Page 49 of The Texas Hero's Homecoming

Hell, he hadn’t meant to kiss Autumn last night. But she looked so pretty, her green eyes so wide and full, her expression filled with gratitude, and the smell of her sweet scent all rolled up into one—he couldn’t resist turning his head and touching their lips together. She responded like a woman should, eagerly and unabashedly. It was a kiss to remember. And he would.

With Autumn, things weren’t simple. They were complicated and he’d been shying away from dealing with his feelings for her. His scrambled head said he couldn’t go there, but his heart wasn’t in agreement.

“Sam?”

He turned and there she was, in his line of vision, so close he could pull her in for another mind-blowing kiss. “Hey, Autumn.”

“Is everything alright with Captain Price? When I looked over, you two looked kinda serious.”

“Everything’s fine. Not a problem at all.”

He wasn’t sure she believed him. She was a master at skepticism. “Okay… just making sure.”

It was none of her business, yet somehow, it felt like it was. That she had something to say about his future. “Is everything alright with you?” he asked.

“Me? Ye-ah. Look at this place. It’s like the entire town came out.”

“So, what’s up?”

“It’s time for the pumpkin eating contest,” she said.

“Oh, right. I’ll help you set it up.”

“It shouldn’t take too long. I thought maybe you could make an announcement.”

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind doing that.”

They walked toward the front of the barn, where tables were set up. Sam helped Autumn put out the pies, setting out three pies per person. Sam plugged in a microphone. He tapped it several times to make sure it was working. After a few squeaky bursts, the mic was ready. He climbed up on a hay bale and looked out at the crowd, hoping to gather them in. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the pumpkin eating contest! Gather around. We have three brave souls who volunteered to eat their share of pies. If you volunteered, come on up.”

Two young men and one young girl walked out of the crowd to take their place. The three had a mixture of excitement and fear on their faces. Sam asked their names and introduced them to the spectators. “Are you three sure you want to do this?”

They all nodded and Autumn tied giant paper bibs around their necks.

“It’s a three-minute event. You must eat your plate clean, before moving on to the next pie. The person who has eaten the most pie when the buzzer goes off wins. The winner gets to fill their trunk with pumpkins and of course, more importantly, bragging rights.”

Sam looked at Autumn. “I don’t know if being able to wolf down pies is something to brag about. Do you, Autumn?”

Autumn leaned over and spoke into the mic. “It sure is in Last Stand. Right everyone?”

Cheers and applause broke out and Autumn grinned so wide, her cheeks must’ve hurt.

“Okay then. You heard it here from Miss Autumn Messina, and she wouldn’t lie.”

Sam locked eyes with her, and both smiled. For a moment, he lost himself. He was doing that a lot lately. Finally, he regained control. “Are there any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads. They were ready. “Okay then. Autumn, would you like to do the honors?” He handed her the mic.

“Sam, please set your timer?” He did so on his phone and nodded to her.

“Okay, pumpkin eaters… ready, set,go!”

*

The day wascoming to a close, the first day of the festival a big success, even if Autumn said so herself. The greatest joy was seeing Papa so happy. He was really a people person and his favorite thing was chatting it up with his guests. He’d gone inside the house half an hour ago and when she’d checked on him, he’d been resting on his recliner. She decided not to nag him about overdoing it. He’d heard it enough from her.

Now, she helped Nicole clean up the face painting booth. “Thanks for today, Nicole,” she said, closing up a lid of orange paint. “I hope you had fun.”

“I loved it. The kids kept coming back for more. Some of my students were kinda shy around me. They aren’t used to seeing me outside the classroom.”

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