Page 60 of Fake-Off with Fate
“Did you get Alexander MacDonald to agree to sell the land?”
“Nope. But I heard from my parents,” I tell him. “They’re okay.”
“That’s the best news ever!” He sounds like he means it too. “How about if I stop by the store and buy a bottle and we can drink it at my place?”
“Your place?”
“Not as a date,” he says. “Just a place where we won’t be a source of interest.”
I no longer care if it’s a date or not. In fact, if given a choice, I think I’d like to go out on a real date with Jamie. I’m just not prepared to tell him that quite yet.
CHAPTER 28
JAMIE
After hanging up with Ashlyn,I hurry into town and buy a bottle of champagne, along with some cheese, crackers, and a couple more boxes of granola.Hibernation cannot come soon enough.
By the time I get home, Ashlyn’s already standing on my porch. “I beat you here,” she calls out.
“You should have waited in your car. It would have been safer.” That’s when I notice all the empty cereal boxes in her arms. She must have gone into the woods to pick them up.
“Have you been feeding the bears?” she asks accusingly.
“Maybe, a little.”
“Jamie,” she says sternly. “That’s not a good idea. You really don’t want to become too familiar with them.”
“Nor do I want to become their dinner.” Before she can tell me that bears don’t eat people, I add, “Or a toy they rip apart for kicks.”
I hurry to open the front door, relieved that the bear family is off somewhere else. I step back so Ashlyn can go in first and then I follow her. “So, tell me about your parents.”
She walks into the living area and sits down on the overstuffed sofa. “There’s not much to say other than they’re okay.They don’t know when they’ll be able to leave, but they have enough food and water.”
I walk into the kitchen and take two glasses out of the cabinet. Then I pull the bottle of already-chilled champagne out of the bag and open it. Once our drinks are poured, I carry the glasses into the living room. After handing one to Ashlyn, I raise mine in the air, and toast, “To your parents’ safe return.”
She clinks her glass against mine before taking a sip. Then she says, “You were the first person I wanted to tell when I heard the news.”
“That would be a compliment if I wasn’t the only person you could tell.”
Her cheeks flush slightly. “I could have told Marcy.”
“Ah, yes, I forgot about the town’s accountant.” I wink and add, “Then I’m extremely flattered that between the two of us, you wanted to tell me first.”
After taking another sip of her drink, she says, “You’ve been so supportive and encouraging. I’ve really appreciated that.”
I sit down next to her. “It’s been my pleasure. After all, I can’t have my girlfriend eaten up by anxiety.”
She rolls her eyes. “Then you should write me a check for two and a half million so I can get Alexander MacDonald off our backs.”
“If I had that kind of spare cash, I’d do it,” I tell her. Setting my glass down, I stand up and make my way to the fireplace. I put on a couple of fresh logs and kindling before using the lighter on the mantle to get it going.
Once the flame catches, I go back to the couch and tell Ashlyn, “I had a visitor today.”
“Let me guess, seventy bears showed up because they heard you were giving away granola.”
“Uh, no.”Thank goodness.“Allegra was here.”
“In Maple Falls?” Ashlyn sounds as surprised by her audacity as I was.
