Page 43 of Fall With Me
That’s plenty of time for my rebellious heart to take her from friend status to somethingmore. I have to figure out a way to stop it from happening.
We’re checking out Cornbelly’s tonight. From what little research I’ve done, this place is the stuff dreams are made of for anyone who enjoys autumn. From the food to the activities, it sounds like they took every lovely thing about fall and shoved it into one big two-month festival.
Finn hasn’t stopped talking about seeing Chloe and going to Cornbelly’s since I told him about it. We’re picking up Chloe in an hour.
No matter what, I will not appreciate her beauty, not think about how awesome she is, and definitely not say anything deeper than surface-level conversation. From here on out, every word, touch, and action will beextremelyprofessional. The only problem is whenever I’m around Chloe, I’m at ease and things spill out. Stopping it is like trying to stop a wave from coming ashore—impossible.
But I will find a way.
I have to, regardless of how I feel about it. My plan so far consists of keeping a rubber band around my wrist. Every time Chloe says or does something that makes me want to respond in a witty way or pull her into my arms again, I’ll snap my wrist to stop myself.
I foresee a very red, very sore wrist by the time I get home tonight.
“What are you looking forward to the most?” Chloe asks Finn as we drive to Cornbelly’s.
“The apple shooter and corn maze!”
“Same for me,” I say.
“The giant slide looks fun,” Chloe says. “We should go down together.”
Me and Chloe? Or Chloe and Finn? All three of us?
Nope. No close proximity. Sighing, I vow to focus on Finn tonight. Making sure he has fun is the only thing that matters. Stretching the rubber band on my wrist until it’s about to break, I let it go. My skin stings like a thousand needles pricking me at the same time.Ouch!
With a sore wrist, I focus on driving until we’re pulling into the parking lot at Thanksgiving Point. “All right, kids, we’re here. Remember, no taking off. We must stay together at all times so no one gets lost.”
“How’d you know I was a flight risk?” Chloe asks with a wink.
I pull on the rubber band again and keep my response neutral. “Intuition.”
“I’ll make sure Chloe stays right by me the entire time, Dad.”
“Thanks for being responsible, Finn. Let’s head over and find the apple shooter.”
The moment we step out of the car, a cacophony of aromas hit me all at once. Hay, manure, meat, cinnamon,and apples. I’d like more of the food smells and less of the animal.
We get our tickets and a map and head inside the gates. Pumpkins, hay bales, leaves, farm-style booths, scarecrows, and every other fall décor item possible are placed expertly around the festival. It’s like the set of a movie with how perfect and dare I admit charming it all looks. Emma and Lucy would love this place. Have they been before? I need to see if we can do a family outing so Finn can play with his cousins here.
We find our way toward the area they have set up with hundreds of buckets of apples. Judging by the overly sweet-mixed-with-sour smell reaching us before it’s our turn, the apples are on the verge of rotting.
While we wait in line, we watch as a family puts on clear safety glasses and noise canceling headphones. They step into a bay, shove an apple into the barrel, then pull the trigger.
The shooter makes a loud noise as it discharges the apple toward a hanging target. Apple sprays everywhere when it hits a bullseye.
Okay, that’s really cool.
“Did you see that?!” Finn asks, his jaw hanging open.
I grin. “I did. I can’t wait for our turn.”
“Want to place a bet?” Chloe asks.
Can this woman stop looking so cute with her skinny jeans, boots, and plaid shirt? Honestly, I never knew I had a thing for cowgirls, but seeing Chloe like this? I absolutely do.Snap. Snap. Snap.“Do you ever do anything without awager?” My voice is high as I fight through the pain on my wrist.
“Not really. No.”
Chloe’s incurably competitive. I can’t tell if I like this about her because it means life will never get boring or if eventually I’ll want to experience something without the added pressure of winning. For the sake of my new feelings, I’m going to say it’s an annoyance.
