He looked at Andrea now, standing across from him, her chin high.

“You’re acting like this is a quest,” he said. “Why is this year’s festival so important to you?”

Her mouth opened to answer, then snapped shut again. Her forehead wrinkled. “Let’s just say I have a lot to prove. I’m the youngest chairperson ever. I don’t want to let people down. I don’t want to fail.”

“You’ve probably never failed at anything in your life.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Boy, do I wish that were true. I’ll give you a list of people to talk to about my failures, starting with my mother.”

When Zayne thought about Marissa Wentworth, he always thought of sharpness. Not the smart kind of sharp, but the dangerous kind. Sharp eyes. Tight face. Sharp words. There was a time when he’d expected Andrea to be just like her. But he’d seen how hard she’d been working this week. He’d seen her swinging Hudson in the air and laughing. Those images were beginning to push the old ones out of his memory.

“I can’t imagine you failing at something you put your mind to.”

Her eyes brightened. “I’ve put my mind to getting the maze back, so does that mean...?”

“We made a deal.” Despite all the new impressions of Andrea, he had to remember that she’d turned on him before. Just like so many other people in his life. “Finish your part of the bargain and we’ll talk.”

She didn’t look discouraged—she looked defiant. It was a good look on her. She headed back to the desk with a little wave of her fingers. He wanted to trust her. It just wasn’t in his nature to forget a slight. He thought of his brother’s parting words yesterday.

“You have even more reason to carry a chip on your shoulder than I do,” Luke had said, “what with the accident and all. But man, that’s a lot of weight to carry around. It’s exhausting. I was a better man—a happier man—once I gave it up. I highly recommend it.”

“MOMMA, CAN I PLAY with Duke?”

“We’ll see.”

It was Sunday afternoon, and she was still working on straightening out the mess that was Zayne’s bookkeeping “system.” She’d been surprised Friday night when he’d acted as though he was missing Hudson’s nonstop questions when he was with her. Zayne looked up now from some weed trimming he was doing. He smiled when he saw Hudson and whistled for the dog.

“Can we play?” Hudson asked. Boy and dog had become fast friends this week.

Zayne nodded. “Just remember that play to Duke usually means the same thing as nap. But you might get him to fetch a stick a few times first.”