“No, he didn't kiss me,” Karina admitted, “I kissed him, as a matter of fact. And in answer to your last question, I'm not quite sure how it happened. But I will tell you one thing – out of all the ways that a kiss can begin and end, me starting the kiss and him stepping back in the middle of it is not ideal.”
“Well, did he say why he stopped the kiss?”
Karina nodded, “Oh, sure. He was all polite and gentlemanly and, I don't know...cowboyish about it. He was all, 'Little lady, this here isn't the right time or place for this here kissin' to be a-happenin'...”
Sam grimaced, “That's not how he talks.”
Karina brushed this off, “Whatever. He said he didn't think it was 'respectful' and that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he stayed in the room with me, so he left and got back to work.”
Sam shrugged, “I don't know, Kar, that actually sounds kind of nice? What am I missing.”
Karina shrugged miserably, “That's the worst part, though, don't you see? It's like...he rejected me, but I can't even hate him for it, because it was so gentlemanly!”
“Awww...” Sam said in a sympathetic tone, “I'm sorry you feel bad, Kar. But seriously. I was watching him give you googly eyes all day yesterday. The boy is smitten. I don't think it was a real rejection. I'm sure he's gonna call.”
Karina shook her head miserably, “I, on the other hand, have no such confidence. But it doesn't matter. I had a lot of time for contemplation last night after he left, during which time I was drowning my miseries. And I decided that this thing with Ryan was a short, two day aberration. It was a fun little adventure. I'm going to lock the experience away inside and pull it out later to use for my songwriting. But it was clearly not something that was meant to be long-term. Right now, I think I just need to focus on my music, and on the reason I came back to Hope Falls, which was to return to my roots as an artist.
That's not an easy thing to do, you know. After you've been a certain way for ten years, to just change back right away. It's going to take time, dedication, focus...and most of all, it's going to take all of my energy. So that's what I'm going to do, I'm going to devote all of my energy to it. It's a worthy cause. Moreover, I think it was silly of me to even consider getting distracted by Ryan in the first place.”
“No!” Sam protested, “Not silly! Not in the least. Sometimes you can't help what life drops in your lap at any given moment. Sometimes life drops trouble, but sometimes life drops love!”
Karina laughed, “That's sweet, but in this instance, I think it was definitely life dropping trouble, and what I need to do is just be grateful that I dodged a bullet.”
Sam stood to leave, carrying her water with her to the front door. She said, “You're being completely overly dramatic, and I think it's WAY too far to go to say that this thing with Ryan is over, for heaven's sake. But, if it is, at least you're feeling pretty OK about it.”
Karina sighed. “Well, I wouldn't go that far,” she pronounced with finality, and Sam enveloped her in a sweaty hug.
Chapter 6
“I don't know, Grandmother,” Karina said nervously, as they walked through the wide double doors of the Hope Falls Community Center, “I haven't heard from Ryan in a whole week. It would be so awkward if we just ran into each other here tonight.”
“It's a small town,” her grandmother reasoned, “You're going to run into him sooner or later. Best to get it done sooner. This avoids as much awkwardness as possible.”
Karina knew that what her grandmother said made sense, on an intellectual level. But when it came to her heart? That, she couldn't stop from pounding a mile a minute at the thought of seeing Ryan again.
She didn't actually know what she felt about the prospect of running into him. Embarrassed? Excited? She wasn't sure. Sick to her stomach? Yes, there was no question that she felt that. But what the guttural churning indicated, she couldn't pin down. Was it butterflies from excitement, or nausea from dread? Food poisoning from shellfish? Another valid possibility.
It seemed to Karina that since the moment Ryan had walked into her life, she had been incapable of pinning down ANY thoughts or emotions, and in fact had existed in a constant state of swirling confusion. Which she hated. Or loved? She couldn't quite tell.
