Riley had heard of the bonfire. Just that morning in the bakery, Mark’s friend had invited him, and Mark had graciously turned him down. “Where do the Crandalls live?”
“Just up past Sunvale Vineyard on High Road. Does that mean you’ll come?”
“I’ll come.”
He grinned. “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“I’ll meet you out there,” she said.
His grin dropped. “Really?”
She smiled. “Really.” She turned, and he followed.
“Maybe I was too subtle. I thought we could, uh, go together.” He threw a glance toward the other teachers, who attempted to look like they weren’t listening.
She faced him. “I did catch your subtlety. And I appreciate the offer. But I have this rule about men.”
“What’s that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I always drive myself on the first date. That way I have a way out if I need it.”
Dalton grinned. “So, this is a first date.”
She’d walked into that one. She smiled at his transparency. “I’ll see you in the auditorium.”
“Great,” he said. “I’ll be the one falling asleep.”
“The one?” There were always several nodding heads during the often-dry presentations.
He laughed as she walked out of the room.
A bonfire might be fun. Out in the country under a cold November night sky. She’d gotten over her anxiety of meeting people within the first few weeks. Miracle Creek seemed wonderfully oblivious of Hollywood gossip.
And Dalton was a nice enough guy. He’d led a few teacher staff meetings and seemed pretty on the ball when it came to his career. She knew little about his private life, and experience had taught her not to assume anything. A lot of women in her situation had the same rule for meeting a guy on a first date: drive yourself.
Too bad there wasn’t a clear rule for what to do when things didn’t go so well with someone you thought you knew.
As she unlocked the door to the art room, Yvette approached, file folders in one hand and a huge scarf around her shoulders.
“Good morning, Riley. Last day of the week.”
“Yes, thank goodness.”
Yvette followed her into the classroom, switching the lights on when Riley didn’t. “Something wrong?”
“Oh.” She set her stuff down on her desk. “I had my eyes opened this morning, and it didn’t feel very good.”
Yvette raised her eyebrows, waiting.
Riley sat down at her desk and rested her chin on her fist. “Remember how you told me to make up my own mind about Mark Rivers?”
Yvette nodded. “You figured it out, huh?”
She covered her face with her hands. “Yes.”
“So that’s a good thing, right?”
Riley slapped her hands on her desk. “Yvette! I threatened him with a baseball bat!”
Yvette chuckled, but stopped when she saw Riley’s expression. “True, but it didn’t go beyond that, and he had you spooked, so no harm, no foul. What happened this morning?”
Riley sighed. “I saw him this morning at the bakery. He was very gracious.”
“He spoke to you?”
Riley nodded, pulling a water bottle out of her bag.
“What did he say?”
“Something about Bavarian cream and using it to stave off my ferocious swing.”
Yvette chuckled again. Riley joined her this time.
“Well,” Yvette said, “Lette Mae’s Bavarian cream is miraculous.”
“I know, I ate an entire bollen in the parking lot.” Riley had discovered the round, cream custard-filled pastries topped with fudgy chocolate the day after she’d moved into town, and she was hooked. Lette Mae had told her they were a specialty in the region, brought over by the Dutch. She lifted the water bottle to her lips and drank, hoping it would help wash down the pastry sitting in her gut. Or maybe that was a knot of guilt.
“It sounds like he has a good sense of humor about it, which is also pretty miraculous. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
“Yeah,” Riley said, not quite convinced. “He was smiling.” She shook her head. “But you should have seen his expression when one of his friends invited him to a bonfire tonight.”
Yvette clicked her tongue and grimaced. “I can imagine.”
Riley nodded. “He left after that.” She paused, then said, “Dalton invited me to that bonfire, though I don’t think I’ll be able to see it the same way ever again.”
“Dalton Gainer asked you out?”
Riley looked up at Yvette, wary of the change in her tone. “Yes, just now.”
Yvette looked down, sorting through some student sketches on Riley’s desk. “Hmm. Are you going, then?” She glanced at Riley.
“Sure. I told him I’d meet him there.”
Yvette lifted her head and smiled, but it wasn’t deep. “Well, I hope you have a good time.” She checked her watch. “We best get going.”
“What is it? Is there a rule about dating staff that I’m not aware of?”
“No. Nothing like that. It’s just . . .”
“What?” Riley couldn’t imagine why Yvette would care if she went to the bonfire with Dalton. From all appearances, she and Dalton got along well enough. “Oh! Are you and Dalton—”
“Oh heavens, no.”
“Then what?”
Yvette shook her head. “It’s none of my business.”
“You know I consider you a friend. One of the few I have here.”
Yvette smiled at that. “Thank you. I consider you the same. And just like with Mark, you’re going to have to make up your own mind about Dalton. Just . . . be careful. Masks come in all shapes and sizes, you know?”
Riley nodded. That, she knew.
Mark hadn’t told his dad about the bonfire or what happened at the bakery. He hadn’t even mentioned Nate or Gus being in town.
But somehow his dad found out about it and decided Mark was going.
“What if I don’t go?” Mark had asked.
“What if you do?” His dad folded his arms. “Nate and Gus—those boys prayed over you. They shed tears. The least you can do is go to their party and say hi. The bonfire’s clear in the back away from the house, and there are always people inside with drink and food. You don’t even have to see it.”
“I’d smell it.”
“But you’d know it’s a bonfire and nothing else. Get out, Mark. Go see people. Go see your friends. They miss you.”
And that
