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Moving onto the next I found what I was looking for. An array of old clothes that were weathered enough to be useless for much else. After gathering an armful I went back outside and dropped it off by the pile of wood.
Making scarecrows wasn’t something I’d ever done before, but a quick search online was all I needed to figure it out. Plus, I had done enough work on the orchard to know how to dig a hole for a post.
While digging around the tool shed I found the tool I needed and some quick mix cement to hold the post in properly.
All that I had left was to pick the perfect spots.
Walking the orchard was generally refreshing, but at the moment all I could think about was the day that prompted this entire project.
I had just arrived at the orchard the day before and once I finished helping grandma do the dishes I ran out to find grandpa Roger. Helping outside was my favorite part of being in Holiday Hollow. That and grandma’s cooking.
“Grandpa?” I called out as I walked through the trees. The apples were shining bright red in the morning sun and a breeze was blowing through the trees. It was so much more peaceful than the city where my parents insisted we live.
The shriek of a bird was all my warning before an entire flock of crows dive bombed the tree I was walking under. They pecked at the apples and eventually the bright red hat I was wearing.
My screams echoed in the orchard and soon a whole stampede of footsteps was running my way. Alpha gramps was at the front of the line, brandishing a rake like a madman as he scared them away from his crop and me.
By the time grandpas Allen and John scooped me up and took me inside to safety, I was crying up a storm. And thus my hatred for the winged assholes began.
A laugh escaped as I remembered it all, feeling so silly now but it didn’t matter. My fear was unshakable.
With three locations picked out I started to use the post hole digger to dig a deep enough hole for the board. When all three were cemented and set, I finally went back to the tool shed to grab some extra wire and started working on the clothes for my scarecrow friends.
“What are you doing?” Jack’s voice was full of amusement. I was so engrossed in my work that I didn’t notice the footsteps approaching and I screamed when he spoke.
“Holy freaking pumpkins, Jack!” I screeched as I clutched at my chest. My heart was pounding like crazy now.
“Sorry, Autumn. I didn’t mean to scare you, but Boone and I saw you from across the field. What is all this?” he asked. “Craft project?”
I took another deep breath to recenter myself, the soft rumbling sound coming from Boone comforting. From the serious expression on the alpha’s face I doubt he even realized he was doing it.
“Of sorts,” I said with a shrug, shielding the sun with my hand as I looked up at him. The beta’s smile was firmly in place and the mild scent of spiced cream washed over me and it took everything I had not to take a deep breath and savor it. “Scarecrows.”
“Where are their heads?” He was biting back a laugh this time, clearly trying to not hurt my feelings.
“I haven’t gotten that far. I’ve got these amazing hats and figured I’d find something eventually.”
“I’ve got an idea. Pumpkins.” His grin was adorable and excited as he turned and rushed off back home, Boone following after him. They took so long that I had already strung up the shirts and pants over the poles, using a staple gun to hold it in place.
“The headless scarecrows of Holiday Hollow?” Jack teased. I turned to find him and Boone holding three bright orange plastic jack-o-lanterns.
“Not the pumpkins I thought you meant, but these are even better!” I said excitedly, grabbing one from Boone and rushing over to my first scarecrow. Realizing I couldn’t just sit it on top I paused, frowning at the scarecrow in frustration.
“Here,” Boone grunted, grabbing a pencil out of his pocket and placing the extra pumpkin on top before tracing the size that would need to be cut out. “Be right back.” He took the other two pumpkins from us before stalking off.
“You do know that scarecrows are typically for cornfields, right?” Jack joked. “Haven’t you seen theWizard of Oz?”
“They attack apple trees too,” I said with a slight shiver. He raised an eyebrow at my serious tone.
“There’s a story there,” he said.
“Look, there aren’t many things I’m scared of, just birds and thunderstorms. But death by crow at seven makes birds at the top of the list,” I explained before launching into the full story.
“Oh my god, I remember that! Your grandma and my mom were talking about it and how your grandpas went on this huge rampage of putting up scarecrows that year,” he said with a laugh. “These are much cuter though.”
“Yeah, theirs weren’t exactly scarecrows, more like a stick with a hat, but I didn’t get attacked again,” I said with a grin. “And now this year I won’t either.”
“So no getting you a pet bird for a present?” he teased. “I had such an elaborate plan too.”
