Hometown Star - By Joleen James Page 0,35
arrived about thirty minutes early, the lawn was already covered with several blankets and low riding lawn chairs.
“Is this a good spot?” Cade asked when they found a vacant patch of grass.
“Works for me,” Star replied.
Cade spread the blanket out on the grass. There was a good turnout tonight, probably around seventy people. Star recognized some of them: the gal from the diner, one of the nurses from the hospital, and a checker from the local store.
Cade knew everyone, and they’d stopped several times to greet people while making their way through the crowd. To Star’s surprise, a lot of people remembered her and a part of her liked that, liked being a part of a community. Her life in Seattle didn’t allow time for things like neighbors, and she certainly didn’t know anyone there from her childhood.
“Have a seat,” Cade said.
Star lowered herself to the blanket. “What do you have in that bag?”
Cade grinned as he dropped down beside her. He reached in the bag and pulled out a bottle of wine.
“Wine? Is that legal?”
“It is if you don’t get caught.” He smiled before fishing a bag of pre–popped popcorn from the sack.
“Popcorn?”
Next came a box of Milk Duds.
“Are you kidding?” Star asked. “Wine, popcorn, and Milk Duds are a strange combo. You brought a lot of snacks when you couldn’t be sure I’d agree to this.”
“A guy can always hope.” Cade’s smile deepened.
Star shook her head, unable to resist his charm.
“Besides,” Cade said, “you haven’t lived until you’ve had Milk Duds and popcorn mixed together. We need the wine to wash it all down.” He opened the box of candy and shook the contents into the bag of popcorn. “Try some.” He held the bag out to her.
Skeptical, Star tried a handful. The chocolate and caramel mixed with the salty popcorn. She smiled. “This is good. Like caramel corn.”
“Told you. It’s even better when the popcorn is hot.” Cade removed the cork from the wine and filled two clear plastic cups, passing one to Star. “Cheers.”
Star touched her glass to his. “Cheers.”
“Let’s drink to the first day of the rest of our lives.”
“Cheesy, O’Brien,” Star said. “But okay. To the rest of our lives.” They touched glasses again. Star took a sip of wine. “This is good, too.”
“Merlot. To go with the chocolate.”
Star smiled.
“How much longer are you in town?” He tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
“One week. I leave next Sunday.”
Cade frowned. “Not long then.”
“Nope.” Star sipped her wine. “I wouldn’t stay on this long, but I promised Brandi I’d hang out for a while.” Star inhaled. The scented air overwhelmed her, the hemlock, the stink of the fish from the bay, and the wild fireweed. “I’m going to miss the air here.”
“Just the air?” Cade teased.
“And Brandi and Will,” she joked.
“Will you miss me, Star?” His serious tone caught her off guard.
“I think so,” she replied honestly. “If you’d asked me that question last week I would have said, no, but now you’re starting to grow on me a little. Plus, you made me this delicious popcorn. That will earn you some serious points in my book.”
He chuckled, his laugh breaking the serious moment.
People continued to arrive. Soon the lawn was totally covered with bright blankets. Whole families had come, and their laughter filled the park. Children played. Neighbors visited.
Star glanced at Cade and found him watching her. “We should have brought the kids.”
“Then it wouldn’t be a date.” Cade reclined, rolling to his side, propping his torso up on his elbow.
“It’s not a date.”
“If you say so.”
“I’m not used to you being nice to me,” she said. “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“The shoe’s not going to drop.” He took a sip of his wine and appeared to be considering her words. “I always wanted to be nice to you, even when I was awful. And later, when we were teenagers, I didn’t know how to fix all the things I’d done.”
“I guess I can understand where you were coming from, now that I know about Patsy and your dad. I’m sorry their relationship was so hard on you. I guess I don’t know how I would have reacted had I known about them.”
“I’m over it.”
“I know. Tell me about your wife,” she asked, wondering how much, if anything, he’d share with her. “What was she like?”
He sat back up. “That would depend on the day.”
“What do you mean?”
“Marissa was extremely bipolar. She was up. She was down. When she