Gage's brows shot up. “And this is a good thing? How do you know we didn't get it wrong?”
Lena turned toward him, crisscrossing her legs. “Because, Sheriff, I know this town better than anyone.” She picked a blade of grass and started to tear it into little strips. “The challenge is to take a team selfie at the highest point in Holiday Junction at sunrise or sunset,” she said. “Everyone is going to think of the church steeple, because, well, look—” She pointed down to the town and Gage nodded. He could see the white spire towering over all the other buildings, a needle piercing through the quilt of rooftop squares.
“But what most people don't know.” Lena held up a finger. “Is that this hill, right here, although not part of the town per se, is actually within the town limits. And considerably higher than the steeple.” She splayed her hands in a ta-da motion. “And since we're the only ones here—”
“We'll be the only ones to submit the correct picture,” Gage nodded slowly, impressed. “And the only ones to get the clue for the next challenge.”
“Exactly.” Lena sprinkled her ripped up ribbons of grass onto her lap. “They won't be able to take another picture until tomorrow morning. We'll have a good twelve hour head start.” She leaned back onto her elbows and extended her legs. “We've got this in the bag, Sheriff.”
The breeze twisted the ends of Lena's hair around her head, blowing the scent of sugar and cream his way. He inhaled, unable to resist . . . unable to look away. She had her head tipped back, her eyes closed, and she looked completely relaxed—something he never thought he'd see in his presence. A faint smile curved her lips and he wondered what she was thinking about—a pleasant memory or the prospect of winning the Hunt, maybe.
“Can I ask you something, Sheriff?” she said quietly, jolting him out of his thoughts. She didn't open her eyes, but her cheeks took on a pinkish hue.
“Sure.”
“You ever been married?”
“Married? Uh, no.”
“Ever been close?”
Gage cleared his throat. “Once, I guess.”
She cracked an eye open at him. “What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”
He sighed. The conversation made him uncomfortable, but for some reason, he wanted to share this with her. Let her know that she wasn't alone.
“We had a great time, at first,” he said, picking up a stick to draw shapes in the dirt. “She was different. Exciting. Fun. You never knew what she was going to do. Not exactly like me.” He shot her a glance, then looked away when he found her studying him.
“I don't know, Sheriff. I think you're kind of fun,” she said quietly.
“Yeah, well . . .” He drew a heart in the dust, then scribbled it out. “I tried to love her, but the longer we were together, the more erratic she became. Laughing one minute, screaming and yelling the next. She'd disappear for days at a time, then come back saying she was sorry and—” He shook his head. “Anyway, one time she left and didn't come back.” He shrugged. “And that was that.”
Lena was silent until he finally dared to look at her. “I'm so sorry,” she said, and her eyes glinted with unshed tears.
“Thanks,” he said, swallowing hard. “But it was a long time ago. I'm fine, now.”
“Are you really?” she asked.
And as he looked into her warm, comforting eyes, he smiled. “Yeah, I really am,” he said.
She smiled back, reaching for his hand. “I'm glad,” she whispered, squeezing his fingers.
Voices drew their attention and Bea barked, running off down the path. Lena sat up and looked over her shoulder. “Shoot!” she exclaimed.
“What's wrong?” He helped her to her feet, and she glared at the couple coming toward them.
“I should have known they'd figure it out,” Lena grumped as Kade and Vi yelled out hellos. “I can’t believe they got teamed up. So much for our advantage.”
“Be nice,” Gage whispered to her. She stuck out her tongue and he laughed.
Lena grinned as if she'd just done something incredible. Maybe she had.
In the end, they'd all taken the picture together as the sun set over Holiday Junction behind them and Bea snuggled into Lena's arms.
“Want to hit the Shamrock for a beer?” Kade asked as they walked back down the path.
“Oh sure, try and distract us,” Lena replied. “Not falling for it, Rivera. The Sheriff and I are focused and committed.”
“Or maybe should be committed,” Vi said.
