Lavon glanced out the window and tilted his head to the side at the smoke coming from near the gatehouse and the carriage house. He was about to call AnnaBeth into the room when she ran in panicked.
"Do you see the smoke?"
"Yes, lets go make sure that they haven't killed one another. That's a whole lot of smoke. The fire department may be on their way." The two of them took off barely remembering to shut the door behind them. They made it to the gatehouse in time to see Zoe toss more flowers onto the burning fire.
"What in the hell is going on here?" Lavon demanded just as several vehicles pulled up. Lemon and Lexi jumped from one vehicle and Candice jumped from another.
"Just burning unwanted garbage." Zoe growled. She ripped open a box and not caring tossed everything in it onto the fire and then added the boxed when the flames flared up.
"Zoe Hart, this is not how you were raised! Is this anyway to treat such beautiful flowers?"
"You love them so much, you take them!" Zoe yelled at her mother, turning on her. "Don't think I don't know what you are trying to do! I do not want to be with George Tucker. I want to be with the man that I love. Wade Kinsella! I don't care if you disapprove or not! This is my world. Not yours! Go back to New York. Send me a letter or e-mail every now and then, but stop trying to put me with Tucker!"
"Now, be sensible Zoe." She sniffed the air. "Are you burning chocolate?"
"Probably. I don't care. Wade didn't buy it for me. So I don't want it. I didn't buy it, so I don't need it."
"Exactly Zoe, Wade can't buy you the things that you love."
"Oh shut up already Candice. Let Zoe live her life. She's happy here." Lexi stepped in. She didn't like the fact that her friend was apparently losing her mind at the moment, but she despised the fact that in the middle of it, Candice was still trying to hook her up with George.
"You don't have a say in this." Candice spoke calmly. Her eyes were full of disdain for the woman she was talking to.
"Neither do you." Zoe told her mother as she tossed the last of the gifts from George on the fire. She looked at Wade, now no longer knowing what to do.
"I'll be right back out Zoe. Stand over there with Lemon and Lexi." With that Lemon and Lexi actually moved to Zoe as Wade went back inside. Lemon put her arm around Zoe and looked at Candice.
"Is this really how you treat your own daughter? Like you own her? Like she has to do everything that you say? That's not what a mother is supposed to be."
"She's not a mother, she's a tyrant. A bitch. Selfish." Lexi answered for Candice as Wade walked back out. Zoe ran to him. He put an arm around her.
"It doesn't matter what Candice has to say. Zoe and I are were hoping to do this in a more formal setting." He watched as George Tucker and several others from town pulled in and slammed out of cars. "However under the circumstances. We want to let everyone know that we're getting married." Zoe smiled up at him. However, it was a weak smile.
"Then why isn't she wearing a ring? Couldn't afford one?" Candice asked smirking.
"I actually just got it back. We had to have it resized. It was my mothers." With those words, Wade turned and slipped the ring on Zoe's finger. This time her smile was brilliant and actually reached her eyes. He had been bluffing, but no one needed to know that. They had decided to wait. However, things changed. She also knew this didn't mean they had to get married right away.
"Congratulations you two!" Lemon exclaimed.
"Thanks." Zoe said smiling. She glanced at her mother and then to George Tucker with a smirk on her face.
"As sweet as that is…" Brick began "Why is there a giant fire in the middle of the day?"
"Oh Tucker tried to win me over by sending me some of what used to be my favorite things from New York." Brick only shook his head.
"Don't worry, I only burned some flowers. I could have probably brought the candies and stuff into town for people. But I didn't think of that. Besides, if we wants sweets and things like that, that's what the bakery is for." Her eyes, hard now, never left Georges. He met her gaze and said nothing. He knew that the rest of his plan needed to go into action and soon. He would give things time to calm down before executing it. Come Hell or highwater he would have Zoe Hart.