Page 47 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
“I certainly hope not,” Erin said. Carter looked sheepish. Leaning around him again, she told Thad, “It was just a little joke between Lily and me.”
And the rest of the town, apparently. Word had gone from Big Rich to everyone else; every booth they stopped at, someone would introduce themselves to “Willard” and be sure to mention how good it was to see “our Erin” with someone steady. Erin thought her teeth might crack from gritting them, but the guys played along, never once giving a hint that Carter was not, in fact, Willard the Peacock.
Even Linc got into the game when they arrived at Gimme Sugar’s booth. Much to Erin’s—and Thad’s—amusement, the famous chef and his fiancée were dressed as pirates in flashy old-world costumes. Linc even sported a gold ring in his ear that Erin secretly thought was incredibly sexy. She eyed Carter, imagining his hair long enough to curl, combined with that close-cut beard, the serious expression, and a flash of gold in one ear. He must’ve interpreted her look correctly because he gave her a frowning shake of his head in return.
She pouted to express her disappointment.
“Well, hello,Willard!” Carter’s friend called as they approached.
Carter grumbled under his breath.
“What was that?” Linc brought a hooked hand to his gold-decorated ear. “I couldn’t hear you over all the squawking going around.”
“I’m not the onestruttingaround, proudly displaying his feathers,” Carter said, pointing to the black feather sticking out of Linc’s hat.
Claire laughed. “There is only one man around here that’s as proud as a peacock.”
Linc scooped her against him and nuzzled his nose into her neck. “And I have every right to be.”
She swatted him playfully. “Wanna decorate a cookie, Thad?”
While Thad chose a pumpkin sugar cookie from the array of options and moved down the table toward the orange icing, Linc kept up his teasing. Erin abandoned the two men in favor of helping Thad with piping and sprinkles.
“Those two are crazy,” Claire said.
“They certainly are. Carter has let the entire town believe he’s Willard.”
“And Willard’s a peacock,” Thad proclaimed, seeming as proud as one of the notorious birds to be in on the joke.
Claire laughed. “I’ve met him,” she told Thad. “He’s not as nice as your dad.”
“Definitely not,” Erin agreed.
Claire gave her a knowing look. “I think we need a girl’s night so you can fill me in on what’s going on. I’ve been too busy with the festival preparations and Linc being here to get the latest gossip.”
“I’m sure we’ll have time tomorrow night when you come up to the mansion.” Erin offered Thad the purple sprinkles to go on his pumpkin cookie, noticing the boy had a smear of orange icing on his cheek. “Looks like someone is decorating himself as well as the cookies.”
Thad laughed, swiping the icing from his face and sticking it into his mouth.
The two of them shared the finished cookie as they moved on. At a far corner lot, they ran into her friend Scarlett and Iris Daniels, the town’s head librarian. The two women were manning the costume booth, dressed in flashy red saloon girl costumes with crisp crinoline layers to lift their skirts and sexy leather boots. Erin oohed and aahed over their attire while Thad and Carter took advantage of the double row of hanging costumes. They ended up in pirate outfits that were almost as awesome as Linc’s—minus the gold earring, unfortunately—and Carter added a couple of massive feathered fans in honor of his alter ego when the two had their picture taken together.
Needless to say, Scarlett and Iris were almost as taken with Erin’s companions as Erin was.
They grabbed hot dogs at a nearby street cart; then next up came the petting zoo. As they approached, Carter leaned close to Erin, his breath warming her neck when he whispered in her ear, “Now that’s a great costume.”
Erin eyed Farmer MacDonald—yes, that was his name—standing at the entrance to the petting zoo. The man had a massive round belly that he’d covered in an old flannel shirt and ragged coveralls that strained at the middle. Muddy boots on his feet. A grizzly brown and gray beard that fell almost halfway down his chest. A straw hat protected what she knew was a mostly bald head, and the pièce de résistance was the thick piece of hay sticking out of his mouth. She turned to Carter.
“That’s not a costume. That’s how Ol’ MacDonald always looks.”
Carter’s mouth dropped open.
Thad, of course, heard her. She was learning that he heard pretty much everything.
“Is his name really Ol’ MacDonald?”
At least the child had discretion down pat; he kept his voice low.
“His last name is MacDonald, and I guess officially he’s Farmer MacDonald,” Erin told him. “But we’ve called him Ol’ MacDonald since I was a kid.”
