The Spring of Candy Apples (A Sweet Seasons Novel) (19 page)

“Becca!” Candace shouted, trying to get her attention.

Becca turned and saw Candace. Candace cocked back her arm and threw the candy apple as hard as she could. It flipped end over end as it sailed through the air. Several in the crowd jumped up in an attempt to intercept it, but it was beyond their reach.

Becca reached up and snatched it out of the air. There was a long pause and then she brought it to her mouth and bit into it. Candace held her breath. Becca closed her eyes for a moment. Suddenly they flew back open and she tossed the candy apple into the crowd. Her feet began to move unbelievably fast and then she was off, dancing and jumping and spinning out of control.

When Becca spun into her final pose and the dance ended, the crowd erupted. At that moment Candace knew her team had lost, and yet, she couldn’t have been happier.

It turned out they were the last group to go. After two minutes John Hanson got up on the stage and took the microphone.

“Wow, I think we can all agree that everyone here outdid themselves. That was amazing, and you all should be very proud. Give yourselves a hand!”

Everyone applauded, and it lasted for nearly a minute. Finally it died down and he continued. “We have the winners of the contest. Anyone interested in hearing?”

There were cheers and shouts.

“Okay. Here goes. In third place we have the Kowabunga Krew!”

Josh and his team cheered as they ran up on stage to accept their trophy.

Candace clenched her fists. They had been great, but she knew her team was better. She just hoped the judges had agreed.

“In second place we have . . . Candy and the Apples!”

Candace and Sue started screaming and jumping up and down as they tried to make their way to the stage. Finally they got up on it and were joined by the rest of their team. Pete handed Candace the trophy, and she hoisted it high in the air. She found Josh in the crowd and did a little victory dance. He just shook his head and grinned.

They ran back down into the crowd.

“And now for our winners. Once again, congratulations to everyone. We all won because of the quality of the performances. I can’t remember a Talent Show I’ve enjoyed more than this one,” John said. “The winners are . . . the Muffin Mansion!”

Candace screamed and jumped up and down as Becca and the rest of the gang claimed their trophy.

“Congratulations to the Muffin Mansion, and thank you all for that stirring rendition of
The Lady of the Dance!
” John said.

The crowd roared its approval. The group accepted their trophy, waved to the crowd, did a five-step routine, and then ran back offstage.

“Congratulations!” Candace told Becca as she showed her the trophy.

Once the noise died down a bit, John continued. “Now, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the scholarship candidates. You’ve all done outstanding work here, and I have every confidence in your abilities. I hope to see you all working for The Zone for a long, long time.”

Candace’s heart was pounding in her chest, and she had a hard time catching her breath. She had tried to fixate on the talent portion of the show and put this out of her mind. Now it was here, the moment of truth. She squeezed Becca’s hand so hard that the other girl began to squirm.

“Ouch!”

Candace tried to loosen her grip and then gave up.

“This year’s winner of The Zone scholarship to Florida Coast is Candace Thompson!”

“You won!” Roger shouted, crushing her and Becca in a hug.

“Candace, come on up here!” John shouted.

She let go of Roger and Becca and moved toward the stage in a daze. Suddenly there was music playing, and she began to laugh hysterically when she recognized it as “I Want Candy.”

She walked up onto the stage and shook John’s hand. He winked at her, and she grinned back. It was so weird to see him in public now that she had spent time at his home.

“You earned it,” he said. “I can’t wait to ride Balloon Races.”

“Me either,” she said.

She accepted a certificate from him, and then he handed her the microphone.

She looked out at the sea of faces and was able to pick out several. She smiled at everyone.

“Thank you. I wouldn’t be standing up here if it weren’t for the help and support and encouragement of everyone here. I know some of you really well and others not nearly as well as I’d like, but you have all made a huge impact on my life.

“When I started here last summer as a cotton candy operator, it was just a job . . . and I wasn’t sure I wanted one in the first place. Things were hard, but I made it through with the help of so many of you. And somewhere along the way I began to feel like I belonged somewhere.

“I’ve never known what I wanted to do with my life, but it has become clear to me that my heart, my future, is with The Zone. I’m going away for a while, but I’ll be back. And when I am, we’re going to build some awesome rides!”

A cheer went up from the crowd. It wasn’t nearly the kind of inspirational speech John gave on a routine basis, but it was from her heart. She handed him back the microphone and then made her way off the stage to rejoin her friends. Tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t care. She was going to miss everyone when she went to Florida, but she’d be back.

Sue hugged her as she walked past, and Candace clung to her fiercely for a moment before continuing on. Lisa grabbed her next. Of all her friends at The Zone, Lisa was the most surprising. Candace was still shocked at how their relationship had changed. They hugged for a moment, and then Candace continued on. Traci and Corinne both hugged her. All the cart vendors and the refs from the Candy Counter clustered around to congratulate her and pat her back.

Martha smiled, and Candace could see that she was crying. Pete kissed her on the cheek and thrust a small toy train into her hand. The crew of the Muffin Mansion surrounded her. Becca, Gib, and Roger embraced her together. Over the top of Becca’s head she could see Kurt. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Then finally she saw Josh. He smiled at her in that same laid-back way he had the first time she met him, and her heart leaped. She ran toward him, and he wrapped her in his arms, kissing her like she’d never been kissed before. She pulled away slightly. “We need to talk,” she said.

He grinned. “Actually I think we’ve done too much talking and not enough of this.” He had a point, and she smiled as she kissed him again. Of all the gifts The Zone had given her, he was by far the best.

