Page 38 of Trick or Tease

“Why do I care what these people think?” I muttered.

Sabrina paused in her arranging. “Because they’re your people, Garrett. Whether you like it or not.”

Before I could argue, one of the women from the church choir spotted me and came barreling over like a freight train in a floral dress. “Garrett Hogan! My stars, look how handsome you’ve grown!”

I forced a smile as she pulled me into a suffocating hug that smelled like mothballs and peppermint. And my god, that floral perfume that made me feel like I was suffocating. Too many times I’d been hotboxed by my mother’s perfume in the car on the way to church.

To this day I couldn’t stand the smell of flowers.

“It’s good to see you,” I said, doing my best to breathe through my mouth and not my nose.

She held me at arm’s length, studying me like a bug under glass. “Still in that big city, I hear? Must be so dangerous there. My niece visited last year and saw a man peeing right on the sidewalk!”

Sabrina coughed to cover a laugh.

“It’s not all bad,” I said through gritted teeth. “The paychecks help.”

“Money isn’t everything, dear. Your poor mother misses you terribly.”

The guilt landed exactly as intended. I opened my mouth to respond, but Sabrina smoothly cut in. “You have to try Granny’s new apple butter recipe. I’ll give you a sample if you promise to tell all your friends about our booth.”

Blessedly distracted, the woman wandered off with a tiny cup of apple butter and a promise to spread the word.

“You’re welcome,” Sabrina said under her breath.

I exhaled sharply. “This is going to be a long morning.”

“It’s for a good cause.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling exposed. It was like one of those nightmares where I showed up to school naked. “I don’t know why I care what anyone thinks here,” I admitted, surprising myself with how honest that sounded. “But I do, apparently, and I can’t help it.”

Sabrina looked up from the jars she was arranging, her expression softening. “That’s normal, you know. This is where you grew up. These people knew you when you were just a kid with scraped knees and big dreams.”

“Yeah, well, now they look at me like I’m some kind of traitor for having the audacity to leave.” I watched as a couple of my mom’s friends shot me a pointed look from across the square. “Like success is something I should apologize for.”

“Not all of them think that way.”

“Enough of them do.”

Sabrina stepped closer. “Look, I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’ll stay right here with you all morning. If anyone gets too annoying or starts giving you grief, I’ll steer them away just like I did at the retirement party.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile at that. “Oh, a little girl like you is going to protect me? What are you, five-foot-nothing? I think I outweigh you by about eighty pounds.”

She put her hands on her hips and gave me a look that could have melted steel. “This little girl has been handling pushy customers and nosy neighbors her whole life. I’ve got skills you city boys know nothing about.”

“Like what?”

“Like the ability to compliment someone’s haircut while simultaneously changing the subject and steering them toward buying apple butter. It’s an art form.” She grinned, and for the first time all morning, I felt myself actually relax a little. “Trust me, I’ve got your back.”

It had been a long time since anyone had offered to have my back without wanting something in return. In the city, every relationship was transactional. Every favor came with strings attached. The people I worked with weren’t friends. It was all about “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.”

“Thanks,” I said, and meant it. “I appreciate that.”

“Besides, if all else fails, I can always start telling embarrassing stories about you from when we were kids. That usually shuts people up pretty quickly.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Oh, I’ve got some good ones. Remember the time you got your head stuck in the fence behind the church?”