* * *
SAWYER TOLD JESSE to send one of the volunteers to the end of the drive to keep the trespassers from getting close to the house.
“I’ll do it until my next appointment comes in,” Jesse said. “But we don’t have too many extra hands on deck today until later in the afternoon when the high school gets out.”
Sawyer’s blood was boiling. He wanted to stop by Harriet’s, but that would only give Gretchen the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten under his skin. He wouldn’t say a word to her, because if anyone deserved the silent treatment, it was the woman who had given it to him for the majority of his life.
“Do your best until I can get back with some signs to post,” he told Jesse. “I’ll stop by the sheriff’s office and see if they have a deputy to spare until Piper can arrange for some private security.”
He was not going to let Gretchen win. He would handle this minor bump in the road and they would get married as planned.
Earl Bell sat in one of the rocking chairs outside Maddox Hardware. Old man Middleton was noticeably missing. Sawyer tipped his hat. “Morning, Mr. Bell. Where’s Hank this morning?”
“Across the street getting us some coffee and sticky buns,” Earl replied, gesturing toward the Cup and Spoon Diner. “I hear you’re getting married and having a baby. I can still remember when you were a baby and your daddy would bring you in here on his hip.”
“Time sure flies.”
“Faster and faster every year,” the older man agreed. “I also noticed your mother has reappeared. How you holding up, son?”
Small town. No secrets. “I’m fine, Mr. Bell. She might have given birth to me, but she’s not really my mother. I haven’t been troubling myself with her.”
“Well, I don’t blame you for feeling like that. Your father had a heck of time when she disappeared the way she did. I’m sure there are some awfully hard feelings. She looks the same as she did before she left, though. It was like seeing a ghost.”
Gretchen was definitely haunting Sawyer at the moment. “It was nice talking to you, Mr. Bell, but I have to get some things for the farm,” Sawyer said, cutting the conversation short. “I’ll see you on my way out.”
Maddox Hardware had been around long before Sawyer was born. He, like Mr. Bell, remembered coming in here as a kid with his dad and thinking of it like a toy store. Tools and gadgets galore lined the shelves.
“Sawyer Stratton! Mr. Nashville star. How’s it going?” Bud Maddox was the owner and great-grandson of the original Mr. Maddox, who’d opened the store back in the day. “I heard you were in town with your famous friend. Rumor has it there’s something big happening tomorrow out on the farm.”
Rumors were spreading faster than wildfire. “Oh, yeah? Where did you hear that?”
“Your mom was in here yesterday. Said you were planning a big ol’ wedding. Whole town is supposed to be invited.”
Gretchen was unbelievable. Not only had she notified the press, but she’d taken it upon herself to get everyone in Grass Lake involved. She must have thought if she created enough hassle, Sawyer and Piper would give up.
“She’s seriously lost her mind,” Sawyer mumbled in frustration. “Don’t believe everything you hear, Bud. Gretchen’s been gone a long time. She has no idea what’s going on around here.”
“Oh, no.” Bud frowned. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t worry about it. I just need to get these signs up before everyone in the entire state tries to get into this wedding.”
“Let me ring you up.”
“If you hear people talking, feel free to set the record straight. We’re keeping it super small. Just family and close friends.”
“Will do, Sawyer.” If anyone could get the word out, it was Bud. He would tell every single customer in the store today. By the end of the day, everyone in Grass Lake would get the message that there was no blanket invite. Gretchen would not ruin this wedding.
* * *
HEATH AND THE rest of the Starling family showed up while Sawyer was busy hammering the No Trespassing signs into the ground outside the entrance. He knew his future father-in-law was not going to be pleased with the leaks to the press. He liked to control those like he controlled everything else.