Wearily, Sweetheart sighed. With all her staff against her, there was no sense arguing a point that she certainly was not going to get across. As it was, she truly was exhausted. Her morning had been spent working at the shop, then heading out to run a multitude of errands, attend meetings and make final preparations for her store’s participation in the festival. In truth, she had amazed herself by even having the power to keep her eyes open and remain standing.

“Alright, girls, I give up.” she said behind a yawn. “You win. I’ll go and get some rest.”

“And something to eat?” Sugar asked, worriedly.

A kind smile touched her face as her eyes fell on the sweetest of the Sweet Shoppe girls. “Yes, Sugar, I’ll get something to eat, too.”

“And I’ll make sure she eats it.” a warm, strong voice vowed as he stepped through the doorway of the kitchen. The girls turned to look toward the entrance where a tall, lean, cinnamon-colored male stood accompanied by two kittens.

“Boomer!” Sweetheart sang, hurrying over to the open arms of the young tom. “Mmm…” she murmured as she melted into his embrace. “What are you doing here? I thought you had to help harvest the fish.”

“We finished already.” he said, holding her tight. “I think all of us down at the wharf just wanted to get home early so we worked even harder to finish, so we could go home that much sooner to the people we love.” he purred, tucking his finger beneath her chin and tilting her head upward to steal a kiss from his beloved.

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