Page 70 of Pumpkin Spice Promises

“Carson.” Rosie set the marker down.

“No.”

Clover whispered beside me, “Strong opening position.”

I ground my teeth, but otherwise ignored her.

“Carson.” Rosie rested both palms against the edge of the table. “We haven’t even discussed it…”

“We’re not discussing it.”

June spoke carefully from across the room, “Honey, nobody wants to pressure you.”

“Then this meeting is going wonderfully,” I muttered. Meme’s fingers settled over mine beneath the table. Not stopping me or silencing me, but there as support.

Rosie’s expression softened. “I know what that festival meant to your family.”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying no.”

Nobody interrupted, which made it worse. I could handle arguments. But sympathy…that was harder.

“The festival hasn’t been at Marigold Ranch in five years,” I continued, my voice raised so everyone could hear me. I though maybe then they’d stop asking. “There are plenty of other places in Willow Creek.”

“Name one,” Darlene said.

Rosie closed her eyes. “Darlene.”

“What? She said plenty.”

I glared at Darlene, agitated that she would speak against me when it wasn’t her land they were asking to use for the season.

She lifted both hands. “I’m not being difficult.”

“You were born difficult,” Iris said without looking up from her notebook. The room broke into laughter.

I almost joined.

Darlene turned. “Iris Bennett, you’ve been waiting fifteen years to say that.”

“Longer.”

Rosie took control again before they could continue. “Carson, we’re not asking because of nostalgia alone.”

That caught my attention. “What does that mean?”

Rosie looked toward June, and she nodded. “We ran the numbers.”

June Whitaker could make a blueberry scone feel like an emotional event, but she also ran one of the most successful businesses in Willow Creek. She reached beneath the table and pulled out a folder.

“You’re kidding.”

Rosie straightened, somehow standing taller than before. “No.”

June passed it down the row.

By the time it reached me, I already hated it. The amount of money this would generate for the ranch would be life changing. It was the Hail Mary we needed to fix everything…

The first page contained estimates: Vendor fees, parking donations, farm activity tickets, pumpkin sales, hayrides, food partnerships, and local sponsorships. I forgot how big the Harvest Festival used to be, it brought a crazy amount of tourists through our small town each year.