AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I tell her about the entire saga between Fate and Gold Hill and how no one knows why the two towns hated each other in the first place. By the time I finish, she’s doubled over laughing.
I’m so damn happy right now.
We step out onto the quiet street. A group of friends, all couples, exit the brewery together, and the locals among them wave to me.
Down the street, the lights are on at the game store, and I can see people milling around inside. I almost forgot about the new drop-in campaign the guys are starting tonight.
Dakota’s phone rings, and when I turn toward the sound, her eyes are shut tightly.
“I’d almost forgotten about the looming conversation with my dad,” she says.
“Do you want to talk to him right now? Sometimes I find that just saying what’s on your heart is the best thing to do.”
She shrugs. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”
I nod, but her overall tension—and the quickness with which Dakota changes the subject—has me wondering if I shouldn’t be pushing her to get it over with.
“Hey, what’s going on at Love Games?” Dakota asks.
“Oh, are you coming around on the name?” I tease.
“No!” she laughs.
Her smile wrecks me, just like it did the first time I saw her. And I wonder if it’s going to be like this for the rest of my life—daily getting destroyed by my wife’s smile.
“I think the guys are starting a new campaign tonight. They put an event notice on Facebook, and you were right; it worked.”
“Nice!”
“Wanna go learn how to play?”
Dakota nods enthusiastically, but I’m sure she has no idea what she’s getting herself into.
When we arrive at the store, Forrest is pacing and looking uncharacteristically anxious while he sets up the game table. A young woman browses the dice display while Rhys is chatting her up.
“What’s wrong, Forrest?” Dakota asks, approaching him cautiously as if approaching a bear that has gotten loose from the zoo. “Can I help with something?”
Startled, Forrest drops a handful of silver figurines and curses.
“Here, let me,” she says.
Forrest looks at me with a wild, fearful look in his eye.
“What is wrong with you?” I ask.
“She’s here. Lore. Lore is here.”
Lore…and then I remember.
“The estate sale lady?”
“Yep.”
“She signed up for the campaign?”
“Yep.”
“Has she ever played before?”
