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“There’s a red light, Courtney. You have to reset it.”

Connor picked the box up and showed her how to do it. Olivia watched their backs, waiting for him to get done. Once the green lights started to pop onto the display again, he stepped back. “There you go. You saw what I did?”

“Yes, but it likes you best.”

Olivia blinked at the idiocy of the comment, her gaze going to Connor. A cool expression had settled onto his face, and somehow, she knew he was fighting to stay in control.

“I think you can do it, Courtney,” he said firmly.

The young woman blinked and flung her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Connor. You’ve saved the festival.”

He smiled slightly, trying to step back. “I don’t know about that. Someone would have figured it out, or you could have gone to paper to keep your scores.”

Courtney looked down at her tablet, horrified. “Paper? Seriously? We’re beyond paper with this many competitors.”

“I’m sure you would have figured something out,” he said, finally pulling her arms away from his neck. Stepping back, he put his arm around Olivia’s shoulder, pulling her close. “Courtney, this is Olivia. She was the nurse involved in the wreck two days ago, who started treating people at the scene.”

Courtney’s eyes went huge in her face. “Oh, my dear, that must have been terrifying. I can’t imagine. It could have been so bad.”

Olivia frowned. “A young mother lost her life in that crash. It was pretty bad.”

“Yes, but it could have been so bad for the festival. Luckily, most of the competitors were already here setting up.”

Olivia stared at the manager, wondering how she could be so callous. A woman died. But at least it wasn’t one of her competitors. Olivia looked up at Connor. “I think I need some air,” she said, voice clipped.

“Was it something I said,” Courtney asked faintly.

Connor’s voice responded, but Olivia didn’t hear the words. She was too angry. Stomping out to the midway, she planted her hands on her hips and looked out over the pond, trying to find the Zen she’d experienced there. She rocked her neck back and forth, feeling the tightness from the crash.

“She really has no idea how callous she sounds. The most traumatic thing she’s ever experienced was having to move this festival to the wilds of Lockhart and away from Austin.” Connor stopped beside her, his arm brushing her own. “She can’t imagine not having her mother and father here to back her every play, and bail her out when she needs it. She’s not lost a parent, or even anyone close to her.”

Maybe that was what was bothering her. In the back of her mind was still the worry about the orphan baby, who wasn’t even her kid. She’d barely met her. Barely spent five minutes with her.

“Oh, to be that young again,” she sighed, letting the anger go and giving him a smile.

“Isn’t that the truth,” he laughed. He gave her a look. “You’re not that old, though.”

“No, it just feels like it sometimes.”

“Sometimes experience ages you prematurely,” he murmured, and there was knowledge there, and pain.

“Courtney has a long way to go. And I wish her luck. Maybe she’ll make it through unscathed.”

She glanced around, feeling at loose ends. The nap under the tree had done her well, and her energy was recharged. “Let’s go get into something,” she said, grinning at him.

“Sounds good.”

CHAPTER 7

It was a surreal day for Olivia. She’d been on some decent dates in her lifetime, but this was different. They talked about everything as they wandered the grounds, having good-natured debates about politics and books. And as they did their arms would brush, or even their hips, and a shower of awareness would roll over her. It was very distracting, and she wondered if he was having as much problem staying focused as she was.

Olivia could see how much he loved serving the public. When he talked to people, there was a satisfaction in his expression, and she wondered if he planned to go higher than the fire chief. She thought he definitely had the aptitude to do it. Many of the people he talked to asked about his parents.

More and more people filled the grounds as people streamed in for the fair. The rodeo and the winner announcements would be tomorrow, as well as the gift of the fifty thousand dollars. Manu won his class in tenderloin, and now he was moving on to compete with brisket. The men of the department were so excited that he won tenderloin they set off all the sirens on all of the trucks at once for a solid ten seconds.

Manu beamed, nodding his head, accepting his due. Olivia hoped he won the whole damn thing, but she’d eaten some good meat throughout the day. It was going to be a real competition.

The trucks were rolled out once, to a smoker trailer on fire, and it took them a while to get there because of the crowds. The fire was put out easily enough once they got there, but the meat was ruined, and the competitor was distraught. Olivia watched the wife try to console her husband, but he pushed her away, stomping through the debris left from his trailer.