by Debbie Mason
“All right, it’s just that kissing me to shut me up is a really bad idea.”
“I’m kinda getting that it doesn’t work.”
“Well, this is me being totally honest with you despite also being embarrassed to admit it, but, Hunter, you kissing anyone wouldn’t be considered a punishment. It’s almost an incentive to keep talking so you’ll keep kissing me. You’re a very good kisser.”
“Abby, shut up.”
“That’s really rude but much more effective. Aren’t you glad we talked about this? Honesty really is the best policy. I’m going. I’m going.”
* * *
By the time Hunter got back to the truck after helping Josie cart her boxes to the tent, Ed attach the sign advertising the Highland Games to the entrance gate, and his brother set up his equipment on the center stage—Shane and their cousins’ band, Culloden, was providing the entertainment for the festival—at least thirty minutes had passed, and Abby was nowhere to be found. But everything for her bake sale was still sitting in the back of the truck.
Hands on his hips, he looked around, only to see Sadie and Abby talking animatedly as they crossed the parking lot. Sadie nudged Abby, and she looked up.
She ran toward him waving. “Sorry, I’m coming. Crap.” She hit a pothole and her arms went in the air. He was too far away to reach her, but Sadie grabbed Abby in time to keep her from falling on her face.
“Good thing you made me wear my sneakers or I probably would’ve broken my ankle,” she told him when she reached his side.
“Next time, try walking instead of running.” He lifted his chin at the woman beside her. “Hey, Sadie. Where have you been?” he asked Abby as he hopped into the bed of the truck.
“Sorry, that was my fault. I had to hide the unicorns in the gardens and asked Abby to help,” Sadie explained.
“Oh my gosh, Hunter. You won’t believe the gardens, they’re magical. And the unicorn stuffies are so cute. The kids will go crazy. But it’s too bad dogs are banned from the festival because Wolf could’ve filled in for Granny MacLeod’s Minnie. That’s Granny MacLeod’s white horse that usually plays the role of the real-life unicorn, but she threw a shoe. And the white donkey that sometimes fills in for Minnie was being extra contrary.
“Still, I can already tell the event is going to be a hit with my subscribers, especially when I get your grandmother on film telling her story about seeing a unicorn after being struck by lightning, Sadie. She doesn’t only look like Betty White; she acts like her too.”
Hunter, who’d tried to tune Abby out at magical garden, got the table, chairs, and coolers filled with baked goods out of the back of the truck. He knew all about Granny MacLeod’s claim to fame and her contribution to the festival. She owned I Believe in Unicorns on Main Street. If it had a unicorn on it, Granny MacLeod sold it in her shop, and like most of the businesses in town, she used the festival to promote her store. But the festival wouldn’t be complete without a unicorn hunt in the garden maze.
It was also a big draw at the Highland Games. Not a surprise since unicorns were Scotland’s national animal. In Celtic mythology, a unicorn symbolized purity and innocence. The animal also represented masculinity, power, and chivalry. And nowhere were courage and honor more admired than in Highland Falls.
“I better get going,” Sadie said. “I have to make sure my brother made it home last night. If he didn’t, I need to make arrangements to get Granny here in time for the opening ceremony.”
“I’m sure Hunter…won’t mind lending me his truck to pick her up.” Abby gave him a look that said she should earn points because she hadn’t volunteered him for the job.
In her dreams. “No one drives my truck but me, and that goes double for you.”
“Are you insinuating that I’m a bad driver?”
“I’m pretty sure I can guarantee that you are.”
“Then you should probably read these.” Sadie tapped her cell phone screen and handed him her phone. “Nearly every review commented on Abby’s driving, how safe they felt with her compared to other drivers, how she never yelled or honked her horn, and weaved expertly in and out of traffic.”
Hunter lifted an eyebrow as he read the glowing five-star reviews, then raised his gaze to Abby. She’d crossed her arms and was watching him with a smug smile. “Did you pay them?”
Her jaw dropped, and Sadie rolled her eyes.
