Page 106 of Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore

I nod. “Yeah, shit.”

Eli stares at me for another second and then he sighs. “I will say that I always knew my parents were unhappy. It wasn’t a shock when my dad disappeared.”

“I’m sorry about that—”

“I’m not,” he says quickly. “We were all better off without him. But I don’t think you’d be better off without Penny, so think long and hard about that before you question whether love is worth it.”

I can’t argue with that. “Thanks, Eli,” I say with a tilt of my beer.

He clinks his against mine in a cheers, but before he can take a sip, his phone lights up on the bar.

“Oh look, it’s Walker,” he says as he lifts the phone and puts it on speaker. “Hi, Walker. I’m here with Monty.”

“Oh hey, I’m not going to be able to make it.”

Eli frowns at the phone. “What’s wrong?”

“I promised Tally I’d get this tractor working. She wants to bring the haunted hayride back this year but the damn carburetor is acting up,” Walker says with a sigh. “And even if I get this thing working, I have no idea who’s going to tell the damn spooky stories. I loved Peter like a father, but I wasn’t around for all those stories growing up, so I have no idea what I’m doing. Plus, I’m not exactly a people person.”

Eli coughs out a laugh. “You don’t say.”

“I might be able to help,” I offer.

Eli’s eyes go wide. “You know about carburetors?”

“Um, no.” I laugh. “Though I’m happy to go over to the farm and share a beer while you figure that out. But I did go on almost every haunted hayride with Penny growing up, so I’m pretty familiar with Peter’s stories.”

“Would you be willing to tell them?” Walker asks from over the phone.

“Yeah, I would. I’m pretty sure that would make my girl happy.” I smile. “And like Eli just reminded me, there’s nothing that matters more than that.”

“All right, then. Well, if you both don’t mind missing out on bowling, come join me here.”

“See you in a few,” Eli says, already hopping off the stool before he’s hung up.

“We’re just going to leave?” I glance around as other guys begin to walk in and head to the lanes.

“Walker never invites people over. This isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

Eli tosses a bunch of bills on the bar and nods toward the exit. “Let’s go.”

I don’t know why, but I find myself smiling as I follow him out the door. This town is seriously weird—and Eli’s obsession with Walker is even weirder—but I’m starting to think I might just want to stay.

Chapter 32

Penny

“Who’s the prettiest cow in town? You are, yes you are!” my delusional sister says to Daisy as Babs does the final snip.

“Just wait until I blow it out.” Babs reaches for the hair dryer.

“Is that necessary?” I can’t imagine that a cow, even one as refined and special as Daisy—as my sister keeps reminding us—will be okay with the sound and feel of a hair dryer.

Rosie takes a big sip of prosecco from her This Is Definitely Coffee mug. “Necessary? Definitely not. Must happen? Yup.”

Billie snorts before hiding behind her prosecco when I side-eye her.

“Don’t egg her on,” I warn.