by Nancy Naigle
Savannah loved her little blue Mini Cooper. She’d treated herself to the new wheels last year. It was so easy to park in the city, and it was fun to drive, but even she had to laugh at how tiny it looked sitting next to the big GMC pickup parked next to it behind the apartment. The monster of a 4x4 made her car look like a toy. The truck must belong to the PI, although the fire-engine red was anything but understated. But then neither were his music choices.
She popped the trunk on her car and pulled out a box wrapped in glossy white-and-silver paper. She’d wrapped up a couple of bottles of wine as a gift for the wedding festivities this weekend, so rather than let them go to waste, she figured she’d take one of them to thank Connor and Carolanne for inviting her to the cookout. Good wine would’ve gone to waste on her ex anyway. He was strictly a Miller Lite kind of guy, unless he’d changed, and that wasn’t likely.
She ripped away the glossy paper, then retied the white tulle into a presentable bow around one of the bottles. Comfortable with the casual transformation, she placed the bottle in the passenger seat and then set the directions in her lap for the short drive to the artisan center. Why they hadn’t just given her a street address that she could type into her GPS was beyond her, but the directions looked easy enough to follow.
There wasn’t much traffic on Route 58, so it took less than ten minutes to get there. The artisan center was well marked and the building hard to miss with its bright-blue roof. She pulled her car into an open parking space on the side of the building where Connor had said they’d meet her. Connor had mentioned that he and Carolanne lived in the new neighborhood that backed up to the center, Bridle Path Estates. It looked like it was all Connor had described it as—homey, understated, and charming. Only a few houses dotted the landscape, although several plots were flagged off and ready for breaking ground on construction. Even so, the lots were large. A few acres at least. Neighborly with enough space for privacy. The best of both worlds.
She got out of her car to wait. Rainbow-colored tents lined the lawn near a pond. Lots of people were already milling around. A corn hole tournament was in full swing at one end, and some kids played good old-fashioned Frisbee near the pond. It looked like it could be fun, and the weather was perfect for it.
Connor pulled his car into the spot right next to her. “Hey there,” he said as he got out. “Have you been here long?”
“No. I just got here.”
A stunning redhead got out of the passenger seat. “It’s so nice to meet you, Savannah. Connor told me that you’re staying upstairs for a few days. Any trouble getting here?”
“None at all.” Savannah handed her the bottle of wine. “Wasn’t sure if this would be appropriate or not, but I wanted to at least thank you for inviting me.”
“That was so nice of you.” She twisted the bottle and read the label. “Made right here in Virginia. I can’t wait to try it. That was so thoughtful of you.” She put it in the backseat of the car. “You’ll have to stop by and enjoy that with us while you’re here. We live just across the way. You can see our place from here.” She pointed across the pond.
“Lovely home.”
“Thanks,” Carolanne said. “Well, let’s head on down. I promised Jill I’d help her if things were crazy this morning, but it looks like everything is running smoothly.”
Savannah fell in step next to Connor and Carolanne, down the slope toward the activities.
Carolanne raised her arm in the air and waved to a couple across the way. “There’s Jill and Garrett. They’re great, you’ll love them. Jill runs the Artisan Center.”
“Great. It’ll be nice to meet her,” said Savannah. “This is all quite an accomplishment.”
“Jill dreamed of building this center for as long as I can remember. We grew up here together. She lived with her grandmother after her parents died.”
Savannah swallowed hard. She knew exactly how it felt to lose your parents. “The location is perfect,” she said, trying to sound light.
“All of this land used to belong to her grandmother. When she died she left it to Jill and Garrett. Only they weren’t together at the time. Long story short, Pearl Clemmons did a little matchmaking from beyond the grave and we all are living happily ever after.”
“Pearl sounds like a gem.”
“You got that right. She was the heart of this town. Jill is following in her footsteps. She’s really done great things with this place in a short time. She and Garrett are the best team.”
Carolanne and Jill hugged once they reached each other, and the guys disappeared almost as quickly to hunt down food from the assortment in the tents around them.
“We’ll meet you back at the bar tent,” Garrett said.
Savannah smiled, feeling a bit like an outsider . . . not that feeling like an outsider was so unusual for her. But then that was by her own choice. Once she’d left Belles Corner she’d found it hard to open up, and since she didn’t go out often, on dates or with groups, when she did, she often felt this way. She didn’t like it, but she could fake it like nobody’s business.
“I can’t wait to check out the artisan center, Jill. I’m Savannah. Nice to meet you.”
“Thank you. I hope you find something you can’t resist in there. You’re new to the area?” Jill’s grin was wide and her words bounced with excitement at just the mention of the place.
“Just passing through.”
“How long are you visiting for?” Jill asked.
“Just a week or so. I’m getting a much-needed rest before I start a new job.”
“You picked the right place for it. How did you and Carolanne meet?”
Savannah and Carolanne both laughed. “Well, actually . . . we met for the first time just a few minutes ago,” Carolanne said.
“True.” Savannah nodded. “I rented Connor’s old apartment for a week and he invited me.”