“You’re such a guy. Women can drive just as well as any man.”
“So maybe I should check out your reviews?” Everyone in town knew how often Owen had pulled over Sadie for speeding in her teens.
“Okay, that’s not fair. I never said I’m a good driver.” Sadie smiled and put an arm around Abby’s shoulders. “That’s why Abby’s agreed to drive the tour bus, starting tomorrow.”
“What about the farmhouse?” Wondering as he asked why it bothered him so much, because it did. And it wasn’t because Abby obviously assumed he’d handle the repairs—he was doing that anyway. It was because she wouldn’t be hanging out with him during the day. And if that wasn’t a strong enough reason for her to take the job with Sadie, he didn’t know what was.
“Never mind. I can handle it. It’s not like you do anything anyway.” Okay, he might be unhappy with the evidence of just how far and how deep Abby had gotten under his skin, but that was no excuse for him hurting her. “I’m teasing, Abby. It’s fine.”
“You’re sure? I didn’t think—”
“I’m sure.” And because he felt guilty, he told Sadie, “If you need someone to pick up your grandmother, just text Abby, and we’ll figure it out.”
“I really am sorry, Hunter,” Abby said when Sadie backed out of the parking space, waving as she pulled away. “You’ve already done so much for me, and it’s taken time away from your carving. I’m hoping that, between the tours and my YouTube channel, I’ll have enough money to pay someone to repair the roof and porch. If this works out the way I hope it will, I’m going to pay you too. The plan is to get the channel up and running this week—”
“Right now, how about we focus on the bake sale?” He’d been around her long enough to know that it didn’t take much for Abby to get off track. The woman was as easily distracted as Wolf had been as a pup. And just as it had worked with his dog, Hunter found that patient redirection worked with Abby too.
She laughed and picked up the two chairs. “I know what you’re doing, you know. You do the same thing with Bella.”
He avoided looking at her and piled one cooler on top of the other. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do. And I honestly don’t mind. At least you don’t yell at me like my ex did or make me feel stupid.” She grinned up at him. “Are you going to beat him up for me?”
“Someone should’ve,” he muttered, wondering how anyone could…“I’ve yelled at you.”
“You have, but I’ve yelled at you too. And it’s not the same. I might not have appreciated it, but I understood why you did. You didn’t do it to hurt me. Chandler did. But I allowed him to, and that’s on me.” She glanced at him. “What?”
“Earlier, you said we were friends, and I might’ve made you feel otherwise. I don’t play nice with others anymore, Abby. But I’ll be there for you if you need me, and if that makes me a friend in your book, then I guess that’s what I am.”
“You’re lucky my hands are full, Hunter Mackenzie, or I’d hug you.”
* * *
Three hours later, Hunter wasn’t feeling so friendly toward Abby. The damn woman had left with his truck more than an hour ago to pick up Granny MacLeod, and as far as he could tell, neither one of them had put in an appearance at the festival.
He felt his aunt and the mayor glancing his way from their tents on his left and his right. He sat behind a table surrounded by baked goods under a yellow tent painted with Liz’s signature honeysuckle and honeybees. It’s where he’d spent the last three hours. Stuck between the two older women, who were watching his e
very move. It had actually been worse when Abby was around so he supposed he shouldn’t complain that she wasn’t there.
“You might as well start giving away the cupcakes and hand pies,” his aunt said. “No one is going to buy them.”
He dug his wallet out of his back pocket, pulled out a ten-dollar bill, and put it in the cash box. It looked lonely in there so he pulled out two fives and tossed them in. “Maybe if you’d stop glaring at people when they came over, they would.”
“No, what Elsa needs to do is lift her edict on Facebook,” the mayor said. “Abby talked to Bliss and cleared what she was bringing with her. So I don’t know what your problem is, Elsa.”
Winter Johnson was an attractive woman in her early sixties. Her Cherokee and Scottish roots were evident in her tan skin, high cheekbones, and blue eyes. She wore her jet-black hair long and straight. Although today she sported a sparkly purple streak, courtesy of Josie. Who knew fairy hair was a thing?
