Emma’s cries subsided. “Sassy doggie.”
Tara whole-heartedly agreed as she reached into her pocket for some money.
“Really, Tara, it’s no big deal,” Lauren protested.
Tara tossed a five to the guy at the custard stand. “Actually, Charlie will pay me back, so I insist.” And it was a big deal, because now she wouldn’t get to watch the real fireworks—her favorite part of the whole fair. Well, except for elephant ears. Which she wouldn’t get either. She shot an envious glance toward Max and Caleb, who’d just reached the front of the funnel cake line.
Reining in her disappointment, Tara leaned down toward Emma. “Sorry about that, sweetie. We’ll go now so she doesn’t try to steal the next one. I’ll see you later for that trim, Lauren—and the full scoop on that one.” She tilted her head in Caleb’s direction while backing up. Lauren laughed and waved goodbye, along with Emma.
Tara inhaled the tantalizing scent of deep fried batter as she passed the food stand and was just annoyed enough with Sugar that she managed to wrangle her in the direction she wanted to go. At the tattoo booth, she watched her mom finish spraying pink paint over a stencil taped to a pregnant woman’s belly. When Jackie Russell carefully peeled the plastic away, Tara couldn’t help but grin at the alternating pink and blue baby feet dancing across the woman’s stretched skin.
“Cute. Hey, Mom, how’s it going?”
Jackie looked up from rinsing out her brush, then glanced at her watch. “You’re early.”
Tara’s grin faded. “Yeah, well—”
Her mother nodded toward Tara’s left arm. “That’s not wearing off, is it? Do you need me to touch it up?”
She looked down at the artwork on her arms. “They’re fine. Besides, we’ve got a problem.”
Her mom raised one eyebrow.
“Sugar stole Emma Frasier’s ice cream cone.”
“Oh, crap,” Jackie said.
Exactly.
“Vanilla or chocolate?”
“I think it was a twist.” Tara frowned. “What does it matter?”
Jackie chuckled. “Just wondering what’s coming back up.”
Tara rolled her eyes. “Oh, it’s so much more than the cone. I’ll take her home so you and Dad can stay after you close.”
“I hate to do that to you, but it’d probably be for the best. As busy as we’ve been, we might end up working through the fireworks, anyway.” She located the design for the kid next in line and began to prepare his skin where he wanted the faux tattoo applied. “Keep her out of the house, will you?” Jackie added.
“Of course.” Tara pulled Sugar closer as they exited the tent. “I’ll see you tomorrow—or later if Charlie gets home in time for me to come back.”
“I should’ve made your brother get his own place when he got that dog,” Jackie muttered.
Tara scoffed under her breath and started in the direction of her parents’ home, just a block away from her own two-bedroom ranch. Charlie would live at home until the day he got married, and her mother not only knew it, she loved it. Another reason Tara didn’t quite fit in. Even though she’d already been twenty-six when she bought her home two years ago, her parents had seen no reason for her to move out. They’d argued that they had more than three thousand square feet and could save her all that money on a house payment.
Though if she thought about it, that made them strange, not her. They really were the most contradictory people, tattooed Harley fanatics with an empty nest phobia. Parents were supposed to want their children to move out so they could enjoy The Good Years, not stay forevermore.
She suspected, deep down, it had a lot to do with Annabel, but Tara couldn’t change the past. No matter what she did, or didn’t do for that matter, nothing would bring her sister back.
Lost in thought, a hard tug on her arm nearly pulled Tara off her feet. She regained her balance with a few quick steps, but Sugar lunged again.
This time she got free.
Chapter 2
Wes Carter took another bite of his hamburger and surveyed the baseball diamond in front of him as he savored the flavor of his cheap burger with ketchup and mustard. If the number of men on the far side of the field were any indication, they were planning quite the pyrotechnics display for later tonight. He might just have to hang around for that, he hadn’t watched fireworks in years.
He’d had a feeling about this town when he’d read the business listings on the Internet—and not only because of the name. Further research revealed Redemption to be just what he was looking for.