The night of Tamara’s party arrived, and Candace and her parents showed up at Boone’s. Candace shivered with excitement as they were led up winding stairs to the top of the Fort. The restaurant itself was a juxtaposition of the rustic and the refined. The tables and chairs looked like rough-hewn wood and were slightly twisted to follow the curve of the wood. The tables were set with the finest linen, china, crystal, and silver.

“Bizarre. I like it,” her mom said.

Josh walked toward them. “Welcome to Boone’s,” he said.

“Aren’t you a little afraid of exposing your secret tonight?” her father asked by way of greeting.

Josh shrugged. “I eat dinner here with my parents a lot. The staff here is already in the know.”

“Looks like your parents just arrived,” her mom said.

“Great, let me introduce you,” he said, waving to them.

John and Lilian came over. Lilian embraced Candace. “I’ve missed you,” she said.

“I’ve missed you too,” Candace replied.

“Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Candace’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, these are my parents, John and Lilian.”

“Call us Rob and Carol,” her father said as they all shook hands.

“It’s so nice to meet the parents of the girl who has completely bewitched my youngest son,” John said with a smile.

Josh actually blushed. It made Candace smile.

“We’re just thrilled that she and Josh are finally dating,” Carol said.

It was Candace’s turn to blush, and Josh laughed.

“I hear there’s a game night in the works,” Lilian said.

“Absolutely, we’d love to have you over next Friday if that works for you,” Rob said.

“Sounds great,” Lilian said.

More people came upstairs, and Candace and her parents took their seats as John and Lilian moved to greet them.

“I like them,” Rob said.

“They seem lovely,” Carol added.

“I’m glad,” Candace said as she looked around, wondering where Josh went.

He returned a minute later with a wicked grin on his face. He was holding something behind his back.

“What have you got there?” she asked.

“I just thought you’d like to see a sneak peek of something that showed up today.”

“What?”

“It’s a mock-up of the cover for The Zone yearbook.”

Candace groaned. “I still can’t believe no one but you told me we had a yearbook.”

“Spend more time on the website.”

“Why should I when I have my own personal insider who’s supposed to tell me things?”

“Fair enough,” he said with a laugh.

“Okay, show me the cover.”

He handed it to her. There on the cover, spelled out in different types of candies were the words I Want Candy.

She started laughing so hard she nearly fell out of her chair. “You have got to be kidding me!”

“Nope. You want to hear the best part?”

“Yes.”

“I had nothing to do with it.”

“That is good,” she said.

She passed the cover to her parents who also started laughing.

“Yup, we pass those out just before summer starts,” he said.

“You know what’s weird?” Candace said.

“What?”

“It’s nearly the end of spring, we’ll be going to Florida in September, and there isn’t any other job you’re trying to entice me to come back for.”

“Ah, the perks and drawbacks of being a regular employee,” he said.

“It’s just a little weird that I’ll have this job until I go away to school.”

“You know, I was thinking about that. Zone World has a summer international cultural exchange program where you get to work and live with college students from all over the world.”

“That could be a lot of fun,” she said. “But why are you telling me this?”

“Well, I just figured you might want to consider enrolling in it. You could get a roommate from Italy or Japan or China.”

“And?”

“And you could work in the Asia Marketplace selling rice candy.”

She blinked at him for a moment. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see a summer of rice candy in my future.”

“Never say never,” he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

Read chapter 1 of
Carter House book 1,
Mixed Bags

1

“Desiree,” called Inez as she knocked on the other side of the closed bedroom door. “Mrs. Carter wants to see you downstairs.”

“The name is DJ.”

“I’m sorry, but your grandmother has instructed me to call you
Desiree.”

DJ opened the door and looked down on the short and slightly overweight middle-aged housekeeper. “And
I
have instructed you to call me
DJ.”

Inez’s dark eyes twinkled as she gave her a sly grin. “Yes, but it’s your grandmother who pays my salary,
Desiree
. I take orders from Mrs. Carter. And she wants to see you downstairs in her office,
pronto.”

DJ grabbed her favorite Yankees ball cap and shoved it onto her head, pulling her scraggly looking blonde ponytail through the hole in the back of it.

“You’re wearing that?” asked Inez with a frown. “You know what your grandmother says about — ”

“Look,” said DJ. “My grandmother might pay you to take orders from her, but I’m a free agent. Got that?”

Inez chuckled. “I got that. But you’re the one who’ll be getting it before too long,
Desiree
.”

“DJ,”
she growled as she tromped loudly down the curving staircase. Why had she let Dad talk her into living with her grandmother for her last two years of high school? She’d only been here since last spring, late into the school year, but long enough to know that it was nearly unbearable. Boarding school would be better than this. At least she’d have a little privacy there and no one constantly riding her — telling her how to act, walk, look, and think. She wished there were some way, short of running away (which would be totally stupid), out of this uncomfortable arrangement.

“There you are,” said Grandmother when DJ walked into the office. Her grandmother frowned at her ball cap and then pasted what appeared to be a very forced smile onto her collagen- injected lips. “I want you to meet a new resident.” She made a graceful hand movement, motioning to where an attractive and somewhat familiar-looking Latina woman was sitting next to a fashionably dressed girl who seemed to be about DJ’s age, but could probably pass for older. The girl was beautiful. Even with the scowl creasing her forehead, it was obvious that this girl was stunning. Her skin was darker than her mother’s, latte-colored and creamy. Her long black hair curled softly around her face. She had high cheekbones and dramatic eyes.