“It’s at five,” Autumn answered. “Riley is watching the booth for me from about five to six-thirty, or however long it takes, so I can see both. I can’t miss the cuties and their fake candles either.”
Hunter beamed down at her and brushed a kiss across her forehead. His way of showing how happy she made him.
“I better go get things set up there. You need me for anything?” he asked us all.
“I’ll help out,” I promised him and he gave a nod and a silent warning to keep our pack safe while he was away. It was unnecessary but I couldn’t fault the alpha for his instincts.
“Are those all from the farm, Jack?” Autumn asked as she pointed at the enormous display of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. Janet always picked out the smallest for the kids and the biggest were on display and set up on hay bales for pictures.
“Yes,” he said proudly. “We always set those up after the booths are set and I’ll have someone out here during the season to sell our stock to the town and the tourists who’ll be coming in.”
“Have you ever done pick your own?” she asked curiously.
“With our house being right there we don’t,” he admitted. “Maybe I’ll have to take that empty field outside the festival grounds someday and do a DIY patch.”
Her eyes lit up. “That’d be so exciting! I want to make that an option for the orchard in the future. I’ve got big plans.” She sounded so mysterious but she’d been dropping hints for weeks about her plans. Jack looked ready to ask but Janet’s excited voice cut him off.
“There you are!” She was beaming as she crushed us each in a quick hug. “Everything is coming together beautifully this year!”
“Don’t jinx it, mom,” Jack joked and she rolled her eyes.
“Karma wouldn’t dare mess with me,” she laughed easily. “Do you need me to send anyone over to help you guys set up? Our two prime vendors.”
The fact she was just as proud of Autumn as she was for Jack was great. She’d already accepted her as one of her own before we even knew she was ours. We hadn’t told Janet anything, especially not before Autumn made her final decision, but I think she knew. Mother’s intuition was a strong thing.
“I’ll help out, we’re good I think,” I told her. “We know you’re busy.”
She let out a laugh. “I’m only happy when I’m busy, you know that, son.”
I shook my head but couldn’t hide the smile on my face. “Don’t we know that.”
She rolled her eyes. “These three acted like I tortured them on weekends when I put them to work. Yet look at how good of men my boys grew up to be.” She patted our cheeks lovingly before disappearing, not caring that she’d just embarrassed us both.
“She’s the sweetest,” Autumn said without skipping a beat. “Let’s dive in, guys!”
Our omega went from sweet and happy to a drill sergeant in the blink of an eye. She was clearly nervous so I didn’t hesitate to do as she asked until she was satisfied everything was perfect. Her booth was covered in jugs of cider, caramel and chocolate covered apples, bundles of apples to sell, and a few jams and apple butter she’d whipped up. Her and Jack had been up half the night finishing everything. And yet somehow they were the first to get up this morning.
Just as she finished, people started flooding the vendor section. She met the crowd with a bright smile, falling confidently into her role. Jack was charming as people started heading for him. The two of them were definitely the personable ones in our pack.
“Cedarwick is back?” a customer gasped as she dragged her pack behind her. “The baby is sure happy to see this!” She rubbed her swollen belly before ordering her alpha to buy one of everything. Which he happily did. At her shouted words half the crowd came over and I didn’t get a chance to slip away since she needed someone to hand over the items while she handled the money.
Riley swung by just before five, the crowd had barely dwindled though.
“Business is booming!” he said excitedly. “I may have been spreading the word. Sorrynotsorry.”
“You’re the best,” Autumn praised over her shoulder. He had one of their new hands by his side, the younger beta standing behind him awkwardly as Autumn let Riley take over.
“Ready, baby girl?” I asked, happy to get out of there. Until I saw how pale she was.
“God, I was, but then I realized this is it. Oh god, what if I get last place?” The horror on her face had me pulling her in. She breathed in my scent and I let her have a moment as we awkwardly walked like that out of the booth and behind it. Jack joined us and brushed his hands through her hair.
“Breathe, Autumn. This is what we prepared for. You’re going to kick my ass so I don’t know what you’re worrying about.”
She let out a small laugh but took one last breath before bolstering her confidence. I tried not to show how much it affected me that she’d chosen me as her safe space. When I told her that I’d take all of her and demand more… I meant it. She had all of me in return. There was no going back.
“Okay. Let’s go,” she said, trying to convince herself as well as us.
She let us lead her over to the stage where Janet had the pie contest set up. The judges table had no less than ten pies in front of them and Janet was waiting for the crowd to amass a bit before she let out a shrill whistle.