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“It’s no problem, don’t you worry,” Mar insists. “Lar has been pokey all morning.”
Lar grumbles something under his breath, and we walk out together. A bigger crowd has gathered since I’ve been in the shop. We find a place down a few shops from Happy Cow and when I glance across the street, I see Scarlett and Jamison. She’s standing in front of him, and his arms are wrapped around her, hugging her back to his chest. Grinny and her best friends, Peg and Helen—aka the Golden Girls—are all sitting in colorful beach chairs that have little canopies over them to keep the sun out of their eyes.
The sight of them makes me smile.
Sutton and Owen are next to them, and Owen is playing with something too small to distinguish from here, but he is flying it over his head and all around, unable to stand still. I start laughing, and he looks up right then, sees me, and starts waving wildly.
I grin and wave back, watching as he elbows his dad and says something to all of them. They all turn and spot me and wave.
“Well, this is just bringing tears to my eyes,” Mar says, gripping my arm. “Looks like the whole Landmark family has welcomed you back into the fold, not just Grinny.”
“No, let’s not go there. No tears,” I say.
I try to distract her with a bird I see nearby, and fortunately, she falls for it, going on about a rare bird that’s been hanging around their house lately. She talks about that bird until the music starts and we all peer down the street to see the first signs of the parade.
Rosie leads the pack in a red convertible. I’d want to be driving the car if I were her, but Rosie does the beauty pageant wave while a man I don’t recognize drives.
“That’s the guy she’s been seeing for the past month. Hard to believe you’d be allowed in the Landmark parade when you don’t even live here, but he got in for dating Rosie,” Mar says under her breath. “There’s a bet going at Sunny Side on how quick she breaks up with him after today.”
I laugh. “Don’t tell me Sunny Side still has the wagers going on.”
“Oh, they just get better and better,” she says.
The women who walk behind Rosie’s car hold up a sign that saysRosie’s Beauty Salonand they must all be clients because they all have their hair styled the exact same way. I’m glad I don’t usually do more than a trim because I don’t think I can pull off the Rosie hairdo.
There’s a band from Landmark Middle School, and dancers from the high school, and a hay wagon with a bunch of people throwing candy to everyone.
And with every new group, Mar has a nugget of gossip about someone in there.From the dull—she only ever orders a bran muffin—to the juicy—see that guy right there? He was a tourist and then had an affair with that woman whose family only ever came the last week in December. You don’t remember him? Well, they decided to make it work and Landmark is their permanent home. I don’t like cheaters, but they do seem pretty happy when they come into the shop. And he tips pretty dang well too.
This is the best thing I could’ve done today because my head is so full of all the topics Mar tosses my way, I don’t even have time to think.
And then Theo is on a massive float, and my stomach falls to the ground. He’s holding a baby goat and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. This must be the surprise because I don’t remember there ever being baby animals in the Fourth of July parade. He’s smiling and I never dreamed how sexy a man could look holding a freaking goat. The mom is lying next to him, and on the other side of the float, Callum is looking pretty dashing himself surrounded by baby calves. Wyatt is driving the float and waving, looking like he came straight from the ER to participate in the parade, still in his mossy green scrubs.
I think every woman in Landmark and the surrounding radius sighs a dreamy sigh.
Those Landmark boys are something else. My eyes are drawn back to Theo and it’s like he senses my presence because he turns and looks straight at me. His smile falters for a second and something sparks between us. I don’t know if it’s heat or his hatred for me, possibly both, but I shiver and sweat at the same time.
“Hoo-wee, shoot, fire, and save the matches, I felt that,” Mar says, elbowing me.
Note:Avoid standing next to Mar at any public function.
There are a few more floats, but I’m tempted to follow Theo’s so I can catch a few more glimpses of him. However, I stick it through to the end next to Mar and Lar and when the parade is over, I hug them bye and go to some of the craft booths that are set up down the street. We have more tourists today than we’ve had since ski season ended, but it’s not unbearably crowded.
I stop and look at some beautiful jewelry that catches my eye.
“Sofie, is that you?”
I look up and there’s a gorgeous blonde sitting on a stool at the back of the booth. She jumps up and walks toward me, looking like a model.
“Holly?” I ask in surprise. “I can’t believe it. Wow. You look incredible.”
“So do you. I mean, you always did, but even more so now,” she says.
We hug and then pull back to keep smiling at each other.
“Scarlett told me you were back, but I hadn’t seen you. I thought maybe you’d decided not to stay.”
“I’ve kept to myself most of the time, but I’m trying to get out more. Happy Cow and Sunny Side are where I’ve been the most.”
