Page 140 of Falling for the Grumpiest Protector

Jack moves the strand. "Other left."

He looks down at her. "I only have one left."

"And yet you picked the wrong one."

Javier laughs beside me. Jack points at him. "You want to do this?"

"Not even a little."

"Then stop enjoying it."

"Can't."

I cover my smile. Emma looks at me. "See what I live with?"

"I was about to ask Jack the same thing."

"Thank you," Jack says.

Atlas and Ranger, stretched beneath a nearby table, thump their tails together once.

Emma hands me the clipboard. "Food tent there. Kids' activities by the barn. Dog demonstration in the south field. Produce along the fence."

I study the layout. "How many people are you expecting?"

"Last year we had around three hundred."

I look at her. "Three hundred?"

"Probably more this year."

My eyes go back to the page. Food. Music. Pumpkin painting. Hayrides. Farm tours. Veteran-made goods. Dog demonstrations. Produce sales. Silent auction.

"You need another food station."

Javier looks over. "We have two."

"You need three."

"Why?"

"Because three hundred people are going to decide they're hungry at exactly the same time."

Jack climbs down from the ladder. "She has a point."

"You don't even know what she's talking about," Javier says.

"No, but she sounds confident."

I point toward the greenhouse. "Put another station there. Keep it simple. Something people can eat while they're walking."

Emma follows my finger. "That could work."

"And move drinks away from the main food tent. Otherwise everyone ends up in the same line."

She's already writing.

Javier watches me. I catch him. "What is that look?"