by Katie Carver
“Go ahead. But stay close by and do not wander off. We don’t need a repeat of the other night.” Jake warned.
Kacie rolled her eyes and gave him a quick hug before trotting off down the path lined with booths. They’d been working on the booth for the past few hours and Jake was pleased with the results. He was grateful he had a little help. He was miserable at decorating things even when he did put forth an effort to make it look nice. He’d wished Kacie could stay longer, too, but not because of the festival. He was just going to miss having her around. She wouldn’t be back until after Christmas and he dreaded not seeing her for a few weeks. He looked at the game and made sure it looked secure inside the booth. He and Kacie had decided on a quarter toss. If the person landed on a green circle, they’d win a ten-dollar voucher for the restaurant and if they landed on a red, they’d get a twenty-dollar voucher. It was the best idea he could come up with since he hadn’t given the booth much thought over the past few weeks. After seeing the other booths, he was relieved that his booth was in line with most of them. Jake couldn’t understand why Franklin felt so self-satisfied with his ring toss and couldn’t figure out why he raised the most each year. Jake knew it couldn’t be the vitamin C freebies.
The set-up for the festival was almost complete and there were people milling around working all morning. If this event was anything like the tree lighting, he knew the square would be packed tomorrow night. He glanced over at Ginger’s booth that was directly across from his. She hadn’t even begun hers. He wasn’t sure if she was avoiding seeing him or if she was planning to do hers later. He figured it was mostly to avoid him. He couldn’t blame her after how he acted last night. She had wanted to kiss him and he refused her. The answer to why he had done that mystified him at first. He’d wanted to kiss her so badly, but in the end, he realized he had his reasons. He replayed the moment over and over and couldn’t bear the look she had on her face when he pulled away from her. He’d told her he didn’t want to start over with her, but he knew that was only partially true. He was afraid to start over. When he was with Ginger, she brought out feelings in him that he’d buried down long ago. When his marriage didn’t work out, he’d sworn off ever opening his heart and life to anyone again. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for his ex-wife, they’d been in love and he still cared for her. They’d married young and as they grew, they simply realized that it wasn’t meant to be. Neither regretted any of it. They’d had Kacie and they remained friends, but that was mostly because she was the good person, not him. The real reason he didn’t want to open his heart again was because he wasn’t any good at love. If he’d put forth the effort that was required, maybe he and his ex would have found a way to grow with each other rather than apart. He didn’t want to hurt anyone he cared for ever again. He definitely didn’t want to hurt Ginger and he knew eventually he would if he allowed her to fall in love with him as he had with her. He’d put an end to it to keep her safe. The only thing he could do now was to try to make her as happy as he could from a distance. When Jake caught sight of Mayor Curtis inspecting a nearby booth, he knew what he had to do and he didn’t want to waste any time setting it in motion.
“Mayor Curtis, do you have a free moment?” Jake asked.
“Ahhh, Jake. I see you’ve completed your booth, unlike so many others. The festival is tomorrow!” Mayor Curtis yelled at the crowd to no one in particular. “I’m just not sure why everyone waits until the last minute.” He shook his head dismally and continued his inspection of Victoria’s booth.
“I’m sure they’ll be here,” Jake offered. “I was hoping to speak to you about the contest.”
“The contest? Don’t tell me. You want to drop out, too,” Mayor Curtis said.
“Yes, I want to --,” Jake paused. “What do you mean, too?”
“Ginger came to me earlier with a similar request. I told her the same thing I will tell you. No, absolutely not. It’s too late to remove your name from the contest,” The mayor said annoyed. “Doesn’t anyone read the fine print? There must be at least two people in the contest or the home will not be gifted to the town. You can read all the details if you want, I gave the papers to Ginger. Ask her for them.”
“Why did Ginger want to drop out?” Jake asked.
“Well, how should I know?” Mayor Curtis said exasperatedly. “Both of you are at odds vying for the house and then all of a sudden you both want to quit. Matty and I took time out of our lives to help you both and this is how we’re repaid? I just don’t know, Jake. It seems to me like there is something funny going on.”
