Free 0451471040 by Kimberly Lang

course.” He waited for her to frown at him, and she did. “And you don’t suck. The truth is,” he said, dropping his voice to a confession-level whisper, “I’ve worked with Mrs. K on this long enough to not only know the basics of the event, but also how her mind works.”
    Molly didn’t look mollified in the least.
    “But honestly, all of your extensive sorting and organizing made this so much easier,” he added.
    “Of course,” Molly said, with just enough sarcasm to assure him she didn’t believe that at all. She sat and picked up the stack he’d left for her.
    “You might want to contact everyone—the vendors, the volunteers, and all—just to get on top of everything, but the big picture is all there.”
    It took him about half an hour to walk her through that big picture—Molly had to get up at least twice to care for her customers—but he could tell she felt a little better about the event once he was done. “I’m sure it will be the best Children’s Fair ever,” he concluded.
    Her eyes flew to his face. “Bite your tongue.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I don’t want it to be the best. I just want it to be good enough.”
    “Good enough for what?”
    “Good enough for it to be a success, but not so good they’ll want me to do it next year.”
    “Smart girl.” He could tell she was only half joking. She obviously took this responsibility seriously, if grudgingly.
    “And what about all this other stuff?” She indicated the large pile of leftover paper.
    “Stick it in a bag and hand it to Mrs. K when she gets back.”
    “I owe you big-time, Tate.” He could almost see the tension leave her shoulders. Despite her words, she notonly wanted to do it right, she cared about doing it right. “Thank you,” she said, reaching over to gently squeeze his forearm. “Really.”
    Her hand was cool and smooth, and his muscle jumped at her touch, sending a jolt through him. He’d felt it last night, too, when he’d touched her, but he’d chalked that up to the stress and tension of the evening overall. Having it happen again was just . . . weird. He cleared his throat. “No problem.”
    Molly looked at her hand as if she’d never seen it before, then moved it to her lap with forced nonchalance. “You should probably leave now.”
    Not entirely sure what he’d done, he was lost for words now. But her tune and ’tude had certainly changed. “What?”
    Her head tilted in the direction of a large wall clock. “Samantha’s shift starts in about fifteen minutes. She might be early for her first day—I know I would be—and do you really want to be here when she arrives?”
    And have Sam think he was checking up on her? Hell no. “Good point. How much do I owe you?” he asked, reaching for his wallet.
    She waved him off. “It’s on me. It’s the very least I can do in return for your help today.”
    Grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair, he shoved his arms through the sleeves. “If you have any other questions—”
    An eyebrow went up. “Call Mrs. K?” she supplied.
    That made him laugh. “Bye, Molly.”
    “Bye, Dr. Harris.”
    He was waylaid on his way out by Heather Joneswanting to ask about the possibility of Prozac for her dog—a dog that simply needed obedience classes and a long, exhausting walk each day, although Heather wouldn’t believe him no matter how many times he told her—and Sam was arriving just as Heather was walking away.
    She eyed him with extreme suspicion.
    “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not here to check up on you.”
    “I want to believe you—”
    “Then please do.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “But your past behaviors kind of damn you outright.”
    Like it’s a bad thing I want to look out for my sister. He sighed. “I came to talk to Molly about Memorial Day weekend activities. She’s the one who set the meeting place and time.”
    “Really.” It was a statement, but a disbelieving one.
    “Ask her yourself.”
    “I will. Bye