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ones that happened on that date.
    Hillcrest Joyful Kixx had won the Kentucky Derby that day. This parade, in honor of that win, not only shifted the emotion of the town, but was also giving the ladies another chance to wear those hats they’d created for the party.
    Ladies from the garden club sat in white Adirondack chairs, poised in their Sunday finest, ready to give their friends and family their best parade waves. His mom was one of them. He could hear her now. “Elbow, wrist. Elbow, wrist.” She fancied herself quite the waver ever since her homecoming days in this town. Lord, he’d heard that story five hundred times if he’d heard it once.
    Ted Hardy, the owner of Floral and Hardy, had re-created a huge Kentucky Derby winner’s circle flower arrangement for the float representing his shop. Scott couldn’t imagine how many fresh flowers it had taken to fill up that monstrosity of an arrangement. While others used metallic floral sheeting, balloons, and crepe paper, Ted always used flowers. Oodles of them. But it wasn’t like he could recycle that gigantic forty-pound blanket of roses draped across a four-foot-tall horseshoe covered in peanut hulls by taking it to the hospital or the old folks’ home. Heck, it was too big to fit in a car. They’d had to make arrangements to use the ambulance to deliver it. Now he could see why.
    The members of the marching band from the neighboring town just north, Hale’s Vineyard, let out snippets of the chorus of “Camptown Races” as they nervously prepared to represent their town in the big celebration.
    Hillcrest Joyful Kixx, the guest of honor, stood regally in a makeshift holding pen that the local farm supply dealer had created out of red pole gates decorated in purple that matched the jockey’s silks. The Thoroughbred looked way more relaxed among the hustle and bustle than most of the kids lined up. In fact, the horse was about the only one who looked relaxed in the whole darn group.
    Funny too, since the horse had been the biggest point of difficulty in planning the parade that he’d ended up being the least of the trouble. The town held three meetings to get approval to have that horse in the parade. It wasn’t like they’d never had an animal in one of these events. Heck, Rick had even ridden that darned camel he rescued from the circus in one, but then again that camel wasn’t worth a plug nickel.
    The town council was worried to death that something would happen and they’d get the bill. The rest of the town was mad that there was even consideration of having a parade in honor of the horse’s big win without allowing the horse in it.
    It had become downright comical that they were that worried about a horse when Scott could barely get them to listen about the safety of the people coming to watch the parade.
    But eventually Cody Tuggle’s mom, Denise Hill, had been able to reassure the committee that the horse would be fine and filed the appropriate papers to be sure the town would not be held accountable if there was an accident or injury. After all, now that she was moving her operation here to Adams Grove, in Kasey Phillips’s old place, she was one of them.
    Just to be sure though, part of the deal was for Scott to drive his patrol car behind the horse to keep watch on the situation.
    There’d been discussion of a float with Cody Tuggle on it, but thank goodness he turned down that idea and offered to do a free concert later in the evening instead. Part of that offer had been so that Cody would have a chance to showcase a new young talent he’d taken on since the death of his agent, Arty Max. That worked to Scott’s favor. Fans would’ve just made the parade route crazier, and even though Scott had made his peace with Kasey being with Cody, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit that if he’d had to cruise the whole parade with Cody and Kasey in his rearview mirror looking like the most adored couple in America, it would have been the