Simmer by Anthology

Simmer by Anthology

Author:Anthology [Anthology]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00


WHEN IT finally came time for the fair that weekend, I realized it was a far bigger event than Miles had led me to believe. The entire town came out for it, as did neighboring ones. After much fretting and baking more bread than he really knew what to do with, Miles settled on a loaf of sourdough for the competition. The judges had taste-tested earlier in the day, and now the tent was full of folks who came to sample the competing pieces.

Miles looked a bit nervous, which was precious. “There are a lot more people in the contest than I thought,” he said while surveying the rows of cakes, pies, stews, and other submissions.

I rubbed his back and smiled as he absently put an arm over my shoulder to hold me close. “True, but look, your bread is gone.”

“Is it?”

I pointed to where there was a sign with his name and an empty plate.

“Maybe they tossed it.”

“Miles, don’t be silly.”

“It wasn’t my best.”

“Yes, it was.”

“I can do better.”

“I’m sure,” I agreed. “But they judged this piece, and everyone clearly wanted to try it.”

“I should have done rye bread.”

“Sourdough is better.” I looked up and smiled. “Hey, don’t worry, it’s just for fun.” I couldn’t quite understand why it meant so much to him. “Want to go take a hayride?”

“They announce the winners soon.”

“All right. Get drunk on hard apple cider?”

Miles glanced down. “Maybe a drink wouldn’t hurt.” He dropped his arm as he turned, and we both nearly collided with Sam Bloom.

Oh great. The guy that wanted to shove me off a cliff. So to speak.

He seemed surprised and glanced between us. “Miles,” he stated with a nod.

Miles was really quite excellent at neutral expressions, and with the way he spoke, it was difficult to tell if he was upset or not. Even being so nervous about this contest, you’d hardly know it with the deep, calm tone he used. So the only reason I knew there was an issue between him and Sam was because Sam’s expressions gave it away. Just like back at the library, there was a crackle of energy between them, and not the good kind.

“Hello, Sam,” Miles said cordially.

Sam looked at me, but he’d made up his mind about me already. Just a roadblock he’d easily run over in a few weeks. His personal issue was with Miles. “Can I speak with you for a minute, Miles?”

Miles nodded, touching my arm briefly. “I’ll be right back.”

So I stood in the tent, watching the two just outside. Miles stood with his hands in his coat pockets, saying nothing as Sam spoke animatedly, pointing this way and that, but more often than not in my direction. A few people glanced at them, but Miles didn’t flinch under the curious looks or Sam’s growing volume.

When Miles finally did say something, of course I couldn’t hear it, but it shut Sam the hell up fast. I may have only lived in this town for a few weeks and known Miles for a total of five days now, but I wasn’t naïve.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.