“I’ll expect you to be on time, too.”

She shook her head and lay down again. “My boss is such a dick.”

“So I’ve heard. Want me to kick the shit out of him for you?”

“Would you?”

“Anything for you, babe.”

She smiled, then rolled over on top of him to kiss him, hoping she could cut those ten minutes down to five.

Chapter 29

THE DAY OF the Hope holiday parade dawned cold, but snow free. Molly was both happy and sad. Mainly happy for the town and everyone involved in the parade and the town square project.

But there was snow forecast in a few days, so she could still be excited about that.

She’d had to report to the parade center early that morning to meet with the town square committee. She’d gotten up early to have coffee with her parents. Her mom said she was going to come to the parade today, and her father insisted it was going to be in a wheelchair, because there would be too many people around who could potentially bump into her and knock her down. Plus, walking around the house and at therapy was one thing—fatiguing herself at the parade was another.

Despite her mother’s protests, Molly sided with her father, and Mom grudgingly agreed to the wheelchair.

She’d hurried down to the parade route to see the town square.

It was beautiful. The fountain was running, the dolphin was gorgeous, the tiles were amazing, and the playground was perfect. The giant Christmas tree sitting behind the square was a fabulous touch. She couldn’t wait to see it lit up tonight after the festival.

She hoped her mother was proud of the final product, since she’d spearheaded the project from the beginning. Molly planned to meet her parents here after the parade.

Speaking of which, she had to get in place at the judge’s grandstand. She hurried down the street and around the corner, the brisk walk in the cold air warming her up. She stopped in Megan’s shop along the way to grab a very large latte, and she had that in her hand when she arrived at the grandstand, where Mavis waited.

“Oh, good, you’re here, Molly. Here’s your judging packet. You know, Henderson’s Ford is a big contributor to the mayor’s campaign. And they always do the best floats. Do you know they win the grand prize every year?”

And so it begins. “Is that right?” she asked as they made their way up the bleacher stairs to the booth.

“It is. The mayor would consider it a personal favor if you’d give them a high vote.”

“If they have the best float, they’ll get a high mark. I’m sure there are a lot of great floats. On my way over I saw the one that Hope High’s science club put together. It looks pretty amazing, too.”

Mavis looked flustered. “Yes, yes, I’m sure that one’s nice, too. But you know, the mayor is up for reelection this year, and campaign contributors are hard to come by.”

Molly looked up at her. “Mavis, you aren’t by some chance trying to persuade me to vote a certain way on the mayor’s behalf, are you? Because that would certainly be unethical.”

She made sure to say it as loud as she could. And since people were starting to fill the stands around them, it caused Mavis’s face to turn beet red.

“Of course not. I would never do such a thing.”

A few of the other judges arrived, so Mavis gave her a tight smile. “Larry,” Mavis said. “How nice to see you. How’s it going over at the hardware store? The mayor was just asking about you the other day.”

Molly rolled her eyes and sipped her latte. She smiled when Larry took his seat, and introduced herself to him.

“You’re Emmett’s girl.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I heard you were back in town. How’s your mama doing?”

“Much better, thank you. She intends to come to the parade today.”

“I’ll be sure to tell my wife. She’ll look for her.”

After the other judges arrived, they only had to wait about ten more minutes before the Hope Fire and Police Departments got the parade started by leading off with sirens and flashing lights.

She’d missed this parade, missed seeing all the floats and the clowns and the mayor and his wife waving from their fancy car. Then both the high schools and their marching bands with baton twirlers and cheerleaders in front.

She was right about the science club from Hope High—they had put together an amazing float with kids from the club dressed as different forms of colorful bacteria. She loved it, but then maybe she had a soft spot in her heart for the club, since she used to be a member.

“What a great float,” Larry said with a grin on his face.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t just her.

She wasn’t all that impressed with the car dealership’s float. It was towed by one of their new trucks and had some hot woman on it and a bunch of car sale signs. It looked like they spent a bundle of money on it, but otherwise, it wasn’t all that creative. There were many other floats groups had put a lot more time and creativity into, so she scored them all accordingly.

What the other judges thought, she had no idea.

The parade ended, of course, with Santa Claus riding on a float that held his sleigh. Everyone cheered, and Molly finished up her score sheet, then turned it in to the parade committee. The awards would be given out at town square tonight prior to the tree lighting ceremony.

At least her work here was done. She was off to meet her parents.

CARTER FINISHED WATCHING the parade, then wandered around, talking to a few people. He saw Molly climb down from her spot on the judge’s booth, so he excused himself to go find her.