Serenity Falls (22 page)

After
we park the truck, Wes helps me out and takes my hand in his while we walk two or
three blocks to the main road. He wasn’t kidding when he said most of the town
shuts down. Red, blue, and white rope lights hang high above the crowd. They
extend from the old historic buildings, like the ones that you see featured in
western movies, on one side, across the street to the others, forming a
tent-like shape. In the middle of the road, empty tables sit, draped with red
and white checkered tablecloths. Droves of people are dressed patriotically,
while others are dressed casually. All sorts of people wander about, laughing
and talking. Kids run around chasing after each other with water balloons and
water guns, screaming, and giggling.

As
we venture further into the festivities, I look up at him as I squeeze his
hand. “This is amazing.”

“I
know. I used to love coming here when I was a kid. My grandparents always
brought me.”

Vendors
line the sidewalks, their stands decorated to fit the holiday, selling anything
from snow cones and cotton candy, hot dogs and Coke, to fireworks. In the
middle of the street, beyond the empty tables, sits what looks to be about ten
or fifteen tables in a horseshoe shape. People stand behind the tables with crockpots
and stockpots. Groups crowd around the tables. I watch, fascinated, as they
hold bowls of something, tasting what, I’m not sure. One lone table sits a
little ways away with three people occupying it.

“What’s
that?” I point toward the large crowd.

Wes
looks in the direction that I’m pointing. “It’s our annual chili cook-off.”

As
soon as he says the word chili, my mouth waters, and my stomach rumbles loudly.
I know he heard it because he starts to laugh. “Come on. They let everyone
taste test.” He tugs on my hand, leading me to where my stomach is begging to
be.

We
have to shove our way through the throngs of people just to get up to the
tables. Way more people are over here than I thought. “Reid!” Wes shouts, his
hand cupped around his mouth, amplifying his voice.

I
see Reid pushing up on his toes. He cranes his neck, looking around for who
called his name. He spots us, and with a nod, he waves us over. Shoulders jam
into me, jostling me around as Wes leads us through the crowd. My fingers start
to slide from his grasp as the mob begins to close in around the contenders of
the cook-off. I reach forward and yank on his arm, gaining his attention. He
looks back at me and his eyes widen. “A little help here, please?” I ask,
somewhat nervous of the large crowd.

“Babe,
I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.” He starts to shove people out of his way to
get to me. As soon as he reaches me, Wes scoops me up off the ground, one hand
behind my back, the other under my knees, right before a large burly man almost
plows over me. “Watch the fuck out!” Wes yells at the man.

His
eyes protrude from his head as he looks from Wes to me, and then back to Wes.
“Sorry, Man. I didn’t see her.” The strange man lifts his hands in the air and
retreats backwards away from us.

“You
didn’t see her?” Wes asks the man like it’s the craziest thing he’s ever heard.
“Then maybe you should pay better attention, Asshole.”

I
feel his heart beating a mile a minute against my back as I twist in his hold,
and lift my hand to his face to cup his cheek. I bring his face down to mine.
“It’s okay, Babe. I’m safe,” I say softly, trying to calm him down.

His
eyes close for a brief second as he takes a few deep calming breaths. “I don’t
know what got into me. All I saw was how that guy was about to trample all over
you.”

“Thank
you. You caught me again.” I arch an eyebrow as I peck a kiss on his delectable
lips. “Now, I’m hungry, and there’s all this delicious chili around. Feed me,
please?”

With
a nod, he flashes me a smile and carries me the rest of the way through the
crowd. When we finally reach Reid, I’m shocked to see he’s participating in the
contest. “Hey, Man. How’s it goin’?” Wes asks.

Reid
turns from stirring the mouth-watering goodness in his stockpot to answer. I
can’t help the laugh that rushes out of me at his expression. His mouth hangs
open with his eyebrows crinkled in confusion, as he looks at me secure in Wes’
arms. “Why are you holding her?”

“She
almost got trampled. She’s safer here in my arms.” Wes shrugs his shoulders as
if our predicament should be normal. I bounce from the movement. “The damn
crowd’s crazy this year.”

The
woman inside me who doesn’t like for people to fight her battles wants so badly
to roll my eyes at his protectiveness, but I refrain. I pat Wes on his chest.
“You can put me down now.”

He
looks at me, his eyes searching mine, probably wondering if he should argue
with me. Grudgingly, he concedes.

“So,
Reid, whatcha got here?” I ask, peeking over the rim of his pot. The smell of
cumin, peppers, and chili powder assaults my senses in the best way possible.

“Chili,”
he answers sarcastically.

“Well,
no shit. That was my roundabout way of asking to try some.” I cock my head to
the side in hopes that he has some retort.

He
looks at me for a moment before he erupts into a boisterous fit of laughter.
Slapping Wes on the shoulder, he says, “Dude, I like her.”

“Me
too,” Wes murmurs against my ear as his arms encircle my waist. With an easy
smile, I peer up at him through my eyelashes.

“Well,
not to brag or anything, but I make some of the best chili in town.” Reid pulls
my attention back to him. “Tell me what you think.” He picks up a Styrofoam
bowl and fills it with a ladle full of hot, steaming chili. As he hands it to
me, he sticks a spoon in it.

I
spin the meat and veggie filled concoction with my spoon, blowing on it to
cool. Just as I’m about to take a bite, Reid stops me. “You know I’m starving,
right?”

“Yeah,
you’re just wasting away, aren’t you? Just try it like this.” He grins as he
crumbles some cornbread on top.

I
start the whole process again, mixing and blending it before I take my first
bite. Not caring if he’s going to try and stop me again, I shovel a spoonful of
chili in my mouth. I think I’ve just died and gone to Heaven. My eyes roll back
in my head as I groan. It tastes even better than it smells. “Oh… my… gosh…
this is so good,” I praise him around a mouthful of food.

