“Go spread the word. No one under their booths until I check the integrity,” Boone finally said, glancing around at the rows of tents.
“I’ll help you take this side, Boone,” Jack said quickly. “Hunter, you and Autumn go spread the word near the entrance.”
“Come on,” Hunter said, taking my hand in his and leading me out. We got more than one curious look at our joined hands, but everyone was too worried about Theresa and the collapse to give it many questions.
“Want me to drive you home?” Hunter asked as we finished our rounds. “I’ve got to stop at the edge of the field. The Junior Deputies are meeting in about ten minutes. Enough time to run you back.”
“No it isn’t,” I argued. “You’d be late. Is it against the rules for me to stick with you until it’s over?”
His eyebrows rose but he simply shook his head no. “Come on, maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.”
I snorted at that. These men clearly still thought I was a city girl, unfamiliar with all of their outdoors activities. But they were wrong… or at least partly.
The Junior Deputies were adorable in their matching uniforms. The boys and girls were all around ten years old, donning shirts that had a sheriff’s badge behind the name of their group. They were all wearing a burnt orange shirt with their logo on it, though I wasn’t sure if that was for fall or all year round. Across their body was a sash that was full of badges, all varying in shape and color. It was like a Holiday Hollow version of the scouts, and from the farming and fishing badges, more fitting of their lives out here.
“Sheriff Hunter!” one of the boys shouted excitedly. “I practiced, look!” He held up a fishing pole, groaning at the knot that had formed in the line.
“Good effort, Charlie, but remember to always wind it up when you’re not using it,” Hunter reminded him patiently. My heart melted as he got down on one knee and helped the boy untie his line. The way Charlie watched the alpha like he was god's gift to this town, was way too sweet.
“Hunter, look!”
The cries for his attention went on for close to ten minutes and the Sheriff talked to them all individually until everyone was happy. Only then did he stand and call their meeting to order.
“Now, remember, we’ve got a very important task this year,” he said solemnly. The boys and girls nodded, eyes wide as they hung on every word. “Are you ready to find out what it is?”
“Yes!” They cried out with enough enthusiasm to make anyone smile. I found myself eager to hear him explain.
“This year, the mayor asked us to kick off the festival by lighting the first pumpkins of the event!” The audible gasp had me cracking up.
“We get to play with fire?!” A girl shrieked excitedly.
“No,” Hunter corrected her. “We have special candles that won’t go out. The only one who gets to light a fire is the one who starts the bonfire.”
The round of protests that rang out had Hunter cracking up and holding up his hands to quiet them down.
“Can we see our candles?” Charlie asked.
Hunter walked toward the edge of the grounds and grabbed a box, bringing it back with him. He hadn’t lost his goofy grin yet and I found myself just as excited as the kids, dancing on my feet as I waited. He set it down and pulled out a small LED votive candle and when he flicked it on a small flame glowed at the top. Despite it being a fairly ordinary candle, the kids gasped excitedly at the fake flame.
“You will each get one and a pumpkin that we’ll be carving a few days before the event,” he started but again was interrupted.
“Hunter?” The little pyro girl whisper-yelled, giving me a shy look. “Is she coming?”
“Do you want her to?” he whispered back. She nodded quickly and her little cheeks turned bright pink. “Then I guess we better ask her…” he trailed off and raised an eyebrow in challenge. The entire group turned on me and started shouting out their questions all at once so I couldn’t actually make out what anyone was saying.
“I’d love to come,” I finally managed to shout over them.
“Who are you? Is he your boyfriend?” Charlie asked. The way his little face twisted in disgust had us both laughing.
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” I sang out, cackling with glee as I saw a faint blush creep up on the good sheriff’s face. We were saved from further interrogation as parents started to come over and pick up their kids.
“You ready to head back?” Hunter asked me. “Jack has a roast in the crockpot.”
“Sounds perfect,” I grinned, walking beside him. Our shoulders touched as we left and I could feel his eyes on me more than once.
I’d always known there was more than met the eye when it came to Hunter, and I was glad that he was finally letting me see this different side of him. It made me see him in a new light, one that made that warm fuzzy feeling I had inside every time we bantered flare up and recount our night together. One that had me thinking about more nights sitting on the front porch together.
Over the past couple months our lives had become so intertwined, our daily routines blending into something I’d began to look forward to at the start of each day. Each of them had become something more to me than I’d expected, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.