Page 16 of Autumn Wishes and Pumpkin Kisses

Keefer scoffs. “Of course, not. My mama raised me better than that.”

“Exactly, so get in here,” I tell him, as I reach forward and pull him inside.

Later, after I’ve gotten everyone to bed and my parents return from their date, Keefer and I head out to my backyard of the property. There’s a large swing hanging from one of the trees. It’s one of my favorite places to be. We head over and have a seat. The stars shine brightly up above in the dark night sky. The moon is in a crescent shape giving what little glow it can. It’s quiet aside from the crickets. Humidity clings to the early spring air. The breeze smells like fresh cut grass and morning dew. Music starts to play lightly in the distance. It must be from one of the neighbors' houses.

Our backyard is large and well-kept thanks to the landscaping crew my dad pays weekly. The fire pit off to the right has rarely been used but it looks inviting. There are beautiful flowers lining the entire wood fence. Every color and every kind of flower you can imagine. Three large shade trees take up the rest of the yard along with the swing set for my younger siblings. Keefer and I sit on the swing and rock slowly and quietly. A song comes on and I recognize it instantly. Don’t Take the Girl by Tim McGraw plays quietly and I hum along. Keefer looks over at me. “You know this song?”

I’m glad it’s dark so he can’t see the blush that invades my cheeks. “Yeah,” I admit, in a whisper. “It's my favorite actually.”

Keefer stands up abruptly and reaches his hand out to me. I look up at him. “Dance with me.”

I giggle. “What?”

“Dance with me darlin’. There’s no reason to let your favorite song go to waste.” I slip my hand into his and he pulls me off the swing and into him. We sway to the music and it feels like everything is right in the world.

For that night, everything was right in the world. All of our worries and the future didn’t exist. It was just Keefer and I and everything we had ever felt for one another. The song comes on the radio and my heartbeat instantly sped up. I doubt he even remembers but I know I do. The truck slows down, just barely but I still feel it. Almost as if Keefer has been caught off guard by the song, too. He glances at me and his blue eyes hold mine. My lungs don’t move but my heart keeps pounding. Suddenly, he looks away and exhales the breath he must have been holding. “Is this still one of your favorites?” he asks. His voice is hoarse.

I nod my head. “Yes, always. Although, I haven’t listened to it in years.”

The cab of the truck falls silent. Lyrics, melody and a familiar voice fills the silence. I stare out the window and watch as the highway passes us by. Praying for the song to hurry up and finish. I’m fighting every emotion that comes with this song. The memory still lingers in my mind.

Finally, the song ends just as the Atlanta skyline comes into view. Thankfully, we reach the small, but clean looking auto shop pretty quickly. It’s on the outskirts of town. A blue building with a white roof and trim. Three car garage with cars line up outside of the building. It may be small, but he seems to have customers lining up. “Cody, worked for me once upon a time. It was his dream to run an affordable auto shop. I’m so glad it worked out for him. I send every person I can to him because every little bit helps. Of course, those people go on to tell others and before you know it he’s got customers lining up.”

Keefer’s voice is laced with pride. “That’s great. Affordable things are so hard to come by nowadays.”

“They are,” he says in agreement. “But people still really appreciate honest work at a reasonable price.”

I open the truck door and hop down and head for the glass door that has the hours of business posted on them. When I step inside, I’m surprised it doesn’t smell like most auto shops. Oil, rubber and metal are normally the smells you associate with these kinds of places. . This office smells like honey and cinnamon. A pretty blonde sits behind the counter. I explain to her that I’m here to pick up my vehicle. She gives me the inspection report along with the amount owed and I’m shocked by how little the amount is. Cody isn’t just reasonable, he’s downright cheap. She passes me the keys to my SUV and I head out the door. I find Keefer waiting beside his truck for me. “Thank you so much, Keefer. This is a huge help. Will you let me pay you for the gas you used?”

Keefer shakes his head. “Absolutely not. Do you want to follow me or do you want to lead?”

I want to tell him I don’t know what I want. I want to tell him I’m so confused, but I don’t. Instead, I shrug my shoulders. “You can lead.”

Once I’m situated in my SUV, I follow Keefer back out of Atlanta and to Blue Ridge. The entire trip I try to figure out how to get over Keefer Dunn. It’s way past due, but I’m just not sure it’s a possible task for me.

FOURTEEN

Teaganne

It’s been a couple of days since I last saw Keefer or anyone really aside from my mom. The movers showed up with the boxes of clothes, toys and decorations I had coming down from New York City. The place here in Blue Ridge came furnished with furniture which was a huge help. I loved the furniture they had picked. It’s all dark leather and woods with pops of gray and cream. It’s exactly what I wanted. Once the movers showed up, the kids and I worked on unpacking things and setting up the house. It’s taken us almost two days, but everything is pretty much set. All that’s left is my studio. I still plan to use the bedroom off the living room, the master suite, to set it up, but all the furniture in there turned out to be too heavy to move on my own and I haven’t had it in me to call up Rocker or Keefer and ask them for help.

I’m currently making breakfast while the kids are watch morning cartoons on the TV in the living room. Luckily, they both tend to stay out of trouble. I’m flipping the French toast when Silas comes up beside me. “Mama, is it football day yet?”

His blue eyes are wide and expectant. I’ve heard this question every day this week. I shake my head. “No, buddy, that’s tomorrow.”

“Oh okay,” he says, shoulders sagging. “Will I need anything for football?”

My mouth opens but then closes once more because I don’t actually know the answer to his question. I didn’t think to ask Rocker if he needed equipment once I finally agreed to let him try out. “You know what buddy, I’m not sure, but I’ll text your uncle Rocker after I finish cooking and find out. If you do need anything we’ll go get it today.”

“Really?” he asks. His voice is so excited that I don’t even try to fight the smile on my face.

“Of course. Why don’t you and Seraphina come over here so you can eat breakfast.” Silas rushes over to gather Seraphina and they sit in the miniature dinner table and chairs that arrived once the movers got here. They always sat there back in New York City. I don’t trust either of them to sit in the high bar stools on the island, so it works out perfectly. I give them their plates of French toast and fruit and a glass of water before sitting down to eat my own breakfast at the island.

“Mama.” I look over at my kids and Silas smiles bashfully. “Don’t forget to ask uncle Rocker.”

Laughing, I grab my phone. “I’m going to ask him right now.” I send a quick text to Rocker and go back to eating my breakfast. After breakfast, I pick up the dishes and get them cleaned up while the kids color and watch TV. I still haven’t heard from Rocker, so I busy myself with drawing a mockup of what I plan to do with Warbee’s Bakery. It needs a fresh look and something that is all hers. I decide to go with a mint green, white and black color scheme. It’ll be fresh with a little country feel, plus mint green is Warbee’s favorite. Once I finish, I decide to call a local contractor I found online and get a price quote. He promises to get me one within a couple of hours. Afterwards, I check my phone again and realize there’s still no answer from Rocker. Then it dawns on me. He’s at work. I forget he’s at the high school.

Sighing, I decide to text the only other person I know to…. Keefer.

---