Free Shelley Freydont - Celebration Bay 03 - Independence Slay by Shelley Freydont

immediately when he came back inside.
    “And now your favorite part,” she told him. She leaned down to tie on a stars-and-stripes kerchief that she’d bought at the Woofery for the occasion. Sharise, the groomer, tried to talk her into a top hat with red and white stripes, but Liv had put her foot down.
    After years of Liv buying cute little doggie outfits and having Whiskey refuse to wear them, he’d suddenly become a Westie fashionista. He and Ted even had matching bow ties at Christmas.
    Liv shuddered to think what Ted would be wearing today.
    She clipped on Whiskey’s leash and they headed out. It was still early, but already Liv could tell it was going to be hot and humid again.
    Whiskey trotted ahead of her down the driveway, ready to show off his bandanna and get a tiny treat. He was much more enthusiastic than his barely-put-together mistress.
    But neither Miss Edna nor Miss Ida was out yet. Probably still picking out their outfits for the parade. And then she remembered… they were
in
the parade.
    Liv felt a rush of pride and excitement. She’d only been here a little less than a year—so she’d be considered an outsider for the next fifteen years at least. She might never be asked to ride on a float in the parade or host the Winter Ball. But she was home.
    They walked the two blocks to the square, where the sun was just coming up over the eastern mountains and cast a shimmer of gold over the lake. Already vendors were setting up in the green. Food and souvenirs, charities selling raffle tickets for prizes that would be announced later that day.
    BeBe and Dolly both had tables out on the sidewalk that crisscrossed the park. Miriam Krause and her quilting club would be selling patriotic quilts and donating the proceeds to rehabilitate wounded soldiers. There were voting-registration tables and free blood-pressure check stations. Petitions to sign, though Ted and Liv had carefully scrutinized each group that registered to set up a booth.
    This was a day to celebrate and appreciate freedom, not to engage in political debate of any kind. There was plenty of grumbling and threats to sue the town when certain extremist groups were turned away, but not even the mayor backed down. Evidently there had been some pretty nasty encounters in the years before, and he didn’t want a return of that, and Liv wholeheartedly agreed. No politics on the Fourth of July.
    Security would be doubled for the parade. Between the county police and Bayside Security, Bill Gunnison had a full force of officers and patrolmen.
    Liv had been told that the parade drew mainly local families and tourists who were traveling with small children. But Liv knew quite well that, while the reenactment could be more carefully controlled by limiting the entrances, the parade-goers would be free to roam the town.
    She’d been the event planner to the rich and the sometimes infamous, but except for a few angry words or a drunken brawl, she’d been confident of the safety of the attendees. But these open venues and free-flowing events were out of her comfort zone; she was adapting, but she still checked and triple-checked the schedule before each event.
    Liv walked along the sidewalk that surrounded the park. Lawn chairs had been set out for days, chained to parking meters or tied together, to save places for the parade. The judging stand in front of Town Hall was finished and was decorated with bunting and American flags.
    Apple of My Eye was busy but not crowded yet. Whiskey was a big hit in his festive kerchief. And Dolly had a special star-shaped doggie treat for him.
    Dolly herself looked like Betsy Ross, pleasantly plump with a frilly white mobcap over her honey-colored hair. A white kerchief collar covered the shoulders of a red figured dress. Even her normal apron was white and starched so that it barely moved.
    Behind her, the pink cupcake wall clock supported two American flags, one current and one of the thirteen colonies. The display case