Chapter 27

ERIC

After lunch, I stood beside Riley and Kathleen as we waited for the cherry pie contest results. The judges were on a raised platform, announcing the winners and auctioning off the pies that made it into the final round.

A woman in a red polka-dot dress held up a chocolate-glazed cherry-pecan pie, causing quite a stir in the crowd. Even though it didn't win, it was clearly a crowd favorite.

Riley was trying to outbid a man in a cotton plaid shirt and blue jeans, determined to get the pie.

"One hundred dollars!" the stranger yelled.

My eyebrows shot up. I turned to Riley, expecting him to back off, but he surprised me.

"One hundred and twenty dollars!" he countered.

"What are you doing?" Kathleen whispered. "We already have enough pies to last the summer."

"It's for a good cause," Riley whispered back. "Besides, the waitress said her sister's pie is delicious."

I looked at the pie. Sure, it looked amazing, but was it worth more than sixty dollars, let alone a hundred?

The cowboy raised his arm again. "One fifty."

Half the audience gasped, the other half cheered. The Broomfield Literacy Program was about to get a significant donation.

Kathleen shook her head. "This is ridiculous. Let him have the pie. He looks like he needs it."

I smiled. "Your mom's right. He is a little skinny."

Riley's gaze shot across the room to the cowboy, who lifted his hat and winked at him. I stepped closer to Riley, feeling a surge of protectiveness. "Two hundred dollars," I called out.

"What are you doing?" Riley gasped. "You were the one who told me not to bid."

"It's for a good cause," I muttered. Although not necessarily the one Riley thought.

Kathleen stood on tiptoes, trying to see over the crowd. "Has the other man raised his hand?"

I crossed my arms, hoping the cowboy got the hint.

The woman in the red polka-dot dress waited a few seconds before smiling broadly at the audience. "Do I have any advances on two hundred dollars?"

The crowd fell silent.

"In that case, folks, this lovely chocolate-glazed cherry-pecan pie will be going home with the man in the blue shirt."

Over a hundred pairs of eyes swiveled toward me. So much for keeping a low profile.