Page 47 of A Love Like Candle Light

"Oh, hey." Kieran smiles at me as I approach.

"Can I help out here?" Another sneeze. “Hay isn’t for me.”

"Of course." He rubs his neck and looks around. "Um, the carving station will be over there." Kieran points toward a bench around fifty meters away from us. "How about you grab the smaller pumpkins and stack them there?"

“Because I'm a woman?” My eyebrow twitches. "I'll have you know I am so strong enough and totally capable of carrying all kinds of pumpkins."

Without a word, he heaves a bigger pumpkin into my arms and lets go. I almost let it fall to the ground. Fuck, that’s heavy.

"You were saying?" Schadenfreude pours from his every pore. Considering he carries these things one-armed, it’s sadly not even misplaced.

Nonetheless, I shoot him a glare. “Stick that glee where the sun doesn’t shine, Kieran.” He breaks into laughter, but shows mercy, and takes the pumpkin from my arms. With one hand. Poser.

"Strong and capable," I mumble under my breath as I trudge over to the second pickup truck. "Hey, Bobby."

He drove along in one of the pumpkin pick-ups and struggles a little to get out of the passenger seat.

The others introduced me to him at Caleb's last week. From what I understand, he's something of the town's grandpa. Everyone loves him, and especially Nic and Lauren regularly pester him for, preferably embarrassing, stories of a young Caleb.

"Hey, Kylie." He stretches his back once both his feet are on the ground. Then he points at the woman getting out of the driver’s seat. I’d estimate her to be in her fifties, her long brunette hair streaked with gray. Her navy-blue hoodie is the same color as her car. "This is Andrea. She owns the hotel. Andrea, this is Kylie."

"It's so good to meet you." I extend my hand, but she goes for a hug.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here last week. Next time, I'll leave my key with this old guy." She lets me go and points at Bobby. "For emergencies, so don't hesitate to ring him awake."

"Well, I sure hope they won’t find more bones on my property to warrant kicking me out for a night." I giggle and make a vague gesture with my hand. Honestly, a part of me wants to thank her, because getting to know Erik made the entire hassle worth it. "But thank you so much, I appreciate it."

She clicks her tongue and waves me off. "Nothing to thank me for, dearie. Now, I have to get to the hotel and prepare the rooms for the incoming tourism wave." She rolls her eyes. "Picky people, those town folks. If they find one speck of dust, it's bad reviews all around. I'll pick the car up in the evening. Does that work for you?"

"Um, sure," I answer, but it sounds more like a question. Let's hope I get it empty by evening, I guess.

“Great! Have fun!” Andrea pulls me into another hug, then crosses the street and disappears into her hotel. Bobby mumbles something about fresh pie and takes off towards Caleb’s.

Even though I’m carrying the smaller pumpkins, my arms hurt by the tenth trip between the car and where the pumpkin carving booth will be. Lauren was right, though, I'm meeting what must be all of Wayward Hollow. Courtney and Phil, who own the flower shop and brought bouquets for décor. Andrea. Dimitri, a carpenter who lives just outside town and brought a bunch of tables, he made himself.

"And that's Harry," Kieran whispers and points at a gray-haired guy wearing a beige flannel shirt, standing aside with a clipboard in his hand. "He's, well, not the mayor. I don't think Wayward Hollow has a mayor. But he's the boss of some committee overseeing all of our fairs and festivals," he explains.

"Okay," I whisper, almost tripping on a stray pumpkin. Damn, those things are everywhere.

The set up is coming together so nicely. The area where the fair will be held is all but covered in hay, with the occasional hay bale stacked and decorated with pumpkins, flowers and more pumpkins.

A group of men who I assume are electricians due to their dark blue overalls, hang up string lights. Lauren mentioned earlier those will stay there until the Christmas market. They're also laying power lines to where I assume shops will need them at.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I set down the pumpkins I’m carrying and pull it out of my pocket.

It's my mom.

I don't even notice my face pulling into a grimace as I stare at it until Kieran breaks into laughter.

"Answer it." Lauren’s voice appears right next to my left ear. I startle and almost drop my phone. Where the hell did she come from? "Getting it over with is a lot more freeing than procrastinating."

"I'm not so sure."

“I am.” She pats my arm. “Trust me.”

The screen goes dark, long enough to let me take a deep breath. Then it lights right up again.

"Fuck."