at lying to herself, and she’d be lying to herself now if she thought he hadn’t won her over a little. Maybe if she’d paid more attention to him over the years, they could’ve …
“There’s your father,” Liam said as they reached the barnyard.
Adele saw Father wave at them from the front porch. “I wonder what he’s doing home early.”
“Early? It’s almost suppertime.”
“It is?” She glanced at the sun. He was right. “I had no idea we spent so much time in town.”
He smiled at her. “I hope I haven’t kept you too late.”
“No, it’s all right.” She snuck another peek at him, and her heart skipped a beat. If ever a heart had bad timing, this was it. Why did she have to discover that Liam was no longer the annoying boy she’d grown up with? And now he was leaving. It figured.
“Hello!” Father called from the porch as Liam parked the wagon. “How do the banners look?”
“Very good.” Liam hopped down. “We put up several. We’ll decorate the streets next.” He held up his hands to help Adele down.
She stared at them and noticed they were capable hands, sturdy, able to do things she couldn’t. She fought down a sigh and let him help her down. Worse, she liked the feel of his hands around her waist too. Oh, bother! Why did this have to happen now?!
“I’ve been charged with inviting you to dine with us, Liam,” Father said. “Won’t you join us?”
He smiled at Adele, then at Father. “Well, I suppose …”
“Then come in,” Father said. “Belle’s made roast chicken.”
“Sounds good,” Liam smiled at Adele again. It was a nice smile, warm, caring – and she realized she could get used to someone smiling at her like that day in and day out. Too late.
Liam let go of her waist and her eyes met his. His hands had lingered, and she hadn’t noticed. He did, however, step away and head for the porch. “Adele had a great idea for decorations,” he told Father as he went.
“Is that so, sweetling?” Father asked. “Tell me at the table.”
She followed them into the house and tried not to frown. She’d just realized someone of interest (okay, more than interest) had been right under her nose all this time – and now he was planning to flee Clear Creek. Maybe not right away, but gone was gone no matter how you looked at it. She sighed as she entered the house and closed the door behind her. This would be torture. The only thing she could think to do was avoid him – maybe if she didn’t spend any more time with him, her heart wouldn’t latch onto Liam any more than it already had.
The best laid plans immediately went awry. “There you are,” Mother said. “We have the perfect job for you and Liam to do.”
Adele looked at the smiling faces of her parents’ guests. “Hello Mrs. Riley, Mrs. Quinn. I had no idea you were joining us for supper.”
“It was a last-minute decision,” Mrs. Quinn said. “And please call me Betsy. Leona says you and she are on a first-name basis.”
Adele smiled at Leona. “Yes, I suppose we are.”
“As Betsy and I are only here for another week after the dance, we thought we’d fill you in on some other social functions we’ve come up with for the town.”
Adele glanced at Liam and back. “Functions?”
“Why, yes, dear,” Leona said. “We thought it would be nice if the town had a musicale.”
“But Leona,” Adele said. “Clear Creek doesn’t have many musicians.”
“Nonsense,” Betsy said. “Your parents have informed us several young folks in town play an instrument.”
Adele gulped. The only good musician in town was Henry Fig, who played the fiddle well. Certainly no one her age, despite numerous attempts. Poor Merritt struggled at the violin, and Ruby wasn’t much better on the cello – they only tried because Mr. Van Cleet was nice enough to procure the instruments a few years ago on a trip to Portland. Lucinda Stone wasn’t bad at piano, as long as one’s expectations were low. Eleanora Adams had tried learning the flute without much success. Having them perform together would be a disaster. Why couldn’t they ask Sam Cooke? He played piano. And didn’t Rosie the hotel cook play something? And for crying out loud, Annie King played the organ in church. Why pick the worst musicians in town to perform at a musicale?
“You’ll speak to everyone, won’t you, dear?” Leona insisted.
Liam looked worriedly at