back into her chair.

I think it’ll be good for Ivy to have her friend, Zara, here—someone to keep her busy the day before the festival, and to help her process the changes that come on the day after. Ivydell always feels different the Monday after the festival. All the buzzing energy that leads up to the big event is gone. Some people will pack up and leave right away, head off to their next adventure, but some will stay a little longer.

It’s funny how things always seem to fall into place here, like there is no bad timing in Ivydell. Things happen when they’re meant to happen.

I’ve been thinking a lot about timing lately, and about the winery plans that I abandoned. It was meant to be a partnership, and I lost my partner. But when I look to the future, I see that biodynamic winery again. My mind reels with new plans and a different place, one that might work out better than my original idea. I see a new way to make it my own.

And more and more, I see a new partner—not for the winery, but for everything.

“Has anyone ever been bitten by a rattlesnake in Ivydell?”

“Not in the four years I’ve been here.”

“Is there any antivenom here?”

“No. Petra says she knows a Native remedy, but she’d just use it to buy time until we could get someone to the hospital.”

“I wonder if there are still people who use the old remedy alone.”

“Maybe. I’m taking this fish inside. You better follow me if you want to eat.”

“So romantic.”

“You don’t like romance.”

“Just checking to see if you were paying attention.” She stands and smiles. With the setting sun as a backdrop, it would make a beautiful photograph. But she’s no less beautiful when she catches up to me, leaving the sun behind.

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