Page 35 of Fake-Off with Fate
Me
Just follow the crowd.
Jamie
Are you serious?
Me
Jamie, this is Maple Falls, not New York. Trust me, you really can’t miss it.
On the way to the market, the gravity of what’s happening hits me. My hometown is in serious jeopardy. I’m just grateful my dad will be home next week, and he’ll be able to take over. All I have to do is get the ball rolling and then I can go back to LA and my own life.
The parking lot around the farmers’ market is packed, so I have to park a good distance from the entrance. I see several people I know on the way in. Some of them I simply wave to, but others, like Bailey, I stop to chat with. I’m also eyeing her delicious-looking maple butter products she’s carrying in for her booth.
When I finally arrive at the entrance, I spot Jamie waiting for me. He’s talking to two young boys that I don’t know. Hurrying to his side, I tell him, “Sorry it took me so long. I bumped into half the town in the parking lot.”
“No worries,” he says before turning his attention back to the boys. “I’ll be looking for you two at the arena, okay?” They nod enthusiastically before running away. “Two of Troy Hart’s boys,” he tells me.
Before we can walk in, a woman about my age runs over to us. I’m half-convinced she’s going to hit us bowling-ball style, but she slows down at the last minute. “Jamie!” she calls out.
The look on my new friend’s face suggests she’s someonehe’s not happy to see. “A fan?” I guess. The interloper arrives before he can answer.
“Emily,” he says to her. “What are you doing here?”
“I followed you from the arena.”Hmm, maybe she’s a stalker.
“I wish you wouldn’t have.” He steps in front of me like he’s trying to shield me.
The woman looks around him right at me and asks, “Ashlyn?”
“Do I know you?” Just because I don’t recognize her doesn’t mean we didn’t go to school together or something. People do change.
She looks so happy, I’m convinced we must have been best friends at some point. “You’re Ashlyn, right?” she repeats.
I step around Jamie and tell her, “Ashlyn Thompkins. Did you go to Maple Falls High?”
She shakes her head. “I’m a reporter forHockeymagazine. I have a couple of questions for you, if you don’t mind.”
How in the world did the press get ahold of the Victor MacDonald story already? I’ve only known about it for a day. “Did Alexander MacDonald contact you?” I ask, sounding a bit more hostile than I intended.
“Who’s that?” she asks.
Well, if she doesn’t know, I’m sure as heck not going to tell her. “No one,” I mumble before asking, “What could you possibly want to talk to me about?”
“Jamie Hayes,” she says excitedly.
The color drains from Jamie’s face. “Please, Emily, I told you I’m not ready to talk about this publicly yet.”
“That doesn’t mean Ashlyn isn’t,” she says with a near-maniacal grin on her face.
My head swivels between the two of them. “Ready to talk about what?”
Jamie agitatedly says, “Nothing. There’s nothing to talk about.”
At the same time, Emily states, “I want to ask you about yourrelationship with Jamie. He claims he’s not ready to share that you’re his new girlfriend, but seeing as you’re standing right here, I figure you might have something you’d like to say.”
“His new what, now?” I want to know.
