I stood in the center of it all, my mouth gaping open, my eyes just about bugging out of my head. Who had done this? And when? How had they pulled it together?
Then I saw Huck. He had on a pair of work gloves and was carrying a huge beam on his shoulders. Our conversation from the night before flashed through my head. He said something had come up. That he was helping Levi with a last-minute job. No, I shouldn’t wait up for him since he didn’t know how long he’d be.
I stalked toward him, my finger pointing at the center of his chest. “You!”
“Good morning, baby.” He stopped, the beam still balanced on his shoulders, and leaned down to kiss me.
“You did this.” I didn’t have to ask. Deep down I knew he was behind this.
“Well, not by myself.” His smile lit me up inside. “As you can see, it takes a lot of people to pull off a miracle.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Last night when we talked, you said you were helping Levi.”
“I said we had a job to finish. And yeah, Levi was involved.” Huck gestured around him in a wide circle. “So were all these amazing people. They’re the heart of this town.”
Following his gaze, I looked out at dozens and dozens of people, all of them working together to revitalize the festival grounds.
“Don’t be too modest.” Levi came up behind Huck. “This guy’s the reason we’re all here. You should have heard him arguing his case.”
Awed by Huck’s efforts, I put my hands to my cheeks. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say the festival’s back on.” Huck laughed. “Otherwise, all of this will be for nothing.”
I looked down at my nightshirt, yoga pants, and flip-flops. “I’ve got so much to do. Why didn’t you tell me what you were up to last night? At least give me a head’s up?”
Levi moved on, leaving me and Huck standing next to the stage alone. He set down the beam he’d been holding and gathered me into his arms. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed if I didn’t pull this off. And I didn’t want to make you a promise I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep.”
I tipped my head back and stared up at the only man I’d ever loved. “I love you, Huck Barrett.”
“Love you too, Pey. Now go start making phone calls.”
By the time I reached my car, I was on the phone with Tumbleweed Crossing’s manager. The lead singer had refused to take the other job and the band would be arriving the next day and bringing another group called Highway 55 with them. From there, my day filled with sending out emails, responding to texts, and confirming supply orders.
Huck finally came over to my place, but just long enough to shower and catch a couple of hours of sleep before he headed out again to finalize some last-minute details. Day turned to night and night turned into the next day. One hour slipped into the next until it was time for me to kick off the opening ceremony of the festival.
Mayor Nelson said a few words about the resiliency of the people of Mustang Mountain and hinted at how the festival had almost ended before it even started. Then he turned the mic over to me to welcome everyone.
I stood on the stage, surrounded by the warm glow of a spotlight. I hadn’t seen Huck for the past couple of hours, but when I looked out over the crowd, he was standing right in front with a huge smile on his face.
I thanked Mayor Nelson and the people who’d worked on the committee for all the work they’d done. “But there’s one more person who deserves to be recognized. Huck Barrett, would you come up here for a minute?”
He shook his head and shot me a grin.
“I think he’s a little shy, folks. Can you help me encourage him to join me on the stage?” My brows arched, I smiled back. He wasn’t getting out of this one. Years ago, the man had slunk out of town and left everyone thinking he was bad news. I refused to let him carry that burden any longer.
The crowd clapped and cheered. Then a deep voice to the right started chanting, “Huck! Huck! Huck!”
He finally scrambled up the stairs and stalked toward me. I held his gaze and let the rest of the world fade away.
“If it weren’t for this man, we wouldn’t be here tonight. Two days ago, someone sabotaged our set up and tried to make sure we wouldn’t be able to have a festival at all.” The crowd booed, but I was so focused on Huck’s smile, I barely noticed.
“Huck took it upon himself to rally the town and turn tragedy into triumph. It’s because of him and the hardworking men and women who helped him that we’re able to be here tonight. Thank you, Huck. For coming through for Mustang Mountain.”
His cheeks flushed, and he bit down on his bottom lip while he shook his head. As soon as I set the microphone back in its stand, he swept me up in a hug and spun me around. His lips found mine and there in front of everyone, he kissed me. I kissed him right back with no apologies and no regrets.
Tumbleweed Crossing took the stage, and as the crowd went wild, Huck led me down the steps and to the side of the stage.
His nose nuzzled into my hair and nibbled on my earlobe. “You didn’t have to do that, Pey.”
