Page 67 of Peach Blossom Hollow

The dog had been amazing, patient and quiet, even posing for photos with its little vest that said Please Donate to the Future Sweetheart Creek Animal Shelter. The vest had a thoughtfully placed pocket for donations, which Leo had added to. By the time Brant retrieved the animal, Leo had told him if it ever needed a home to call him.

The man had tucked a business card in Leo’s hand with a smile and a promise to phone him on Monday.

Did he even have time to take proper care of a pet, with his frequent travels? And how had that dog wormed its way into his heart so quickly, anyway?

As he passed the food trucks parked along a closed-to-traffic side street, he bought two ciders, certain Violet would be thirsty when he finally found her. Slipping back onto Main, nodding to people as he went, he thought he saw Dezzie barrel into a store called Blue Tumbleweed. He had a feeling Violet couldn’t wait to get out of her costume. Together, they’d driven into town from her house, and she’d slipped into her costume on the field. Did she need him to walk her back there to shed the costume and leave it in his car?

He entered the store, glancing around for a dragon. No sign.

He recognized Violet’s friends April and Hannah, who’d been in the parade on different floats, pitching in to help customers.

Jenny, who he’d met at Thanksgiving, said to him from her spot at the cash register, “She’s in the back performing her metamorphosis.”

“What?”

“She’s getting out of costume.”

“Oh, right. Thanks.” He set the hot paper cups on a nearby windowsill, then ducked behind a mannequin as some giggling women moved past outside. They’d already accosted him twice for selfies and had requested he give them autographs in places Family Zone wouldn’t approve of.

“You hiding?”

Leo turned, to find teammate Dylan O’Neill standing there. The Dragons’ center was out of his cast and due back on the ice as soon as his foot rehab was completed—several weeks, tops.

“Hey, what’s up? Checking out the parade?”

Dylan shrugged and glanced upward. “Yeah, thought I’d pop by. Your cowboy hat’s blinking.”

“Oh.” Leo reached up, removed it and turned off the lights, feeling guilty that Dylan hadn’t been asked to join the parade, but had come out from the city to be a part of the festivities anyway. “You should have been in the parade, man.”

“Nah, the foot.”

“You could’ve walked that far.” The town’s population was barely over 4,000, and for a bit Leo had thought the parade might loop through it twice, just to seem bigger. Then again, Violet had put him inthe parade as some sort of favor, not even inviting Maverick to join them—and he lived out here. Although, from what Leo gathered, Maverick was triple-booked these days and unlikely to be able to carve out time for something fun, like tonight. The guy’s career was exploding, and Leo couldn’t wait to see if his own did the same.

He heard a familiar voice across the store, then women whispering.

Jenny was pointing at Dylan, who was poking at a few of her displays. Western wear wasn’t the man’s style, but Leo figured he’d come for something other than a new shirt or buckle.

“Do me a favor and take him with you?” Jenny said to Violet.

She nodded and headed Leo’s way.

“Hey. Are you hiding?” she asked him.

He was still hunched behind the mannequin, but promptly straightened, trying to stop himself from staring at her lips.

She hadn’t minded the kiss.The kiss.

“There you are.” He gave her arm a squeeze, then spun, lifting the cups of cider off the windowsill. “I thought you might be thirsty, and this was the only decaffeinated warm drink I could find from the food trucks.”

“Thanks.”

“I was going to get hot chocolate from one truck, but there was a hissing armadillo with a dish of spilled corn fritters threatening anyone who came near.”

“Sounds like Bill’s discovered Armadillo Day.”

“This town is so odd.”

“One of the many reasons I love it. Want towalk?” She headed for the door, and Leo nodded, following. She looked over her shoulder. “Dylan? You coming?”

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