Molly carried a tray of deviled eggs out to the patio, eyeing her new ring as she walked. She couldn’t help smiling whenever it caught her eye. As she walked outside, she took a look around. The Holdens were all seated on one side of the porch, talking amongst themselves, with her family on the opposite side. No one was mixing. Awkward.

She set the tray on a long trestle table with a white tablecloth alongside dozens of other dishes – ham and turkey, a big tray of flaky biscuits with fried chicken folded inside, pulled pork sliders, mac and cheese in little cups with silver spoons. Every type of food she loved was laid out. Her stomach growled – she hadn’t eaten all day, being too anxious and too busy getting ready for the party.

She spotted Tim chatting with his older brother Stuart and hurried to his side. She put her hand into his, enjoying the warmth that spread through her body at his touch.

“Hi.” He smiled at her.

“Hi. Um … no one’s talking. I mean, my family and your family aren’t talking to each other.”

He frowned. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. What should we do?” He looked at Stuart.

Stuart shrugged. “Don’t ask me – I’m just here to support you.”

Molly smiled. “Stuart, it’s so nice of you to come, but I don’t think you’ve spoken to my sister Amanda yet. Come with me – I’ll help you find her.” She glanced over her shoulder at Tim as she walked off, her arm looped through Stuart’s, and saw Tim chuckling. “I know you’ve met Amanda,” she continued.

He nodded solemnly. “Yes, of course I know her, though not well. We’ve spoken a few times.”

“She always speaks highly of you.”

His eyebrows headed skyward. “She does?”

“Yes, she says you’re a brilliant editor and a kind man.”

His eyes widened. “That’s … very nice of her.”

Molly found Amanda in the living room and left Stuart there with his hands linked behind him. As she backed away, Amanda glared at her, then smiled at something Stuart said. Molly laughed to herself and set off to make more connections. If they couldn’t get their families to bury the hatchet today, they’d never be able to. This was their best chance at reconciliation.

“I can’t eat another bite,” moaned Molly, patting her full stomach. The food was as good as it had looked, and she’d stuffed herself.

“You have an impressive appetite,” laughed Tim.

She grinned. “I hadn’t eaten all day – and stress makes me hungry.”

“What are you stressed about? It’s a beautiful day. Everyone’s getting along – it’s all going to plan.” He reached for her hand and kissed it, making her skin tingle. He arched an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Now, if only we could get some time alone.”

Molly laughed and leaned into him, letting his scent wash over her. His breath tickled her cheek and she kissed him, hard. It took her breath away.

She heard clinking as the guests tapped spoons against crystalware. Her cheeks burned as she and Tim kissed again, then she smiled at their audience, doing her best not to be embarrassed at being the center of attention. It was such a foreign concept to her – she was usually in the background writing a story about what was going on, not in the middle of the action.

As soon as the guests returned their attention to their food, she scanned the patio. Seated at tables and chairs set up throughout the backyard, under white tents and across the patio, people were talking and laughing and eating. She smiled – Tim was right. Everything was going much better than she’d hoped it would. “Look! Daddy is sitting by your father and they’re talking. Did you see that? They’re actually smiling at each other!”

Tim followed her line of sight and nodded. “That’s great. I really wasn’t sure it was possible, but there they are. I wonder how long it’s been since the two of them shared a civil conversation.”

“Not since the Dark Ages, I’m sure. And our mothers seem to have disappeared – probably in the kitchen checking on the chef and waitstaff.”

Molly felt a tap on her arm and found Vicky beside her. “They’re just about to bring out the dessert, and I was wondering if you wanted people to make speeches. There haven’t been any speeches yet and usually they happen between courses. I always thought I’d give a speech at your wedding …” Her eyes were full of hope.

Molly’s heart fell. “Um … actually, we decided not to have speeches. Sorry, Vick.”

“I know it’s not really a wedding and you’re not dressed in white, but can’t we pretend this is the reception? I just think it’d be a shame not to have any speeches – those are the things you remember later on when you’re old and gray.”

