I turned to see Hollis dressed in slacks and a dress shirt. He held out his hand to greet Ol’ Man Rooster.
Normally, Ol’ Man Rooster was a little abrasive with new people in town. He wasn’t a fan of change. So, I braced myself for what he’d say. “Where’s your penguin suit?”
Hollis shrugged. “Never was a fan. It’s one of the reasons I came here. Alexa assured me I would never have to wear one.”
A slow, approving smile appeared on his face. “You might be an okay city slicker. I wasn’t so sure when I saw you going into that fancy-schmancy coffee shop. I thought you might be one of those guys.” Rooster nodded toward the front of the room where there were two men in tuxes. Must be Chazz and the brother I’ve heard about.
“It makes me a work in progress. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I guess making me into an Alaskan is the same thing. Hopefully, you won’t hold it against me too much.”
Rooster let out a loud, gruff laugh. “Come. I want you to meet my granddaughter.”
Hollis’s eyes widened, and he looked to me for help. I gave a sweet smile and patted his shoulder. “Have fun. I’m going to take a close look at the food table.”
“That stuff ain’t natural, Alexa. Green and orange eggs.” He shuddered. “Eggs are supposed to be white and yellow.”
“I won’t try the eggs. Promise.” The thought of green and orange eggs wasn’t appealing.
As they walked away, Hollis turned and looked back at me. I waved my fingers at him. This was payback for the week he’d been grumpy, almost insufferable, to me. As I made my way to the food table, I said hello to other locals. Everyone looked miserable. Everyone except Raquel, who stood at the front of the room, oblivious to the total flop.
Amie and Ike spotted me. “You look beautiful, Alexa. Where’s Drake?” she asked.
“Thank you. You do, too.” Her dark green dress made her eyes sparkle and flattered her blonde hair. “Drake texted me a little while ago. The city council meeting ran late, and he needed to run by the Red Onion first.”
Ike was in jeans and a button-up shirt. It made me chuckle that the people refused to conform to Raquel’s rules. Amie patted my shoulder. “This is definitely a change from the normal.”
“Yeah. Ol’ Man Rooster is fit to be tied. He’s missing the moose chili. I thought maybe I could see if the quilting circle would make it for Hollis’s welcome party at the Red Onion.”
“Consider it done. I’ll see if the church wants to do desserts.”
“Perfect.” The church usually did the desserts for the Fall Festival. Hollis would be a hero— the town would be getting their normal Fall Festival food at his party.
Amie took out her phone. “When were you thinking? I have to make a note, or I’ll forget to ask everyone.”
I stopped to think about it. “Well, with the weather, we probably should do it soon. How does next Friday sound?”
Amie bumped my shoulder. “Good thinking. With this flop for the Fall Festival, Hollis will be the town hero.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Beside Amie, Ike grumbled, “I’m starving, and all this talk of moose chili is only making it worse.” This event was far worse than I imagined it would be with Raquel in charge. I knew I was counting down the minutes until I could leave.
Chapter Thirty-One
Alexa
The party dragged on. Seconds felt like minutes. From across the room, Jim Hathaway motioned to Ike. He was the owner of the logging company, and for years, he’d been my dad’s boss. When he spotted me, he didn’t wait for Ike to come to him. I felt a little uncomfortable. I’d always liked Jim, but it was his machine that had killed my dad. I pushed those thoughts aside as he approached me. “Alexa, it’s good to see you.”
It’s not his fault.
I kept a smile on my face. “You, too, Jim.”
“I know this is probably an inappropriate time, but I still have your dad’s stuff. Your mother never answered me about picking it up.”
His words were another knife in my chest. Did my mom love my dad at all? I wasn’t sure anymore. Mom had gotten pregnant with Raquel, and they’d gotten married a few months later. As time went on, it seemed they stayed together more out of obligation than love. My throat grew a little thick. “Yes, I’d love to get whatever you have of Dad’s. When would be a good time?”
“I’ll drop it off at the clinic next week when I come in.”
“Perfect.”