“I just wish I had a way to get in touch with him, aside from just showing up at the cafe and hoping that he'll be there. That seems so stalker-y. But it's not like I have his number. I don't even know if he has mine,” she said miserably.
Renata looked at her sideways, “On the day after you moved into your house, I spoke with you and you had the completely sensible notion that you were going to stop thinking about this boy and put him behind you altogether. Each day, this has not happened, and in fact, you seem to talk about him more and more.”
Karina brushed this off, “Oh, for heaven's sake, Grandmother! I'm an artist! We are naturally dramatic. Of course I was swearing him off at first, but that was just pride! Obviously, I was secretly wishing he'd call me the whole time. And now it's been a whole week, and he hasn't gotten in touch. What do you think it means?”
“Karina,” her grandmother said pragmatically, “If there is one thing I have learned about men and women in my long life, it is that – if a young man wishes to make contact with a young woman, he will find a way to do it, no matter the obstacles. If he does not do this, then...” she cocked her head to the side, trying to coax something from memory, “I believe the phrase is 'he's just not that into you.”
Karina burst out laughing, “Where did you hear that?”
“I don't remember,” Renata replied, “But I do think the sentiment applies here. I think it quite perfectly describes this scenario.”
Karina sighed glumly, “Well, here's the thing...”
“Karina, honestly,” Renata cut her off, her voice tight, “I have grown weary of discussing this topic. It is time to move on and take this opportunity to focus on your music, and on the tribe. Which is, in fact, why we are here tonight.”
“Agreed,” Karina said miserably.
They were at the Hope Falls community center attending the planning meeting for the Hope Falls Harvest Festival. This wasn't usually the sort of thing attended by people under 50, but Renata had roped Karina into coming because she was concerned about the declining Washoe cultural representation in the festival. The tribe was an important part of the town and the surrounding area, and she wanted them to get their fair due.
Renata had brought Karina along because, with Karina's fame, she was a highly respected citizen in Hope Falls. She was Hope Falls' most stunning success story, and if she pushed for more representation for her tribe in the festival of the town that loved her, Renata did not see how they could deny her.
Karina had felt selfish when she had resisted her grandmother's wishes initially. She was usually completely willing to use her celebrity to further any good cause that was close to her heart, and would volunteer her time and her voice (both literal and metaphorical) without giving a second thought. But the thing that was holding her back, the one thing that she absolutely could not get past in her reticence, was the near-terrifying thought of running into Ryan at the meeting.
Honestly, she didn't understand it, and she wasn't pleased to witness this personal development, to say the least. She had never felt nervous to see a guy. Then again, she reminded herself darkly, she had never been rejected by a guy. So, this whole experience with Ryan was FULL of firsts!
But now, she felt properly chastised enough that she was going to pull herself up by her bootstraps, take herself firmly in hand, and put Ryan completely out of her mind. Besides, she thought, devoting what she promised herself would be her very LAST thought of the evening on the subject of one Mister Ryan Perkins, what are the chances that a handsome young guy in his twenties would have any interest – or even reason – for attending the Hope Falls Harvest Festival planning meeting?
--- ~ ---
“Ryan, hurry up, we're going to be late!” Sue Ann c
alled across the empty cafe and into the apartment upstairs.
Ryan clomped down the stairs, shrugging into his coat and quickly crossed the cafe towards his grandmother, who was impatiently on the balls of her feet, wanting to lock up the front door so they could make the quick, two block trip down to the Hope Falls Community Center, where the Harvest Festival planning meeting was taking place.
“Granny, it's a two minute walk,” Ryan said, “and the meeting doesn't start for fifteen minutes. It's not as if we're going to be late.”
“We have to be EARLY,” she replied decisively, “Last year, I showed up to the meeting right on time. And guess what happened?”
Ryan sighed and mouthed the words along with her as she said, “Those scheming snakes from Two Scoops stole my booth!”
Ryan countered patiently, “You still had your booth, just not in the exact place that you wanted it.”
