Page 22 of Autumn Skies & Pumpkin Pies

“I never saw you when you visited.”

“I mostly just stayed at my parent’s house while I was here. I didn’t want any outside media knowing where I was and bombarding the town, so my parents always kept it quiet, too,” he explains.

Silence falls between us. A part of me wishes I had seen him over the last eleven years, but the other part of me is glad I didn’t because we needed that time to grow into the people we are today. These versions of us have a chance at starting over. I’m not sure another version would have. My hand finds his. His blue eyes find mine. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

He smiles, his dimples show, I fall a little more. “Me too, darlin’.”

Twenty-One

Rocker

After grabbing food and relaxing for a bit at the table, I notice the hayride about to start up. The hayride is a big tradition in Blue Ridge. You climb into a large wagon pulled by two horses with bales of hay as the seats. The wagon takes you around the property and you get to enjoy the trees, mountains and the natural beauty of the area. I haven’t been on one since my last Bushels of Fun...with Warbee. I lean over towards her. “How do you feel about a hayride?”

Her eyes light up. It’s one of my favorite sights to see. It’s better than anything I’ll see on the hayride, that’s for sure. “I’d love to.”

I stand up and take her hand as we make our way to the hayride. “If I remember correctly this was one of your favorite parts about the festival.”

“It is. You still remember that?” she asks. The curiosity in her voice makes me feel silly for saying anything, but it’s not like I can hide anything from her anyways.

My shoulders shrug. If she only knew exactly how much I remembered. It was on this hayride all those years ago I first realized I’d change my entire life for her. The memory comes back to me now as if it was yesterday.

My nerves are higher than they’ve ever been before. I’m not sure what to do. I realized something last night while lying in bed and now I can’t seem to ignore it. As I’m walking to the door, it opens and the prettiest damn girl I’ve ever seen appears. She grabs her sweater and scarf from the hooks by her front door. It’s not too chilly out right now, but by the time the night is through it’ll be really crisp. Warbee pulls the door to her house shut, double checking to make sure it’s locked before turning to face me. I pull her into my arms and breathe her in. She’s everything I’ve ever needed, but never knew I wanted. It’s all happened so quickly, but I don’t care. I just know that I need her in my life, today, tomorrow...forever.

“Well hello to you, too,” she says with a giggle, as I press a kiss to her cheek.

My heart slams rapidly against my chest. Yep, that feeling is still there, and it scares the hell out of me. “You look beautiful.”

The blush on her skin only makes me want this moment to last forever. I know if anyone else knew what I was feeling they’d say it’s just young puppy love, but I know it’s not. It’s real. It’s different. “Rocker,” she says, with a sigh of contentment.

“We should get going so we can make it in time for the hayride.”

Her face lights up like the fireworks on Fourth of July. “We’re going on the hayride?”

“Yeah, of course.”

She does this adorable little skip and claps her hands before telling me, “The hayride is one of my favorite things to do at the festival.” I don’t admit to her that I might have been tipped off about that from her granny. I just smile and lace my fingers through hers and lead us to my truck. As we make our way through town, Warbee hums along to the radio until a song comes on. She stops and leans forward to turn it up. “I love this song!”

The fact that she loves this song is enough reason for me to love it, too. Besides, Garth Brooks is a classic. What can I say? My girl knows her music. I watch as she sings along and sways to the melody. I never would have guessed the quiet, genius girl who hid behind books and her large glasses could be so carefree. I’m glad I got to see this side of her. We pull up as the song comes to an end. “Hang on,” I tell her, as she goes to open her door.

I rush to the passenger side and help her out of the truck. “Always the gentleman.”

“My mama raised me right,” I tell her. We both laugh, but in all seriousness if I didn’t open the door for my date, my mom would have the hide off my backside. We get in line for the hayride and I turn back towards Warbee who is looking around the grounds. “So, what is it that makes you like the hayride so much?”

“You’re going to think I’m silly,” she says. Warbee averts her gaze.

I slip my finger under her chin and urge her to meet my eyes once more. “I won’t.” She sighs and just as she’s about to tell me we get ushered into the wagon. Once we start rolling forward, I lean over and whisper into her ear. “You’re not getting off that easy.”

Warbee giggles. “The hayride reminds me of everything I love about this place and this time of year. Blue Ridge is so beautiful, and I know everyone is just itching to get away from it but I’m not. I love it here and this reminds me why. Plus, you get to see how nature changes in the autumn. The leaves change colors and fall to the ground to give hope for a new season of leaves. The air is fresher this time of year and you can just feel it from right here in this wagon.”

When she talks like this, I know what I’m feeling is real. I lean forward and press a kiss to her vanilla lips. “I love you.” Those three words may terrify me, but I’ve also never said anything truer in my life. They fell from my lips so easily. We haven’t said them since the first time, the week after homecoming. It was real then, but it didn’t feel like this. I’d change my entire life for her. I’d live and die in Blue Ridge and leave the NFL dream on the shelf as long as I had Warbee.

Her eyes widen with shock behind her glasses and she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. I know she’s probably wondering why I’m saying it now, but I hope she can see that when I say it this time, it means everything. Her lip breaks free from her teeth and she gives me the smallest of smiles. “I love you.” Who knew three simple words could change your entire life? Who knew one girl you never expected could change your whole world?

“Rocker, are you okay?” Warbee asks.

I shake my head to clear my mind. “I’m sorry. I got zoned out there for a minute.”

“Hopefully, on something good.”

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