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“Where to?” I ask once we’ve descended the stairs.
“The parade begins at ten. We can watch it from in front of Aspen’s bookstore. It’s on the other side of Main Street. We’ll probably need an hour to make our way there.”
An hour to make it the half mile to the other side of town? She must be joking. When we reach the street side of the inn, I understand what she means. Main Street is packed with people strolling up and down through town. The atmosphere resembles a carnival with food booths and games scattered throughout the street.
“Do you want to play a game?” She motions toward the whack-a-mole where her sister Ashlyn is standing with Rowan.
I pay for two tickets and pick up my mallet. Ellery takes a position next to me while Ashlyn and Rowan are across from us.
“Ready. Set. Go.”
The first mole pops up except it’s not a mole. It’s gone before I can figure it what it is.
“What the hell was that thing?”
“Duh. It’s an oil rig.” Ellery’s mallet doesn’t pause as she explains to me. “Moles are animals. We don’t harm animals in Winter Falls. But oil rigs? Those we can harm.”
The machine beeps to announce time’s up and Ashlyn’s station lights up to indicate she’s the winner. She throws her hands in the air in victory. Her hands which both contain mallets. I don’t need to ask how Ashlyn won.
“You can’t bring an extra whack thingamabob!” Ellery yells at her before stomping toward her sister where she yanks the extra mallet out of her hands before whacking her sister with it.
“Hey! Stop it.” Ashlyn reaches up to pull Ellery’s hair, and I force my way in between the two of them.
“Are you crazy?” I hiss at her. “Your sister is pregnant. You can’t fight her.”
“Wait until I’m pregnant,” Ashlyn announces, “then, you won’t be able to touch me.”
“But you’re not pregnant yet,” Rowan says in a loud voice and several heads turn in our direction.
“You didn’t have to tell the entire world we’re trying to have a baby!” Ashlyn screeches at him ensuring everyone who didn’t hear Rowan the first time now knows.
Rowan shrugs. “You already told your sisters.”
While the two argue, I tag Ellery’s hand and lead her away. “Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”
“Ashlyn’s harmless unless you’re the librarian.”
I don’t want to know. “Do you want to get a bite to eat, or do you want to play another game?”
“I want to play the goldfish toss.”
I raise an eyebrow. “It’s not okay to whack a pretend mole, but it is okay to throw ping pong balls at real, live fish?”
She rolls her eyes. “Who said anything about fish?”
A goldfish toss without fish? This I gotta see. “Lead the way.”
She grasps my hand and my heart swells at the unconscious act. As much as she wants to deny it, Ellery likes me. She guides me toward another carnival booth. She fishes in her pocket for money, but I’m not letting her pay. Whether she wants it to be or not, this is a date. I pay for six chances and hand her half of the ping pong balls.
“Or would you rather I take all the chances?”
“How about a little wager?”
“Oooo, what are we wagering? A little sexy time between the sheets? I have some candles you should try,” Petal interrupts to say.
“Cole and I aren’t involved.”
My heart clenches at her words. I know we’re not in a relationship but hearing her say the truth hurts. I wanted to explore the future with Ellery before I knew she was pregnant. Now she’s carrying our baby, I’m determined more than ever to convince her to take a chance on me.
