Forbidden Guest House novel · Chapter 24 of 32
Chapter 24: Centennial
The Fourth of July was hot and still over Loon Lake.
By eight that evening the town green was a sea of lawn chairs, everyone waiting for dark and the fireworks.
Bunting hung off the bandstand, and the high school band played a march nobody could name.
On a folding table sat a sheet cake shaped like the bank, with the gold clock done in yellow frosting.
A banner hung between two oaks. MOEN LAKELAND BANK. 100 YEARS OF HOMETOWN TRUST.
I wore Gran's navy dress.
Leif wore the deacon shirt.
Hedy was on the iPad in my tote bag, propped so she could see out, already complaining about the band.
Gran's lawyer came in a straw hat with the document examiner on his arm.
The church lady from the night shift brought a lawn chair and a canvas bag she wouldn't let anyone carry.
In the front row, in a folding chair with a ribbon on his lapel, sat the state banking examiner.
Marlys had invited him herself.
At nine thirty, with the sun just down, Marlys climbed the bandstand steps in a white cardigan and her pearls.
Erik stood behind her in a blazer, holding her notes.
She tapped the microphone. The band stopped.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–16 of Forbidden Guest House are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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