Molly and Tim had both agreed without hesitation – no speeches. It seemed even more dishonest to get their family and friends to stand up and say nice things about them, and they didn’t want to risk someone using the opportunity to blast the other family. It was a line they weren’t willing to cross. “Sorry, it’s just that …”

Molly was interrupted by a commotion inside the house. It sounded like shouting. She stood with a frown, then glanced at Tim.

He cocked his head to one side. “What’s that?”

They hurried inside and found Frank Beluga, Molly’s granddad, toe to toe with Tim’s grandfather Wallace and yelling at the top of his lungs. “You four-flushing cheat!”

“Cheat? Me? You left the Chronicle and took my staff and my stories with you!” cried Wallace, jabbing his finger into Granddad’s bony chest.

Granddad leaned on his walking cane and scowled. “They left because they were sick of eating manure. You treated your staff badly then and I bet you do the same now!”

Molly gasped and covered her mouth. This was the worst-case scenario.

“Grandpa, come on,” said Tim soothingly. He stepped toward Wallace and reached out a hand to him, but the old man ignored him completely.

“That’s a lie and you know it!” Wallace bellowed. “You’re always stretching the truth. If you can steal a story, you’ll take it. If you can’t, you’ll just make one up!” He jabbed Granddad in the chest again, making him waver.

Molly moved toward Granddad, reaching out her arms as if to catch him. “Granddad, please – can’t we take this into another room? I’m sure everyone at the party doesn’t need to hear all about it. And I know Mr. Holden’s a good man – I’m sure you can see that too if you’d just give him a chance.”

Granddad glared at her, brow furrowed. “Stay out of this, Molly dear. It’s between this two-faced liar and me.”

“Oh, that’s it! Where do you get off calling me a liar?”

Wallace’s face was bright red and Molly worried he’d have a stroke if he didn’t calm down soon. “Now, Mr. Holden, I think perhaps you should sit …”

“Don’t tell me to sit.” He scowled at her and waved her off.

“Grandpa, please don’t talk to Molly like that. She’s only trying to help.”

Tim’s grandfather caught his eye and grumbled. “Only trying to help, huh? Just like her grandfather here helped himself to half my company to start his own competing paper all those years ago, I’m sure. You can’t trust a Beluga, my boy.”

“Grandpa, don’t say that – we’re having a nice family celebration and it’s time we put the past behind us.” Tim patted his grandfather on the back and tried to lead him toward a wicker chair by the window.

But the old man wasn’t having it. “A nice family celebration?” he spat. “Is that what this is? Maybe no one else will say it, but I’m going to – you can’t stay married to her. She’s a Beluga, and everyone knows she’ll just stab you in the back. We all see it coming, boy – why can’t you?”

By now, they were surrounded by a circle of guests, all crowding into the house to see what was causing the commotion. Molly noticed her parents were pushing toward the center and she moved to join them, her throat tightening. She couldn’t believe Tim’s grandfather was speaking about her that way. She knew the families didn’t get along, but maybe she’d underestimated just how sour things were between them.

“Grandpa, that’s enough!” Tim growled.

Molly’s mother took her hand and squeezed it tight. “What’s happening, honey?”

“Granddad’s fighting with Mr. Holden,” replied Molly, a sob catching in her throat. “Daddy, do something!”

Her father frowned and stepped forward. “Dad, what seems to be the problem?”

Granddad faced his son with a grimace. “This old fart over here is causing trouble. He seems to think our Molly’s not good enough for his precious grandson.”

“Really?”

Molly heard the tension in her father’s voice and grimaced. Things were about to get much worse.

“That’s not what I said, Frank!” scolded Wallace. “There you go making things up again!”

“Because if you did, I’d have something to say about that,” Daddy replied.

Ben and Angela Holden pushed through the crowd and stood by Wallace’s side. “Everything okay, Dad?” asked Ben.

Wallace shook his head. “Nope. This two-bit yellow journalist is calling me and our family names.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on, Stan?”

Dad waved his hands downward. “Nothing’s going on. Let’s all just calm down and enjoy the party.”

“We’re all on the same page, aren’t we?” continued Wallace as though no one else had spoken. “None of us thinks these two should be married. Our families aren’t suited to each other, we’re too different. It’ll never work – they should annul it now before it’s too late.”