“Hey!”
Bea wiggled out of Lena's arms and bounded down the path, tugging on the leash. She and Kade exchanged good-hearted barbs, and Vi smiled, watching them go, but stayed back and fell into step beside Gage.
“You two seem to be getting along. Finally,” she observed.
Gage ignored the heat creeping up his neck. “Yeah, well. We've come to an understanding, I guess.”
“Mmm hmm,” Vi replied, giving him a knowing look. “That's what we're calling it now?”
Lena got tripped up in the leash and fell into Kade, laughing. He reached for Bea and picked her up, unclipping the leash so Lena could untangle herself.
Gage sighed and gave Vi a sidelong glance. “Is this where you give me the best friend speech? Hurt her and I hurt you?”
Vi pressed a palm to her chest, eyes wide. “Me? Threaten an officer of the law? Never!”
Gage snorted. They walked in silence for a moment, then he said, “I don't want to push her, you know? I'd never want to—” He shook his head, unsure how to put his thoughts into words.
Vi linked her arm with his, nudging him gently. “She's not as fragile as you think.”
“Oh, I know that,” he said quickly. “She's one of the strongest people I've ever met.”
She tipped her head at him, searching his face for . . . something. “You know,” she said slowly. “She told you?”
“Not in so many words,” he replied. “But she told me enough.”
“She's been through a lot,” Vi said quietly. “But she's come through the other side. She's okay. Better than okay, really. But still a little gun-shy, I guess. She doesn't trust people easily. She doesn't really trust herself.”
“Understandably so.”
“She's lived in fear for a long time.” Vi watched her friend with a soft smile on her face. “In a way, she equated love with pain, and she couldn't risk it.”
It made something deep inside Gage ache, the thought that she'd been so hurt it had chipped away at her confidence, at her belief in love.
He knew how that felt.
“But that's changed,” Vi said thoughtfully. “I've seen her open up these past few weeks, and I think you have a lot to do with that.”
“Me?” Gage was surprised, but that didn't stop a warm rush of hope growing in the depths of his chest.
“Yeah, you.” Vi nodded. “Listen, Chief. Gage,” she corrected. “Let me give you a word of advice. I love Lena, but I know she can be a handful.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah.”
“Don't give up on her, though,” she said, giving his arm a little jerk. “She's worth it.”
Gage watched Lena take the puppy from Kade and kiss her nose, giggling when Bea licked her.
“Yeah,” he replied, half to himself. “I'm starting to realize that.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?” she asked, challenging.
And that was the question, wasn't it? He needed to show Lena that he could be trusted, that he valued her thoughts and opinions. That what mattered to her, mattered to him. Before he could pursue anything romantic with her, he needed her to understand that. But how?
Slowly, an idea began to form in his mind. “I have a few thoughts,” he told Vi, a slow smile lighting his face. “I could use a little help, if you're in?”
Vi grinned, bright and sunny in the moonlight. “Oh, Chief, I am in,” she said. “I am so in.”
“And I think we might need to call in your mom, too,” Gage sai
d. “Do you think she’d be willing to help?
“My mom?” Vi laughed. “Oh yeah, I’m sure she’d be willing. Lou Chalmers lives for this kind of thing.”
Gage was acting weird.
Lena eyed him suspiciously as she tapped at her phone, pulling up the next challenge on the Hunt. He'd gone quiet when they'd arrived at the Shamrock with Kade and Vi the night before, and Lena wasn't sure what to make of it.
Or, she had a feeling what to make of it, but wasn't very happy about it.
She was pretty sure he felt weird about the almost-kiss in the basement. And after what he'd told her about his past relationship, she felt even worse about it. He'd made it very clear that he came to Holiday Junction for peace, and Lena had to admit that she was anything but. She'd done nothing but bring chaos and friction into his life, and after what he'd been through—
Well, Lena felt pretty guilty about it. The way she'd all but thrown herself at him? Well, it was humiliating, that's what it was. Thank goodness Bea had intervened or who knew what kind of fool she would have made of herself.
