Playing with Words (Boggy Creek Valley #2) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,18

left and right, then across the street. Harris Hardware sat on the corner of Maple Street and Main, and Boggy Creek Bakery was directly across from Turning Pages. Next to that was O’Hara Construction. Main Street was one of those typical, small-town America streets. There were lampposts spaced several feet apart with huge colorful plants hanging from them. A bench was placed on every block, and there were usually people sitting on them, either chatting with each other, enjoying a book, or scrolling on their phone.

The historical buildings had all been well preserved, and they all held what appeared to be thriving businesses. Large red maple trees lined the main road and were beginning to change color as fall approached. People walked about, enjoying the slow pace of the small town, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes and draw a deep breath as I took it all in. This was nothing like New York City. I would have been knocked over or bumped into at least twenty times by now. One did not simply stand in the middle of the sidewalk and observe.

Boggy Creek was so different. I could see why my folks had been so drawn to this town. Why I had been drawn to it after all these years.

For a brief moment, I let myself wonder what it would be like to live somewhere other than New York. There was no real reason I needed to live in the city. If I moved here, I’d be closer to my folks who lived in Boston. I had a small handful of friends who were either married now or lived for going out on the town every night, which wasn’t something I was interested in. I could work from anywhere. I had once entertained the idea of moving to Italy to live part time. Why shouldn’t I think of moving to a smaller town? Maybe something in upstate New York. Maybe even own a bit of land and a horse.

God, when was the last time I’d climbed onto a horse? Years ago. But I was suddenly filled with the urge to have something of my own.

I turned to study the bench that was placed under a large tree in front of Turning Pages. Cute little lanterns hung from the tree, and it made me smile knowing it was probably Greer who had placed them there.

“Ready to go?”

Greer’s voice made me jump, and I nearly screamed like a little girl.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” she said with a wicked smile. “My car is parked out back, behind the bookstore. Did you walk here or drive?”

“I walked.” Willow Tree Inn was about a ten-minute walk from Turning Pages, and I’d decided the best way to check out the town was to walk, so I had.

“Perfect! Shall we?” Greer asked, motioning toward the alley between her building and the next.

“We shall.”

Greer

I could feel Hudson’s eyes on me as we walked down the narrow alley that led to the back of the bookstore where I parked my white Toyota 4Runner. I hadn’t been able to get the words he had whispered to me out of my mind. Sure, he claimed he’d been kidding, even apologized for the silly flirting, but cheese on crackers, the images I’d been daydreaming about since then were relentless. When was the last time I’d even gone out on a date?

Was that it? Was I that lonely? In that much need of a man?

No. That wasn’t it at all. I didn’t have to have a man in my life. I was perfectly fine being on my own, and I wasn’t the type of woman who needed a male to make me feel whole. Even if he did look like sex on a stick, and was so handsome it nearly rendered me stupid at times.

Not to mention how he bought Jenny a gift card. I mean, seriously, no man should be allowed to make a woman swoon like that. Even Candace was smitten with him now.

“How long does it take to get to the cabin from here?” Hudson asked as I unlocked the doors to my SUV with a beeping sound.

“About twenty minutes. Is that too far? You won’t be able to walk into town, if that’s something you enjoy doing.”

“No, that’s not an issue at all,” he said with a shake of his head. “As long as I’m not too far out of town. I walk everywhere in New York, and I don’t mind it, but the