Chapter Five
On Saturday morningafter Thanksgiving, a group of Marietta townspeople convened in the basement of the St.James Church for their final meeting to make sure everyone had their instructions for Christmas in Marietta.Letty and Val were both helping with the Stroll, which would take place the following weekend.Letty had volunteered to help with the parade and the lighting of the tree.To her surprise, Riley had also volunteered for that job.He was a late addition.
“Since when do you help with the tree?Don’t you always take charge of the food trucks?”Letty asked him after his name was called out.He’d managed to sit beside her when she arrived.
“Val is doing it this year.I thought I’d switch it up.”
“Why?”It seemed she was asking him that question a lot these days.
He smiled.“I bet you can figure it out if you think about it.”
He was doing it to be around her.
After the meeting, Letty and Val went to the Java Café.
“Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like Riley was totally enthralled with you during the meeting.He didn’t even glance at anyone else,” Val said after they sat down with their drinks.
“Maybe.”Riley hadn’t asked her out again after the first time, but she didn’t think he’d given up.She was probably being overly cautious, but ever since he hauled her out of Grey’s Letty had been confused about Riley’s motives.It was weird having him pay so much attention to her.She’d gotten over him a long time ago, but she had to admit that he was every bit as attractive to her, if not more, than he’d been when she’d been crushing on him as an eighteen-year-old.
“Do you know why?”Val took a sip of her latte.
“I might.You know how you thought Riley was acting different and you wondered if he was thinking of settling down?I don’t know about the settling-down part, but I think I’ve figured out who Riley is interested in.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Val stared at her, then burst out laughing.“No really.Who is it?”
“Thanks, Val.You’re great for the ego.”
“You know I didn’t mean it that way.I’m surprised is all.”
“I’m not kidding.It’s me.”
“When did this happen?”
“I’m not sure.I don’t know whether it was sudden, or he’s been thinking about it.You know we’ve been seeing a lot of each other since Vivian was born.Since you and Liam got married, really.But the first I realized there might be more to it was when he dragged me out of Grey’s Saloon one night not long before Thanksgiving.”
“Why did he do that?”
“I was at the bar flirting with Bud Davis—”
“Bud Davis, Liam’s and my new hand?”
“The very one.”
“He’s cute, but I hear he’s a player.”
“I heard that too, but I didn’t really care.I was having a bad day—It was—It was the anniversary of the day my parents died.”
Val’s expression turned sympathetic…and a little bit guilty.“Oh, Letty, you should have called me.Or better yet, come out to the ranch.I should have remembered.”
“It’s been a long time.There’s no reason you should have remembered.Anyway, I decided having sex would help me not think about it.”
“Take it from me.That doesn’t always work out.”
“Yours did.You and Liam are madly in love and happy with the baby.”Vivian wasn’t Liam’s biological child, although he’d adopted her as soon as he could.Although it hadn’t been easy, Liam and Val had worked out the situation with the biological dad.He now lived in California and had nothing to do with his child.Much to Liam and Val’s relief, since he wasn’t exactly a great role model.
