Page 31 of Dream a Little Dream

“That’s them. They were just back from a tennis match or something, sipping iced tea and shooting the breeze.”

This was certainly interesting. “What did Deena and crew have to say that made you go pale when you mentioned it?”

“It’s not awful. I promise.” He exhaled and slid a little closer, as if to be sure this stayed between us. Not that there was a soul within earshot. “They were talking about a hot and heavy romance between Rachel Bright and,” he hesitated, “someone older than her from back in the day. How they were magnets for each other, couldn’t keep their hands to themselves at some beach party, and how sad it was when it never went anywhere.”

“Who was it? The older guy.” I didn’t mean to hold my breath but realized I was doing it anyway.

“Jake Kielbasa.”

I knew the name. “The retired police officer who dates Peggy from the donut shop?” I touched my chin. “Wears a little scruff here but not a full beard.”

Jonathan nodded. “That’s him. If it helps, he’s kind. Bought me a beer once so I didn’t have to walk back to my car on a high pain day.”

The world went quiet. We were in a library, so that wasn’t hard, but it was a unique quiet, as if something key had just clicked into place, silencing the chaos in my brain. Was that a sign that I’d justdiscovered the missing piece of the puzzle? “It’s him,” I said. “I don’t know how I know, but I do. Sometimes you just have an innate feeling about something.”

“I think so, too,” Jonathan said.

Then another detail hit me. “He’sCharlie’sfather. From the liquor store.” Charlie was a good guy. A few years older than me. He’d been in a long-time relationship with Devyn’s older sister, Jill, for years. I scanned my brain for every detail I had on Charlie. He sported spiky hair and plaid shirts on the regular. He knew his liquor business like the back of his hand and had a tendency to be shy until you got to know him. Had I been buying Grey Goose from my half brother for years and not realizing it?

A lightbulb went on above Jonathan. “There is some resemblance there, now that I consider it. You have the same big brown eyes, though yours are the long-lashed version of his.”

“I look like Liquor Store Charlie?” I asked, using Devyn’s nickname for him. This was all happening fast. “Jonathan, I’ve never had a sibling before. My whole identity of orphaned only child is crumbling more and more with each new discovery.”

A pause. “What are you going to do about all this?”

With this new information, I didn’t see any path except forward. It didn’t matter if I was afraid, nervous, or shy. There was no way I was going to be able to live my life without turning over this very important stone. “I think I need to talk to Jake.”

* * *

I was pretty confident that the average person doesn’t know that strawberries strewn across a grocery store floor can make a person dance. They can, especially if one tries to avoid them. They’ll send you right down the road to funkytown until you succumb to gravity and find yourself flat on your ass in the middle of aisle one in front of everyone. Unfortunately, I found out firsthand.

“Oh, no. Savanna?” Mrs. Martinelli said, approaching with one arm outstretched. “Are you okay?” She knelt next to me, and I began to answer that I was fine. Embarrassment always trumped pain. But I paused because somethingwasreally wrong. It was my foot. I couldn’t exactly feel it, and that was likely because it was underneath me in the most interesting configuration.

“Um, I think I’m a pretzel.” It wasn’t the most helpful sentence, but it was the only way to describe my current predicament.

“Oh, help, please!” Mrs. Martinelli yelled. “She fell on strawberries. Henrietta?”

It was Maya who appeared first and was quick to act. “Backup to produce,” she said into her walkie before joining me on the ground. Only, the way she sat made it seem like we were about to have a strawberry picnic. “Are you hurt?”

The words seemed to prompt my body to answer in the worst manner possible: a burst of red-hot pain that shot from my right foot straight to my calf. “I think I might be.” I looked around to see who might have witnessed all of this. I wanted off the ground immediately. And yep, a small group had gathered, the small-town paps. I smiled and held up a hand. “Totally fine,” I told them. “Just tripped on a strawberry. All part of a day’s work in a grocery store.” All the while the pain pulsed, and—dare I say—grew?

Buster appeared and offered two hands to pull me up. “I got you,” he said, easing me to my feet, one of which reflexively lifted right back up again.

“Uh-oh,” I said. “This one seems angry.”

“We should get that looked at,” Maya said, eying me dubiously.

“Dammit,” I said. Could there be one uneventful day in Dreamer’s Bay this week? Just one? While my employees couldn’t exactly abandon the store because I’d gone and banged up my foot, Elizabeth Draper had no problem dropping whatever she had going and taking me to the ER. I didn’t even have to call her. Apparently multiple shoppers had beaten me to the punch, knowing she and I were friends.

“Now, don’t stress at all about this,” Elizabeth told me on the drive. “I know you’re doing that thing where you’re imagining your next few weeks without mobility, but the truth is you’re going to be fine either way. We’ve got you.”

“Who’s we?” I asked, with a grateful grin. For someone without any family at all these days, my friends sure knew how to come through.

“Literally everyone.” She looked over at me as we passed the park. The hospital was a mile and a half up the road just on the perimeter of town. “Do you not realize how universally adored you are in this town? Every single human sings the praises about all you’ve done to make Festive Foods a kickass place to shop. I head there the second I need something because of how cheerful that place is. And you’rethere to smile and talk with anyone and everyone. So yeah. If you’re immobilized for a bit, I’m confident your friends and neighbors are gonna have your back.”

“Well, damn.” My smile went wobbly and I was a misty mess of vulnerability when I hobbled, my arm draped around Elizabeth, into the ER.

Tasha Wilhite stood up as soon as we came through the double sliding doors. “We heard you were on the way, Savanna. Didn’t think your day was interesting enough or something? Had to stir up some drama.”

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