Page 9 of Library or Lattes?

“Of course you do, it’s your home. But that doesn’t mean you can’t see what else is out there. Just know I’ll always be here, saving the cats of Oak Falls.” Pop smiled, and I felt comforted. Could I leave and then come back to find that everything was the same as ever?

“Do I even want to leave?” I asked him, and he burst out laughing.

“Willa, that’s a question only you can answer.”

When he hugged me, I buried my face in his shirt, which smelled of woodsmoke, and I decided to put this decision aside for a little while (along with the burnt Chinese food). At least until tomorrow. Until I spoke to Lennie. She’d know what to do.

2 Lattes

AT THE LITTLE ACORN, I was focused on lattes, pumpkin pies, and flashing the perfect smile for the tourists. I was good at pushing other stuff away.

“I don’t believe it!” Linda Snell, Dr. Laurel’s receptionist, gasped from a table in the corner. She was staring at a copy of The Oak Falls Gazette. “This is an absolute outrage. They’re just going to go ahead and cut it down, without a town vote?” Linda stood up with the newspaper.

“What’s happened, Linda?” Geoff called from behind the counter, looking more concerned than he probably was. Linda Snell was the town gossip, always making mountains out of the tiniest molehills.

“They’re cutting down the Kissing Tree!” she announced.

And now it was my turn to gasp.

“But they can’t! Isn’t it protected?” The Kissing Tree was part of our town history. It was a huge copper beech that stood tall and proud, looking over the apple orchards. The Kissing Tree was where I’d (sort of) had my first kiss, and so had Lennie, and Krista, and Avery. And probably most of the people who lived in Oak Falls.

“It is protected. So … what are we going to do about this?” she demanded.

Silence again.

“We’ll think of something, Mrs. Snell, don’t we always?” Geoff said. He winked at Linda and she blushed.

But then he changed the subject, turning to me. “Listen, Willa, I’ve just had a call from Lana and I need to duck out. Would you mind holding down the fort just until I get back?”

“Of course. I hope everything’s okay?” I said, although the coffee shop was packed.

“Just one of the boys,” Geoff said with a sigh. “Sorry, Willa, I really do have to go.”

One of the boys meant Geoff’s sons. He had three of them, all older than me. The oldest two, Sam and Kyle, had always acted like the big brothers I wished I had. But James. Well, he was a different story. And speaking of the Kissing Tree …

I don’t even know why we were there that day. Lennie and I had biked out near the orchards and Sam, Kyle, and James were there playing catch. Their ball ended up flying our way, and even though it didn’t hit me, I lost my balance and fell off my bike. It was James who ran over. James with his dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes, with mud and cuts all over his knees.

“Where’d it go?” he asked. I pulled myself off the ground, looking for Lennie, but she was way behind.

“Aren’t you gonna ask if I’m okay?” I demanded. Even at that age, I was outraged by bad manners.

“Your legs look like they’re working just fine. So do your arms. Is your head working just fine too?” James asked.

I picked up the ball, which was beside my bike, and held it up to him with a smirk, then ran with it until I was under the Kissing Tree. Everyone knew that tree was home base. Protection. “Looking for this?” I taunted him.

I held the ball in the air, I don’t even know why. He was way taller than me.

“Give it back,” he demanded.

“Not until you say you’re sorry.”

“I didn’t do nothin’ wrong,” he said, and I moved the ball when he tried to grab it.

“Yeah you did. You were rude. As my pop always says, manners cost nothing.”

He tried to snatch the ball again.

“Hey, you can’t do that,” I said, infuriated. “The Kissing Tree is base!”