The news of Ginger wanting to withdraw made Jake wonder what she was thinking. The only explanation was that she wanted to drop out to let Jake win. He couldn’t let her do that. The mayor couldn’t help so he’d have to find someone else who could. Jake spotted Kacie at the next booth and jogged over to her.
“Hey, kid. I need you to come to the Antique Store with me.” If the mayor wouldn’t help him make sure Ginger won, maybe Matty would. The last thing he wanted to do was ask her for help, but given the circumstances, he didn’t see any other option.
Kacie looked at him oddly. “Why?”
“I have something to do and I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”
Jake urged her to follow him and Kacie reluctantly lagged behind. When they arrived at the Antique Store he turned to Kacie. “Go ahead and look around, but do not break anything! The lady who owns this place doesn’t like me enough to let you slide and I don’t feel like buying any of this junk.” He walked down the middle aisle and saw Matty at the register.
“Why are you here?” Matty greeted Jake with disdain. “Did you come here to call me old?”
Jake instantly regretted seeking Matty out and if he had any other choice, he wouldn’t have chosen that option. “I’ve already apologized for that. Your address was on a list, I didn’t know it was you. If I had, I would have never bothered you. I would never classify you as elderly and I’m not sure how anyone else could make a mistake like that either,” Jake said.
“If you are trying to butter me up for some reason, you aren’t doing a great job.”
“I came here because I need your help.”
“My help?” Matty cocked an eyebrow, “What would make you think I’d help you?”
“It’s for Ginger,” Jake said evenly. He had already known she would never help him willingly, but if it was for Ginger she may reconsider.
Matty looked him up and down considering his request. “I’m listening.”
“Ginger should have the Baxter House. I want her to win. I tried to drop out, but Mayor Curtis said it’s too late to do that. Can you help me get her all the votes?”
“She doesn’t need your help getting votes.” Matty waved a hand at him dismissively. “Besides, she’s already asked me to stop helping her, so I can’t. She said she’s given up on the contest.”
Jake looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He returned his gaze to Matty. “So have I.”
Matty narrowed her eyes at him. “If that’s true, then the best thing you can do is just be yourself. I’m sure that will offend enough people. Just don’t attend the festival and stop talking to everyone. If they think you don’t care, they’ll go back to supporting her. That’s my advice. That’s all the help I can give you.”
Jake nodded. “I can do that.”
“Good.”
“Thank you, Matty,” Jake said softly.
Matty crossed her arms and glared at him. “You know, I’m surprised at you both. More so about Ginger. She really wanted that house. She’s loved it ever since she was a kid. It’s not in her nature to give up so I can only assume it’s because of you. At least you are doing the right thing by giving up, too. Maybe you aren’t completely horrible.”
“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Don’t let it go to your head. I said maybe,” she said forcefully, but a small smile crossed her lips.
Jake smiled, too, maybe she wasn’t
as bad as he had thought either. He found Kacie near the front. “Ready, kid?”
“Yes, there really isn’t anything in here I like. She doesn’t have any old books. What did you need to do?” she asked and put down the candlestick she had been looking over.
“I needed to make something right.”
“Did you?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting there.” Jake smiled down at his daughter.
It wouldn’t be enough to simply let Ginger have the house. If he really loved her, he needed to find a way not to ever hurt her again. No matter what he did, their lives would be intertwined. He couldn’t avoid her, it was too small of a town to be able to do that. He couldn’t just say hello when they met on the street, they were well past that. There was only one way he knew how to not hurt her. It would mean disappointing Kacie a little, but it was for the best. Even if it was one of the most difficult things he’d ever have to do, it was the right thing to do.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Hard to believe it’s already here, isn’t it?” Victoria asked Ginger after stopping by her booth. “Seems like just yesterday we had the tree lighting. It always makes me a little sad at how fast the holiday season seems to fly by. I remember being a kid. It felt like it took years for Christmas to arrive after Thanksgiving ended and now it’s over before I even realize it’s begun. It’s only three days away!”
