Page 71 of Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore

“Tally invited us,” he says, his attention cutting to my sister. “I hope that’s still okay.”

She smiles back at him. “Of course.”

“Mom, can Tally bake with us?” Quinn asks.

“Sure can,” Rosie cuts in with a grin. “I was just about to ask if Henry wanted to help me.”

My eyes go wide as she kneels down and starts signing to the little boy, whose eyes light up as he tugs on his father’s arm. Although I think Fletcher is still struck by what just happened, he turns to Henry, who is signing animatedly to his dad.

Fletcher signs back and says out loud, “Sure can, bud. I’ll go get the ingredients and you and Rosie can set up.”

Rosie forces a smile to her lips as she nods to Fletcher. I watch as she holds out a hand to Henry and the two start to communicate with each other; Henry’s hand movements are quick—he’s clearly advanced in his signing—and Rosie moves a little slower as she thinks through the gestures.

I smile as Fletcher passes—his expression is somber as he walks toward us, the smile he was forcing in front of Henry all but gone.

“Hey,” I offer.

He nods, but I can tell he doesn’t register me properly.

“I know she’s tough but—”

“That—” He shakes his head before turning back to Rosie and his son, who are still signing to each other. He faces me again. “She can say whatever she wants to me. Truth is, I deserve it.”

I frown. I will never understand these two, but I don’t push. She’ll tell us when she’s ready.

“Eli coming? Walker?” Monty asks from beside me, breaking the tension.

Tally shakes her head. “Walker had some last-minute stuff that needed to be done on the farm. And Eli—” She shrugs. “Actually, I have no idea. I haven’t heard from him in a while. Not even in the town chat.”

Fletcher coughs out a laugh. “I think he broke his phone.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” I say.

“And he’s baking with his sisters tonight,” Fletcher continues.

“Okay, well, as fun as this has been, it’s competition time,” Tally says. “May the best dessert win.”

Chapter 23

Monty

Midway through the baking contest, Quinn decided that a food fight sounded like a good idea. And to be totally honest, it wasn’t a terrible one. It had us all in fits of laughter—even Henry came out of his shell and hit Quinn square in the face with leftover pumpkin pie filling from the pie that he and Tally had just finished putting together, which is when we called time-out and everyone took their desserts home to bake.

I suggested Penny come back to my place for a late dinner so we could talk and I could shower. While she can borrow my clothes, I definitely couldn’t fit in hers.

As soon as we got here, I grabbed Penny a pair of my sweats. Then, while I put our crisp in the kitchen to bake later, she went upstairs to change and now she looks beyond adorable in a pair of my oversized black sweats. She’s had to roll them up like four times because they’re so long on her. But I’m still covered in pie.

“You sure you’ll be okay down here for a few minutes by yourself?” I ask.

Penny doesn’t turn around, her focus entirely on my father’s personal library.

I chuckle. “I guess so.”

She spins on her heel at the sound of my voice, a bewitching blush on her cheeks. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

“Just making sure you’re okay to stay here while I shower.”

She nods absently, her eyes returning to the books. “Do you mind if I light a fire?”