Page 44 of Fairground

I head back inside the kitchen to slice up the steak and finish the meal. From where I’m standing at the island, I can hear them at the dining room table just a few feet away laughing and talking like old friends. My dad’s got a fork in every pie, taste-testing each one like it’s his life’s work while Rae takes notes in her tablet like a pro. Between bites, he’s grilling her with questions about our town and her family while keeping the conversation rolling, and judging by the smile that’s stretched across herpretty face, she’s enjoying herself. She likes him. Which is of no surprise to anyone, but it warms my heart to know she’s at ease here.

Dad plows through another forkful of the blueberry tin, the dish already half-gone. He’s probably eaten more than enough to decide if it’s a contender or not, but that’s just how he rolls. When he likes something, he dives in which is how I can tell he likes Rae too.

I round the counter, then the table, bypassing the nine other open chairs, and settle into the one that’s right next to Rae. She stiffens without looking at me, shifting slightly in her seat, which only makes me grin. She’s trying to act like she doesn’t notice me sitting absurdly close, way too close by normal people standards, but I like watching her squirm.

“I don’t know, son, Rae’s pretty damn qualified to be the next mayor of Whitewood Creek,” my dad chimes in, his brown eyes sparkling with mischief.

I smile. “I know she is.”

“I think you’ve got your work cut out for you if you're going to try to beat her.”

I smile at her and wink. “At least we know whoever wins, the town will be in good hands.”

“That it will be…” he mutters then dips the fork into the apple that he's already tested. I groan because now the two are all mixed up. Blueberry and apple swirls are running together in the pie tin.

“There’s a reason I gave you a different fork for each pie, pops.”

“Feels like I’d be creating extra dishes when I’m the only one who’s eating out of them.”

“I’ll do the dishes later.”

He waves me off. “Nah, I got it son.”

I roll my eyes despite knowing he enjoys the work to keep him busy as Rae smiles at both of us.

“Put another checkbox in the apple and blueberry,” he mumbles between a mouthful.

“Okay…” she trails off as he hums, inspecting the cherry now. She leans over to me to whisper, “He hasn’t had a negative thing to say about any of them. How are we going to eliminate one of the vendors?”

I grin. “I know. Don’t worry about logging his ratings.” I nudge the salad towards her with the steak and point. “Now eat.”

Her eyes narrow as she stares at me. “You knew he wouldn’t be able to eliminate one?”

“My dad has never met a pie he didn’t like.”

“That seems… a bit suggestive.”

“Maybe I meant it to be.”

"A suggestive comment about your dad?" she raises a brow with a smirk. "That feels very inappropriate."

I wink as I move to stand. "We’ve already established that I can be inappropriate at times. Ask any of my siblings, I'm the most like my dad and Iloveeating pie too."

Her skin flushes instantly as her mouth drops open.

Good.

“Dad, I’m going to go take a quick shower while you two work this out and Rae eats her dinner. I’ll be back in twenty minutes, and I expect you to have the list narrowed down, okay?”

He grumbles as he dips the fork into the cherry and waves me off. “Yeah, yeah.”

I bend down to whisper in Rae's ear before leaving. “This salad bowl better be licked clean when I get back."

She wets her lips without making eye contact and I watch as the soft skin on her neck flushes.

"Good girl," I murmur as she squirms in her chair, "and when you’re finished, I’m taking you to the creek.”

“The creek?” she asks.

---