Part 4 (1/2)
Wade mumbled something to Luke under his breath, and then turned to the auctioneer. ”Three hundred dollars.”
A whoop came up from the crowd, as people voiced their excitement. She heard the woman beside her mumble, ”That's a new record!” She smiled at Sydney. ”You must be quiet the little baker.”
It was supposed to be anonymous, but Wade was making it obvious who he was bidding on and Sydney felt exposed to the crowd. In contrast, Luke hadn't once looked her direction, his attention solely on Wade. At a bid of three hundred and fifty dollars, Luke cursed, shook his head in surrender, and stormed to the back of the hall. A cheer went out to celebrate the generous donation from the sheriff.
Wade won her pie. She had a date with Wade Jenkins.
Sydney was in a complete daze as the last few pies were auctioned off without nearly as much fanfare as hers had garnered. It was all so surreal. Melissa was beaming. Faith fed off the excitement in the room and was bouncing up and down at her side. Soon the auction came to an end.
”I'm thrilled to announce that we have set a new fundraising record, nearly doubling the amount we raised last year for the elementary school's library.”
A loud thunder of applause rumbled through the room. The princ.i.p.al beamed with appreciation on the stage. Sydney was happy to know it had all been for a good cause and the children in town would benefit from it. She tried to focus on that fact as they called the ladies who had entered the contest to the front of the room for the reveal.
Any questions about whose pie Wade had been bidding on were about to be answered. And who he had a date with.
”Now for the fun part of the evening!” The announcer, who Sydney thought might have had a little too much coffee this afternoon, excitedly launched into introductions. ”Pie number one was made by Mrs. Walter, and the winner of that delicious pie and a date with Misty is none other than... Reverend Walter. No surprise there, he's been eating that delicious Mayflower pie for years! Come on up, Reverend, and claim your pie and your date.”
Applause rang through the room as the names were read and winners announced. Every pie had been purchased, thank goodness, and names continued to be rattled off. As predicted, husbands were paired with their wives. After some encouragement from the crowd, Pete laid a huge kiss on Cara as he claimed her signature cherry pie.
”It's almost your turn, Momma!” Faith was far more excited than Sydney about the impending announcement. A swarm of b.u.t.terflies were raging in her stomach, making it difficult to breathe. There was no doubt she and Wade would become the talk of Elton. Even if it was only one date, the gossip mill would be working overtime.
Luke offered her a brief distraction from her panic. ”Did you enter, Sydney? I had no idea.”
”Funny, neither did I.” She shot Melissa a withering look. ”Did you have fun bidding on all those pies?”
”Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. ”You should have told me what number you were and I could have saved you from one of these idiots.” He waved his hand at the crowd of men who were left.
”Well, like I said, I had no idea I was being turned into a paid escort for the night. And besides,” she peeked toward Wade and noticed him watching her talk to Luke, her heart rate picking up, ”I'm pretty sure that's against the rules.”
”Momma was number sixteen,” Faith whispered with a grin. She was terrible at keeping secrets, unlike her mother. ”You almost won her pie.”
”Faith,” Sydney reprimanded, ”you weren't supposed to tell.”
”That was you he was bidding on?” Of course Luke would be annoyed that it was Sydney's pie Wade had won, but the venom in his voice was over the top. Melissa didn't hesitate to put him in his place.
”If you would have looked around a little instead of staring holes into the back of Wade's head you might have noticed, Luke,” Melissa chastised him. ”You really have to let it go. Not everything is a compet.i.tion.”
”Right,” he said as he looked at Sydney with a frown then walked away.
”I think he's sad he lost,” Faith whispered tugging on her mother's arm. Any further conversation was interrupted by the over-caffeinated announcer gathering everyone's attention.
”Now, for my favorite part of the night. The big winner. The record price for a pie, set a few years back by the mayor's wife has been shattered tonight!” Excited applause came from those still in attendance.
”He's going to have to spend big bucks to reclaim the t.i.tle for his wife next year. He's such a cheapskate, too, it'll kill him to throw out extra cash,” Melissa said with a laugh.
”The highest selling pie, as we all know, was number sixteen. The lovely lady who baked it is none other than one of our newest residents to Elton, Sydney Ross!”
”Hooray, Momma!” Faith jumped up and down with all the exuberance her five-year-old body could manage. ”You won!”
”Told you so,” Melissa sang with a Ches.h.i.+re grin on her face as she elbowed Sydney.
With a wave of her hand, the announcer signaled to Sydney. ”Could you come up here, dear?” When Sydney was within earshot, she whispered, ”Lucky girl.”
Sydney prayed she didn't look as terrified as she felt as she stepped on stage. She nervously played with a piece of hair that fell over her shoulder and looked anywhere but directly into the crowd. She could feel him watching her, even now.
