Page 62 of When It Reins
The thought burned and renewed a sense of purpose in me. Our charity concert is coming up, and technically, I still need to ask Mitch for help at the bar, to bring extra security—for free labor—to help us all out.
Felicity had agreed quickly to the whole plan, like I had a suspicion she would, and we were ready for a full night of fun entertainment.
“You gonna tell me about your meeting?” Mitch muses, wandering next to me as I finish off the muffin and toss my trash.
“Hmm.” He lasted longer than I thought he would, but I’m still nervous about what he’s going to say, so I change the subject. “I love those rocking chairs you bought. They’ll look great on your front porch.”
He turns to me, his gaze skeptical, but he nods. “Ethan does great work. They’ll be good for us.”
My heart blooms at his words, and I gaze up at him, stopping us in the middle of the crowded and busy street. “For us?”
He frowns, like my words sound crazy. “Of course. Who else would I sit with?”
I grin, picturing it for a moment until I feel his lips touch mine. I melt into the man, letting him hold me close and kiss the bejeezus out of me right there in the middle of the street. I give myself over to him, letting him pull me closer and closer until I’m dang near ready to climb him like a tree right here and now.
“Juniper!” a voice calls, breaking the trance Mitch put me under, and we pull away just enough for air, his forehead resting on mine. “Juniper Weaver! Over here! I’m not in your man’s eyes there, girlie.”
I smile and turn away, already knowing based on the comments who I am going to find.
Rosemary.
“Hey there, Rose. What are you doing?” I accept the hug she gives and smile over her shoulder at Sienna. I still haven’t had much chance to get to know her, but she is helping with the event and is supposed to come over this week for setup.
“Just tracking you down. Look.” She holds up a piece of paper, and I take it, my eyes skimming over it as a smile forms.
“This looks great!” I look back at her. “Who made this?”
She juts her finger over her shoulder at Sienna. “This talented girl right here.”
“Sienna, these are so wonderful.”
“Good—”
Sienna is cut off by Rosemary. The woman seems to be on a mission and won’t be deterred.
“Glad you like them. I printed three hundred.”
My eyes widen as she reaches under the stroller Sienna is pushing and hands me a large stack. “Spread them everywhere. There’s no better opportunity for the word to get out than when everyone is in town.”
“Okay—” But before I can say another word, the woman is off, talking to another person and handing them a flyer. Sienna gives me a sheepish smile and walks off after Rosemary.
With all my distractions, I don’t realize for a moment that Mitch has snatched one of the flyers and is reading it over. His expression is hard to gauge, but when his eyes meet mine, I can tell he’s conflicted.
“So this was your meeting last week,” he says, bringing the conversation he started to have with me back up.
“I…Yes. It was.” I stand my ground, knowing that he told me to stay out of the issues they were having with the Four Foxes community.
“I told you to drop it.” His tone is not accusatory, like I expect. More like reaffirming his statement.
“I know.” I hold my head high, meeting his eyes. “I understand you are worried for my safety. I do. But the truth is I can’t sit back and watch people suffer, knowing there’s something I can do to help.”
He hums in his throat, folding the flyer and sticking it in his back pocket, all the while his eyes are latched on mine.
I wait, knowing that he’s processing all this new information, and when he opens his mouth to berate me, I’m ready for it.
“How can I help?”
I blink, letting the air out of my lungs that I was holding in and give him a beaming smile, one that he almost returns.
