AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And you never listen.” The corner of Ford’s mouth tips up, and there I go again, staring at him for so long he has to snap me out of it.
“You okay? How long were you in that fucking jail?” he mutters, rubbing his hand up and down my spine.
Get it together, Sidney. This is your friend. Stop gawking.
“I’m fine. Just tired. And annoyed I didn’t get any pumpkin funnel cakes tonight.” I shrug, going back to my food. “You know it’s sacrilegious to say something like that in Harvest Grove. Halloween decorations are always a necessity. You could be burned at the stake for that.”
When Ford comes to town, he stays in the cottage behind the Wicked Pub and Grub, the bar he inherited from his grandfather when he died. And the place where I’m employed as a waitress and bartender. I always make sure to open the windows of the cottage a few days before he arrives, dust, vacuum, and wash the linens. And of course add leaf garlands around all the doorways, a few tiny pumpkins along with a handful of other gourds in a glass bowl in the middle of the kitchen table, Halloween towels hanging over the oven door handle, some fall-scented candles throughout the place, a bowl of Halloween candy on an end table, a Halloween wreath on the front door, and orange lights strung in the shrubs outside. You know, nothing fancy.
“But you’re welcome, for making sure the place didn’t still smell like the tuna salad Penny and Ginger rotted in your spare bedroom last year, before they put it in that guy’s trunk over in Springfield.” I smile at him.
Ford curses under his breath and shakes his head as his hand drops from my back to pick up his fork and start eating again.
“Every year, I come back here hoping they’ve finally stopped with their bullshit.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “I forgot how funny you are, Ford Prescott.” I’m in the middle of chewing a piece of sweet-and-sour chicken when I see Ford staring at me out of the corner of my eye. “What?”
I have a hard time swallowing the food in my mouth with the way he’s looking at me. Ford always looks serious, but this is something else. It’s a little intense, and I don’t know what to make of it.
“I forgot how much I missed your laugh.”
What the hell?
I immediately start choking on the bite of chicken I was trying to swallow, and it comes flying out of my mouth to smack Ford right in the chest. I’ve never spit food at this man before—although there was that one unfortunate year I turned twenty-one when I threw up in his lap—but he just swipes the glob of food off his shirt and goes back to eating, like this kind of thing happens all the time.
What is wrong with you tonight, Sidney?
Okay, so he missed my laugh. It’s a nice, friendly thing to say, and it’s oddly sweet of him. Spitting food on the man is no way to thank him. I busy my hands by grabbing a fortune cookie to give me something to do other than stare at him, when he picks up his remote and aims it at the TV hanging on the wall to power it on.
“Jason Huffman cheated on Amy. He was supposed to be at his cousin’s house on Vine Street tonight.”
“No shit?” Ford looks at me with the remote still hovering in the air when I tell him why I was in jail tonight.
“Yeah, everyone was shocked. And not just because they were the most adorable couple. Most people who live here know better. He clearly didn’t believe the rumors about Penny and Ginger.”
“He’s only lived here a year. This town should come with a list of rules when you get here.”
I laugh because it’s true. “How are your parents?”
“Fine.” He continues flipping through the channels.
“Did they throw their yearly, wedding-anniversary party at The Bidwell?”
“Yeah. I had to work.” He grabs his fork with his free hand and stabs a piece of chicken.
“That sucks. The logging business is good then?”
“Pretty good.”
Getting Ford to talk is like pulling teeth, but I don’t mind. I like that he doesn’t feel the need to always fill the silence and only talks when he has something important to say. It works out great, since I never shut up, which means we never really have awkward silences.
You know, except for when he told me he missed my laugh, and I spit chicken at him.
“The Douglas firs are looking good this year,” Ford adds. “Bought a new log loader.”
“That sounds exciting!”
He just grunts, flipping through the channels to find what he’s looking for.
