Mammoth Secrets by Ashley Elizabeth Ludwig Page B

paramedic’s uniform? “Luke, listen...”
    “Don’t speak, Eden.” His look matched his dead-serious tone. “The carnival opens next week, and I know the Dales don’t usually go—but consider coming to watch the fireworks with me next Friday night.”
    “That’s my birthday, y’know.”
    “Well, who better to spend it with than me?” His mouth set in a confident grin. “Don’t say yes, and don’t say no. Just think about it. I’m not gonna ask again. And that’s a promise.” Luke left the restaurant, a gust of wind blowing in at his back, pressing the door open.
    She had a full view of his leaving and a sour taste of wanting more.
     
     
     
     

15
     
    Lilah hadn’t seen Jake after church.
    Now that the gossip mongers had someone else to pray for, Eden’s group dropped her like a bad habit.
    She should’ve high tailed it to the river house. Spent the day fishing the falls, sitting on the dock in the sun, stayed until after the sun set. But carefree days were over, and she’d be danged if she let Jake off that easy. His manipulation of her predicament, while almost understandable, was unconscionable in every regard. And an unspoken truth was by definition a lie. She’d looked it up.
    Cleaned up, changed, and bursting with righteous indignation, Lilah marched across the street with every intention of laying it into him.
    But the door opened before she even had a chance to knock.
    Jake stood, tall, lean, and worried by the look in his eyes. “You came.”
    “Hmm.” Anger simmered as she darkened his doorway with crossed arms.
    “Please tell me you’re OK.” Jake folded her into a friendly hug. “Are we OK?”
    His relief rattled her to the core. She was prepped and ready for ten rounds, and he’d already thrown in the towel. “How do you define OK?”
    “I’m so sorry. About everything. I should have told you where I was going with the sermon, but it just kind of...came out.” His gaze so hopeful and so very vulnerable—how could she crush him? Her fury shut off as she noticed the little notepad. He’d filled every line.
    “What’s that?”
    “My list of things to do.” He looked even more pitiable. “The elders are behind moving the Revival, as are the quilting guild and the ladies auxiliary, but I have to get it set up on my own.”
    “The whole thing?”
    At his nod, she understood the truth. They’d set him up, all right. To fail and fail big. No way she’d let that happen.
     
    ~*~
     
    Hours later, Lilah cradled the phone. “That’s it for folding chairs, tents, and tables.”
    “And for our budget.” Jake tossed the ledger on his desk. “Somehow, every company in two hundred miles raised their prices since yesterday.”
    “Well, that’s what the collections are for, isn’t it?” Lilah stood, stretched to loosen muscles sore from sitting.
    “No, actually it’s not.” He ambled to the window. “Feel like getting your feet wet?” He thumbed to the river.
    “You want to go fishing?”
    “No.” He pointed. “I want to try that.”
    A trio of bright red canoes drifted toward the bend.
    “Now, wait a second.” Lilah shook her head. “Locals don’t canoe. It’s—it’s what people from out of town do. They go to Many Falls, rent canoes, drink beer, carouse, and call out to us locals to beg for a bathroom to throw up in, or worse.”
    “Maybe in the height of summer, but there’s hardly anyone out there.” He tilted a cheeky grin her way. “You scared?”
    “I’m not falling for that.” She wagged a finger. “I’m not scared. Just practical. We’ve got a money crunch, and you might forget, but we’re not allowed to date. Thanks to my birdbrained sister, I’m still married—and you. I don’t even know what you are anymore.”
    “Divorced.” He sighed.
    She splayed hands, the victor, but feeling none too great about it. “Would you settle for a jog around the park? We can check out the site again, see if we missed