“Where I wanted it?” she scoffed indignantly, “You mean the place where I'd had it for the past 25 years? It's tradition!”
“Maybe they didn't realize,” Ryan attempted to reason, although he knew from oft repetition that this was a losing argument.
“Hah! They knew, all right,” Sue Ann continued grimly, “And what did they start serving in their shop? Not even a month later?”
“Sandwiches,” Ryan recited begrudgingly.
“Sandwiches!” Sue Ann informed him, as though he hadn't said anything at all.
“To be fair, though, Granny,” Ryan said slowly, choosing each word carefully, “The types of sandwiches that they are serving are not anything like the type of food that we serve in the cafe. I don't really think that it can be considered direct competition. They are offering pre-made sandwiches, wrapped up to-go style. It's nothing like the delicious home cooking and warm touch people get when they come to see you.”
“To go,” Sue Ann growled, her voice dripping with disdain, “To GO, for heaven's sake? What is Hope Falls coming to? Food should be enjoyed and savored, meals should be an experience, people should sit down with loved ones and take the time to visit as they eat.”
She shook her head and mumbled under her breath, “Sandwiches to go. I never thought I'd see such a thing in Hope Falls. Next thing you know we'll be getting a MACK-Donald's.”
Ryan laughed and put his arm around his grandmother's shoulders, “I wouldn't go that far. Not just yet, anyway.”
“At any rate,” Granny concluded, “I realized that the key to their success in stealing my booth right out from under me was the fact that there are two of them. They have the husband AND the wife.
“So one of them can be signing up for the booth while the other one is networking. And later, one of them can be attending the meeting, while the other one is...I don't know...using the facilities,” she grumbled, “So that's why I need reinforcements, too. You know as soon as I walk in, I'm going to be surrounded by people who want to bend my ear. I'm POPULAR, Ryan.”
“I know,” he agreed, a small half smile playing on his lips.
“So, as soon as we hit the door, you make a bee-line to that booth sign-up sheet. You write the Cafe's name in that box, in big block letters, plain as day. End of the middle row, left hand side. That's MY spot.”
“Yes, ma'am,” he agreed, giving a small salute, “I'm on it.”
What he didn't want her to see was his reticence at the idea of even attending this meeting. He didn't want to admit to her that all he had been thinking about all day long – hell, all WEEK long – was the prospect of seeing Karina there.
He was dying to see her. For the past week, he had been wanting so badly to get in touch with her. He was aching to talk to her, to look at her face, to hear her voice, her laugh.
He didn't even have her phone number. Sure, he could have figured out a way to get it, just by asking one of her friends. But he held himself back. He was back on his courtship plan now. The moment in Karina's studio, when he had almost lost control and gotten ahead of himself, was not going to be repeated, this was a promise. He was bound and determined to stick to his original plan and do this the old-fashioned way, the right way with restraint and – above all – respect.
He wasn't going to let himself get twisted up by his own overwhelming desires, or by the other unexpected bump in the road – his discovery of her fame.
The more he thought about what she was like in person, and not on the magazine covers, the more he realized that she was actually one of the most down to earth people he had ever met.
He had made two decisions in the week since he had laid eyes on her. One of them was a decision that he had made almost instantaneously upon laying eyes on her, that he was going to make every effort to get to know Karina Blackstone better. That decision hadn't changed, he was still pursuing it as unwaveringly as he had the instant he had made it.
And the second decision was that, as he got to know her better, he was going to do his absolute best to put out of his mind the fact that, outside of this small, insulated community, she was a superstar. He was going to pretend, to the best of his ability, that the only world that existed was the world that they had built between the two of them.
So, here he was, at the next step in his plan. He knew that Karina would be at the meeting tonight, he had overheard people eating in the cafe talking about it on more than one occasion during the past week.
Therefore, even before Sue Ann had recruited him as her ally in defeating the almighty booth-stealing powers of Two Scoops, he had made up his mind that he would be attending this meeting tonight.
