“Very nice,” Liz said. “Where do you two get your ideas?”
They both laughed.
This was fun, she thought as they stopped for lemonade at a stand, then strolled by the quilting demonstration. Part party, part county fair. So far everyone had been friendly enough, calling out to her. No one had said anything bad about her or Tyler.
“Is that a llama?” Ethan asked, pointing.
Liz squinted, then stopped when she saw a small llama in the shade. “Don’t they spit?”
“That’s what I heard.”
“It’s not a llama,” Tyler stated importantly. “It’s an alpaca.”
“They’re like sheep,” Abby added. “Their fibers are like wool and can be made into a lot of different things. Some of the fibers are really soft.”
“Llamas have ears shaped like bananas,” Tyler informed. “Alpaca ears are straight.”
Liz glanced at both of them. “Excuse me?”
The kids grinned. “A lady brought alpacas to camp last week,” Abby told her. “We spent a morning learning about them.”
“Impressive,” Liz said.
Ethan ruffled Tyler’s hair. “Nicely done.”
The boy shrugged, but looked proud.
They continued toward the far end of the park. The crowd got thicker and Liz noticed big posters featuring her books. It was strange to see huge publicity photos hanging from trees.
“Is that you?” an older woman asked, stopping her. “You’re Liz Sutton?”
Liz smiled. “Yes.”
“Oh, I’m such a fan. I can’t wait to have you sign my books. I drove in from Tahoe this morning. I told my Edgar that we were spending the day in Fool’s Gold and that I was going to meet you.”
The woman smiled at Ethan. “Hello.”
“Hi.”
Liz separated herself from Ethan and the kids and moved toward the woman. “I’m signing from one to three, then from four to six,” she said. An impossibly long time, but Montana had insisted. Now that Liz saw the crowd, she had an idea that maybe she would be selling books for that long.
“I think the lines are going to be long,” Liz continued. “Did you bring a book with you? If so, I can sign it now.”
The woman beamed. “Would you? That would be so nice. Edgar wants to get home before dark.” She sighed. “You know how men are.”
Liz nodded and got a pen out of her purse. She took the offered book. “What’s your name?”
“Patricia.”
Liz wrote a note, then signed the book and handed it back. Patricia patted her arm.
“You’re lovely. I knew you would be.” She winked at Ethan. “And your husband is very handsome. No wonder you have such nice-looking children.”
“Thank you,” Liz said.
Patricia excused herself and left.
“Why did she say that?” Tyler asked. “Dad isn’t your husband. You should have told her.”
Liz crouched in front of him. “She was trying to be nice. Sometimes it’s easier to accept the compliment than explain. Besides, both you and Abby are nice looking.”
“Jason’s parents are married,” Tyler declared.
She stayed where she was, eye level with her son. “Yes, they are.”
“You and Dad aren’t married.”
“No, we’re not.”
“You didn’t get a divorce.”
“That’s right.”
She could feel Ethan hovering, sensed that he wanted to help. But what was there to say? Eventually Tyler was going to figure out that she and his dad hadn’t followed a traditional path.
“You didn’t get married at all.” The words sounded like an accusation.
“It’s complicated,” Ethan described, drawing Liz to her feet and putting his hand on Tyler’s shoulders. “There were extenuating circumstances.”
“I don’t care about that,” Tyler argued stubbornly.
Abby looked uncomfortable. Liz took her hand and smiled reassuringly.
“You should be married,” their son announced.
Liz held in a groan. “An interesting idea,” she said lightly. “But not one we’re going to discuss right now and certainly not here.”
“But I—”
“You heard your mother,” Ethan reiterated firmly. “She has a signing. This isn’t the time to deal with the subject. We’ll talk later.”
“I want to talk now!”
“Come on, Tyler,” Ethan said firmly. He glanced at her. “All right with you?”
She nodded and Ethan led Tyler away.
Abby hovered close by. “Should I go?”
“I thought you wanted to be with me for the first part of the signing. It’s okay. Really. Why don’t you come with me until you meet with your friends at one-thirty?”
“Okay.”
They walked toward the booths at the far end of the park.
“Tyler’s mad,” Abby observed.
“I know.”
“He said he always wanted a dad, but you wouldn’t talk about his. He didn’t know how to make you. Sometimes he got really sad and stuff.”
Liz didn’t know if she wanted to hear more or not. “I remember he would ask a lot. It’s complicated.”
“Grown-ups always say that, but if you don’t tell us stuff, how can we learn?”
Liz smiled. “You’re pretty smart.”