Page 81 of Hometown Girl

Molly smacked her hand down on the table. “So, the Fairwind Farm Market.”

“Right.” Beth opened her laptop. “I didn’t realize these markets could be such a draw. But we have the perfect venue to make this a huge success.”

“I’m starting to realize what I’ve gotten myself into,” Callie said. “I forgot you don’t do anything small.”

That included making mistakes.

Ugh.What was wrong with her? Why did a crumpled-up note in a trash can have this kind of effect on her?

“I think we can really create an event that will put Fairwind back on the map,” she said, forcing the ugly thoughts out of her mind. “That means a whole lot more work than we anticipated.”

“Sounds good to me,” Molly said. “It’s not like we can do much else around here. There’s only so many times I can mow the lawn and you can water your vegetables.”

“I resent that,” Beth said. “If we had time, we could learn to do all this stuff.”

“Oh, I forgot. You’re all ‘I am woman, hear me roar.’” Molly rolled her eyes.

“You forgot that?” Callie asked. “She came out of the womb roaring.”

Molly laughed. “That’s true. Who needs a man? Not my sister! They’ll just get in her way.”

Beth straightened. “That’s not true.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “Beth. Please. Do you know yourself at all?”

She looked away. “We need to talk about this sale. We need to make it the event of the year. I was thinking of asking Dina Larson for some help.”

Both Callie and Molly stopped moving and stared at her, wide-eyed.

“I’m sorry, what?” Callie set her muffin down. “Dina Larson?”

“She was out here last week. Said she’d help with advertising for the farm. I’m sure she’d help with this too.”

“We can’t afford her,” Molly said.

“She said she’d give me the best-friend discount.”

“She’s not your best friend.” Callie sounded defensive.

“I know,” Beth said. “But she offered.”

Callie took a bite, chewed it slowly. “It would probably be good for her, I guess.”

Beth frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I hear things sometimes,” she said. “At work.”

Molly’s eyes darted to Beth, then back to Callie. “And?”

“I heard her husband is leaving her. Her grandma Ginny told my mom.”

Beth’s shoulders slumped at the news. What if Dina hadn’t come out to Fairwind to rub her success in Beth’s face at all? What if she’d simply needed a friend? Beth hadn’t been what she was looking for, she was sure. She’d been far too untrusting to see Dina’s actions as anything other than patronizing.

What if Dina Larson’s perfect life ... wasn’t?

“I’ll reach out to her,” Beth said. “And I’ll work on a website. Molly, can you reach out to vendors, since you seem to understand the way this world works?”

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll start today.”

---