Page 76 of In this Moment

Chapter Nineteen

LaborDay

The entire town had come out for the Labor Day festival, or at least it seemed that way to Declan. Main Street was jam-packed with venders selling lemonade, ice cream, mini donuts, and pretty much every other festival food one could think of. Kids ran around with balloons, their faces painted in a variety of superhero renditions. And from somewhere down the street, likely coming from the Grizzly Paw, strains of music floated over theair.

Declan took his time winding his way through town, waving at everyone he knew and even those he didn’t. It had been a long time since he’d had a real home, but he couldn’t think of any place better than Cedar Springs to put down roots. Especially considering that’s where Evie and Jonahwere.

It had only been a few weeks since he’d made their engagement official, but he still got butterflies when he thought of Evie and how close he’d come to walking away from the best thing he’d ever had. Not that he ever had to worry about that again.

Noway.

That was all definitely in thepast.

He strolled by the newest addition to town, Scott Harding, the owner of Scott’s Stop, who was set up outside of his café, handing out mini sandwiches.

Noticing him, Scott waved him over. “Can I interest you in a panini?”

“Absolutely. Some of the best intown.”

Scott grinned. “Some?”

“Okay,” Declan agreed. “Definitely the best we’ve had here.” He accepted Scott’s offering. “How’s it going anyway? Enjoying the festival?”

“Absolutely. Although, I have to admit., I don’t even know what we’re celebrating. Cedar Springs sure likes its parties.”

Declan laughed. “It’s true. Any excuse for a party. Even if it’s the end of summer. And tonight, it’s the big premiere of Mr. Summer on the great lawn outside of the Grizzly Paw.You can’t missthat.”

“That’s right. I definitely won’t miss that. I’m the new guy, after all—I need to be seen at all the coolest parties.”

Declan laughed. Scott might be the new guy, but he was fitting in just fine with everyone. “I’m just on my way now to pick up Evie and join the rest of the family for the celebration. I’ll see you later?”

“Absolutely,” Scott said, and then he hesitated. “You wouldn’t happen to know if your little sister will be there, doyou?”

“Chelsea?” As if he were talking about anyone else. Declan remembered Chelsea mentioning Scott Harding a few weeks ago in a vague sort of way. “She’ll be there. And she’s not working, so I’m sure she’d be available for a dance later.”

The other man laughed, but Declan didn’t miss the flash of interest in his eyes. “Sounds good. I’ll see you laterthen.”

Dec shook his head as he walked away. He needed to stop thinking of Chelsea as a little girl. She could make her own decisions, and from what Declan could see, Scott seemed like a good guy. Chelsea had definitely had some issues with love in the past. It was the whole reason Declan had asked Ian to take her in for the summer and give her a new environment to start fresh. It hadn’t been an easy transition for either Ian or Chelsea, but not only had they both managed and finally gotten to know each other, they actually discovered that they liked each other. It was a win-win as far as Declan was concerned, bringing all his siblings together, finally.

All except Amber.

But she was busy getting her degree and getting ready to make her way in the world. Last he heard, she was headed to visit a friend in some random small town—Hope Falls, Nebraska, of all places—before starting a new job in the fall. Maybe he’d be able to convince her to come up for a quick visit? He made a mental note to give her a call and see whether he could make that happen.

But first, Evie.

His fiancée stood outside her shop surrounded by people in her small booth where he knew she was selling Live, Love, Lake merchandise and handing out suckers to the kids. Judging by the crowd around her, business was brisk but the moment she saw him, she excused herself and left her employee, April, in charge, as she came over to give him akiss.

“Looks like things are going well,” he said. “Prettybusy?”

“We are. It’s been great and so much fun. But I’m almost ready to get out of here. April has it covered.”

“You’resure?”

“Absolutely. She’s really stepped up this summer. I couldn’t do it without her. Besides, we’re meeting Tony and Lauren down at the lawn to watch Jonah in the three-legged race in twenty minutes.”

“I wouldn’t missthat.”

“Right?” Evie laughed. It was so good to see her laugh, especially when discussions of Jonah’s dad came up. The whole issue for custody had sorted itself out, with Tony and Lauren agreeing to a less drastic custody situation to ease Jonah into a shared arrangement. They all agreed it was best for him to see as much as his dad as he wanted, and together the four of them were able to work out a very friendly situation where they actually all worked together, putting Jonah first. Declan never would have imagined it would have worked out so smoothly, but he was incredibly glad ithad.

---