Given the weird tension, she hadn't argued when he asked if they could call it a night and start back up in the morning. She tossed and turned, groaning when her alarm went off at six. Still, she got up, downed some coffee, and put on a smile, determined to act like everything was normal.
Even though she felt a little sick to her stomach.
It was probably the coffee, she thought. Denial was a powerful tool.
Luckily, Gage seemed to have gotten over his discomfort, as well, and was back to his old self—teasing her about taking the Hunt so seriously, and joking about her seemingly endless knowledge of Holiday Junction minutiae.
“It used to be Holliday Junction, you know,” she said. “With two L’s. Named after the town founder, James Holliday. But in the fifties, they decide to rebrand the town, so they dropped the second L and, well . . .”
“The rest is history?” he said with a smirk. “With all this trivia, how do you have room left for anything else in that brain of yours?”
“You just wait, Sheriff,” she said. “That trivia is going to take us to the top, I say. Straight to the top!” She raised a single finger over her head and he eyed it warily.
“You're a little scary, aren't you?” But his warm smile and nudge told her it wasn't really a criticism.
“We'll see what you say once we've nabbed the trophy and the pot of gold.”
He eyed her sideways. “Isn't it a plastic shamrock and a bucket of foil-covered chocolates?”
She gave him a mock glare, fighting to keep the laughter bubbling in her stomach from bursting out. “It's the principle of the thing, Sheriff. I can't believe you can't see that.”
He held up his hands. “I stand corrected. Far be it for me to judge the significance of such a high honor.”
She sniffed. “I'm glad you see it my way.”
He laughed, and she couldn't keep from joining him. He stared at her a moment longer and she felt a blush heat her cheeks. He swallowed and looked away. “So, what's next?” he asked.
They managed to get through two more challenges before Lena had to open the shop and Gage left to make his rounds. Later that morning, she spotted him with Bea through the front window of the shop, talking to a young couple, then posing for a selfie. She smiled when he had to take the phone from the woman and hold it himself so they'd all fit in the picture. The couple played with Bea for a moment and then walked away. Gage glanced toward her and she snapped her eyes downward, scrubbing at the counter violently.
After a few moments, she dared to look up again, only to find Gage talking with Vi, across the street. She was listening closely to whatever he said, then she laughed and he grinned at her response. He glanced toward the shop again and Lena looked away, dying of curiosity, but also not wanting to get caught spying.
When she looked up again, they were both gone. She sighed, a little disappointed, and scooped up a Blarney Cone for a little boy dressed like a leprechaun.
She didn't see Gage for the rest of the day, but they'd agreed to meet at the Shamrock after closing time—a couple of hours early, due to the festivities—to discuss the next challenge. It was nice out, so she decided to walk to the bar, smiling at the tourists roaming the streets in their green finery, hurrying to get everything checked off their Hunt lists before the deadline.
The Shamrock was all decked out for the Cèilidh, the windows and doors thrown open and an outdoor seating area set up on the sidewalk and around the side of the building. An enormous Irish flag hung from the second story, fluttering in the breeze, and she could hear the music when she was still a block away. She walked in and sat at the bar, waving to Braden, who was talking to one of the other bartenders as he made a Guinness float for a customer. The crowd was still light, but she knew once the Hunt wound down, it would be standing room only.
After a few minutes, Braden walked over and leaned on the bar across from her.
“Hey, Meena,” he said. “How goes the Hunt?”
“Excellent,” she replied. “Going to take home the prize, I guarantee it.”
“Uh huh.” Braden was the only business owner exempt from participating, since the Cèilidh was such an important event in itself. “I don't know. Old Mr. Fisher was in here a while ago and he sounded pretty confident.”
Lena scoffed. “Old Mr. Fisher doesn't have a chance,” she said. “Gage and I are going to win. You wait and see.”
He straightened and started to polish a row of glasses. “Where is Gage, anyway?”
