It had been hard to concentrate on the fundraiser these past few weeks, but he’d had to do it anyway. The days had dragged even though he was so busy he hardly had time to turn around. There were chores to do, the drought to worry about, plans to put in place, volunteers to oversee and phone calls to wait for—from the organic certification people, and from Tory.
Tory had refused to answer any of his calls or texts, though, and she’d certainly made no attempt to get in touch with him. She’d kept to herself, as far as he could tell, although she’d still made the rounds of the television and radio shows, doing interviews about the dialysis unit and pushing for people to attend the fundraiser. He had to admit she’d done a fantastic job getting the word out, so despite his unenthusiastic response to Maya’s questions, he was sure they’d raised quite a bit of money for the cause.
“Everyone knows how important this is,” Maya assured him. “They figure if we lose the dialysis unit, we could easily lose the hospital.”
Liam had to credit Tory for hammering home that message every chance she got during radio and television interviews until everyone in Chance Creek had begun to repeat it like a mantra. Fear of losing the hospital had motivated lots of people who didn’t normally consider volunteering. Now the town green was lined with food booths, tables and chairs, shade umbrellas, and craft stalls, and several bands were ready to play on the central stage.
“There’s Tory.” Maya pointed to one of the enormous grills the Historical Society had set up. She was wrapping herself in an apron in preparation for helping to tend the hot dogs and bratwursts.
Other volunteer organizations were selling hamburgers, grilled chicken, salmon burgers and more. Several of the restaurants in town were offering fancier food. There were game booths for the kids. Rafters and the Dancing Boot had teamed up to sell beer to the grown-ups. There was even a limited offering of wine for sale from Chance Creek’s first vineyard, owned by Rob and Morgan Matheson.
Liam knew he should be thrilled at the way it was all turning out.
Instead he felt like a failure.
He’d taken a chance—a big chance—telling his mother and Enid that he wanted to get married, and Tory had shot him down so fast it had been over before he knew what hit him.
She didn’t want to be with him.
Didn’t want to stay here.
They were one and the same, weren’t they? If she really loved him, she would reconsider.
Maya must have tracked his gaze. “Go talk to her. I’ll take tickets.”
“She doesn’t want me.” Liam didn’t know how much Maya knew about him and Tory. Didn’t care. Nothing was going to come of it now.
“Mom says she’s set on leaving town when she’s done school.”
“That’s right.”
“You could convince her—”
“No, I can’t.” He didn’t want to, either. “We know what happens when someone’s trapped in this town.” He nodded at his mother, who was chatting happily with Leslie—and Enid—a few booths down the line where they were selling crafts.
“Mom doesn’t look trapped.”
Liam had to admit she was right as Mary tipped her head back and laughed. She’d been avoiding him lately, a guilty expression crossing her face every time they met on the stairs or in the kitchen.
“I didn’t mean to suggest you shouldn’t be with Tory,” she’d said to him once, but Liam had shut her down.
“Forget about it,” he’d said. “That’s all done with.”
Which made it all the more galling to see his mother enjoying herself like this now.
“I heard her on the phone to Liz,” Maya said, “asking if she and Justin wanted to come visit us here again, for a longer stay this time.”
“Visit us?” Liam repeated. “Why?”
“I guess… If you think about it, they’re sort of our siblings. In a way.” She fell silent.
“Maybe,” Liam conceded. “Although we’re not related by blood.”
“No, just by Mom.”
They thought about it. “Guess it might be good for them,” he said. “With their dad in jail and all. Their biological mom long out of the picture. They could probably use a distraction.”
“We could teach them to ride,” Maya agreed. “There’s lots to do around here.”
“Did Liz say yes?”
“I’m not sure. When Mom saw me, she got off the phone pretty quick.”
Liam was looking at Tory again. “Why can’t things just be simple?”
Maya chuckled. “Sometimes, I think it’s all up to us to not overcomplicate things.”
Tory busied herself at the grill as the first attendees began to trickle in to the fundraiser, a few people here and there at first, increasing to a constant flow. She breathed easier as the crowd grew larger, and the first of the bands began to play on the central stage.
“You’re a genius,” Olivia said, beaming, coming to stand at her side. She handed Tory a glass of wine. “I had to fight to get this, by the way. Quantities are really limited since this is their first vintage, and they’re selling out fast. You should see Rob and Morgan. They’re over the moon.”
Tory was too busy watching Liam manning the ticket booth to pay her much attention. “I’m glad so many people came. Maybe we’ll pull this off after all.”
“Did you ever doubt it?”
Lately, Tory found herself doubting all sorts of things.
“Oh my goodness, why don’t you just go over and talk to him!” Olivia went on when Tory didn’t answer her.
“Talk to who?”
“Don’t play dumb. To Liam. I know you like him—and he likes you, from what Mom said. He wants to marry you. Why are you over here when you could be over there?”
“You know why.”
“Right, because you need to be able to dump us all again the minute you’re done with school.”
Her bitter tone cut through Tory’s distraction. “That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it?”
Tory had been dreading a moment like this for a long time, and she had all her
