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Chapter 15
Rory zipped up her jacket against the cold evening air and walked along Starfish Avenue. She was meeting Joanna at six for the Harvest Festival, and it was now five-thirty. That gave her enough time for a quick meeting with Hunter about the restoration software.
Downtown Bliss Cove had gone all out for the festival—orange, gold, and white lights twinkled around the town gazebo and the trees lining the street. Hay bales surrounded the square, and food and arts-and-crafts booths were set up on the stretch of lawn around the gazebo. People wandered among the booths, danced to the folk music of the six-piece band, or stood around eating popcorn and drinking hot apple cider.
In one corner of the square, a few local police officers were corralling a line of both adults and kids who were waiting for their chance to interact with the strikingly handsome action-movie star Jake Ryan.
Last spring, Jake had left a glittering life in Hollywood to come and live with Callie in Bliss Cove. Since he’d been out of the spotlight and living a small-town “normal” life, the paparazzi no longer bothered him—though Bliss Cove residents were exceedingly protective of him and his privacy.
The only times both Jake and the town officially acknowledged his movie-star status were for fundraisers and local charities. Now, a banner proclaimingMeet Blaze Ripley! All donations go to the Bliss Cove Children’s Hospital!stretched between two trees.
Jake, as his iconicFatal Glorycharacter, was taking pictures, signing autographs, talking with fans, and teaching kids some choreographed fight moves. Callie staffed a booth nearby, collecting donations and giving out information on the new wing of the children’s hospital.
Catching her sister’s eye, Rory gave her a quick wave but didn’t approach the booth. No doubt Callie would have questions about Grant, too.
She rounded the corner of Dandelion Street, where lights blazed from Sugar Joy and spilled into the courtyard in front of the bakery. Inside, Eleanor and Linda were busy helping a few customers, though since everyone was at the square, Hunter was the only person seated at a table.
“Hey, Rory.” He pulled out a chair for her. “Thanks for your help with this. I hadn’t expected to have such a hard time finding the right program.”
“I’m guessing that’s because your project is quite unique.” Rory waved at her mother and sat beside Hunter. “There’s not much software development for historic preservation, but when you combine that with new construction and planning, you’ll likely have to use several different programs. There’s that program where you can get 3D geographic information systems, but if you can combine that with architectural modeling and property management software, you’d have a much more comprehensive program. What would be really cool is if you could write a code to include the dimension oftimeto show how historic sites have changed and will potentially evolve in the future.”
“That would have a big impact on the site planning.” With a frown, Hunter leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I was thinking about how interesting it would be to have 3D models of all the historic buildings on Mariposa. That would be a huge help with the restoration, but it could also be a cool interactive tool for visitors. Like a merging of history and technology.”
“Which we could even use now before the restoration work begins.” Aria set a plate of cookies on the table and sat down on Hunter’s other side. “If we can give people an interesting experience when they visit Mariposa now, they’ll be all the more likely to donate to the preservation fund.”
They talked for a few more minutes about all the possible innovations before Eleanor came to the table.
“Would you like some coffee or cocoa, Rory?” she asked.
“No, thanks, Mom.” Rory glanced at her watch. “I need to get going.”
“Meeting someone?” Aria arched an eyebrow. Hunter shot Rory a look of amusement that told her Aria had filled him in on the gossip.
Rory sighed. She grabbed one of the cookies. Best to tell it like it was rather than leave the door open for more speculation.
“Okay, look.” She picked a chocolate chip out of the cookie and ate it. “Grant Taylor and I are casually dating, but that’s it. His parents are in town, and I’m staying with him because my apartment lease expired. I’m not turning down the Digicore job offer, and I’m not staying in Bliss Cove. We’re just, um…seeing each other.”
A flush heated her cheeks. Aria grinned anI knew itgrin.
“It seems to me,” Eleanor placed her hand on Rory’s shoulder, “that you and Grant Taylor have beenseeingeach other for quite some time. I would hope that by now you’re actually hooking up.”
Rory blinked. Hunter and Aria both laughed.
“He’s a really good guy,” Aria said, her eyes twinkling.
“And he makes a killer burger,” Hunter added.
“I think we all just have one question.” Eleanor patted Rory’s shoulder. “What took you both so long?”
* * *
“This is so much fun.” Joanna sipped the hot apple cider and gazed at the bustle around the town square. “You know, Edward and I used to go to street fairs and arts shows all the time when we were first married. We had so little money, and it was a perfect way to get out and enjoy good music for free. I’d almost forgotten how much we loved them.”
A wistful look crossed her face. Rory again experienced a surge of admiration for this woman who’d been such a force in her husband’s success—which was also Joanna’s success. It was hardly a wonder that she wanted her family to reflect the strength of what they had built together, even if she hadn’t always gone about her ambitions in the best of ways.
“Oh, that must be Edward.” Joanna pulled her phone out of her bag and checked the text. “He’s going back to the house to shower and change, and then he and Grant will meet us here. Edward says they caught a nine-pound salmon, which Grant is going to use for the tavern menu.”
“Sounds like they might be getting along,” Rory suggested as they continued walking and looking at the arts-and-crafts booths.
