“Okay,” Sherri said doubtfully.
I ended the call and opened the bedroom door, only toactuallystumble over the cat, who was lying across the doorway. She glared at me, and I remembered kicking her out of my room around 5:00 a.m. after she’d decided to start kneading my nutsack.
She meowed loudly, and I went and tipped a can of food into her bowl before stopping off in the bathroom. Once I’d taken a leak, splashed some water on my face, and tamed my hair, I threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater with a snowman on the front. As I laced up my boots, I looked longingly at my coffee pot, but there wasn’t time. Setting up didn’t take that long, but the tables were assigned on a first come, first served basis, and I didn’t want to get stuck in a back corner. I’d bet that Finn was already there and that he’d grabbed one of the best spots.
I gathered up all the cookies I’d made and piled them into two big plastic crates. Then I grabbed a pile of cellophane packages and a roll of ribbon and threw them into one of the crates and added the containers of unpacked cookies from last night. I’d have to pack them when I got there.
Asshole meowed at the back door to be let out, but I shook my head. She was still adjusting to being an indoor cat, and she wasn’t happy about having to lower herself to using a litter box like acommoncat instead of the princess she thought she was. “Sorry,” I told her, “you live inside now.”
I pulled on a thick coat and bundled up before stepping outside with the crates. It was cold as hell, and by the time I’d loaded all the cookies into my RAV4, the snow was falling steadily. As I went back inside to check I hadn’t forgotten anything, Asshole ducked around my legs and darted out the door, but I managed to scoop her up before she got too far. She hissed her disapproval at me, but I shoved her back inside and slammed the door anyway.
Once I’d locked up, I drove into town. Visibility was low, the windshield wipers barely clearing the windshield before another flurry of snow blocked my view, so it was a slower trip than I would have liked. By the time I arrived at the community center, a glance at the clock on my dashboard told me the ten-minute drive had taken closer to twenty. It was edging toward eleventhirty. People were carrying boxes into the center, the parking lot looked like it was already full, and there were cars parked all up and down the block.
A tendril of panic wormed its way into my gut. I hated being late, and I still had to find a place to park. I had a horrible suspicion I’d be carrying my cookies from a block away. At this rate my table would be the one next to the bathrooms.
But then as I cruised slowly along, a car backed out of an angled parking space, leaving an empty spot right in front of the center. I couldn’t believe my luck and I sped up a little, ignoring the way my tires slipped, so I could snag the spot before anybody else did. Finally, my day was improving!
Only as I pulled forward, a figure appeared through the falling snow, and I recognized the silhouette immediately. Finn Kelly. He was carrying a box, and when he saw my car he came to a standstill—right in front of my parking spot—and flashed me a bright smile.
And maybe the smile distracted me, or maybe there was ice on the road, but whatever the reason, the result was the same.
I hit the brakes too late, skidded forward, and hit him with my car.
Chapter 6
FINN
Everything happened in slow motion, and I was still helpless to move out of the way. I saw Cameron pulling in, there was a flash of sudden movement as the RAV4 lurched forward, and then the bumper took me out at the knees and sent me flying. My box of cookies went sailing into the air, the packages scattering like confetti, and my ass connected with the ground, sending shock waves up through my tailbone. Then my head smacked into the pavement, and everything went dark for a little bit.
I wasn’t sure how long I was out, but when I came around I was flat on my back and a gloved hand was patting my face. I opened my eyes a crack to find Cameron hovering over me, as pale as the snow I was lying in except for two hectic patches of color on his cheeks, saying, “I’m so sorry, Finn! It was an accident!”
I eased myself up onto one elbow and let out a groan as a throbbing at the base of my skull made itself known. My ass also protested, although less loudly than my head. I pointed at Cameron with a shaking hand and rasped out, “Did you just hit me?” I still couldn’t quite believe it, although the aches and pains that were surfacing from hitting the pavement were quickly letting me know that yes, I had been hit by a car.
“It was anaccident,” Cameron repeated, eyes wide.
“Wasit an accident, though?” a loud voice said suddenly, cutting through the hush. “Because last night at the diner I heard you say you were willing to kneecap Finn to win!”
I squinted in the direction of the voice and recognized Brady McAllister, a guy I worked with. He had his arms folded over his broad chest, the flannel he was wearing straining under the bulge of his muscles, and he was glaring at Cameron.
Wait. Was he saying Cameron did this onpurpose?
That made no sense. Maybe I’d hit my head harder than I’d thought.
I let out a low groan, and Cameron’s gaze swung back to me.
“See?” he said, a little hysterically. “He’s awake and he’s fine! If I’d hit him on purpose, I would have made a decent job of it!” His mouth snapped shut, and I could tell the exact second he realized how that had sounded.
“So hedidmean to hit him!” someone whispered, and a ripple of excited chatter ran through the crowd. Apparently, the bake sale was no longer the most exciting thing happening in Sugar Hollow.
“That’s right,” Brady continued, raising his voice and tilting his chin in my direction. “They argued over the competition, and Cameron flat out said he’d have to cheat to win. And later I heard him say Finn would never see him coming—and he was standingnext to his carwhen he said it!”
The whispers increased to a steady buzz, and a couple of people who I thought might have been at the diner last night nodded their agreement.
Even though I was new to town, I already knew that Brady was a man with a lot of opinions that he liked to share loudly with anyone who would listen. And even lying there in a haze, I knew I didn’t want him starting a rumor that Cameron had run me down on purpose.
“What?” Cameron let out a weak laugh that carried an edge of panic. “No, we were joking around! Finn and I are friends, honest! I just… the snow, it was hard to see…”
Judging by the hard stares being directed at him, I expected the pitchforks would be handed out any minute now.
