frustrating that he’d done this without asking me. I knew it was a good thing, but it still bothered me that the first person he told was Sawyer and not his daughter who was going to be on the screen.
But it was already planned, and if I sent the press away now, I’d look like I was trying to hide something. Sawyer had informed me that the town already had a negative view of my personality. That at times I came across as harsh.
So no matter how much I hated the fact that Dad went behind my back and arranged this news story, I was going to use the exposure to my advantage and show Magnolia how personable I could be.
As the night progressed, people began to show up. I stood at the table, handing out doughnuts. People seemed comfortable enough to linger around the table and lawn of the Star Dollar Bakery. I also took it as a good sign that residents of Magnolia were smiling and speaking with me for longer than a few seconds.
I just might be able to win over the voters I needed to win this election once more.
Danny was hanging out with me by the table. He took over handing out doughnuts while I did my short interview with the couple of reporters that showed up, and when I got back to the table, he had a mischievous look in his eye. Like he wanted to ask me a question but wasn’t sure how to do it.
It intrigued me. Danny was anything but mysterious.
He was a wear his heart on his sleeve kind of guy.
“What’s up?” I asked as I pulled out a cinnamon twist doughnut and began pulling off chunks to slip into my mouth. There was a lull in people, and I was starving. I’d forgotten lunch, and with my schedule jam-packed with events tonight, I knew dinner was a far-off reality.
Danny pulled out a jelly-filled doughnut and took a bite. “Nothing,” he said through the food.
I shook my head. “Nope. Not buying it. You look like you’ve been up to something.” I took another bite of the doughnut. “Did something happen at the school today?” I knew sending my good-looking brother into the clutches of the single elementary school teachers might have been a mistake. But, from the look on Danny’s face, he didn’t feel the same.
He swallowed his food. “What do you know about the vice principal?” he asked slowly.
“Vice principal?” I asked. And then realization dawned on me. “You mean Shari?”
Danny nodded. “Yeah. Shari.”
I furrowed my brow. Why did he want to know about Shari? And how was it that he didn’t recognize her? We’d all grown up together. “She’s—”
“Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t get Tag out of his room.” Shari’s out-of-breath voice caused me to turn. Her hair was windblown and her cheeks were red. She had one hand wrapped around Bella’s, and she was half dragging her across the grass. Tag was lingering behind her, and from what I could see of his expression, he was not excited to be here. “I…”
I glanced up to see that she was staring just to the left of where I stood. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were parted as if she had more to say, but her words had left her mind and her mouth. I could tell something was bothering her, so I peeked over my shoulder to see the very familiar half smile of my brother. The one he used when he was flirting with his next fling.
Ugh.
This was not a good sign.
“It’s fine. I’m just happy you made it,” I said as I turned my attention to Bella, who was standing next to the table, eyeing all the doughnuts. “Do you want this one?” I asked, pointing to a chocolate-glazed doughnut with sprinkles.
Bella nodded shyly, and I pulled a piece of tissue paper from the box next to me and fished out the doughnut. As I handed it to her, Shari and Danny still hadn’t spoken a word. In fact, I was fairly certain that Shari was having a brain aneurysm.
Part of me didn’t want to burst the bubble of whatever was playing out in front of me. But the other half of me felt like the pickle in the middle, and I was ready to get this conversation over with.
“Danny says he’s working at the school with you,” I said as I fiddled with my half-eaten doughnut. I was exhausted and no longer hungry,