Tears smarted in Molly’s eyes. Her heart ached – it felt so strange, so wrong, to be talked about as though she wasn’t there, like she didn’t have a say in her own life.

“Now just a moment, Wallace,” her father replied. “That’s not what any of us thinks.”

“I do,” Ben piped up. “Angela and I both do. They rushed into it without really understanding the implications. How do they think it will work when neither family likes the other? That’s going to cause tensions. I have to agree with Dad – it’ll be the downfall of their marriage before it’s over.”

Tim set his hands on his hips, his brow furrowed. “Dad, that’s really not for you to say – none of us knows the future. We just want you to put your arguments aside and try to get along for our sakes.”

“And if their marriage doesn’t work, it’ll be on you!” Dad shouted at Ben.

Molly flinched, her stomach clenched into a tight ball.

“On me? I don’t think so – this whole thing was caused by your family. If Frank hadn’t been so greedy, he could’ve stayed at the Chron and made it great. But he wanted his own paper and he didn’t care what he had to do to get it – even lying, cheating and stealing. And you’ve carried on the tradition!” Ben slapped the kitchen counter beside him.

Molly sobbed and felt her throat constrict. How could they say those things to each other? Surely they could forgive and let it go – it had happened so long ago, whatever had happened. From where she was standing, it sounded like a mountain of misunderstanding and hurt over a broken partnership, rather than anything intentional on either side. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, anger growing in her belly. “Stop!” she shouted. “Stop it!”

The tenor of her voice surprised everyone, and they all stopped yelling to stare at her.

“That’s enough, all of you! You should be ashamed of yourselves, acting like children in a schoolyard. You’re still hurting from something that happened forty years ago – if you’d forgiven each other then, this stupid feud would never have happened. But now you’ve turned your whole families against each other and it’s exactly why Tim and I decided to do this –” She froze, her eyes widening as she realized what she’d said. She glanced at Tim, who hung his head.

“What do you mean, honey?” Momma asked, squeezing her hand gently.

Molly tugged it free and pushed out her chin. “We’re not married. We just pretended to be so that you’d all have to forgive each other. We’re sick of all the hatred, all the bitterness. There’s a reason we’re supposed to forgive – because if you don’t it eats you alive from the inside.”

There were gasps and murmurs throughout the group. Molly’s heart hammered and sweat trickled down her back, but she was past caring. She spun on her heel and ran from the house, out to her car at the curb. She drove away, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her whole world had been torn apart and she didn’t want to look back. She never wanted to look back again.

Molly scanned the row of vendor stalls that lined both sides of the street. Greensboro, Georgia was a quaint town, and the Southland Jubilee transformed it into a hub of bustle and entertainment every fall. She’d covered the festival annually for the past five years – usually it was one of her favorite pieces to write all year. But this time her heart wasn’t in it.

She trudged past the small square tents of the artisan stalls, her head down. They all knew her by name, but she didn’t want to be recognized. Not today – she was still deciding on an angle for the story and had no desire to socialize.

“Molly! Come on over here, darlin’.”

She sighed and wandered over to greet the ever-eager Nancy Tottingham, the local expert on all things fried. “Hi, Nancy. How’s it going this year?”

Nancy grinned, waving a fryer ladle around as if it were a conductor’s baton. “It’s going just fine – we got ourselves a crowd today. How’re you doin’?”

“I’m … fine.”

Nancy’s eyebrows shot up. “That don’t sound too good to me.”

“Just feeling a bit blah, you know?”

“Bless your heart – I know just what you mean, honey. But I’ve got somethin’ here that’ll perk you right up.” She pulled a white paper plate from the makeshift counter in front of her and held it out to Molly. “Funnel cake, fresh from the fryer.”

Molly sighed and shook her head. “I don’t think I need a funnel cake.”

“Oh, honey, no one needs a funnel cake. But it’s tradition and it’s delicious, plus I think the sugar does somethin’ to a woman’s hormones – makes her happy, at least for a while. Does the trick for me.” She chuckled, patted the fryer ladle against the apron stretched over her generous stomach and pushed the delicacy toward Molly again.

