Page 81 of Then Came You
Chapter 25
As it happened, the weekend of the fall festival turned out to be picture perfect. The air was crisp and cool, but the sun shone brightly on the carpet of colorful leaves that littered the ground. These were the kind of fall days that Gillian loved, and she soaked it in.
Besides the beautiful fall scene, she also admired another view—Sam was standing at the police department’s booth across from hers. It was an unexpected treat to have him so near, even if she wouldn’t be able to interact with him much.
He was currently busy handing out stickers and candy to the kids who swarmed the police booth, and he seemed to be charming the crowd like usual. Most of the parents hung back, but she noticed some of the women ogling Sam and the other officers in their uniforms. She could hardly blame them since she was doing it too, only her gaze was focused on one officer in particular.
Ogle him all you want, ladies, but I’ll be the one going home with him tonight!
Then someone approached her booth, and she tore her eyes away from Sam.
“Hello. I recognize you from story time.” She smiled at the little girl and her father, but she couldn’t remember their names.
“Hi. I’m Brady, and this is Ella.”
“It’s nice to see you. We’re not having story time today, Ella, but you can enter a drawing to win a free book.” She pointed to the display they’d set up for the drawing. “You can also take a bookmark and a coupon to use for the next time you come into the store.”
Ella smiled and nodded while she took the items off the table. Then it struck Gillian that she’d never heard Ella speak. Every time she’d seen her, her father had done all the talking. She’d never met Ella’s mother either.
Brady finished filling out the form for the book drawing and slipped it into the box. “Are you manning the booth all day today?”
“Me and the other two owners are taking shifts. It’ll be Savannah’s turn next. You might have met her at the store.”
She could have sworn his eyes lit up.
“The tall blonde?”
“That’s her.”
Yes, his eyes had definitely lit up. Interesting. As she recalled, Savannah had flirted with Brady when he’d brought Ella to story time. Of course, that didn’t really mean anything since Savannah flirted with just about every guy who came into the store.
“We’ll see you next week for story time,” Brady said. Then he took Ella’s hand, and they meandered away.
Over the next hour or so, several other people approached her booth to enter the book drawings and take the freebies they were handing out. In between talking to people, she’d glance over at Sam’s booth. Two other officers were manning the booth with him, but to her relief, she hadn’t recognized either of them. It had been a while since she’d run into any of the officers who’d known Owen, and that was fine with her.
The end of her three-hour shift came quickly, and Savannah arrived to relieve her. She came hustling up to the booth wearing a chic fall outfit that included a colorful shawl and high-heeled ankle boots. She was also carrying a tray of coffee cups. How she managed not to spill them while traversing the uneven ground in high heels was beyond Gillian. If it had been her, the coffees would have tipped over, and her with them.
“Hey,” Gillian said as Savannah slid into the booth and set down the tray. “Who are those for?”
“Me, you, and your hot cop.” Savannah wriggled her eyebrows.
“Shh. Keep your voice down!”
“Nobody can hear me, and so what if they can? By now, half the town knows you two are dating, and the other half will find out soon.”
Gillian wasn’t sure how to feel about that. In the meantime, she plucked a coffee out of the tray, opened the lid, and took a long sip. “Maybe you should have brought one for Brady too.”
“Who’s Brady?”
Gillian thought the name might ring a bell, but she should have realized it would be impossible for Savannah to keep track of all the men she flirted with.
“The good-looking dad with the sweet little girl named Ella.”
“Oh! That Brady.”
“Do you know more than one?”
“Um-hmm, but I don’t remember where I know him from.”
