Beth approached, picking off an orange tuft of pumpkin-shaped cotton candy, and offered it to me.
“Bale got it for me. One of the few things here that surprisingly doesn’t taste like pumpkin-spiced vomit.”
Wonderful, she was now on a first-name basis with the guys. It left me to wonder just what was discussed while I was being congratulated on my impending doom.
I shook my head, declining the offered piece of sugar. She shrugged and popped it into her mouth.
From behind, a towering figure leaned into my space and murmured, “Don’t worry, kitten, I got you something, too.”
That’s when Bale presented me with a small scarecrow doll. A false mimicry of his shifted form, this one was all smiles and sparkling eyes and projected friendliness.
Taking the doll, I looked it over before humming with feigned contemplation.
“Hm, it seems something is missing. Your particularbrand of cockiness and the scowl you make when dealing thinly-veiled threats.” My teasing grin was audible in my voice, ruining the impact of the snarky comment.
I could feel the light rumble of his chuckle in his chest at my back. “Always looking to dig your claws in and never quite hitting the mark.”
Beth shamelessly watched like it was prime entertainment.
Neither Corbinnor Bale seemed to mind Beth hanging around with us for a little while as we walked around the festival. Fortunately, she was on her best behavior, or as best as a little sister could get.
Eventually, Dad ran into the group of us and reminded Beth she had an early morning as Mom's assistant in attempting to cultivate an herb garden that would inevitably wither and die.
She protested that it was cruel and unusual punishment to be saddled with that task, but ultimately Dad won out after he threatened a lecture on how important the first two steps of his program were.
The festival’s events were winding down as more and more people began to tap out for the evening.
Corbin’s shoulder nudged me as we walked toward the vintage tractor, his tractor.
“Feeling any better? You were rather shaken up earlier when you came over for lunch. Then, with the corn maze news…” He trailed off, not needing to remind any of us of the hunt tomorrow night.
Contemplating how I was feeling after an evening of trying to simply enjoy the atmosphere of the harvest-themed activities, I replied honestly, “A little better now that things have calmed down. Though I’m not sure I’ll be in a rush to go back to the archives section of the library any time soon.”
Bale’s hands grabbed my waist and hoisted me up to sit on the large rear wheel. The strength of his grasp stole my breath away for a moment. He lifted me like I hadn’t weighed more than an actual kitten.
“Don’t worry about Malcolm. We’ll make sure he keeps his distance,” he assured me while his hands lingered on my waist a second longer than necessary, before dropping to rest on top of my thighs as he remained standing between my knees.
I shook my head. “No, I can handle Malcolm and his brother. It was the psycho lady who was down there. Came out of damn nowhere.”
“What lady?” Corbin asked as he stepped in close. His tone spoke to the concern shining in his amber hues.
“Don’t know, never seen her before. Didn’t stop to ask either. She was rambling on a bunch of bullshit before she pulled a jump scare on me.”
Corbin huffed out in exasperation. “Why didn’t you say something before now?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a lot going on. Some basket case lurking in the library ranked low on the shitstorm meter.” I shoved my hands into the oversized dark green hoodie Corbin had let me borrow.
“Gods help me,” Bale grunted as he tipped his head back to send his plea up into the starry night sky.
Then, looking at Corbin, Bale spoke to him with a level voice, “I’ll go check it out tomorrow morning, see what I can find out. Until then,” he cast a stern look at me. “You stay the hell out of that library.”
Tempting as it was to argue with Bale, I reluctantly nodded. “You’re the boss, patches,” I said sarcastically.
“Damn right I am.” The possessive edge of his voice sank deep into me.
He squeezed my thighs before stepping back, the heat of his palms bleeding through my jeans. The phantom sensation remained even after he had withdrawn.
“I have an idea,” Corbin said as he nodded at the cornpit with a roguish smile that promised whatever he had in mind would be worth my while.
