Page 42 of Lovewell Lane

The blonde little girl looked up at me. She was much less timid than Tessa and had no problem voicing her opinions. “Yes, my Mama helped me do one earlier.”

I let go of Tessa’s shoulder, and she immediately ran over to grab the candy Sienna offered her. “You two take it easy on the pop rocks, alright? I expect you to eat a full lunch later, Tess.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Tessa said while looking at Sienna with a mischievous smile.

“Mr. Weston,” said Sienna.

“Yes.”

“Can we go look for four leaf clovers out by the pig pen?”

I sighed. An entire barn filled with things to do and the kids wanted to look at grass. “Ask your mom first. But it’s okay with me, as long as you stay in view of the barn.”

“Thank you, sir.” The two ran off to find Lila.

I turned to Margo. “I have to go sit outside now, so I can watch them. Want to join? Or are you planning on planting more seeds?”

“I can join,” she said.

“Do you want to try some of Kenny’s punch?”

“Kenny’s punch?” Her face looked at me like I was offering her hard drugs.

“It’s good,” I laughed. “Just don’t drink too much of it.”

We walked over to the table with food and drinks and I poured her a cup before we headed outside to find empty chairs that had a view of the clover patch in the distance.

As beer was running out and kids were getting tired, Sam stood up in front of the crowd of lawn chairs. Over the last few hours, people shifted to hanging out outside to watch the sunset and be near the campfire we created.

“One last announcement, if that’s alright with you guys,” Sam said over the chorus of chatter in and outside of the barn. He was egged on by a few hoots and hollers.

“Derek and I wanted to let you all know that we’re moving forward with the Honey Festival this year. We know it was up in the air after the letdown that was last year, but we will be participating once again.”

Slick and his older friends clinked their drinks together while other people in the circle whistled and clapped. Calli looked overat me, grinning ear to ear, and leaned over the arm of her chair to kiss my cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Margo and Tessa, who were both sitting on a blanket on the ground and playing Uno along with Sienna and Lila, shared a giant smile and fist-bumped. Margo then looked up at me and caught me staring. ‘Wishes come true’ she mouthed. And maybe they could.

13

Margo

Turns out booze is a crucial part of a Seedling Party. I definitely overdid it. Everyone was so friendly, and people were handing out cups of Kenny’s delicious punch concoction like it was candy. Plus, it was slightly chilly, and I was only wearing jeans and a sweater, so the alcohol kept me warm. That was my excuse, anyway.

Seeing Derek being so friendly was actually the reason I felt the need to drink. When I spent time with him working on the diner he was so grumpy and independent and hard-headed that I forgot he ran an entire farm on his own. Watching him interact with his workers and family was fascinating. I watched him laugh at jokes and relax in his chair. He almost looked… happy. And it was really messing with my head.

After my fourth Uno game with Tessa and Sienna, I tapped out. I stood up and wandered around aimlessly until I saw an empty seat next to someone I recognized.

“Hey, Slick.”

“Margo,” he said, holding out his drink to me. “Successful party, I’d say.”

“Definitely.” I watched as a group of small kids ran around the lawn chairs playing duck duck goose with everyone.

“So, I’m leaving on my trip tomorrow.”

“I heard.”

“I was wondering if you’d look after Derek for me.” Derek? The six foot three grown man, Derek? There must be a kid running around here with the same name. Slick clearly saw the confusion on my face because he clarified, “He takes on everything, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. It would ease my mind if there was someone looking out for him.”

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