Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)(31)

She leaned back in the comfortable leather seat. Sam’s Mercedes sure was nice, she thought idly. It was like him. Steady and dependable. There might be those who were more interested in something like a Ferrari, but she thought he and his car were just right.

“It’s not just my sisters,” she said. “It’s how the town pulled together for us. Like with Heidi. She grew up in the carnival.”

Sam glanced at her, then turned his attention back to the road. “Traveling around the country with a carnival?”

“That’s her. She said she always dreamed of a house that was attached to city plumbing and couldn’t be moved. She bought Castle Ranch and moved here with her grandfather. He fell in love, she fell in love, her husband’s brothers and sister fell in love. Now they all live here. It’s the town. Something happens when people settle here.”

She started to say more, then caught sight of Sam’s pinched expression. She chuckled.

“Go ahead,” she told him. “Resist. I can see you want to. But it won’t help.”

“We’ll see.”

“You’re saying it’s a little too perfect?”

“I’m saying you’ve idealized reality.”

“A cynic. We like that. It makes convincing you all the more satisfying.” She glanced down at her ever-present list. They were getting closer and closer to the event and she was starting to feel the pressure. In the next couple of days, she was going to have to start finalizing everything.

“We have to discuss goodie bags,” she told him. “I have samples at my place and I have to make the final orders. As it is, everything will be shipping overnight.”

“Say when and I’ll be there.”

Now that sounded nice, she thought, knowing what he meant and how she would like him to mean it. She was debating pushing at the limits of their business relationship just a little when her cell rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. “Fayrene,” she told Sam before pushing the talk button. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“There’s a fire at the storage center.” Fayrene’s voice was frantic. “It’s the rabbits.”

Dellina went cold. “No,” she breathed. “Where are you?”

“On my way. I can’t get ahold of Ryan. He’s flown out to an installation site and won’t be back for a couple of days.” Her voice was thick with tears. “The rabbits.”

“I know,” Dellina told her. “We’ll get there in time.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

SAM FOLLOWED DELLINA’S frantic instructions as they headed into town. She was pale and shaking. All he’d been able to get out of her was, “It’s the rabbits.” A sentence that didn’t make sense. What rabbits? He’d never seen rabbits in town.

The closer they got, the more traffic clogged the streets. Dellina tapped impatiently on her armrest, then shook her head. “I’m getting out.”

He barely had time to slow the car before she jumped out and started running along the sidewalk. He swore, then pulled into the first parking space he found and sprinted after her.

As he did, he was aware of dozens of people running in the same direction. He also noticed the smell of smoke in the air. Seconds later he heard sirens. All of which made sense. What didn’t was a handful of people walking in the opposite direction with what looked like piles of white fur in their arms. Then there were two guys with giant rabbit heads tucked under each arm.

Sam caught up with Dellina at the corner. He grabbed her arm. “What’s going on?”

Her eyes were wide, her expression frantic. “There’s a fire at the storage place that stores all the rabbit costumes.” He must have looked blank because she added, “Every Easter families dress up in them and there’s a parade. It’s a tradition.”

Tears filled her brown eyes. “I used to walk in the parade with my parents and my sisters. We can’t let anything happen to the costumes. Do you have any idea how many memories are in those costumes? They last for years. We have to hurry. We have to help!”

Then she took off again. Sam stood on the sidewalk as the street filled with people carrying costumes. Armfuls, including the heads and giant rabbit feet. It was strange and funny and maybe a little moving.

He saw a woman in her late forties staggering with a pile of costumes that nearly went over her head. He jogged toward her and took the costumes from her arms. She wiped away the tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “The fire is under control, but the smoke could damage everything. If you could just carry those to the park.”

“Sure.”

He held the costumes easily as the woman went off to help someone else.

He followed the moving crowd and found himself in Pyrite Park by the lake. Several deputies were there along with city officials. Order had been restored and people were laying costumes out on the grass so they could air out.

Sam put his down where directed, then stepped back to study the odd site of a couple of hundred rabbit costumes lying on dark green grass on a summer afternoon. Several people were checking tags and matching large heads with bodies. Others were doing the same with the feet. The scene was both funny and slightly horrific. Like a shot from a movie.

Sam helped several more people with their piles of costumes. He spotted Dellina and walked over to her. She stood with her arms wrapped around her body, looking shell-shocked.