16. Ash

Itake in the town now that I’m seeing it in the light of day. It really does feel like a town was just placed in the middle of a valley.

People greet Kayla as we pass by. She tells me about the stores, sprinkling in anecdotes about the people who run them. It seems like a lot of the folk here have lived here for a long time.

It’s a good place to run away to. It feels very separate from city life. It’s tranquil.

I hate that a large chunk of my mind is focused on the fact that I can’t touch her. It feels like an addiction. I can’t get enough of her. The more I have, the more I want.

It feels strange to be outside of our little bubble on the ranch.

I love how her face lights up as she talks about her town.

“… and she slammed him to the ground.”

“Really?” I laugh. “An eighty-year-old tackled someone trying to rob her store?”

She nods vigorously. “Yep! I still maintain that the Bailey brothers put him up to it. Those two were trouble.”

A few people greet us as we pass the gazebo into a large field. There’s a large arch with flowers weaved to spell out Spring to Life. It sounds like some sort of retirement village.

I look around and see that there’s a mix of generations here. It’s not predominantly elderly or anything. It makes me wonder who came up with the name; I know it’s meant to signal winter going into spring, but surely they could’ve found a better name.

Kayla laughs when I share these thoughts with her. “What would you have named it?”

I rack my brain. “Snow to Spring?”

She throws her head back, laughing.

I scowl. “It’s better than Spring to Life. What would you name it?”

Kayla’s hand grazes mine, and I involuntarily suck in a breath. Suddenly, it’s all I can think about.

“It used to be the Harvest Festival,” she says. “I had no problem with that name.”

Her voice shakes me out of my trance and I take in the chaos. There are kids running everywhere, various games in different stalls, food carts, and so much more. It’s actually quite extravagant.

Kayla notices my facial expression. “You were expecting a few dingy carts and a plastic table full of food, weren’t you?”

I try to hide my smile, but it doesn’t work.

She grins. “If there’s one thing our town does well, it’s celebrate anything and everything. Sometimes I think they just come up with new ones for something to do.”

Back home they don’t have anything like this.

Someone I haven’t met locks Kayla into a conversation. While they’re chatting, I walk over to the booth that’s selling tickets for the games and buy a whole bunch.

She walks over to me. “Sorry, that was Lindsay. Her dad has a horse that needs help so she’s going to drop him by.”

“You help horses?”

“It’s one of my many talents. My mom taught me how to handle horses. I was even called the horse whisperer in high school. I thought I’d end up being a vet but…”

She shrugs. I think she’s going to talk about her mom, but then something catches her eye, and she smiles. Taking my hand, she leads me to the basketball stall and shoots me a wicked smile. “I lovethis game.”

I hand her the tickets, my hand lingering for a second longer than necessary. My body hums at the contact. It’s like I’m melting into a puddle.

Kayla’s eyes widen. “Oh, thanks. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to treat…” I almost said I wanted to treat my girl, but I stop myself. I bite my lip. I wish I could lean down and kiss her, but instead I turn and face the game.

The balls start flowing down and the timer starts.

I’m a hockey player, so you’d think I have good aim. I don’t. I was hoping to win Kayla a prize or something, but she’s kicking my butt. The game cheers on her side as the timer hits zero. She throws her hands in the air and does a little dance.

I tip an imaginary hat at her, and she sticks her tongue out. I like seeing her so happy. She bounces over to the prize section and picks out a unicorn toy.

I try not to laugh. “A unicorn?”

She hugs it tight. “Much to my parents’ dismay, I used to try and turn our horses into unicorns.”

I scrunch up my face as I try to figure out how that would work.

Suddenly, a loud squeal rings in my ears.

Izzy pushes past me and crash-tackles Kayla. They end up on the ground in fits of laughter.

I love how carefree they both are. If you were to do that back home, you might get arrested.

Izzy looks at me and then narrows her eyes at Kayla as if trying to decipher something.

I help them both up, and Kayla stumbles into me. From the mischievous gleam in her eye, she did it on purpose. She then “accidentally” rubs her body against mine as she turns to face Izzy. I suck in a breath. She is doing things to me that shouldn’t be done in public.

Kayla seems focused on Izzy, but she’s still standing dangerously close to me. “Where have they got you this year?”

Izzy sucks in her cheeks. “Coin toss, then cotton candy, then hay bale maze, then the bar.”

Kayla laughs. “So, a light schedule this year?” She turns to me. “I swear she was at every stall at some point last year.”

Izzy pokes Kayla’s unicorn. “You know I don’t like to stay still.” She looks at her watch. “Speaking of, I’m late. Have fun you two.” She gives Kayla a look. I have a feeling it’s about us, but I don’t want to pry.

Kayla starts walking, and I follow her lead. “Shall we get some cotton candy and go for a walk through the hay bale maze?” she asks.

I nod, smiling at the skip in her step. I resist the urge to say something about sugar this early in the morning. I love seeing her like this.

Instinctively, I reach out to hold her hand — and then realize my mistake. I’ve never had this much trouble keeping my hands off someone before, and from the look on Kayla’s face, she’s thinking the same thing.