Love on the Lake (Lakeside #2)(65)

Over the weeks that follow, I take on more design projects for the Stitches and get ready for the first farmers’ market at the end of August. I manage to entice all my employers to participate in the market. Harry’s Hardware has a booth set up with small DIY woodworking projects; the diner has take-out lunch boxes; Bernie’s law office is participating because it’s National Make-a-Will Month, and they’re offering their services for free; and the Town Pub managed to get a liquor license and a beer tent set up with a cordoned-off area for the plus-twenty-one crowd. The majority of the local businesses are participating; even Tucker Patrick from the real estate office has a booth.

The farmers’ market falls on a Saturday, and I’m kept busy making sure things run smoothly by going booth to booth, ensuring everyone has what they need. I’m also handing out bottles of water because it’s a hot, sunny day.

I’ve just passed out water bottles to the Boones booth—I went into the shop with the intention of begging them to participate but didn’t need to, as they were more than willing—and when I turn around, I’m surprised when Van is standing right in front of me, with my dad and Danielle flanking him.

“Hey! I didn’t know you were coming for a visit!” I throw my arms around Dad’s waist and then hug Danielle as well.

Dad beams with pride. “Honey, this is amazing.”

“Thanks! I had so much fun organizing it. Come on, and I’ll introduce you to all of my bosses.” I thread my arm through his and take him on a tour, my cooler of water bottles emptying as we go.

We stop at the pub booth, and I grab an iced coffee while I introduce Dad to Louis. “You’ve got a wonderful daughter, Mr. Firestone. She’s a real bright light around here, and we’re happy to have her as part of the community.” He pumps my dad’s hand vigorously.

They chat for a few minutes before I take him over to Harry’s Hardware, where I introduce him to Harry and Aaron’s mom, Noreen, who are running the booth. “Your daughter is so talented. I can’t tell you how lucky we are to have her around here. Bee would be so darn proud of everything Teagan and Van have done to help this town.”

I can feel my cheeks heating up as Harry wraps an arm around Noreen’s shoulder and the two of them talk about the day I was hired and how lucky they were that someone called in sick.

My dad and Danielle have met the Stitches before, when Van and Dillion had their engagement party—it was a backyard barbecue. Aaron is helping out at the Footprint booth, and I’m unsurprised to see a group of teen girls wearing shorts and bathing suit tops talking to him.

His eyes flare when he sees me, silently begging me to help him. I offer him a bottle of water, and he grabs my wrist, pulling me into him and laying a very non-PG kiss on me. After which he introduces me as his girlfriend. And then I get to introduce him to my dad—although they’ve also met before, at Dillion and Van’s engagement party, just not as my boyfriend.

The event is a huge success, and by the end of the day I already have requests piling in for another event in the fall. It makes all the late nights and too-little sleep worth it.

And the icing on the cake comes after the event, when we’re all sitting on the dock later in the evening and my dad announces that he and Danielle are engaged. It feels like things are finally falling into place. So I don’t know why my anxiety seems to be worse, not better. But I push it down and tuck it away, chalking it up to the overwhelming day.



A few weeks after the event, Aaron is spending the night at my place. It’s the middle of the week, so he needs to go to bed at a reasonable hour—which often happens to be earlier than my bedtime. He passed out ten minutes ago, and I’m lying here, thinking about the fall farmers’ market. I have double the interest this time, and a bunch of the families from the McMansion side of the lake want to participate as well. I also have the support of the hockey wives, and those ladies love to get involved. Apparently they have a lot of experience with events and event hosting, so they’re fantastic to have on board, but they also seem to have a lot of time to devote to things like this, and when they’re in, they’re all in. So I’ve been getting a lot of texts and emails that I’m trying to stay on top of.

I also need to read over my proposal and cost list for the newest renovated pool house and outdoor fireplace so I can send it to Dillion to vet. The family wants to get started on it next month, which means we need approval sooner rather than later.

I wait until Aaron’s been out for twenty minutes before I carefully get out of bed. I’ve learned that’s about how much time he requires to hit the deep-sleep stage, at which point I can sneak out of bed and work for a few hours before I take my sleep medication and join him again.

I grab my laptop from the kitchen counter and tiptoe across the room. I’m glad I added the folding room divider. I set my laptop up and adjust the divider to block the glow of my screen. I pour myself a glass of red wine—I don’t want to open the fridge to get my bottle of white because it’s too bright—and settle into the corner of the couch so I can answer emails and work on my Pinterest board. My shift at the Town Pub doesn’t start until four tomorrow, so I don’t need to worry about getting up early.

I work through all my emails and create three different Pinterest boards, including one for a brand-new account. That email came in yesterday at six in the evening, and I figured it’s a good idea to get a head start, since this weekend is going to be busy. Especially since I’m supposed to go to Chicago to visit with my dad and Danielle. And I have a care package I’m sending with my dad for the next time he goes to see Bradley. He needs more books, and newspapers. The last time I spoke to him, he mentioned the prison soap isn’t great for his sensitive skin.