“That one ain’t no—” Leary One slurred.
“Finish that. Go ahead. I wish you would,” Lincoln snarled, his eyes glued to the men barring the door. We all gathered closer around Bella.
“Freaks. The whole lot of you. Never took you for a queer lover, Manfred!” Gary snapped as he spun on his heel and bounced off the fender of a red Subaru.
“I’ve come to know Miss Bella better these past months during her visits to chat and read with Mama. She and my mother are dear friends. They even read the Bible together, so I reckon if you’re insulting Miss Bella, you’re insulting my mama and me. Hate to think you boys would badmouth the local tax collector. Imagine what might happen if you all didn’t get extensions on them back taxes you all owe due to a misunderstanding of such dire consequences.” The four of them slunk off around the side of the station house, leaving us to gape at Bella, who was smiling sweetly up at Manfred. “Guess that cleared the rabble. Miss Bella, Mama says hello and is looking forward to your regular Monday morning visit. Shall we go inside and see if Clara Rupert has brought some of her pumpkin tarts?”
“Thank you, Manfred. I would love a tart.” Bella gave us a wink over her lean shoulder as Manfred escorted her inside.
“Goes to show what a little kindness mixed with a dollop of acceptance can bring about,” Granny said and latched onto my arm. “Now let’s get inside and get a good seat so I can see the line dances.”
This night was already full of surprises, and I’d not gone through the haunted house yet. Not that I planned to unless I was dragged through.
***
I had been dragged.
It hadn’t been fun at all, but my brothers enjoyed seeing me twitch at every spooky face or shout of BOO!
The fire hall was all kinds of tricked out for the big night. Tables with baked goods, arts and crafts, and a warm cider cart.
The volunteer firemen had set up a little haunted house inside the bays where the red engines usually sat. We all went through for five bucks a head, jumping and hooting when people popped up from behind a haybale. I hated that the most. I’d never been happier to get through a maze. Gulping down some punch afterward to cool my throat, I watched Bella and Linc line dancing with about twenty other adults. They were both laughing madly as they did their best to learn the steps. Granny was clapping along to the country song, but I could see she was growing weary. It had been a long, busy day for a lady her age.
“You think you’re ready to blow this place?” Baker asked as he sat down beside me at Granny’s front row table.
“Yeah, I guess. Are you sure you should be in a bar?” I asked, gathering my jacket from the back of my seat.
“I’m good. You worry aboutyouraddiction,” he said, rising before I could ask what he meant. My phone buzzed. I leaped on it, happy to see Aiden was finally texting. He’d had an emergency call about a recumbent horse. That always made horse people anxious, I’d learned. It was a critical call that could have ended very badly. Thankfully, he had treated the horse’s colic, and it didn’t need to be transported to his clinic.
Heading home to shower. Meet you at Jumping Pony. ~ A
Taking Granny home then headed there. See you soon. ~ F
A rush of something incredibly energizing ran through me. Pausing, phone in hand, I looked around me at the kids in their costumes, most cranked up to ultra-energy mode on sugar. Sugar was an addiction to some, as was coffee or nicotine.Illegal drugs and alcohol were also habit-forming, as were some prescription drugs. I took none of those. What did Baker mean by that comment?
The rush of talking to Aiden gave me a natural surge of pure happiness mixed with anticipation. I’d be seeing him again soon. Maybe we’d hook up. Desire ran through my veins thinking of lying under or atop him, watching him come apart. My mouth went dry, my pulse ramped up. And then it hit me like a horse kick to the balls. Baker meant Aiden was my addiction. But no. No, he wasn’t at all. I just liked him. I found him attractive and funny and smart and kind to animals. His smile made me lightheaded, his touch made me woozy, and his mouth made me—
“Hey, Dreamy Dan. You ready to take me home? I’d like to be in my jammies before that newMatlockshow starts. I just love that Kathy Bates.” Granny stared up at me, her feather now decidedly limp.
“Yes, sure. Sorry. Let me find Bella, and we’ll get you home.” She gave me a soft pat on the cheek and headed off to say goodbye to the other town matriarchs seated at a table beside a pin-the-tail-on-the-ghost game in the corner. Bella was easy to spot. Her creepy outfit made her stand out as did her light laughter as she helped serve punch. How anyone could dislike her, I would never understand. She was so sweet. She deserved far more than life had given her so far. Her smile for me was wide when I approached the table she was working at.
“Granny is ready to roll. Do you want me to swing back to get you, or do you want to come with us now?”
She handed a little goblin girl some punch before ladling me a cup. “I’m ready. We still doing that spooky karaoke thing?”
“Seems so.” Baker, Linc, and Hanley were talking with some other ranchers by the doors. “I’ll go check.”
“Let me come with you.” She passed her ladle to another woman, told her goodbye, and joined me. I downed the punch then chucked the empty paper cup into an overflowing trash can. My brothers were deeply engrossed in some talk about fall plantings when we arrived at their little cluster. Half the men treated Bella like a lady by nodding as they would any woman who walked up to them. The other half were awkwardly unsure, so they did nothing. “Granny is ready to go. Shall we meet up at Jumping Pony in, say, forty minutes or so?”
“Sounds good,” Dodge said. “We’ll grab Dahn and Phil and ferry them to Phil’s house. They’ve both eaten so much candy, they’ll be bouncing off the ceiling. As a dentist, may I just say how much I dislike Halloween?”
“Seems you’d like it what with all the cavities all that junk will bring about,” Linc said, his gaze resting on Bella.
We all chuckled. With a wave, we left, Granny in tow, and had an enjoyable ride to the ranch. Things were quiet when we arrived. No ghosts or zombies shambling about. Once we had Granny inside, we jumped back into the old truck.
“This should be fun!” Bella said while buckling her belt. “I’ve been so excited to do Taylor’s rendition of “Haunted” for someone other than Lincoln. He’s so biased. Every time I practice the moves, he says I’m fantastic and Taylor needs to watch out.” She patted the old guitar she had found in the attic. She was no Jimmy Page, but she could pluck a tune well enough.
“Lincoln is goofy over you. I think you could poke him in the eye and he’d tell you what amazing form your eye poke had.”
