Page 94 of Fall Fake-Out

For a moment, neither of us says anything. Then he folds the paper carefully and hands it back.

“Thank you.” He looks at me, and the genuineness behind his brown eyes takes me off guard.

“Based on this essay, I don’t think I’m helping that much.”

“No, you are. I couldn’t keep doing this whole situation without you. I need you.”

My heart pounds, the kind of hammering that says there’s more going on here than just two coworkers trying to help each other out. I’ve never been the needed one, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good.

“Yeah, of course.” I glance down at the sidewalk. “We’re helping each other out. That was the deal.”

“The deal.” He nods. “Yep.”

Up ahead, the library comes into view, sitting on the edge of Main Street like the anchor of the town. Red brick. White trim. Colonial pillars. The whole thing looks aggressively charming.

I run up ahead so I can make sure we keep the students gathered for Emma’s presentation. We walk in as a group, filing around the circulation desk in a semi-circle.

Emma’s working on a bulletin board, but the other librarians tell her we arrived. We chat for a moment before she turns to the students.

“Welcome!” She smiles at them like she’s done this a few times.

She gives her presentation about books, genres, authors, and how to research. The kids are mostly listening. When she’s done, she passes out a paper for the students to walk around the library, finding certain types of books, kind of like a research scavenger hunt.

Once they’ve all dispersed, Emma walks over to where Wade and I stand by the circulation desk.

“That was great. Thanks for doing this for the students.”

Emma laughs. “Over half of them looked bored, but I expected that from high school seniors.”

“What’s this bulletin board you’re working on?” I glance over, looking at the heart-trimmed border and cut-out letters pinned up that say Who’s the Mayor Dating?

“Oh, this is for Mayor Monroe. I’m sure you’ve heard all the rumors about his love life.”

I perk up. “I’ve been wondering about the mayor. I’ve seen him with Lisa Ellis, Sharon Price, and Genevieve Hazleton. But I can’t figure out which woman he really likes or if he’s just a player who likes them all. Do you know?”

Emma shakes her head. “Nobody knows.”

Wade folds his arms. “Surely somebody knows.”

“Just ask the Ednas.” Emma laughs. “They’ll gladly tell you all about their suspicions.”

“There has to be a favorite,” I say.

“I mean, we all have our theories.”

I roll my eyes. “This is Autumn Ridge. Everybody has theories about everything.” And even though it drives me crazy, I’m starting to get wrapped up in the gossip myself.

Emma looks back at the bulletin board. “So, I’m setting up a voting booth here in the library where people can come vote for the woman they think the mayor is really interested in.”

“Oh, that’s fun!” I smile.

“Yeah, come back and cast your vote. The voting opens on Friday.” She leans against the desk. “The mayor’s town gossip is almost as bad as the gossip about you two.”

We laugh, but Wade’s the one who speaks. “That’s how we like it. We love being the center of attention.”

“Your love life is a hot topic, for sure.”

I puff out a laugh. “That’s embarrassing.”