Page 11 of Searching for Sadie
The way she chuckled before answering him wasn't lost on him.
"What's funny?"
"Nothing, just this place. I remember the first time I came to visit my aunt. I was probably about eight maybe. I always loved coming to visit. While I grew up in Tennessee, it never felt as smalltown as this does."
He nodded. "Yeah... we definitely have a whole Mayberry thing going for us."
"You do."
"Do you like it? I know it's not for everyone."
"I do. While I never thought I would end up here, it might be just what I need."
"Oh yeah?" he asked, hoping she would continue. It sounded like there was a lot more to that story and he would love to hear it. In fact, he found himself hanging on her every word, hungry for any new morsel of who she was. He hadn't felt this way for a long time. Longer than he cared to remember.
"Yeah... I was just ready for a change."
It looked like that was all he was going to get for now, and that was fine, he was a patient man.
As they turned the corner the sounds of the carnival filled the air. Summer was a fun time here in Mystic Falls, but honestly this town didn’t need an excuse to throw a carnival. There was at least one a month. He knew this kind of life wasn't for everyone, but he loved it. The whole town was like having a giant extended family.
The silence they were walking in was oddly comfortable. Lucas enjoyed a comfortable silence. But the urge to reach out and hold her hand that accompanied it, that was new. Unbeknownst to him, a small smile had pulled across his face as Sadie looked up at him.
"What?" she asked.
He cocked his head not entirely sure what she was talking about.
"You were smiling."
"Oh," he said, giving his head a little shake. "I guess I'm just enjoying the warm weather and the good company."
Her mouth turned up a little before she bit her lip and looked at the sidewalk. There was something about her that he couldn’t put his finger on... but he found himself wanting to put his fingers all over her.
As they continued down the block the town square came into view.
A small gasp left her lips. The pride that puffed his chest was new. Especially since he hadn't done anything to help with this particular festival. This was all the fire department. But still he found himself proud of his little town. As they got closer the smell of barbequing meat made his mouth water.
"A Ferris wheel?"
He nodded. "Wanna take a spin later?" he asked with a wag of his eyebrows.
This time the smile stretched all the way across her face, his mind instantly started making a list of things that made her smile. He realized he hadn't seen a smile this big from her before, but he would see it again before the night was over. He would make sure of that.
"I don't think I've ridden one of those since I was a kid."
"Well, it looks like we need to rectify that before the night is over."
They continued into the square that had been blocked off. On one side the fire house was manning a couple giant grills making food. The other had a string of booths with things for sale and some fun games to play. The other two had a variety of fair rides.
"Are you hungry?"
"I could eat," she said, glancing up at him, but not too long. She was too busy taking in her new surroundings. "Wow! This is straight out of a Hallmark movie."
"Yeah... That's not the first time I've heard that," he said as they made their way to the grill.
"Two pork chops sandwiches and two apple fry pies."
Sadie moved to get money out of her purse, but Lucas already paid by the time she got it out.
