Her Surprise Hometown Match
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Tara Randel
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PROLOGUE
“C’MON, IVY, we’re going to be late.”
Juliette Bishop glanced over her shoulder at her little sister, lagging behind as usual. Staring at that dog, most likely. The day had started out rough when Ivy wouldn’t listen to Juliette’s suggestion that she dress warmly to venture to Gold Dust Park. Just another ordeal when it came to caring for her sister. Not that Juliette minded, she understood why both of her parents worked hard. But some days, Juliette wanted to be a normal fifteen-year-old and hang out with her friends, tossing responsibility to the wayside for a few hours. Then she’d glimpse Ivy’s adorable face and feel guilty.
Today was no exception. They’d come to the park for the Veterans Day parade and to listen to Mayor Danielson’s speech. At least that’s what Juliette told her mom. Really, she was to meet up with a boy from math class. She’d been excited, dressing up in her favorite outfit and making sure her makeup was perfect. Only, once they arrived, Brian Barnes never showed. She’d been disappointed and a little humiliated. But she’d stayed so Ivy could take her time on the play set, perched on the outside swing on the right side of the playground. Always the same seat. Juliette had become accustomed to her sister’s methodical choices. Having been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, Ivy tended to be pretty regimented in her ways.
But the parade of veterans who lived in Golden had ended, the mayor had spoken, and Juliette wanted to go home and hide in her bedroom. Under the covers, preferably. Ivy, it seemed, had other plans.
Juliette stopped and turned to discover her sister standing in the same spot she’d left her. With a huff, she stomped over to take Ivy’s hand. The crowd had thinned, but the mayor and his wife were still greeting the townsfolk, the stroller with their toddler daughter inside just a few feet away. The toddler tried to get her parents’ attention, but they were too busy schmoozing to notice. As Juliette passed, the mayor waved. She distractedly waved back, more intent on finding out what had caught her sister’s attention.
“Ivy, what’s going on?”
Ivy pointed across the open space. “There’s the dog. I’ve seen him here three times now.”
Juliette squinted her eyes. Sure enough, a scraggly looking mutt, probably a stray, sat at the rim of the park, staring back at them.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s someone to take care of him.”
“Three times,” ten-year-old Ivy repeated. “He needs us.”
“We need to get home,” Juliette reminded her.
“It’ll just take a minute.”
Now that Ivy’s attention was on the dog, nothing else would sway her sister otherwise. Sure enough, Ivy ran in the direction of the mutt. He barked and suddenly made a dash for the park exit.
“Wait,” Ivy called, taking up the chase.
“Great,” Juliette muttered, following closely.
The dog zipped out of the park onto the crowded sidewalk along Main and crossed to the other side of the street. Juliette nearly crashed into her sister when they lost track of the animal.
“Where did it go?” Ivy asked, becoming agitated.
“Maybe he went home too?”
“But why? I saw him three times.”
“Maybe all these people spooked him. If we start walking, we may find him.”
This seemed to satisfy Ivy, so Juliette walked in the direction of their house. They weaved through folks making their way to their cars or stopping to browse in shop windows after the festivities. If Juliette could just keep her sister’s attention from the dog, they might get home without any other detours.
As Ivy dragged her feet, Juliette took her sister’s hand, hoping to steer her through the groups of people still chatting about the day’s celebration. The sidewalk in this area of town had a slight downward slope, tricky to navigate if you were in a hurry. Mayor Danielson and his family had joined the crowd, holding court as he and his wife discussed a town issue, the stroller left unattended again. As people passed by, they bumped the stroller and it moved farther from the parents.
Ivy caught sight of the toddler and started in that direction, but at the same time, the dog appeared across the street.
“Look,” her sister said, releasing Juliette’s grasp, stepping to the curb as if to run across the traffic.
“Ivy!” Juliette grabbed her sister’s arm before she ran into the road.
“Three times,” Ivy repeated. “He needs us.”
With a sigh, she debated what to do. When her sister’s face flushed, Juliette sensed an outburst coming and said with a soothing tone, “He’ll be fine.”
Ivy’s face grew redder. “He won’t.”
“What do you want me to do? We can’t cross the busy street.”
“Please?”
The cajoling tone from Ivy always did Juliette in.
From his post across the street, the dog watched, giving Ivy more reason to go after it. She made a motion to dart out again. Juliette was faster, reaching the curb to stop her. Ivy tugged to get away and Juliette lost her balance, staggering into the street. At the same time, the stroller rolled in their direction, jumping off the curb and smashing into Juliette. She reached out to stop the stroller’s movement—afraid it would run over her toe or bang into her shin—coming eye to eye with the panicked toddler.
As all of this was happening, a cry sounded from the crowd. People started pointing and suddenly the mayor was in the street, waving his arms in a panic to halt traffic. Once the cars screeched to a halt, he grabbed the stroller handle, and Juliette, to drag them back to the safety of the sidewalk.
Juliette, afraid of losing sight of her sister in the throng, pulled away to reach Ivy’s side. Now Ivy watched her with wide eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Let’s just go home.”
“But you saved the little girl.”
Actually, she hadn’t. They’d just crossed paths at the same time.
They took two steps to continue the trek when the mayor stopped them. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
Oh, no. Does he think I pushed the stroller into traffic?
Waiting to be disciplined, Juliette watched color make its way into the mayor’s ashen face while her stomach plummeted.
“I didn’t—”
“Juliette, you went after her.”
She blinked. Was he talking about the dog?
“You saved her.”
Confused, she glanced at her sister, who nodded her head.
“If it hadn’t been for you, the stroller would have rolled farther into the street. Who knows if the traffic would have stopped in time. We could have lost our daughter.”
“But I lost balance and—”
“You saved Ellie.”
In his relief, the mayor didn’t hear the start of her explanation. He unstrapped his daughter from the stroller and pulled her into his arms.
By then the mayor’s frantic wife had joined them. “What happened?”
“Juliette saved Ellie.”
“No, I was—”
“Oh, Juliette, how can we ever thank you?” Mrs. Danielson hugged her, enveloping Juliette in her heavy perfume. Juliette wrinkled her nose and tried to explain again, but the woman wouldn’t let go.
By this time others had gathered around them, murmurs advancing through the crowd. Juliette had saved the mayor’s daughter. How noble of her. She should receive a prize.
Juliette blinked. Why wasn’t anyone listening to her? She’d been after the dog, not stopping the stroller.
Mr. Danielson handed a whimpering Ellie to his wife and took Juliette by the shoulders, bending at the waist to meet her gaze head-on. “You’re a hero.”
“No, I was only—”
“Doing your civic duty.”
Ivy came up beside her, slipping her trembling hand into Juliette’s, refusing to make eye contact. Juliette needed to get her sister out of the crowd. Too much social interaction with this many people would overstimulate her.
“I need to get Ivy home.”
The mayor noticed Ivy and nodded. “Of course. We’ll talk later.”
Juliette tugged her sister down the sidewalk, away from the people who had eyes on her. Later, she’d tell the mayor it was a fluke. That she fell into the street the same time as the stroller. No heroics, only timing. Once she explained, it would get straightened out.
Ivy pulled to a stop and stared across Main Street. Juliette followed her gaze.
The dog, still seated in the same spot, cocked his head and met Juliette’s eyes, then trotted away.