“I know, I feel the same way.” Ginger was grateful that the time had been going so quickly this week. She was busy with finishing up orders and that made for a good distraction. She’d been thinking of Jake much too often, but she was able to re-focus her energy into baking at least some of the time.
“Good luck with the booth today. I’m still rooting for you to topple Franklin’s booth.” Victoria chuckled. “In fact, just for charity’s sake, I’ll take two pies.”
“Aww, c’mon, Vic,” Andy complained from the seat at the side of the booth. “There should be a limit to how many pies a person can purchase,” he said bitterly. “I don’t even know why I ever agreed to this in the first place.”
“You did it because it’s for a good cause. Now put your head through the back cut-out and stay still so your sister can throw a pie at you,” Ginger instructed with a laugh.
Andy closed his eyes and mouth tightly as Victoria threw her first pie at his face. It was a near miss and Victoria stomped her foot on the ground. “Dang it! That was so close!”
Andy laughed at his sister. “It’s lucky for me you throw like a girl.” He had barely made out the words when the next pie hit him squarely in the face.
“Bullseye!” Victoria cheered. “I think this is my favorite booth of all time. You should do this every single year from now on, Ginger.”
Ginger smiled at Victoria. “Not everyone is going to be as thrilled as you are to hit Andy, but it was something different I guess.” She handed Andy a towel. “Your brother is a good sport.”
“Yeah, great sport. More like a sucker,” Andy said miserably as he wiped the whipped cream off his face.
“Well, sucker, I’ll see you later. Thanks, Ginger. Really the best booth ever.” Victoria smiled and left to go back to her flower booth where she was selling chrysanthemums.
Ginger looked at Andy and felt a little pity for him. “Why don’t you take a little break? Go have some fun with Leah and the girls.”
“Are you sure?” Andy asked.
“You’ve had dozens of pies lodged at you in the last hour, I’m very sure,” Ginger said and laughed. Andy and Ginger looked towards the people approaching the booth and she yelled. “Go before I change my mind!”
Andy took off without another word. Whipped cream was still in his hair and on his shirt. She put up a sign that read On Break and walked out from behind the booth. Ginger looked at Jake’s booth and saw Sandy still hosting the game. She’d been there since the festival began and, after an hour of wondering if he would show, she decided to just ask Sandy instead of speculating. Ginger waited patiently for the line in front of the Jake’s Place booth to dissipate and walked across the path.
“Hi Ginger, want a go?” Sandy asked happily.
“Maybe later. I see your boss left you in charge. Isn’t Jake going to make it to the festival?” Ginger asked.
“I don’t think so. He said he had some stuff to finish up at the restaurant. I offered to do it, but he asked me to do the booth instead.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun for you.”
“Are you kidding? I’m having a blast!” Sandy gave a short laugh, “I’m getting paid and I have the best view of Andy’s face every time someone throws a pie. It’s priceless.”
People walked up behind Ginger and she stepped aside so they could play. If Jake didn’t show up to the festival, it would hurt his chances in the contest. Ginger didn’t think Andy would mind some more time with his family so that she could check on Jake. She couldn’t see what would be so important at the restaurant that he would miss the festival. Ginger walked across the street and saw him cleaning off tables through the window. It was as she had suspected. It wasn’t pressing restaurant business, he was avoiding the festival. She walked in and stood silently at the door for a moment. Jake didn’t notice she had even arrived. The place was quiet and empty and Jake looked preoccupied. Ginger cleared her throat politely and Jake looked up at her.
“Why aren’t you at the festival?” she asked gently.
“I had some things to do here,” Jake said and went back to cleaning the table.
“Are you still avoiding me?” Ginger asked quietly. “I promise, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve given up on the house. I want you to have it. You and Kacie would be very happy there.”
