Page 5 of Cuddling Carly

It sure would be hard fixing that fence, he thought. It would be hard doing anything the rest of the day.

Because he couldn’t help but fixate on that cutie he’d met. And over and over, he was asking himself the burning question that wouldn’t release its grip on him.

Was the cute and sweet Carly Thedford a Little? Or was that just Wade’s Daddy imagination firing on all cylinders, projecting his dreams onto her?

Whatever the answer, he knew one thing: he sure wanted to see her again.

And soon.

Chapter Three

The next couple of days passed quickly as Carly continued baking.

She didn’t have much free time, and her chores kept her occupied, which was a good thing, she realized, as there was less opportunity to obsess over that sexy cowboy.

Finally, opening day of the county fair arrived.

“This is it! I have to leave you here, Mr. Pumpkin Head, because I don’t want to lose you in all the commotion. But I’ll be back soon. And I might just have a grand prize ribbon!”

She took special care loading up her cupcakes and then headed to the fair. Her car barely made it, but it chugged along those Texas hills until she’d arrived and was able to unpack at her designated table.

The first order of business was dropping her competition cupcakes off at the judges’ station. Then, she sat up what she wanted to sell.

Taking her seat, she didn’t have to wait long. Customers started trickling in late that afternoon.

“These are great!” one older man told her.

“The best I’ve ever had,” another lady said.

Carly was pleased. The praise meant the most, but it was nice to make money, too.

She wasn’t so pleased, however, when Kelly Seaton walked over to her booth.

“Hey, Kelly,” Carly said, trying to be polite.

The other woman ignored the greeting as she scoured the cupcake selection. “I guess you entered the competition.”

“Yeah. Did you?”

“You know I enter every year.”

I was just trying to make conversation, Carly thought.

“I wish you the best of luck. You’ll do great! Your stuff is amazing.” Carly meant it. Kelly’s cakes were always delicious.

She wasn’t sure why the other woman didn’t like her, but she hadn’t since middle school. It made sense, she supposed. Kelly was the popular, pretty cheerleader. Her family had money.

Carly, on the other hand, was the shy, bookish girl whose family never had much.

One of those tales…

Kelly didn’t acknowledge the well-wishes, instead saying, “You did a Halloween theme?”

“Yeah. I love the holiday. What did you do?”

Kelly scoffed, as if the answer was obvious. “It’s America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth birthday. What else would I do? Red, white, and blue all the way.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. Good for you.”