”Pie sixteen went to the very generous and high bidding Wade Jenkins! Come on up and claim your pie and your date, Sheriff.”
Her eyes immediately locked on his across the room. The applause and wolf whistles faded and all she saw was Wade. Sydney felt like she was going to combust as he pushed off the wall and strode through the crowd with that quiet confidence he had. Everything about the way he moved made her insides melt and her brain short-circuit. She vaguely remembered his ma.s.sive shoulder brus.h.i.+ng against hers as he claimed the pie and then her hand. He led her off to the side where Faith and Melissa joined them, congratulating Wade on his purchase. She dropped his hand like a hot potato when Melissa smirked at their linked fingers.
Sydney pulled out of her fog just in time to hear Faith say to Wade, ”You know I helped her make the pie, but I'm not going on the date because I don't want to kiss a boy yet. But Momma's okay with it.”
”That's good to know. Thanks, Faith.”
”Why is your face all red, Momma?”
Faith's innocent question sent Melissa over the edge into a laughing fit. She scooped the little girl up into her arms and managed to squeak out, ”We're just going to go help with the clean-up while you two...chat.” As they walked away, behind Wade's back Melissa mouthed, ”You owe me” to Sydney.
”So,” Sydney said to fill the awkward silence between them, ”you liked the pie?”
”I order it every time I'm at Pete's, don't I?”
Her heart soared, and then fell. ”Oh, you thought it was Cara's,” she mumbled as she looked away.
Wade cupped her chin and turned her face to look at him. ”I've been going to Pete's for years. Cara's specialty is cherry, but yours is the blackberry pie.” His hand felt warm and strong against her cheek but he held her like she was as delicate as a baby bird. ”There's always blackberry when you come to work carrying those white boxes.”
Sydney stared at him for the longest time before the corners of her mouth turned up into a little grin. ”I guess being a cop makes you pretty observant, huh?”
”I pay attention to things I'm interested in,” he said, releasing his hold.
They stood together for a moment, the basket that carried the pie between them acting as a barrier. Thankfully it was there or she might have done something stupid like wrap herself around Wade.
”Give me your phone.” When her eyebrows shot up at the command, he sheepishly rephrased his words. ”May I please have your phone?”
It was a miracle her fingers still worked, she was trembling so much. She prayed he wouldn't notice as she slipped it into his outstretched hand. He quickly punched in his number and gave it back to her, his hand lingering as his fingertips brushed against the inside of her wrist. ”Call me later.”
”O-Okay,” Sydney stammered as she extended the pie to him. With one hand he grabbed the handle of the basket, while the other brushed against her cheek before it cupped the back of her head and pulled her toward him for a gentle kiss.
The idea of kissing Wade had consumed her every thought since this afternoon, but all her fantasizing didn't come close to doing it justice. Everything stopped in that moment and Sydney knew that she was forever lost where this man was considered.
It was a light feathering of his lips across hers, but it might as well have been full body contact with the way her heart responded. Wade did nothing to hide his desire. It was written plainly on his face. But when he pulled back, he didn't kiss her again. He simply smiled and held her close, promising there was much more to come between them without uttering a single word. Her hands fell against his chest to keep from melting into a puddle at his feet. Everyone in the room could have been staring at them, but Sydney didn't notice. When she looked up into his eyes, there was only Wade. Everything else faded away. And she didn't think that was going to change anytime soon.
EXHAUSTION WAS AN AWFUL thing which Wade had lived through plenty of times in the past, but this was one of the worst. Not only was his body stretching itself beyond its limits, so was his mind. They had upped their patrols in the area since the woman, Samantha, had been found in Greenville to give the residents of Elton some peace of mind. It had been almost a week and there were still no leads he knew of in the case.
Wade sipped his coffee and forced himself to look out the window into the bright sunlight. If he didn't, he was going to search for her face in the kitchen again.
”You look serious,” Melissa said with a nudge to his shoulder before sliding into the seat across from him, refilling his coffee.
”Morning.”
They'd been friends forever. No matter how bad things got, Wade could always count on Melissa for a smile and a laugh. She had more spirit than anyone he had ever met, even as a kid. She'd follow Wade and her older brother Matt around everywhere they went. If he and Matt had the hair-brained idea of jumping off a tree branch into the river, she was right behind them. When they stole the tires off Johnny's truck one night, she was the first one caught but she never ratted them out. More than anything, it was her carefree smile and warmth that made her impossible to resist. There was never anything romantic between them-she was too much like a sister to him. When Matt moved away, she would come to Wade with problems or questions, and she helped him more than he could say when he came back from the service. He didn't know where he'd be without the hyper little blonde in his life, and he wouldn't have it any other way.