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Everything was working out as I’d hoped. The only downside was leaving Cash. I swallowed at that thought and pushed it away. He was due to pick me up in a few minutes for our last evening together, and we’d agreed there’d be no sad, heavy stuff before tomorrow. We were both pursuing our dreams, and my leaving was part of the plan.
“I’ll be back…as much as I can get back,” I said. Yet another factor in Anna’s favor was that she already lived in Dragonfly Lake, already had a home, so I hadn’t had to throw in my cottage to sweeten the deal. It was mine, and I’d always have a place to stay when I visited. “It depends—”
“On how long the Hollywood guys take to get off their butts and hire you,” she said generously. “And if and when you get swept away by your soon-to-be new, amazing job, you know I’ve got this.”
“I know.” Glasses still in both our hands, I hugged her. “God, I know, and I love you for it.”
The door opened before we could separate, and Cash’s voice rang out, “Am I interrupting something?”
We laughed and ended our hug.
“You wish, Cash Henry,” Anna said.
I looked up to see his smile that made my insides melt every time. “Hey, handsome.”
“Hi, gorgeous.”
I finished the juice in my glass. “We were toasting Anna.”
“Seems justified,” he said warmly. He knew exactly what a godsend she was.
For the past two weeks, he’d practically moved into the cottage. It was as if there was an unspoken agreement that neither one of us wanted to play games by acting like we didn’t want to spend as much time together as possible before I left. He’d helped me with the inn when he wasn’t working, and he’d even taken a day off here and there from the restaurant, which I’d gathered was nearly unheard of.
Truth bomb: I didn’t hate it. At all.
“Are you ready to go? If we don’t get there soon, all the good berries will be gone.”
“Kinsey’s making cobbler?” I asked.
“Kinsey’s making cobbler.”
Kinsey’s cobbler was almost as good as Cash’s hummingbird cake.
“I don’t want to be the reason Kinsey can’t make cobbler,” I said.
“Highly recommend against that,” Anna said. “Get out of here, you two. I’ve got everything under control.”
As Cash wrapped his big hand around mine, I said, “Text if you need anything.”
“Just some cobbler,” Anna said.
We went out the door with a wave.
“She knows cobbler won’t be ready till tomorrow, right?” Cash asked, and the T word made something sink in my gut.
“She knows.”
“I’ll bring some by for her,” he said, leaving it unspoken that I’d be gone by then. My flight out of Nashville was an early one. As if to brush over that fact, he rushed on to say, “You ready to rock the farmers market?”
“I’m always good for a farmers market.” I grinned, because before Cash had taken me to the weekly Friday market in Dragonfly Lake, I’d never been to one. Here, everyone went, it seemed. It was an Event with a capital E, small-town style. The stalls were open on the square for several hours, from late afternoon to early evening, and fresh produce was only a fraction of the offerings. There were handcrafted items, soaps, candles, specialty breads, food stands, and more. The market ended with live entertainment, usually locals or regional bands, on a makeshift stage on the green.
Nearly an hour and a half later, we’d grabbed the last flat of “good” blackberries, plus some plump raspberries as well, and a whole basketful of other produce for Henry’s. Cash had dropped it off at his place to take to work tomorrow morning so it would be out of the sun and heat, and now we were walking back toward the square to hit the taco truck. It was owned by an acquaintance of Cash, and Cash swore they were the best street tacos he’d ever had.
Rosy McNamara, Nancy Solon, and Kona Powers waved from their picnic blanket on the grass, where Kona’s two big dogs rested, their eyes on the action. In the other direction, a couple of the McNamara brothers—I couldn’t keep them straight—were flirting with some girls I didn’t recognize. Jewel, the bartender from Humble’s, wore her Humble’s T-shirt and denim shorts, looking like she was heading in for a Friday-night shift, but she stopped at the Thai food truck on the corner.
As we were walking by one of the many benches, a couple stood and walked away, freeing up a coveted place to sit.
“Want me to grab this and you can order for both of us?” I asked Cash.
