I’m having more fun than I have in a long time, but I don’t want to admit that out loud to Weston.
After breakfast yesterday, we were surprised by an opening day parade for the Shamrock Shuffle with musicians, floats and the Enchanted Hollow High School marching band. Without myplanner in hand, I forgot there was one and we spent the time after just seeing what there was to do.
No plans.
Weston felt sorry that Bailey missed out on the fun and brought him with us today. The town wide scavenger hunt has been far more entertaining than I expected it to be. I’ve snuck him more than one piece of food, quickly googling beforehand to make sure I wasn’t about to accidentally poison Weston’s best friend.
“Are you sure we don’t need to sit down?” I ask again for the fifth time in probably twenty minutes.
He’s not really showing signs that he’s hurting, but I’m learning quickly that Weston doesn’t hesitate to put me first. Even though it’s only been a couple of days, he’s showing me that people can be full ofgoodsurprises.
I’m wary, but I can feel a flicker of the hope that Laila and Ella never stop talking about. That doesn’t mean I’m okay with him hurting himself though. He’s got a career to factor in and I’m only here for a week.
“I’m fine, Bridget,” he insists. He’s stubborn and probably determined since we’re down to our last scavenger hunt clue.
I don’t need to see it again to pull the clue straight from memory:
Find where the world between worlds grows thin,
A circle of green, where wishes begin.
“This whole town is magical.‘Where the world between worlds grows thin’. My first thought is the wishing well, but we’ve already been there.”
“It’s got to be a faerie ring,” he mutters.
“And what does that look like?”
“You believe in magic, but don’t know your folklore.” He shakes his head, heading toward a wooded trail behind the downtown area.
He’s got a point, but I’m not about to tell him that. “I like that album. Evermore too. They’re sister albums, you know.”
“But you prefer Speak Now.”
I stumble over a rock and stare at his back. “Says who?”
“The house.” He chuckles. “I swear it played half the album last night while I was cooking dinner. And before you say anything, I finally started looking up the songs because some were getting familiar. Never expected to be held hostage in an enchanted rental with a Swiftie but here we are. Right Bailey?”
Weston is also exhausting. The second I think I’m starting to figure him out, he shifts and surprises me again.
I don’t love surprises.
My foot slips in a small patch of mud. “That’s not good,” I grumble.
“What’s wrong?” He stops and glances over his shoulder.
“Mud on my shoe.”
“Toss them in the wash when we get back.”
He takes a step forward and I stare at his back. “I can’t wash these in a washer. Are you kidding?”
“I told you to wear your tennis shoes,” he yells back in a sing-song voice.
He’s right. He did.
“They didn’t go with this outfit,” I grumble.
He literally came into my room before we left and went through my closet and drawers, yanking out yoga pants and an Ever After Farms tee, gesturing wildly that I was entirely too worried about what to wear for a scavenger hunt.