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ELEVEN
“Welcome to Sorrell Farms.” I greet the next group at the ticket booth with a smile. It’s a group of five, and the parents already look like they’ve been through the corn maze. “How are you guys tonight?”
The kids chatter loudly about how excited they are while one of the adults dig out his wallet. “We’re very excited to be here.” He smiles down at the kids. “We’ll take five of the all-inclusive tickets. We want to make sure we get to do everything, right?”
A chorus of hoorays follows as I swipe his card and hand over their wristbands. “You all enjoy your night.”
I turn to watch them take off through the gate and find Jack sauntering toward me. He waits as the kids zoom by, then comes through, closing the latch behind him. “I miss that feeling.”
“What feeling?”
“That enthusiasm, the excitement.”
“Do you not feel that way about Halloween now?” I bristle, planting my hands on my hips.
He grins down at me and pecks me on the nose. “Don’t get your panties in a wad. I still like it. It’s just not the same as when we were kids, you know?”
“I do kind of get that, sadly. Now we have to kind of create the magic, though.” I lean in to whisper in his ear. “And I’m not wearing panties.”
I turn to greet the next guests, leaving him with his jaw dropped as I grab wristbands and take cards. When I have a free moment to glance over my shoulder, Jack’s nowhere to be found. He’s supposed to be manning the pumpkin patch tonight anyway, and fleetingly, I wonder what he came over here for.
It’s too busy right now for me to find out.
When the line dies down again, I perch on my stool and pull out my phone. The sun is setting, the sky a dusky autumn orange, and check in on our ticket sales. I gasp when I see the amount we’ve made. It’s more than we’ve ever made during opening week, much less opening night. I jump off my stool, locking the cash register. The parking area is full, and we normally close the front gate an hour before closing. We close at ten, and it’s eight fifty-seven. That’s close enough for me.
I switch off the overhead light, lock up the shed that is our ticket booth, then head through the farm to find Papaw and tell him our news. I pass kids munching on kettle corn, and the hayride rolls by, Mamaw driving the tractor like a pro. It’s probably about to be the last run of the night. Everything is perfect, and I’m super proud of my family, myself, and Jack for pulling off an amazing opening night. Nothing could have prepared me for the sight waiting for me when I turned the corner into the pumpkin patch.
There’s a humongous line of people, all waiting to have their picture taken. With Jack. Of course they are. How did we not anticipate this? Papaw is the unofficial photographer apparently, handling everyone’s phones and snapping their pictures. And to my utter shock, they’re all dropping tips into Papaw’s empty straw hat as they walk off.
I make my way to the front of the line, earning some dirty looks from several people until they give me the once-over and see my Sorrell Farms T-shirt.
“What’s going on?” I whisper to Papaw when I reach him.
“Well, someone asked for a photo with Jack, and it’s just snowballed into a thing.”
“We’re charging them?” Something about that doesn’t sit right with me.
“No, they insisted on donating the money. I have a plan for that.” He turns to me, giving me a small wink. “No worries there.”
“You know, our ticket sales have been through the roof tonight. More than we usually make in a week.”
“That might be my fault.” Jack winces, taking a break from playing supermodel to come over and talk to me. “I posted about being here tonight, and I didn’t think about this being the outcome.”
“Well, thank you.” My throat thickens. This farm is my family’s dream, our livelihood. To him, this money might not be a big deal, but it’s enough to pay the expenses for the rest of the season. “Really.”
He leans down and plants a kiss on my mouth, right in front of everyone, and the crowd erupts in gasps and cheers.
I flush once we separate, but I can’t help but smile. It’s pretty cool to be cheered on as the hometown hero’s… whatever I am.
“Can we get a picture with both of you?” the next teenager in line asks, and I recognize her as a member of the family from earlier.
Jack looks to me for approval, and I appreciate that he cared and didn’t assume my answer.
I nod. “Okay, that’s fine.”
Jack takes my hand and leads me to where he’s been standing beside the scarecrow, and the family crowds around us. Jack wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
“Say pumpkin guts!” Papaw requests, and the kids giggle and sing, “Pumpkin guts!”