Lena checked her watch. “I'm not sure,” she said. “He's supposed to meet me here, but he must be running late.”
“Big HJ crime spree?” he asked with a wry smile.
“Most likely,” she said, nodding. “Big run on yarn at the Knit Barn.”
“Or llamas posing as reindeer out at the reindeer farm.”
“Counterfeit My Mom Went to Holiday Junction and All I Got was This Lousy T-shirt t-shirts.”
Braden laughed. “Those are the worst! You always—always—have to request a certificate of authenticity.”
“Well, obviously.”
They chatted for a while, between Braden setting up for the evening's festivities, but there was still no sign of Gage. She was about to text him to find out where he was when Kade and Vi came into the bar, a little out of breath, and waved her over to join them at a table by the window.
“Hey, what have you guys been up to?” she asked.
“Oh, you know. The Hunt,” Vi said, waving a hand. Kade looked away, not meeting her eyes.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “Kade, is that paint in your hair?” She reached out to touch it, but he jerked back, grabbing a napkin.
“Paint? No, it's not.” He scrubbed at the spot and the napkin came away green. “It's probably frosting. You know. From a cake. Or something.”
Vi rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
“Right. Cake frosting. In your hair.” Lena raised a skeptical brow, but let it go. “Have you guys seen Gage? He's supposed to meet me here.”
Kade opened his mouth to respond, but Vi kicked him under the table and his mouth snapped shut.
“Actually, we did see him,” Vi said sweetly. “He asked us to let you know that he's on his way.”
Lena's eyes narrowed, her gaze darting from one to the other. “You guys are acting really weird.”
Vi waved to Braden. “Oh, you know. Just excited. About the Hunt. Hunt High, I guess you'd call it.”
“Hunt High,” Lena replied blandly.
“Who's high?” Braden asked.
“No one,” Vi replied. “But how about a couple of drafts?”
Braden brought the drinks and it wasn't much longer before Vi smiled, looking out the window. “There's Gage now,” she said.
He walked in carrying a small paper bag stamped with the logo for the Holiday Junction Bakery in one hand, and Bea’s leash in the other. The pup curled up at his feet and starte
d to chew on his shoelaces as he pulled up a chair between Vi and Lena. “Sorry I'm late,” he said. “But I brought what we need for the next challenge.” He lifted the bag and gave it a little shake.
Lena took the bag and looked inside, drawing out a maple bar decorated with a bright green four-leaf clover.
“Sweet and shamrock,” he said. “Now we just need the shared snack selfie.”
“Oh!” Lena smiled at him. “That's perfect!”
Gage pulled out his camera and they each bit down on an end of the maple bar as he snapped the picture. Lena chewed on the sweet doughy treat and swallowed.
“You have some frosting on your nose,” she told Gage, reaching over to swipe it off. He froze at the touch and she mentally kicked herself. What was she thinking? She hadn't been, that was the problem.
“Thanks,” Gage said, his voice a little choked.
“Sure, he has frosting on his nose, but frosting in my hair is so weird,” Kade mumbled.
Vi smacked him on the arm.
Lena was having a hard time keeping track of the conversation.
Gage texted Lena the picture so she could submit it and get the next assignment. He seemed a little nervous, his hands trembling a bit as he twisted a napkin. “Got it?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said slowly. “I'm just waiting for the confirmation.”
His knee bounced rapidly beneath the table. He'd been so relaxed and go-with-the-flow about the Hunt, but now he seemed almost excited about it.
Weird.
Lena's phone pinged and all three of the others straightened in their seats, watching her carefully.
“Okay, what is going on?” she asked. And they all slumped simultaneously, feigning disinterest.
“Don't worry about them,” Gage said. “Come on. We're going to win this thing.”
Lena eyed him warily, but looked down at her phone, reading the next assignment.
One more challenge to win the prize
You must turn eyes to the skies
Lena’s Lucky Charm: Love in Holiday Junction, Book 2 Page 15