“I’m selling books, Winter, and you’re selling your beauty-and-wellness products,” his aunt said.
Winter sold natural products derived from plants and flowers that were raised on her farm.
Hunter was pretty sure he knew where his aunt was going with her comment. “Abby doesn’t know anything about bees, Aunt Elsa. She’s been here for just over a week. And it’s not like she hasn’t had a lot on her plate. She…” He trailed off at the sour look on his aunt’s face and the knowing one on Winter’s. He couldn’t win. And people wondered why he preferred the company of his dog.
His brother sauntered over. “You look like you’re having fun. Hey, Winter. Hey, Aunt Elsa. How are sales going today? My brother entertaining you with his scintillating conversation?”
“It was very entertaining when Abby was here,” Winter said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Is that so? She should be back any minute now. She’s just wrapping up her interview with Granny MacLeod,” Shane said and picked up a cupcake.
Hunter grabbed the cupcake on its way to his brother’s mouth. “That’ll be ten bucks.”
“Be serious. We’ve been performing for Abby’s YouTube channel for the last twenty minutes. I’m starved.”
“Are you kidding me? She’s been back for that long and didn’t come here?”
“You missed her, didn’t you?”
His aunt and Winter leaned so far over to get a good look at him that he was surprised they didn’t fall out of their booths. “No, I didn’t miss her. I didn’t sign up to man her booth for the day. I need to check on the dogs.”
He got up from the chair and came around the table to see if he could spot Abby in the crowd. The vendor tents were set up to the left of the stage, the gardens and unicorn maze to the right.
“She already did. She stopped by Penelope’s Pet Emporium and bought them some treats.”
That explained why his ten-dollar bill had looked lonely. She’d absconded with the cash. “It would’ve been nice if she told me where she was going and when she got back.”
“You know, you sound like a concerned boyfriend.”
He was going to kill his brother. He dragged Shane away from his aunt’s and the mayor’s earshot. “Stop trying to stir up crap. You know as soon as they get home, Winter will be on the phone to Mom and so will Aunt Elsa. And then my phone will start ringing.” Which meant he’d turn it off for the night. And that reminded him that he already had. He pulled out his phone and turned it on. He owed Abby a mental apology. She’d texted him three extremely long and detailed messages.
“Can you blame us for wanting to know what’s going on? It wasn’t that long ago that you were having her arrested. So what, did you guys kiss and make up?” Shane choked on the cupcake he’d just taken a bite of. As far as Hunter was concerned, it served him right.
“Whoa, you did, didn’t you?”
“No.” That didn’t sound the least bit convincing, he thought as he handed his brother a bottle of water. And the reason it didn’t sound convincing was because the kiss he’d shared with Abby was getting too much air time in his head. Which just went to prove that it was long past time that he got laid. In response to the thought, his mind provided him with an image of Abby. Clearly, he was spending too much time with the woman.
“She’s had a lot to deal with,” he told his brother in an effort to sound more convincing as well as to find a way to get her out of Highland Falls before the summer was over. “I’m just giving her a hand. The storm hit the farmhouse hard. There was a lot of damage to the roof and porch. Everyone I’ve called is either booked until August or doesn’t return my calls.”
“Sounds like Elsa is at it again.”
He glanced at his aunt, who was serving an older gentleman. “I don’t see why she’d put up roadblocks to getting the roof and porch repaired.”
“True, and Honeysuckle Farm wasn’t the only place that got hit, from what I’ve heard. I might know someone though. I’ll give them a call.”
“Appreciate it.” He leaned back to see if Abby was close to wrapping it up.
Shane pointed to the gardens. “She must’ve finished her interview.” His brother nodded in approval when Abby went to hug Granny MacLeod, dropped her arms, and stepped back. “Someone must’ve warned her.”
“Oh yeah, I warned her, but she didn’t listen. Granny MacLeod prophesized that Abby would die in a month in the woods. Less than a month now, I guess.”
