Free The Spring of Candy Apples (A Sweet Seasons Novel) by Debbie Viguié

sooner.
    They ate dinner and talked about guys and work. When they were done eating, Candace glanced at her watch. “Uh-oh, I’m going to be late,” she said.
    “Date?” Becca said, raising an eyebrow. “In which case, why are you having dinner with me?”
    “Practice,” Candace explained.
    “Isn’t it late?”
    “It was the only time this week we all had free.”
    “Well, then get going.”
    “Thanks,” Candace said, handing Becca money for her part of dinner. “For everything.”
    Becca waved her hand. “Thank me by having a great practice. It’s going to be embarrassing if no team poses any kind of threat to us,” she said, smirking.
    Candace did her best to imitate Becca’s smirk. “Don’t worry, we’re a threat.”
    “To ourselves and others,” she added under her breath as she dashed out the door.
    Twenty minutes later Candace was back in Sue’s dining room, nervously fidgeting with her stack of cups.
    They practiced for an hour. It was hard, frustrating work, but Candace was gratified to see that they were making progress. They all agreed at the end to start trying to interlink their designs the next week.
    “Don’t forget to wear green tomorrow,” Sue reminded as they all headed out.
    “Green?” Candace asked, drawing a complete blank as to what she could possibly be talking about.
    “Saint Patrick’s Day,” Sue said.
    “Oh, my! I practically forgot,” Candace said.
    “Trust me, I can’t forget. If I let my little brother and sister go to school without green, they’ll come back black and blue.”
    “Can’t have that.”
    “Uh, no.”
    “What about dress code?” Candace asked.
    “You mean, you didn’t pick up a green striped shirt from costuming?” Pete asked.
    “No, should I have?”
    “Yeah,” Traci said.
    “Look, how is it you all know these things and I don’t?”
    “Candace, you really need to get on the employee website,” Sue said.
    “Fine, but what do I do for tomorrow?”
    “Wear a plain green shirt if you have it,” Corinne suggested.
    “Or a large green brooch,” Pete added.
    “I don’t own a brooch, green or otherwise.”
    “You could always go with green socks,” Sue said.
    “If I got there early, would costuming still have some left?” Candace asked.
    Her teammates blinked at her.
    “You know, they just might,” Pete said at last.
    “I didn’t even think of that,” Corinne admitted.
    Candace rolled her eyes.
    It was after ten when she made it home. She knew she should go to bed but she was still too keyed up. She sat down at her computer and IMd Josh.
    You awake?
    Yup. Guess U R 2.
    Ya. So . . . green costume shirts tomorrow?
    Good, U heard.
    15 min ago.
    Oh.
    Yeah.
    You can probably still get one tomorrow.
    Hope so. So, what is the ref website?
    www.thezonethemepark.com
    Candace clicked on the link and the park’s website came up.
    Isn’t this just the generic site?
    Yeah, but look for a little picture of an umpire at the bottom.
    Found it.
    Click on him.
    Candace did as instructed and it took her to a page titled Referee News and Updates. The whole thing was jam-packed with information and featured a huge banner across the top that said “Don’t forget to get your Irish on!”
    Wow.
    Yup. Now you know.
    Wish I’d known sooner.
    Sorry.
    So, how are those rehearsals going? Any problems?
    Ha ha. Not telling U what R talent is.
    Pretty please.
    Not even for sugar on top.
    Meanie.
    A new IM window suddenly popped open. Candace stared at it for a moment in surprise. She fired off a quick message to Josh.
    Kurt wants to talk. Fill U in l8r.
    Good luck.
    She switched back to Kurt’s window and the sentence that was making her shake:
    Can we talk?
    OK, she typed.
    I’m sorry.
    4 what?
    U no.
    Tell me.
    Breaking up.
    In IHOP?
    Anywhere.
    Oh.
    Candace could feel her heart pounding. What was Kurt trying to say? Her mouth was dry, and she couldn’t help but think of the conversation with Becca. What if Kurt wanted to get back together?