It was step two in his plan. To “run into” Karina at the meeting.
When they had this seemingly-unplanned encounter, it would be the true jumping off point – the launch, if you will – of Operation Get to Know Karina Blackstone.
And one thing he DEFINITELY would NOT be doing if he ran into her tonight, was leaving without her contact information!
--- ~ ---
When Karina turned from the conversation she was having and saw Sue Ann Perkins enter the main auditorium of the Hope Falls Community Center alone, she exhaled perceptibly. She couldn't tell if this reaction was relief or disappointment, but there was definitely a significant lessening of the tension that she had been feeling all evening.
In fact, she had been so distracted and jumpy as person after person had come up to chat with her and her grandmother, that at one point, Renata had turned to her and said, “Karina, you need to calm down, you're actually making me nervous.”
Karina had nodded, agreeing, but when it came down to it – she was not actually sure how to do that.
As soon as Sue Ann saw Karina and Renata, she waved happily and headed straight over to where they were standing.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she said as soon as she arrived at Karina's side, giving her a big hug, which Karina returned.
“So...are you here by yourself tonight?” Karina inquired hesitantly, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Even though she realized that both Sue Ann and Renata must have immediately recognized her deeper motive, she did have some pride left – she didn't want to make it seem too obvious that all she really cared about was whether or not Ryan was there.
“Oh, no!” Sue Ann exclaimed cheerfully, a twinkle in her eye, “Ryan is just out in the lobby signing us up for our booth space for the Harvest Fesitval.”
“Wouldn't want Two Scoops to get it again,” Karina replied conspiratorially. She had heard all about the controversy from Renata.
“Exactly!” Sue Ann said, feeling validated.
“Yes,” Renata interjected placidly, “I know that you were not pleased to lose the space to Two Scoops last year.”
“That's an understatement,” Ryan said wryly, walking up to the group from behind Karina, surprising her and causing her to start.
“Jumpy,” he observed, giving her a playful wink.
Karina turned toward him, and all of her steely resolve to play it cool deserted her as her face, unbidden by conscious thought, lit up in a
wide, bright smile.
“Ryan,” she said, and into that one word, she interjected such warmth and pleasure that it made Ryan's heart skip a little.
“Hi, beautiful,” he replied, his face mirroring her happy smile.
Karina blushed and giggled, two things that were definitely new to her repertoire. She could feel her grandmother's stare of disapproval, but she was far beyond being able to make herself care.
“YOU,” Ryan said to Karina in a teasingly accusatory voice, “are a very difficult person to figure out how to get a hold of.”
At this, she returned his wink.
“I am at that,” she returned his teasing tone, “That's when it pays to get creative.”
He leaned down toward her, his lips brushing her ear, and in a seductive whisper, said, “Oh, I can be creative.”
She laughed and touched his arm, her eyes widening, “Oh really, that’s good to know!”
As caught up as she was in her interchange with Ryan, she couldn't help but notice that Sue Ann was looking happily as the two of them flirted, seemingly pleased as punch, while Renata, on the other hand, was having distinctly the opposite reaction.
Just then, Henry Walker strolled up to the four of them. Henry was Hope Falls' official legal counsel and acting mayor since the death of Parker Jacobs, Amanda's father, and he had known Karina her entire life.
“Here they are! Just the folks I was looking for!” he greeted them jovially, giving Karina a hug and clapping Ryan on the shoulder, “How would you like an opportunity to serve your community?”
“Oh, yes, absolutely!” Sue Ann agreed, immediately and enthusiastically.
Ryan laughed good-naturedly, “I don't think he was asking you, Granny.”
“What is it that you need, Henry?” Karina asked in a noncommittal but friendly tone.
“Well, kids, here's the thing,” Henry said, “as you know, the Town Follies is the most popular part of the Harvest Festival. Has been forever. Is every year. But the audition process has been, shall we say, scattershot at best.
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