Shane stared at him. “How can you be blasé about it? You know as well as I do that Granny MacLeod’s prophecies come true.” Unlike Abby and Hunter, some people, like his brother, received a good prophecy. Except Shane hadn’t thought so at the time.
“Abby thinks Granny MacLeod saw her past, not her future.” He explained to Shane what had happened to her when she was twelve. He didn’t think Abby would mind. She hadn’t asked him to keep it to himself.
“Wow, tough break. I feel bad now. I thought she was just a klutz. You should tell Aunt Elsa. Maybe she’ll back off. It sounds like Abby had her reasons for cutting ties with the Findlay side of her family. Too bad she didn’t get a chance to know Liz though. I think they would’ve liked each other.”
A week ago, Hunter would’ve had his doubts about that, but not anymore. “This stays between you and me. If Abby wants people to know, she’ll tell them. And whatever you do, don’t treat her any differently now that you know.”
“Sounds like you speak from experience. Can’t say I blame you.”
“Yeah, it’s not easy to keep my mouth shut.”
“I find that hard to believe since that’s all you’ve done these past couple years. Sounds to me like Abby has gotten to you, big brother.”
If he only knew. His brother smiled, and Hunter turned to see Abby running toward them, waving. Then she disappeared from view. The way people were leaning and reaching out, Hunter figured they’d saved her from falling on her face. She bounced right back and, with a wide smile and a wave, made her way toward them.
“Just once, could you walk where you’re going instead of running?”
“I’m fine. Besides, I left you on your own long enough. Are you okay?” Her face fell when she looked at the table. “We didn’t sell anything, did we?”
Shane turned with his phone in his hand, and Hunter figured his brother was putting out the word to stop by Honeysuckle Farm’s tent. They’d soon have more customers than they could handle. He felt Winter looking at him and glanced over. She held up her phone and gave him a thumbs-up. “Most people are grabbing their lunch. Give them half an hour,” he told Abby.
She probably thought he was psychic when, in exactly thirty minutes, they were swamped. When they looked up forty-five minutes later, there was only one blueberry hand pie left. “That’s mine.” Hunter claimed it.
Her arms went up, and he braced himself. She got that look in her eyes and that smile on her face that she always got just before she threw herself at him. But instead, this time she caught her bottom lip between her teeth and lowered
her hands. Then she smiled. “I knew they’d be your favorite. I’ll make you another batch when we get home.” Her eyes went wide, and she looked around. He was going to assure her that it was fine when she jumped up from the chair. “We didn’t have room on the table, and I have another three dozen cupcakes in the cooler.”
They’d just gotten them out on the table when Winter came over and said something to Abby.
“Hunter, would you mind manning the mayor’s booth and mine? The powwow is starting so it shouldn’t be too busy. You can have a cupcake and read your book.”
He eyed Winter and Abby. The last thing he wanted was the two of them together out of his hearing. “Where are you guys going?”
“Winter’s leading the drumming session, and she’s letting me take part. Isn’t that exciting? I’m going to film it too.”
Abby linked arms with Winter, who glanced over her shoulder at Hunter and mouthed I like her as they walked away. Hunter would’ve said That’s nice, only he knew what the older woman meant. She liked Abby for him.
From the tent next to him, his aunt said, “She’s not for you. Sloane is. She looks good, doesn’t she?”
Hunter’s pulse began to race as he followed the direction of Elsa’s gaze. Sloane and her mother stood across the green. They were talking to Granny MacLeod. He didn’t know what she said but Sloane and her mother looked his way.
His aunt was right. Sloane looked good. She was a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and cool gray eyes. She wore her hair pulled back from her angular face in a low ponytail. She was tall with an athletic build and walked with an elegant, confident stride. But if he thought that either woman would ever forgive him, the look in Sloane’s mother’s eyes told him otherwise.
Chapter Sixteen
Abby’s excitement over the drumming session she’d captured on video fizzled as if someone had let the air out of a helium balloon when she saw Elsa sitting where she’d last seen Hunter. She’d been anxious to share her experience with him, and now he was nowhere to be found.