Page 69 of All Dressed Up

“No!” She came over and swatted him playfully with the flowers, sitting back down and admiring her makeshift bouquet. “I didn’t even really speak to him back in high school. He hung out with Donovan, but he was two grades behind us.” She touched one of the petals. She’d never seen a prettier pink. Not even from the ones she ordered from her favorite flower farm.

“What about a big game?” Jessie asked. “Did anything significant ever happen on this football field?”

“I don’t think so.” She thought back to her high school days. “I mean, unless you want to call a nearly undefeated team extraordinary... I was a cheerleader, so I was out here a lot for practice and home games.”

“Anything involving Will?”

Not that she could think of. “He was on the football team, but like I said, we barely spoke.” She paused. “There was a homecoming game my senior year where I asked Adam Reed out. That was a pretty big night.” She turned to Jesse. “But that didn’t have anything to do with Will.”

He nodded to the flowers on her lap. “No?”

“I don’t think so.” She arranged the bouquet, moving the longer stems to the back. “I asked Adam if he was my secret admirer, but he said he wasn’t. The flowers stopped coming after we started dating.” She paused for a second. “You don’t think...”

“That Will was your—what did you call him?”

“Buttermilk Blooms Bandit,” she said in a whisper, her heart racing. Had Will had a crush on her all those years ago? “Did Will give me these?”

Jesse shrugged.

“Ask Mary,” she demanded, tapping his arm. “Ooooh, don’t forget to ask about Will’s note. Is that why we’re here? Where do we find it?”

“I’ll try.” He closed his eyelids.

Enough of the eye closing. Rachel stood, flowers in hand. She didn’t need Jesse or Mary. Not when she could march back to her flower shop and ask Will if he was her Buttermilk Blooms Bandit. Maybe if he admitted it was him, it would be a step closer to finding his heart.

She started to walk away. Jesse could stay out here and commune with Mary for the rest of the day. She had things to do. “I need to go find Wi—”

“Video camera,” Jesse shouted.

She spun around. “What?”

“Video camera. There was someone taping you all during that homecoming game.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m seeing a cheerleader with long brown hair holding up a large video camera, and it’s pointed at you and some young chap. Tall guy.”

That had to be Adam. Curious, she retreated her steps. “What’s happening?”

He shook his head and slowly got up. “That’s all I got.”

“Nothing about a note from Will?”

“Nope.”

Rachel thought back to the homecoming night. She remembered that the cheerleaders had huddled in a circle. They were playing a game of truth or dare. Someone had dared her to go ask Adam out, and when she didn’t, her best friend had set down her video camera and given her some encouragement.

Her hand flew to cover her mouth. “Someone did video that night. My best friend, Bethany Wilson. The reason I remember is because last fall, she’d spliced some of the footage for Caitlin Stevens.”

“Caitlin Stevens?” His eyebrows scrunched.

Oh, right. He probably doesn’t know much about the residents in this town, including the ones he’s related to by marriage. “Josh Stevens’s wife.”

“Little Joshy is married?”

“Um... yeah. Little Joshy married Caitlin Reynolds. They own the Majestic Theater.”

“Oh.” He squinted up. “Are they happy?”

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