When
I finally open my eyes, Reid stands there with his arms crossed over his chest,
and a proud smile across his face. “The best in town, huh?”

“I
don’t know about that, but I’ll tell you anything you wanna hear as long as you
keep feeding me.”

“See,
a keeper,” he says, turning his eyes to Wes.

Wes
and I talk with Reid as I finish my chili. When Reid mentions that they are
about to judge, we decide to walk around.

“Aren’t
you gonna stay and see who wins?” Reid asks with a pout.

“From
what I just tasted, I have no doubt that you’ll win.” I lean up and kiss him on
the cheek. When I pull back, his cheeks are tinted a light red. “Good luck,
even though I don’t think you’ll need it.” Wes grabs my hand in his, interlaces
our fingers, and pulls me behind him as we laugh at a speechless Reid.

“That
fucker’s gonna win it. I don’t know what he’s so worried about. He’s been
competing every year since he was ten.” As we break through the barriers of the
crowd, orange and red hues begin to light the evening sky as the sun starts to
set.

“He’s
been competing since he was ten?” I’m intrigued as we continue down the center
of the street.

He
nodded. “Yeah, it’s a thing him and his dad did together. But now, his dad’s
retired and has handed down the ladle and the stock pot to his son.”

Just
then, I hear the gravely, husky sounds of Gary Allan’s
Man of Me
, and
crane my neck, looking around for the source. Noticing what has captured my
attention, Wes gently tugs on my hand, making me look at him. “Wanna dance?”

With
a grin, I jerk my head in a nod. He pulls me toward a roped off area where a
band is set up, obviously singing cover songs because the lead singer
definitely isn’t Gary Allan. But damn, did he sound close enough. The ropes
connect to large wooden pillars placed around the band and makeshift dance
floor. Lanterns hang, suspended from wires that stretch from one wooden pillar
to the next, above people dancing. Wes leads me out onto the dance floor.
Underneath the soft glow, he wraps his arms around my waist. I wrap my arms
around his neck just as the singer announces the next song,
It Goes Like
This
by Thomas Rhett. With the snap of the drum, and the strum of the
guitar, I pull Wes as close as possible, laying my head against his chest. I’ve
never felt more relaxed as I do at this moment with his arms holding me close, him
singing softly in my ear, and us swaying to the music. When the lead singer
belts out the lyrics about being all messed up and sounding crazy, I lift my
head off his chest and reach up, softly stroking his cheek. I gaze into his
stunning, cobalt blue eyes as his lips pull into a smile. I love him. Leaning
down, a hairsbreadth from my lips, he whispers “Come with me?”

I
lean in, closing the minute distance left between us, my lips meeting his.
After a long, slow, tantalizing kiss, he pulls back and I answer, “Let’s go.”

As
Wes leads me off the floor, he takes my hand in his. On the way back to the
truck, a group of kids stands next to a fireworks stand playing with their
sparklers. I watch in fascination as they spin the shimmering sticks. Designs
of all sorts light up the nighttime. “You want to get some?” Wes asks from
beside me as he notices what has caught my attention.

“Hell,
yeah! Who doesn’t love sparklers?” I reply excitedly. When we reach the stand,
I release Wes’ hand and walk over to the group of kids.

A
little boy with short brown hair, brown eyes, and rosy red cheeks smiles at my
approach. He shows off the cutest set of dimples I’ve ever seen as he smiles
and waves me over. When I get closer to him and the others, he says, “Hi.
You’re really pretty.”

I
chuckle at that. Kids always speak the truth.

“Hello.
Thank you. And you’re really handsome.” I kneel down to match the boy’s height.

“I’m
Adam.”

“It’s
nice to meet you, Adam. I’m Kenleigh.”

“Do
you like sparklers?” He spins his so that its light makes a circular shape.

“I
love sparklers.”

He
looks at me with his eyebrows dipped, and his nose scrunched, and I can’t help
but smile at his cute little face. “But you’re a grown up.”

“You’re
right, I am, but you can never be grown up enough not to play with sparklers.”

“Never
grown up enough?” he asks, mystified.

“Never.”
I shake my head.

“You
wanna try?” He offers his sparkler to me.

“Sure.
Thanks.” I reach out and take the metal stick that’s still on fire. I wave it
back and forth, creating the illusion of ribbons floating in the air. Next, I
write Adam’s name in one swift motion, joining the letters.

“Wow!
That was so cool,” he squeals with a look of awe on his face.

“It
was.” I look over my shoulder to see Wes standing there with a smile on his
face. In one hand, he holds a bundle of sparklers, and in the other, he has a
snow cone. Still knelt down, I turn my attention back to Adam. “Here you go.” I
hand him back his barely lit sparkler. “I have to go, but don’t forget that
you’re never too grown up to play with sparklers, okay?”

I
stand up, turn around, and walk over to Wes. “Is that for me?” I look at the
snow cone.

He
nods. “It is, but you have to kiss me first.”

I
scrunch up my face and shake my head. “In that case, I don’t know if I want
it.”

“Oh,
you want it.” He drops his voice an octave as I stop right in front of him.

“And
how do you know that?” I ask quietly, peeking up at him through my eyelashes.

“Because
it tastes delicious.” He grins a smug, cocky grin.

I
take it out of his hand and wrap my lips around a portion of the cold, crushed,
colored ice, tasting a hint of watermelon. The veins in his neck bulge a
little, and as I watch, his back straightens. On the inside, I do a little
victory dance, knowing that I have some kind of effect on him. “Mmmm… You’re
right. It is delicious,” I say huskily. “Would you like a taste?”