Page 53 of Honey Be Mine
“I know it was.” Everett grinned down at the baby. “You tell your momma how it is, Fi.” He carried the baby around the table and sat facing them. Once he had Fiona settled comfortably against his chest, he looked up at Rosemary. “How’s it going? Are you all ready for the Bar-Bee-Q and Beverages Fest? It’s weekend after next.”
Rosemary was still processing how incredibly handsome he looked with a baby in his arms. It took her a minute to realize both he and Lorna were looking at her expectantly. “What?” She froze, his words finally sinking in. “Oh, well...”
“Everett Taggert. Stop being mean.” Lorna giggled. “Don’t fret, Rosemary. We’re ready to go. Sign-ups are done. Everyone’s paid. And the map has already been sent out.” She flipped through the binder and pointed. “All here. It’ll be easy. Everyone who’s coming this year has participated before. And anyway, Everett has promised he will be on hand to help you out.”
Everett sat back in his chair, gently patting baby Fiona on the back, a crooked grin on his face. “I’m not worried. Rosebud and I will be just fine.”
Everett might not be worried, but she definitely was. That crooked grin knocked the air from her lungs and erased any and all doubt she’d had about how she felt for this gorgeous, kindhearted man. Falling for Everett was no longer a hypothetical.
It was real.
It had happened.
She was in love with her best friend. Wholly. Unconditionally.
And even though it hurt, terribly, to know he no longer returned the sentiment, she’d do her best to give him the help he needed—without letting her heart get in the way.
ITWASMONDAY. In every sense of the word. He’d barely stepped foot inside his office when he’d gotten the call from Mayor Ludwig in Willow Creek. It’d been stupid to hope this whole paintball thing was over, but after an uneventful weekend, he’d hoped anyway.
Willow Creek was the worst so far. From the looks of it, the perpetrators had stood in one spot and unloaded a barrage of paintballs on the bronze statue of the town founder, Lyman Adams, and the massive old willow tree behind it. The paint was so thick, no bronze was visible. He was no expert, but he was pretty sure safely cleaning the bronze was going to be no easy feat. Mayor Ludwig and the city council had all been on hand—understandably sad and angry.
He’d been pissed off and out of sorts the whole drive home. Hell, he’d probably still be upset. But Libby had told him Rosebud was here, and for reasons he wasn’t going to dig into, his temper steadied some.
Now he was holding sweet little Fiona, sitting across from Rosebud, and things were starting to look up. But, man, he did wish he could read Rosebud’s thoughts. She was wearing the strangest expression. Surprised, sort of. Resigned? Disappointed? There was a whole bunch going on inside that beautiful head of hers.
Fiona wriggled and squirmed against him, grunted once, then let out a big burp.
Everett laughed. “Dainty little thing, isn’t she?”
“Her daddy would be proud.” Lorna laughed. “She’ll settle down now, you’ll see.”
“One burp, and all’s right with the world?” Everett sighed. “Wouldn’t that be nice.”
“Libby mentioned Willow Creek.” Rosebud’s brow furrowed. “Was it bad?”
“Folk aren’t happy.” He kept patting Fiona’s back. “I’m hoping they’ll post again soon, and maybe there’ll be something useful.”
“All this social media stuff.” Lorna closed the binders, stacked them together, and slid them to Rosemary. “The kids seem to think it’s a fast way to get famous—no matter what they do.”
“It’s amazing the power it can wield.” Rosemary’s gaze flitted from his face to baby Fi. “Dane and Tansy seem to have it figured out. They’ve started getting stuff from companies and fans to test in their videos or live feeds. Sort of like a sponsorship.” Rosebud tucked a long strand of her dark red hair behind her ear. “It’s really helped with online sales, too. I can’t see [email protected] for the same results.”
“Who knows, maybe they’re hoping to get endorsed by a paintball company.” Everett chuckled.
“Can you imagine?” Rosebud’s green, green eyes went round. “That would be horrible.”
“Knock, knock.” Libby opened the door. “There’s a delivery for you, Everett.” She paused. “Oh, look at you with that baby? Isn’t that a picture? How sweet is that?” She fluttered her eyes—it was a newer habit he’d noticed.
Everett stood, continuing to pat little Fiona’s back. “What sort of delivery?”
“Oh, you should come and see.” Libby waved him forward. “It’s a...surprise.”
He wasn’t in the mood for any more surprises. “Good or bad?” He frowned at the odd smile on the woman’s face.
“I guess that’s up to you.” She shrugged and left the room.
“Great.” He bent to hand Fiona back to her mother.
“Let Rosemary hold her for a while.” Lorna nodded at Rosebud. “I have one more thing I need to show her, and then we’re done for the day.”
