Page 11 of Haunted Hayride with the Mountain Man

Suddenly we slow, yet Skyland keeps his body bouncing, giving the illusion we’re still moving at top speed, allowing Foster to pull away where we can’t decapitate any of his patrons.

“Oh my god, this is so fun,” I whisper the very second we’re out of earshot. “You get to do this for a job?”

“Well, not for long. Soon I’m going to be working for my beautiful girlfriend doing anything she can dream up.”

Without an ounce of warning, he has us changing direction, galloping across an open field with his sword pointed at the moon. The hayride’s spotlight catches glimpses of us in the distance as he holds me tight. I can tell they see us because every so often, someone lets out an ear-piercing scream.

“This isn’t so bad, I can do this.”

He lets out a chuckle that’s halfway between his character and himself. That half-assed attempt alone is enough to send bile rising up in my throat.

“I take it back! Okay? I take it back.”

As if on cue, we saddle up next to the wagon again but I don’t have to do anything to look like a frightened kidnapee. “I’m gonna pee my pants,” I squeak, barely audible over the sound of terrified screams. And that’s before we pass the creatures crawling out of the swamp with pond muck clinging to their every limb.

A real scream manages its way up my throat but Skyland continues to hold me tight, melting me into his chest. I didn’t know it was possible to feel terrified and elated at the exact same time, not until I met this mountain of a man. Ever since he walked into my life I’ve been on Cloud 9, bracing tight for the inevitable fallout. I don’t think it’s coming.

He came back for me. He came back to start a life together, to let me know he wanted me to stay here, in this beautiful place, with him by my side.

I’m blissfully unaware of every shrill shout, every ghost jumping from the woods, every spooky noise whispering in the pines. All I can focus on is the man in front of me and his promise for a future neither of us could have predicted.

EPILOGUE

Skyland

Next wedding season…

Aster’s tied up out front, Dad’s music playing at a low volume as his fingers work over the strings of the invisible guitar in his hands. It’s well past our bedtime but we’re both anxiously waiting at the window, waiting for Nova to make her nightly visit.

We have good days and bad days but having Nova just down the road, renting Callie’s cabin that she’s outgrown now that she has a second child, it all makes it so easy.

I decided to get tested and I won’t say that my nerves aren’t frayed as we wait for the results to come in the mail, but I choose to live every day in the present.

“How was the wedding?” I ask when she wanders in close to midnight. Now that Nova’s running the full operation, she’s gotten used to driving my big truck to transport arbors, tables and chairs. She looks sexy behind the wheel, especially once she’s got the outside buffed and polished after the mud and rain.

“It was amazing. The bride wore a train and her nieces and nephews carried it through the lavender field. It would have been even better if my handsome boyfriend was there.”

The words warm my heart. “You’re not talking about me, are you?”

My supposed girlfriend hops past me, giving Dad a kiss on the forehead. “What are we playing today, Stu?”

“Little ZZ Top, maybe some CCR.”

“Great picks! You think we’ll be able to hear the new songs you learned at breakfast tomorrow?”

“Oh, most definitely.” It’s a 50/50 shot that he’ll be up for it in the morning, that his temperament will be in the right place. Of course, he’s not actually learning new songs, or playing guitar for that matter, but it helps make his days more enjoyable if he lives like he is.

“I got a letter in the mail,” I manage, emotion clogging my throat when her head jerks in my direction. “I waited for you to open it.”

Nova laces her fingers through mine, wagging another in my direction. “Why did you do that, you dope? You should have ripped into that the second the mail carrier left.”

“It wouldn’t be right to do it without you.”

My hands shake as I clutch the letter. We could have done this all by email but I needed tangible proof, whether it was good news or bad.

“Whatever this says, it doesn’t change how much I love you. You either, Stu,” she adds, that permanent smile easing every one of my worries.

I know she means it.

Nova’s been such a positive light in our lives that I haven’t thought much about this test since I got the blood drawn. We live every day to the fullest as it is, spending hours on the farm with Violet and Seymour, York and Sedona. Foster, Vaughn and Oliver couldn’t be happier to have weddings on the property that their parents once tried to sell off, guests who love the mountains as much as we do.

“What are you waiting for, open it? I have a good feeling.”

I hand the envelope to her, eyes too focused on her beautiful face to pull them away.

The tear of the paper echoes through the room when she rips her way in, eyes scanning over the page. When she’s too teary eyed to continue reading, she finally looks up at me.

“Negative, Sky. It’s negative.”

Nova jumps in my arms, wrapping her legs around me like she’s been doing since that first night. She knows this doesn’t put me in the clear, but it’s definitely a weight off both our chests.

Our future has opened up.

The storm clouds that slip in at the most inopportune times, they’re as few and far between as the rain at Nova’s weddings.

She has good luck now. All it took was taking a chance on a dream she never knew she had, and stepping out of the shadows, out to where she was meant to be.