“Do you have family in the area?”
“No.”
“Then what made you pick Adams Grove?” Carolanne gestured to the other girls to head toward the bar tent.
“A ticket.” They looked confused by her evasive answer. “Where I’m from we get ten over. Doesn’t everybody?”
“A speeding ticket. Oh, gosh. Not around here. Even the locals can’t get away with that,” Carolanne said, but both she and Jill were shaking their heads.
“Well, I guess I should thank my lucky stars then, because he let me off with a warning.”
Carolanne and Jill responded in chorus. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, but I think he only did it because he felt bad for me. I was supposed to be headed to my ex-husband’s wedding, almost got that speeding ticket, was almost out of gas, and my tire was almost flat . . .”
“Oh, man. I feel bad for you too, and I wasn’t even there. So you decided to almost stick around?” Jill said.
“Kind of like that.” Savanna nodded.
Carolanne asked, “Who stopped you?”
“The sheriff,” Savannah said. Scott, she thought. “Call me Scott” . . . or not. “Although I didn’t realize he was the sheriff at the time.”
“Scott Calvin?” Jill sounded unconvinced.
“Yeah. You know him?” Stupid question. Everyone probably knew everyone around here.
“We grew up with Scott,” Carolanne said.
Jill waved a warning finger toward Savannah. “Careful, he met his last girlfriend on the side of the road. You could be next.”
“I can assure you that will never happen in a million years,” Savannah said. She’d been so hell-bent on keeping anyone from getting close all these years that she hadn’t even hesitated with that well-practiced answer, but she had to admit that the cute lawman had caught her attention on the side of the road too.
“But I’m sure there’s a good story there.” Savannah added.
“Long story,” Jill
said. “Another time.”
“He’s really cute, but he was kind of cranky. I made a joke and he didn’t even crack a smile!”
“Maybe you read him wrong because he’d stopped you,” Carolanne said. “You have to admit getting stopped never makes for a good day.”
“True, but he was pretty cranky this morning when I ran into him at the diner too.”
“That’s really not like him.” Jill looked perplexed. “In fact, he’s usually the fun one.”
Carolanne nudged Jill. “Not as fun as he used to be since he became sheriff, though. He was half of the trouble in this town when we were growing up.”
Jill nodded a confirmation. “She’s right.”
Savannah’s interest perked right up. “Do tell.”
Carolanne put her hand over her mouth as she started to laugh. “Remember the time—”
“You girls aren’t talking about us, are you?” Garrett entered the bar tent with Connor on his heels.
“No,” the girls said in unison.
“Uh-huh. That didn’t sound suspicious,” Connor said.
Carolanne said, “It’s not always about you, hon. We were talking about Scott.”
“Good guy,” Connor said.
Garrett nodded. “Yep.”
“Remember the time he painted that big Ford emblem on the side of the Chevy dealership in town?”
“Hey, that was art,” Connor said.
“Says his partner in crime?” Carolanne shot Connor a look. “You’re only taking up for him because you were handing him the spray cans he was using to tag the place.”
“Who knew his uncle couldn’t take a joke?” Connor shrugged. “Scott and I had to spend three weekends painting the side of the building white to cover it up . . . in August! That was the worst summer ever.”
“Aren’t you a bad boy,” Savannah teased. “And you look so innocent.”
“I was, like, thirteen at the time.”
Jill elbowed Connor. “Not as bad as Scott’s summer the year y’all turned sixteen.”
“Oh, yeah. Poor guy.”
“What?” Savannah was hungry for more details about the grumpy overseer of law and order of the county. Maybe story number two was going to be as easy as the first one.
Connor raised a hand and poured out the details. “He missed curfew one too many times and his dad grounded him from driving his car. Scott thought he was so smart taking the riding lawnmower out instead, only his dad reported it stolen and he got arrested for joyriding.”
Carolanne laughed so hard she snorted. “He had to cut all the yards on the whole street for the rest of that summer.”
“I wasn’t talking about that time,” Jill said. “I was talking about the skinny-dipping incident at the pond.”
“That was right through those woods,” Connor said.
Carolanne waved an imaginary surrender flag. “Okay, y’all are going to give Savannah the wrong idea about our sheriff. We were kids back then. Scott’s well respected around here. He was just a little bit of a hell-raiser in his day.”
“I guess he’s kind of the last guy you expected to run for sheriff,” Savannah said.
“Not really. He was always the one leading the trouble, but he was also the one making sure we weren’t in any real danger. It was all innocent horseplay. Guess it did prove his leadership skills, though,” said Connor.
“He sounds like a lot of fun, nothing like the Scott I met more than once in this town,” Savannah said. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same guy?”
Garrett shrugged. “Probably just needs to get laid.”
“Garrett!”
“What? We get grumpy when we go without.”
“I swear he’s not usually like this.” Jill swatted at Garrett’s arm.
“That’s only because you keep me—”
Jill wagged her finger at Garrett. “Okay, that’s enough out of you.”
Garrett snickered and pulled Jill in front of him, resting his beer on her arm. “Scott’s a good guy.”
