Page 191 of Huckleberry Hill
“Sorry, the slight Southern twang gave it away,” I said, handing the half-eaten pie to Declan in offering. He took it and gave me the leash.
“We’re from Waco, Texas. But my dad lives in Coeur d’Alene. I heard about the bakery here—what’s it called, Sweet Teeth? Yeah, I think that’s it. I saw something on social media and we decided to pop over. We had no idea there was a festival going on.”
A tall, burly, heavily tattooed man approached, wearing a baby carrier with a toddler perched on his back. She was clutching a fuzzy mushroom toy for all it’s worth.
“You caught up to us,” Mia said, kissing his cheek. “Silas found a goat to pet.”
“A goat on a leash,” the man said. “Never seen that before.”
“Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself,” Mia said. “I’m Mia. This is my husband, Colt.”
Colt held out his hand to Declan.
“Declan.”
“Nice to meet you,” Colt said.
“I’m Hadley.” I pointed to the goat. “That’s Tempest.”
“Silas, and Scarlett,” Mia said, referencing the children. “So this town is a little treasure.”
“It is,” I agreed.
“Are you from here?” Colt asked.
“Born and raised,” I explained. “My family owns a ranch about fifteen minutes out of town.”
“A ranch?” Silas perked up, and he looked at Declan. “Wait, are you a cowboy?”
“Sure am,” Declan said with a grin. “I have a motorcycle too.”
“No kidding,” Colt said. “What do you ride?”
The two of them started comparing their motorcycles and moved toward each other, leaving me to talk to Mia.
“Is there a good real estate agent in town?” she asked, pitching her voice lower.
“Just one,” I admitted with a grin. “We don’t have the need for a lot of real estate agents. Our town is only about eight hundred people.”
“Hmm.” Mia looked around. “That might change soon.”
“I hope not. I love my small town.”
“I get it. Once a place is discovered it gets overrun. I love how small and quaint it is here. Did that sound condescending? I didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but my God, it’s like a freakin’ movie set here.”
I smiled. “You weren’t condescending in the least. So you’re thinking of moving here?”
“Oh, no, not permanently. But maybe a vacation home or something. Plus, it’s an easy drive to Coeur d’Alene.”
“If you think it’s pretty now, you should see it in autumn,” I said dreamily. “So, the agent’s office is actually at the end of Silver Street.”
“We’re on Silver Street, right?”
“Right. This is our main street.”
“Why isn’t it named Main Street?”
I shrugged. “We do things differently in Huckleberry Hill.”
