Page 56 of A Love Like Candle Light

"Story? What story?" Lauren's eyes shine with curiosity.

"How the autumn fair came to be," Henry clarifies and takes his marshmallow off the fire. Nic squeals because hers caught on fire and quickly blows it out.

"All right." Bobby's voice booms over the main square, catching everyone's attention. He turns to us. "You lot don't know it yet?"

Nic, Lauren, Kieran and I shoot each other confused looks.

"I don't think I've heard it," Lauren declares, and Nic shakes her head.

"Same. But I'm always up for a good story." Kieran leans forward. Suddenly, his eyes jumping between Erik and me. "Wait, you two..." He narrows his eyes. "Oh, come on."

He hits the bench with his palm, lips pursing into a pout. "You two? God." He lets himself fall back, lands with his back on the ground, legs still on the bench and dramatically reaches towards the sky. "Why, universe? Why? Why am I the only single one here?"

"Don't be such a drama queen." Lauren flicks a crumb of a cookie his way. "You haven’t downloaded dating apps, I don’t think you’ve ever driven out of Wayward Hollow, how exactly do you want to meet someone?"

"Don't come at me with logic," he grumbles and crosses his arms over his chest. Which is a hilarious image, considering his legs are still on the bench.

"Shh," I scold them playfully and put my finger on my lips. "I want to listen to the story."

"Is it a good one?" Kieran fights his way back onto the bench.

"It is. And even if you don’t think so, you will pretend, because it’s about Wayward Hollow’s history." Bobby nudges Kieran's foot with his cane as he rounds the fire and takes a seat on the bench behind us. We all turn around so we sit facing him, the fire behind us. "So, shut up and let me tell you the story of old O'Brien."

Kieran steals the s'more Caleb puts together as he hands it to Lauren and earns two murderous glares.

"Hey!" she whisper-shouts at him. Caleb has to hold her back with his arm around her shoulder, I’m convinced otherwise Kieran would end up in the bonfire.

He immediately takes a bite and shoots her a cheeky grin. It quickly turns into a pained grimace once he realizes how hot the marshmallow still is.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." He sucks in air.

Bobby starts with the story, ignoring their antics. "Old O'Brien was the town elder as I grew up. A gruff guy, face marked by life. He never talked much, didn't ever share much about his life. But there were rumors." The bonfire turns quiet. Every single person listens to him, even though I assume they must have heard this story countless times before.

Instead of waiting for a s’more, I grab one of the biscuits and nibble on it, giving in and leaning my head against Erik’s shoulder again, grinning as his arm snakes around my back and his hand comes to a rest on my hip.

"Rumor has it, he moved here with his wife, Elizabeth. Nicholas O'Brien was the son of a wealthy Scottish nobleman, Elizabeth, the daughter of a local baker. He used to sneak away from his father’s castle as a child and when he wandered into town, spent time with Elizabeth and her family, until inevitable, they returned him home. Once a young lad, they fell in love.

"However, O'Brien's father was keen on strengthening their family's status and demanded Nicholas marry his friend’s daughter. When he refused and stated his intention to marry Elizabeth, his father tried to drive them apart. First, he offered Elizabeth money to stay away from his son. But she refused and made clear she wouldn’t break up with him. He tried to bribe her father with money to send her away, but he refused."

Erik hands me a toasted marshmallow, already on a cracker. I didn’t even realize he was holding one over the fire! It's a little burnt, but it smells so good. Then he hands me a chocolate and one more biscuit to complete the s’more.

“Thank you,” I mouth at him and take a bite. Oh man. It’s been forever since I last had one.

"However, his father didn’t give up, going so far as to hiring someone to kill Elizabeth. But O'Brien found out. Together with her parents, he made a plan. And on a cold March night, he knocked on her door, bags packed, ship docked and waiting for them. They came here." Bobby clears his throat and someone hands him a bottle of beer. "Thank you.” He takes a sip and returns to the story.

“Nicholas gave up his status, his wealth, for the love of his life and they travelled all the way to Canada to escape the clutches and reach of his father. They could have gone anywhere in the world. But he had heard of the beautiful autumns in this country and knew Elizabeth loved the fall.”

Kieran lets out a dreamy sigh. He’s hugging a bottle of cider to his chest and blindly reaches for a piece of chocolate from the bar on his thigh.

"They settled right here, the space that would become Wayward Hollow. As soon as they were allowed to, they got married. If we stop the story here, it would be the happiest of endings. O'Brien built their home. He even built the gazebo you can still see standing here today." He points at it and collectively, all heads turn toward around.

I blush. The exact same place I made out with Erik at, not even an hour ago. Who knew it had such a significance to Wayward Hollow’s history and such a romantic backstory?

"Wow, I never thought it was so old." Nic mumbles with her mouth full.

"Obviously, it's gained a few coats of paint since then and a repair or two," Bobby chuckles and taps his cane on the ground. "They didn’t know anyone here, didn’t have a dime to their name. But what they had was each other and a community of people, eager to make this place their new home." He points his cane at all of us. "The community that's still a testament to Wayward Hollow today.”

“I’m scared of where this is going,” I confide in Erik. “Am I going to cry by the end of the story?”