Jake stopped wiping and looked down at the table. “It isn’t about the contest.”
“So, you’re just avoiding me,” Ginger said sadly. Even though she suspected it was the reason, to hear him confirm it was more than she thought she could handle.
Jake looked up at her and gazed into her eyes. “It’s for the best, Ginger.” He walked a few steps closer to her and sighed. “Everything has gotten out of hand. I’m not even sure why I cared so much about any of it. I came here to start over and I let myself fall back into my old habits. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“It wasn’t entirely your fault, Jake. I let it get out of hand, too. It seems you and I are more alike than I thought.” Ginger gave a sad laugh. “Who would have thought?”
Jake shook his head slowly. “You are nothing like me. You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I’ve never met anyone like you and I know that I never will again.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but I don’t know how true that is.”
“It’s true,” Jake said simply.
“Come to the festival, Jake. Please.”
“I can’t. It doesn’t matter.” He got quiet and looked off behind her through the window. “I’m leaving. I accepted a job managing a new restaurant. I’ll be closing up Jake’s Place after the first of the year.”
Ginger felt tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of never seeing him again. “You can’t. Why?”
“They’d been trying to get me to work for them for a while. They offered me a position and I took it. It’s not as close to Kacie, but it’s still closer than I would have been if I stayed in the city. Small town life isn’t for me, Ginger.”
“You haven’t given it enough of a chance.”
“It’s not the town, it’s me,” Jake said and smiled sadly. “I don’t regret a moment of it, though. If I hadn’t tried it, I would have never met you.”
Tears began to stream down Ginger’s face. Jake walked over to her and wiped them away carefully. Jake put his hand under her chin and tilted her face up to meet his. He leaned in and kissed her softly. His lips were warm and gentle. He pulled away slowly and nuzzled her cheek with his and kissed her forehead before stepping back. “I’m not good enough for you. If I stay, I’ll just end up disappointing you and breaking bo
th of our hearts. I can’t let that happen. Not to you.”
“You can’t know that,” Ginger’s voice cracked, her entire body still tingling from his kiss. “No one knows how things will turn out. I want to try. I don’t care if you break my heart. If you leave, it will be broken anyway.”
“It’s for the best, Ginger. You should get back to the festival,” Jake said sadly and walked back to the table he had been cleaning and picked up the rag.
Ginger stared at Jake, but he didn’t look at her again. She turned sadly and opened the door. “Your wrong, Jake, and I’m going to prove it to you,” she said before leaving.
She sucked in a deep breath, straightened herself up and wiped her remaining tears away. Ginger could only think of one way to show him how wrong he was. She hurried across the street to the festival in time to see Mayor Curtis standing at the gazebo. Ginger weaved through the crowd to take a place in the front. He had been halfway through his speech and was reminding the town of the vote on Christmas Eve. Ginger knew what she had to do. She walked up beside him and faced the town.
“Ginger? Did you want to say a few words about the contest?” Mayor Curtis asked hesitantly.
“I do,” Ginger said forcefully.
“Wonderful! I’m glad to see you’ve changed your mind about the contest,” he said and gestured for her to take his position in front of the gazebo.
Ginger took the spot and stared at the faces in the crowd. She had never been a fan of speaking in front of large crowds and this was the largest she’d ever been in front of that she could recall. She swallowed hard and began.
“I know you are all expecting me to talk about why you should vote for me, but that’s not why I’m up here. I’m standing in front of you today to ask you to do the right thing and vote for Jake.” Ginger watched as a wave of confusion and mumbling stirred the crowd in front of her. “I know you may think I’ve lost my mind, but I’ve never seen anything more clearly. I asked Mayor Curtis if I could withdraw from the contest, but according to the rules, I can’t without the town losing the house entirely. I read the rules and it seems that’s correct.” Ginger pulled a folded sheet of paper from her pocket. “But what he gave me also included the letter Carol wrote to the town. I’d like to read that all to you now.