Page 55 of The Pumpkin Spice Romance
“Here?” Scarlett asked, pointing to the ground.
“Here,” he affirmed, turning in a circle with his arms out wide and a thrilled smile on his face.
“I’m supposed to transformthisinto a picture-worthy pumpkin patch?”
“A pumpkin paradise,” he corrected.
“With what?”
“Whatever you want.”
That made her frown.
“M’Kenzee mentioned lighting; is there even electricity?”
“In the barn,” Noah said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the red-stained building behind him. The hayloft and tall sliding doors, each framed with a giganticXand trimmed in pristine white paint, could’ve been the inspiration for a Farmer in the Dell baby book.
“It’s quite a ways out here,” Scarlett said, walking in a meandering path as she tried to envision what in the world she’d do with the blank page presented to her. “Will people drive this far just to pick out a pumpkin for their porch?”
“We came the back way,” Noah explained. “There’s a more direct route, but Hudson won’t have that entrance unlocked until we’re ready for visitors.”
“Hudson?”
“Sharp. He runs Twin Oaks for their family, and they sponsor the pumpkin patch, and the Christmas tree lot, and. . .a few other things. I’m sure you’ll meet him and his girlfriend, Blake, soon. Oh, and his brothers — they’re sure to be home from college, milling around and stirring up trouble at least one weekend during the fall festival.”
“That’s a lot of people,” Scarlett stated.
“They’re just the beginning. You’ll meet Hudson’s parents and his aunt and uncle, I’d guess sooner rather than later. And the Davises, another founding family. . .Eli and Jacqueline and their kids: Aiden, Jessie, and Daniel. And Eli’s sister—”
“Stop,” Scarlett interrupted, raising her hands in surrender. “I’ll never remember all these people.”
“Oh, once you meet Judge Roberts, you’ll remember her.”
“Judge Roberts?” A memory of the two ladies on the sidewalk outside the church flashed through her mind. “Her I’ve already gotten to know,” Scarlett said with a shudder.
Noah laughed out loud at her misery.
She grimaced in recollection.
“So, it’s a working ranch?” Scarlett asked. “And it’s okay for me to come and go as I please?”
“Yes, and yes. . .so long as you close the gates after you open and go through one.”
“And the cows? They’re. . .friendly?”
Noah laughed again, obviously enjoying her discomfort.
“They won’t bother you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ll be with you,” he said, as though that settled the matter. “So, where to next? Maybe run by to see Jinx? I figure you want to determine the largest pieces first, right? Then we can take your bags to Maree’s and check out the lighting situation. Do you like Italian? Luca’s offers a great lunch special. While we’re eating, I’ll go over the pumpkin invoice with you.”
“Thepumpkin invoice?”
“You know. . .a breakdown of what’s been ordered to stock the pumpkin patch. And I have a spreadsheet of booths, vendors, games, and volunteers for you to look over. Those remain the same from year to year, so for all intents and purposes, they run themselves. But of course, you’re more than welcome to move tables around. . . Feel free to change the order of merchandise, food, anything. Reconfigure the whole thing if you want. It’syourvision. The kids and I are just here to help you bring it to life.”
He said it all as if she had a single clue how to proceed. As of three days earlier, she’d been employed as a sales clerk in a photography shop, developing her own photos when time allowed, and soaking up as much camera and composition knowledge as possible tosomedaybecome a professional photographer. She’d never worked as an event planner, a stager, or a decorator. . .never even considered spending a single day of her life doing any one of those jobs.