Molly took it from her with a half-hearted smile. “Thanks, Nancy. I appreciate it.” She waved goodbye and set off again down the street, tearing pieces of pastry free and popping them into her mouth. It did taste good, and perhaps she was being overly dramatic. She felt as though she’d been through a break-up and her heart was in pieces, but she and Tim had never really been in a relationship. They’d toyed with the idea, and might have given it a try had everything not blown up in their faces, but they’d never truly taken the plunge …

“Molly Beluga!”

The deep voice startled her and she almost dropped her cake in the middle of the street. She caught it and spun around to see Peter Johnson, the new mayor of Greensboro, headed toward her. “Mr. Mayor,” she said with a smile. “How nice to see you. Congratulations on the election – I was very happy to read you’d won.” She wiped her hand clean on the napkin Nancy had provided and offered it to him.

He shook it with a grin, his dark skin gleaming with sweat. He was Greensboro’s youngest mayor in decades – at least that’s what she’d read in the local paper. It had caused quite a stir when he’d unseated the incumbent, who’d been in the position for over a decade.

“Thank you, Molly. It’s been an education, I’ll say that.” He chuckled and shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his navy suit jacket. His wide brown eyes studied her intently, she always had the impression that he knew just how to read people.

She shifted her feet uncomfortably. “I’m sure it has been. I’m just glad to be able to come to the festival again. They’d planned on giving the story to one of the junior reporters this year, but I asked for it – I really wanted to get out of town and it’s so lovely here this time of year.”

The truth was, since the failed wedding party three weeks earlier, she hadn’t taken a single call from anyone in her family except Amanda, and refused to discuss anything but work with her. Her parents were still angry, and though Tim called every day, she wasn’t taking his calls. Her only refuge had been daily runs with Daisy and time at home with Vicky, who’d been doing everything she could think of to pull Molly from her slump. She’d looked for any story she could find that would get her out of the office, and preferably out of Atlanta.

“Well, I’m glad you came. It seems too long between visits. You only make it out here once a year, and we love seeing you.”

His eyes gleamed and Molly felt a tug at her heart. It felt good to be around people who appreciated her and liked her. Folks in Greensboro were always so welcoming, and she always enjoyed her time there. Pete had just been a local realtor the last time she was there, but he’d always been warm toward her. “Thank you. It’s nice to be here.”

They fell into step beside each other as Molly continued eating her funnel cake.

“Have you swung by the vintage cars yet?”

“No, Mr. Mayor, I haven’t. But I will – I love seeing them. They’re so stylish in a way modern cars could never be, don’t you think?”

He nodded, his hands linked behind his back as he walked. “They sure are. And please, call me Peter. You always have before.”

She laughed. “Okay, Peter, I’d be happy to.”

They turned down another street and Molly saw pony rides, face-painting and other activities for children lining the street. Kids ran in every direction shouting and squealing, and she couldn’t help smiling at their enthusiasm.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking this …” Peter began, glancing in her direction. “Are you seeing anyone?”

Molly’s eyes widened. “Uh … no, not exactly.”

“What does that mean?” He stopped to grin at her.

She frowned. “Well, I guess it means that no, I’m not. Not any longer.”

“Would you have dinner with me tonight?”

Her stomach twisted into a knot. Have dinner with someone who wasn’t Tim? She hadn’t considered it, but now she knew she’d have to answer. “That would be lovely,” she replied, even as it made her heart ache.

His grin widened. “Great.” They made plans to meet in her hotel lobby later that evening, and Peter headed off to meet more constituents.

All the while Molly’s stomach churned. Things were over between her and Tim, she knew that. They’d come out with the truth and it had opened a gulf between them she knew couldn’t be bridged. They’d tried to bring their families together and failed, and in the process ruined any chance they might have had of being together. No relationship between them now would be approved by either family, and she wasn’t sure she could live with bringing that kind of disruption and tension into Tim’s life, let alone her own. The best thing was to move on.

Still, Peter’s invitation had taken her by surprise. She was single, but her heart hadn’t absorbed that yet, and she wasn’t sure when it would catch up. Still, there was no reason she shouldn’t go out with Peter – it was a one-time thing. She enjoyed spending time with him, and she’d be back in Atlanta in a few days. She just hoped he wouldn’t ask more than that, because that was all she was capable of giving.