Page 104 of Forbidden to Fall

My stomach twisted. The encounter with Ryan made the prospect of spending time with James feel tainted and guilt-filled.

Mrs. Keller didn’t stop at the booth again on her way back, but the Ednas had returned for sticky buns and were yapping my ears off, so I couldn’t take the time to analyze her facial expression.

Mia skipped up to the Keller booth in the early afternoon, with Ryan and Lily not far behind. She was blabbing a hundred miles an hour about the pumpkin she’d painted. My muscles were tight as Ryan approached, but I took a breath and focused on the delightfully chaotic pumpkin Mia showed me.

“When are you going to babysit me, Aunt Sadie?” Mia asked.

Mondays were our day, normally, but this week had just been too wild with the festival.

“That’s a great question,” I said. “It’s up to your mommy and daddy.”

“Aunt Sadie’s busy this week, Mimi,” Ryan said.

I glanced at him, but he wasn’t looking at me.

“I always have time for my little Mimi,” I said, tickling her into a giggle fit.

“It’s fine,” Ryan said. “We can just hold off until next week.”

“Maybe you can be with Aunt Sadie extra long next week,” Lily said.

Mia had been on the verge of a tantrum, but this seemed to appease her—that and the sticky bun I gave her.

Lily and Mia said goodbye, but Ryan was quiet.

The rest of the day passed by like a slug going the wrong direction on a moving walkway. When it was finally time to close up shop, I did it in record time, then went to the farm booth.

It was just James there, and he was just finishing putting things away.

“Hey,” I said, setting my hands on the counter. “You busy?”

“Depends who’s asking,” James teased.

I managed a laugh, but there was too much on my mind to provide much space for humor. “Wanna go on a walk with me?”

His gaze fixed on me, his lightly flirtatious demeanor shifting toward something more wary. “Yeah. Of course.”

There was a pumpkin bake-off and a pie-eating contest going on, but we walked the other direction.

“Did Mrs. Keller come by?” I asked, not quite ready to delve into things yet. I desperately wished I could be transported back to last night.

“If by did she come by, you mean did she walk by very slowly and try to look like she wasn’t analyzing everything about the booth, yes. She came by.”

I cringed. “That’s what I was worried about. When she talked to me just before that, there was just one customer and no line at the bakery booth. And it’s been slow-going in the actual store.”

James shrugged as we turned onto the trail that ran along the river. “Maybe she should’ve listened to her best employee more.”

“I don’t know about best employee…but definitely the only one. Until recently, at least.”

We took the trail that hugged the river behind Main Street. There were lampposts every now and then, providing bright spots on the dim path. The only sound was the rushing of the small river over rocks until I gained the courage to speak.

“So…Ryan.”

James just nodded, looking at the ground.

“He, Lily, and Mia came by the Keller booth after lunch. It was painful. Mia wanted me to babysit her because I didn’t on Monday like I usually do, and Ryan was weird about it.” I blinked quickly, embarrassed that I was getting emotional over babysitting.

James was quiet. For so long that I looked over at him.