“Can’t you cancel a couple of your fair things? They can’t be that important.”
There were a million angry replies that jumped to his lips, but he wouldn’t let them out. Those “fair things” were important and very good moneymakers. Over the years there were people who followed him from fair to fair just to see what was new. He reserved space a year in advance, was listed in the catalog, and taking and setting up his wares was not quick and easy. Each event was exhausting. But he loved it and he knew many of the people who participated and shopped. They were big events. “I pay for the booth a year in advance and there’s no refund at this late date, Laura. It’s a huge commitment. I usually use the whole week before an art fair to finish my work and have it ready and three days to take everything to the show and to do the setup. It’s a lot of work.”
“Well, try to fit me into your schedule,” she said. “I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
“Text me the dates you’ll be in San Francisco and I’ll see what I can do.”
“That would be wonderful!”
They chatted for a while about her play. He knew he’d be calling her back in two days to tell her that he just didn’t have any extra time. It was true, the time surrounding these fall town fairs was short and busy. But he also wasn’t interested in cutting his time with Kaylee short.
* * *
The morning after her dinner with Landry and Otis, Kaylee went out for her usual walk. The air was cooling down quite a bit and the leaves were already starting to turn. She saw that Landry’s truck was in his drive and Otis was on the porch, but Landry was probably in his shop, madly creating.
When she passed Landry’s house, Otis came down the walk, moving slowly and lazily, and just took up the place at the end of Landry’s walk. She said, “Heel, heel,” to Otis and he trotted to her side and stayed with her. She stopped and told him to sit and he did. She told him to stay and walked ahead of him and he did. There was something about the small amount of power she had over him that made her giddy with enthusiasm.
When she came back from her walk Landry was on his porch. “I thought my dog might be walking you.”
“He was very polite,” she said.
“Have you had breakfast?”
“A yogurt,” she said.
“I’m going to scramble eggs. Interested?”
“You’re investing way more in me than I deserve,” she said.
* * *
Kaylee had developed a very nice routine. She’d walk in the mornings and sometimes also in the afternoons, often with Otis as an escort, and it amazed her how much she talked with Landry. Some days she’d go to the bar for breakfast or lunch; some days she’d show up there in the afternoons when it was quiet. Quiet afternoons were a good time to run into Mel as she took a break.
Kaylee loved Jilly’s farm! She tried not to be a pest but she found herself driving out there a few more times after her initial tour. And she always came away with whatever Jilly was pulling out of the ground. In order to balance the scales, she ordered books on the internet to give to Jilly and Kelly as thanks for their generosity.
The first weekend that Landry was away, she heard the Cavanaugh orchard was having a big open house. You could pick your own bushel of apples or buy some of the many apple products for sale from cider to apple butter to pie filling. It felt like the whole town was there. There were people sitting under trees in their camp chairs, playing catch with kids, chasing dogs, just hanging out and enjoying the day. She knew so many of them, it was like enjoying a picnic. She found herself flitting from grouping to grouping of locals, sitting for a while to ask them how they were enjoying the brisk fall weather, and they were full of questions for her.
“What do you know about the remodel of that fire-damaged house?”
“How’s your book coming along?”
“How do you like living out at Landry’s place?”
Realizing she didn’t know anything about the remodel, she called Bonnie that evening and learned that after looking at some pictures Paul provided, they told him to go ahead and get started. He was happy to send them progress pictures every few days. They had to pick out appliances, tile, fixtures, sinks, etc., but they could pick them out in LA and they would be shipped to Paul in Virgin River. “As I understand it, he’s getting to work on it immediately because there was a break in his schedule and we wanted to take advantage of it.”
“It’s so lucky that you didn’t have drive all the way up here to meet with him,” Kaylee said.