Carolanne’s voice softened. “Scott just needs a little lovin’. It’s like a country song. He’s got the dog, the truck, and the small town. Now all he needs is the girl.”
“Speaking of country music, I saw Cody Tuggle at the diner this morning,” Savannah said. “He was there with his family when Scott came in.”
“Maybe that explains his mood.” Carolanne and Jill exchanged a glance. “Another long story,” said Carolanne.
That old feeling that nothing was private in a small town nagged at her. Who knew the real story? Suddenly she felt a little bad for judging Scott. “I don’t know how you do it. Living in a small town where everyone knows everything. Doesn’t it make you crazy? Everyone knows the stuff you want to forget.”
“It’s not that bad,” Jill said.
“It can be,” Carolanne admitted. “I moved away because of that very reason.”
That caught Savannah’s interest. “But you came back.”
“Yeah. Surprised the heck out of me too,” Carolanne said.
“Made my day,” Connor said.
Carolanne caressed his arm. “Turned out that the town was way more forgiving about the past than I was. I’d assumed everyone was hanging on to all the bad stuff. Turned out everyone else had moved on and it was just me living with those old woes.”
Savannah wasn’t sure she knew what Carolanne was trying to say, but somehow the sadness in the redhead’s eyes kept her from pushing further, even though she had a feeling that there was definitely a story there.
“It’s no secret, so you may as well know.” Carolanne stepped closer to Savannah. “My dad, he was the town drunk. Not always, but after my mother died . . . losing her just tore him right out of the frame. My childhood here was a mess. If it hadn’t been for Jill and her grandmother, I just don’t even want to think about how bad it could have been.”
Jill jumped in. “I loved you being at our house all the time.”
“I know. I did too, and it doesn’t matter now. It’s in the past, but back then I couldn’t get out of Adams Grove fast enough. Thank goodness for college scholarships. After college I moved to New York City to practice law. I honestly thought I’d never come back here.”
“You practiced law in New York City?” Savannah spun toward Connor. “And you in Chicago? And y’all are both back here?”
“And not one single regret.” Carolanne looked to Connor, who smiled in agreement. “You can’t let the past drive your future.”
That message hit home for Savannah, but then her situation was different.
Connor clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “This is supposed to be fun, and y’all are getting all serious. Let’s eat. What’s everyone want?”
“Just bring back a little of everything. We’ll commandeer a table in the shade,” Carolanne said.
Across the way someone had fired up a karaoke machine, and now that church was out, the grounds were filling up fast.
The guys came back with two cardboard box lids stacked high with food. Connor placed a paper plate filled with deviled eggs in the center of the table. “No one can pass those up,” he said to Savannah.
Savannah lunged for one. “Oh, my gosh. It’s been forever since I’ve had deviled eggs. My granny used to make the best.”
“Well, be prepared to be wowed,” Connor said. “I don’t know where you’re from, but here in Adams Grove, we think these are the best.”
Savannah grabbed one and sank her teeth into it. She hadn’t felt that close to her granny in years. “It’s perfect. I swear it has to be the same recipe as my granny’s. No relish. Just a mix of fresh herbs and spices and her secret weapon—a dash of parmesan.”
Jill’s eyes went wide. “Don’t let Miss Daphne hear you. If your granny’s secret ingredient is the same as hers,
she’ll kill you for giving away the secret. Folks around here have been begging for it for years!”
“Oopsy. Don’t rat me out,” Savannah teased. “I don’t want to be run out of town before I even get unpacked.”
“We’ve got your back,” Connor said, then turned to Carolanne. “Hey, babe, I’ll get you another glass of wine. Savannah, you sure you don’t want a glass of wine with your lunch?”
“No, thank you. I wouldn’t want to drink and drive in this town. No telling what would happen if I got caught seven sips over the limit.”
Everyone laughed, and Connor raised his beer in the air. “To new friends. Hope you’ll stick around a while, Savannah.”
Savannah raised her cup of sweet tea. “I’ll drink to that.”
An older woman in a bright-yellow top and a green apron, who looked like a team mascot for John Deere, joined them at the table. “How’s everybody doing?”
Connor stepped over and hugged her. “We’re great, Miss Daphne. Meet our new friend, Savannah Dey. She’s visiting from up near DC.”
“I heard we had a new gal in town. Welcome, Savannah,” Daphne said.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Daphne. I’m just visiting.”
“You can just call me Daphne. They’ve known me since they were school-aged kids. I quit having birthdays ten years ago; the way I figure it, they’ll be catching up with me soon and I’ll be calling them miss and mister.” The woman giggled, then pointed toward the center of the table. “Did you like those deviled eggs?”
“They were just as delicious as the ones my granny used to make for me. It was like being a teenager back at her house all over again.”
Daphne beamed with pride. “My special recipe.”
“You made those? They are absolutely delicious.” Carolanne and Jill turned away, hiding their smiles. “Thank you for the memories. I haven’t thought about those in years.”
“You are welcome, dear. Nothing better than family.” She patted Savannah’s arm. “Connor tells me you’re a writer. That’s so interesting.”