Page 23 of Clumsy in Love

A tree? In NYC?

Central Park. Two tree emojis.

Why didn’t you climb down? Leave it to you…Eye roll emoji.

Hurt my ankle. Running from a murderer!!!Runner emoji.

WHAT?? Hol-ly! When are you coming home?Two big eyes emoji.

How’d you get down?

Tomorrow. If I survive that long. Cop thought he could catch me. Squished him like a pancake.Stack of pancakes emoji. Laughing with tears emoji.

Whose phone are you using?Phone emoji.

Cop emoji. Stack of pancakes emoji.Gotta go.

Cole chuckled and shook his head. The last text was short and sweet.

En route from the airport. Best behavior tonight. Or else…

That was followed by four thumbs-up emojis from four different numbers.

When he returned to the table, they’d finished their food and were talking about the upcoming Fourth of July festivities.

“We’ll do it like we always do,” Faith said. “Too bad Maddie couldn’t stay an extra couple of days.”

“I feel terrible about her coming to town for nothing,” Holly said.

“Not nothing,” Juliet said. “The fam was glad to see her.”

“Maddie and Juliet are sisters,” Faith explained under her breath to Cole. So far, he’d kept up with all the new names, but since he wasn’t invested in getting too chummy with everyone, he just nodded.

They finished their drinks and said goodbye. Next stop, Farmer Jen’s.

This oughta be good, he thought.

Holly directed him out of town to a small farm close to the base of the mountains. He shut off the truck and got out. The only noises were crickets and frogs. The only lights were the moon, the stars, and Jen’s porch light.

He stared up at the dark, dark sky. “I am so far from home.”

She chuckled. “Can’t beat nights like this though, huh, city boy?”

A woman, Cole guessed to be in her late sixties, came out on the porch to greet them. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected but was happy to note there were no overalls or straw hats involved. Jen wrapped Holly in a hug and then threw her arms around him!

“Cole.” She breathed into his neck. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He stood rooted in place, unsure how to handle the intimate greeting.

“Jen.” Holly laughed. “I don’t think Cole’s a hugger.”

Jen pulled back. “Well, I am. Come on. Let’s go inside, and you can tell me what’s going on.”

Cole returned to the truck and hauled in their luggage. Holly was regaling Jen with her New York trip when he entered.

“So, anyway, Cole’s here to make sure the bad guy doesn’t take me out.” She sliced a hand across her neck. “It’s probably not necessary, but better safe than sorry.”

“Thank you for letting us stay here, Jen,” Cole said. “Do you mind if I have a look around?”

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