With his stomach appeased, he ordered a chocolate shake to go. Ethan headed out the door with a quick errand to run. He wanted to check in on Hannah. After all, he had promised Aunt Birdie to pass along her regards. And the bakery was just a couple of blocks away.

The more he thought of Hannah with those big green eyes that drew him in, the faster his feet moved. And soon he found himself standing in front of the bakery.

For some reason, he thought it’d be abuzz with activity. However, only one pickup was parked in front. There was a yellow day-pass displayed in the windshield. A man stood next to the bed of the truck and closed a cargo box. He turned with an orange extension cord in his hand.

Ethan approached the man. “Excuse me, do you know where Hannah is?”

The man paused and gave him a puzzled look before he shook his head. “I don’t know any Hannah.”

Ethan decided to try again. “How about the woman who owns the bakery?”

“Oh her.” A big smile lit up his face. Apparently he wasn’t the only one Hannah had made an impression upon. “Sorry. I didn’t catch her first name. She was here first thing this morning to let me in. I haven’t seen her since.”

“Thanks.” Ethan’s anticipation waned.

He told himself he was disappointed not to be able to deliver his aunt’s message. It had absolutely nothing to do with not seeing Hannah. After all, he hardly knew her, and he certainly wasn’t interested in her romantically. Not that she wasn’t pretty enough—in fact he found her quite beautiful. However, he wasn’t about to start another relationship. Once bitten, twice shy and all of that stuff.

He continued walking with no particular destination in mind. He wasn’t ready to dive into the festival planning. The longer he could put it off, the better. It wasn’t like he was going to avoid it forever.

When Ethan stopped walking and glanced around, he found himself standing in front of the Bluestar firehouse. He didn’t know what had drawn him there. And yet he approached the front door.

After all, Chief Campbell had invited him to stop by any time. Ethan was certain he would just stand quietly off to the side, observing all of the activity. Still, it was either that or go back to his aunt’s bungalow and figure out where to start with Spring Fling plans.

He pulled open the door. He peered inside and found it empty. Then he heard voices coming from behind the building. Ethan followed the sounds and found a group of five or so people. With this being a volunteer station, he assumed the rest of the crew were at their day jobs.

The chief was at the front of the group. When their eyes met, the chief gave him a quick nod before continuing to speak to the firefighters.

Ethan didn’t want to interrupt. Maybe stopping by wasn’t such a good idea. After all, what was he expecting to come of this visit? He already had a good job waiting for him back in the city.