Page 84 of Falling For You

“Ah, can’t win them all,” I joked, rolling my eyes.

She gave me a sympathetic grin.

“Hey, Vi. Can you tell Evie how incredible my hard cider is? She doesn’t believe me.” He laughed. “I don’t even know if she believes I make it.”

I chuckled and nodded. “Oh, it’s good stuff. We keep telling him he needs to go into the adult beverage business.”

“And I just might, as long as the lodge is my first customer.” He laughed.

“That’s why we’re here, right? We must ensure Honey Leaf is still standing to order it.”

Liam nodded solemnly. “So true.”

Evie glanced at him. “So, what would you call your hard cider? Lickin’ Liam’s cider?”

He chuckled and shook his head, scowling. “Remind me never to use you as a name picker outer.”

She grinned. “It wasn’tthatbad.”

“It kind of was.” I laughed.

“In all seriousness, if I ever do it… I’m going to call it Red Barn Cider.”

“Wow. I’m impressed,” Evie said.

“Me too.” I nodded.

A bullhorn cracked, and I jumped about two feet off the ground. Millie glared at the contraption in her hand as she kept talking into it, but only squeals and booms came out.

Mr. Carter, one of the older retirees around town, walked over and helped her with it and started speaking. “This old man’s still got a few fights left in him. Judging by the crowd today, I’d say we all do.”

The crowd burst into cheers as he handed it back to Millie.

“We’re dividing our group into two. We need about half to stay here and the other half to march toward Vern’s house. We don’t want to make him uncomfortable, but we hope he notices the signs. So just walk by his driveway and comeon back to town. The goal is to make an impression.” Millie looked at me and nodded as one of her granddaughters stood beside her.

Grace waved her homemade sign proudly. It read,Buttercup Lake is ours. Not YOURS!

“Now, Violet. Can you come up here and say a few words?” Millie asked.

I hadn’t planned on giving a pep talk, but I felt the weight of the town’s eyes on me and smiled. I walked over to Millie and took a deep breath as I grabbed the bullhorn.

“Thank you all for being here.” My voice sounded stronger than I felt. “We’re not just standing here for a piece of land today. We’re standing here for our town, for everything Buttercup Lake represents. This place isn’t just about tourism or making a quick buck—it’s about community, about families who have lived here for generations. Buttercup Lake is about the small businesses that keep us going and the peace and quiet that makes this place special. Most importantly, it’s about being informed citizens. We should have heard about this purchase. But I feel it in my bones. It’s not too late to make a difference.”

I scanned the crowd, catching familiar faces constantly nodding.

It felt good to see.

“They think they can come in, throw money around, and change what we love about this town. But they’re wrong. We are stronger than that. We’ve built something here, and we won’t letthem take it away from us! Today, we stand united, determined to protect what is ours.”

The crowd erupted in cheers, and I raised my hand. “This is our home, and we fight to keep it cute.”

I caught sight of something that made my heart speed up. A local news van had pulled up with the large letters ofWBOPemblazoned on the side.

A couple of crew stood at the back of the crowd, filming us.

If I had seen that before I started speaking, I would have frozen up like a popsicle.

But the sight sent a ripple of excitement and nerves through me now. I was on a roll.

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