Page 20 of Clumsy in Love

An hour and a half and a stiff back later, Holly pointed him off the freeway and into town. It was dusk, but he could see they’d gone all out for the Fourth of July. They passed white picket fences lined with American flags. On Main Street, red, white, and blue bunting adorned every storefront. And from each quaint lamppost hung baskets overflowing with red and white flowers.

Holly directed him to a restaurant called The Rusty Nail, and he parked in a gravel lot full of pickups. Cole got out and rubbed his back.

“Ya good?” Holly asked, noting his discomfort.

“Newer cars have better ergonomics,” he said. “But I’ll be fine.”

A group of four women rushed out of the building. Holly ran to them, slightly favoring her uninjured leg. He stood by as they hugged and greeted each other. Except for one, who was noticeably shorter than the rest, they were all tall, athletic, and seemed to be very familiar with each other.

He scanned the parking lot but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Well, unless you counted a couple of horses tied to a nearby fence. That was weird. Holly noticed him gaping.

“You ain’t in New York City anymore,” she teased. “Come meet my friends.”

He walked to where they stood.

“These are my best friends in the world, minus one. Maddie went back to California already. Faith, Alex, Tess, and Juliet, this is Cole.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, nodding to the four of them, committing their names and faces to memory. Alex would be easy to remember—she was the only short one.

Faith looped her arm in his, and he stiffened, surprised by the sudden close contact.

Holly laughed. “This is going to be fun. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Tess said.

“Yeah, so?” Holly said, leading the group into the restaurant. “Alex, you got the stuff?”

Alex laughed and produced a cell phone. “I opened and charged it for you.”

“Oh, sweet poison. Come to momma.” Holly grabbed the phone and kissed it. “How I’ve missed you.”

“Get a room,” Tess said.

Holly slipped the phone into her pocket. “Thanks, Al. Shut up, Tess.”

Inside, classic country music flowed from overhead speakers, and the scent of grilled onions and meat made his stomach growl. From floor to ceiling, everything was different shades of wood. Black and white pictures covered the walls—mountains, lakes, farms, and a town square in various stages of construction.

One ginormous picture stood out. It was a girls high school basketball team, captioned, “New Hampshire State Championship—2017.” The young women wore wide smiles and held a huge trophy as confetti rained down. He did a double take, glancing back at Holly and her besties, who had huddled up. The players’ names were etched under the photo, and heleaned in to read them. Sure enough, it was Holly and all the friends he’d just met.

“We’re mighty proud of our girls,” a deep voice said from behind.

Cole turned to face an older gentleman. He wore a wide straw hat and a white bushy mustache. “We’ve never had a better team—boys or girls. Those gals brought the town together like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Sure,” Cole said.

“Gordon Hayes.” The man thrust out a meaty hand, and Cole shook it. “Town sheriff. You new ’round here?”

“Oh, no. I’m here with Holly.” Cole pointed at Holly and her pals, who were still locked in conversation.

The man’s eyebrows shot up.

“Actually, I’m glad I ran into you,” Cole said. He gave a brief explanation of why he was in town and the trouble Holly was in. He gave Gordon his card and asked him to call if he saw anything out of the ordinary.

“We get a lot of tourists this time of year, but I’ll keep my eyes open for sure. Let me know if you need anything.” He tipped his hat and was gone.

Cole scanned the room, but finding nothing suspicious, he tapped Holly on the shoulder. “I’ll sit at the bar while you have dinner,” he said.

“Okay,” Holly said. “Thanks.”

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