10. Peyton
PEYTON
I rolled over in bed and stared at the empty space next to me.
Huck never came over last night. He said something came up, and he needed to do a last-minute job with Levi.
I could understand helping out a friend, but he could have at least come by to give me a hug.
It felt like him leaving me all over again.
I pulled the covers up to my chin and imagined what it would feel like to stay in bed all day.
Usually I didn’t avoid my problems, I faced them head on and tackled them one bite at a time.
But the collapse of the festival was too much.
Not only had I failed myself, but I’d failed Mustang Mountain as well.
As I closed my eyes and snuggled under the covers, wishing I could fast forward into the future, my phone rang. It was probably Mayor Nelson calling to tell me they’d decided to cancel the festival altogether. When we’d finally left the meeting last night, the committee hadn’t reached a decision.
I let the call go to voicemail, not willing to face it yet. Either way, the festival wasn’t happening. No one needed me today unless they were looking for someone to blame.
My phone rang again. I should have silenced it last night.
I reached for it and gasped as I saw all the missed calls. There were messages from the mayor, from Ruby, from Brooklyn, and even one from Lily.
Ruby’s voice filtered out from my speaker as I pressed play.
“Hi, hon. This is Ruby. I’m over at the festival grounds and you’d better get yourself down here as soon as you can. You’re not going to believe what’s happening. See you soon.”
The one from Brooklyn was just as odd.
“Peyton! Oh my gosh. I didn’t think you were going to be able to pull this off, but dang, girl. Congrats on a job well done. Call me!”
Confused, I stumbled out of bed and pulled on a pair of yoga pants underneath my nightshirt. I tried dialing Huck, but he didn’t answer. If he’d been up late helping Levi, he was probably still sound asleep.
With nothing to lose, I grabbed my car keys, slipped on a pair of flip-flops, and headed toward the festival grounds. As I pulled onto the property, I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Dozens of vehicles parked at the edge of the stage area.
The rubble from the fire had been cleared away and a brand new stage sat where the old one had been, even bigger and more impressive than before.
Vendor booths lined the main path through the fairgrounds.
They’d all been painted in red, white, and blue with banners stretched across the top of each one.
I stood in the center of it all, my mouth gaping open, my eyes just about bugging out of my head. Who had done this? And when? How had they pulled it together?
Then I saw Huck. He had on a pair of work gloves and was carrying a huge beam on his shoulders.
Our conversation from the night before flashed through my head.
He said something had come up. That he was helping Levi with a last-minute job.
No, I shouldn’t wait up for him since he didn’t know how long he’d be.
I stalked toward him, my finger pointing at the center of his chest. “You!”
“Good morning, baby.” He stopped, the beam still balanced on his shoulders, and leaned down to kiss me.
“You did this.” I didn’t have to ask. Deep down I knew he was behind this.
“Well, not by myself.” His smile lit me up inside. “As you can see, it takes a lot of people to pull off a miracle.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Last night when we talked, you said you were helping Levi.”
“I said we had a job to finish. And yeah, Levi was involved.” Huck gestured around him in a wide circle. “So were all these amazing people. They’re the heart of this town.”
Following his gaze, I looked out at dozens and dozens of people, all of them working together to revitalize the festival grounds.
“Don’t be too modest.” Levi came up behind Huck. “This guy’s the reason we’re all here. You should have heard him arguing his case.”
Awed by Huck’s efforts, I put my hands to my cheeks. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say the festival’s back on.” Huck laughed. “Otherwise, all of this will be for nothing.”
I looked down at my nightshirt, yoga pants, and flip-flops. “I’ve got so much to do. Why didn’t you tell me what you were up to last night? At least give me a head’s up?”
Levi moved on, leaving me and Huck standing next to the stage alone. He set down the beam he’d been holding and gathered me into his arms. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed if I didn’t pull this off. And I didn’t want to make you a promise I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep.”
I tipped my head back and stared up at the only man I’d ever loved. “I love you, Huck Barrett.”
“Love you too, Pey. Now go start making phone calls.”
By the time I reached my car, I was on the phone with Tumbleweed Crossing’s manager.
The lead singer had refused to take the other job and the band would be arriving the next day and bringing another group called Highway 55 with them.
From there, my day filled with sending out emails, responding to texts, and confirming supply orders.
Huck finally came over to my place, but just long enough to shower and catch a couple of hours of sleep before he headed out again to finalize some last-minute details.
Day turned to night and night turned into the next day.
One hour slipped into the next until it was time for me to kick off the opening ceremony of the festival.
Mayor Nelson said a few words about the resiliency of the people of Mustang Mountain and hinted at how the festival had almost ended before it even started. Then he turned the mic over to me to welcome everyone.
I stood on the stage, surrounded by the warm glow of a spotlight. I hadn’t seen Huck for the past couple of hours, but when I looked out over the crowd, he was standing right in front with a huge smile on his face.
I thanked Mayor Nelson and the people who’d worked on the committee for all the work they’d done. “But there’s one more person who deserves to be recognized. Huck Barrett, would you come up here for a minute?”
He shook his head and shot me a grin.
“I think he’s a little shy, folks. Can you help me encourage him to join me on the stage?” My brows arched, I smiled back. He wasn’t getting out of this one. Years ago, the man had slunk out of town and left everyone thinking he was bad news. I refused to let him carry that burden any longer.
The crowd clapped and cheered. Then a deep voice to the right started chanting, “Huck! Huck! Huck!”
He finally scrambled up the stairs and stalked toward me. I held his gaze and let the rest of the world fade away.
“If it weren’t for this man, we wouldn’t be here tonight. Two days ago, someone sabotaged our set up and tried to make sure we wouldn’t be able to have a festival at all.” The crowd booed, but I was so focused on Huck’s smile, I barely noticed.
“Huck took it upon himself to rally the town and turn tragedy into triumph. It’s because of him and the hardworking men and women who helped him that we’re able to be here tonight. Thank you, Huck. For coming through for Mustang Mountain.”
His cheeks flushed, and he bit down on his bottom lip while he shook his head. As soon as I set the microphone back in its stand, he swept me up in a hug and spun me around. His lips found mine and there in front of everyone, he kissed me. I kissed him right back with no apologies and no regrets.
Tumbleweed Crossing took the stage, and as the crowd went wild, Huck led me down the steps and to the side of the stage.
His nose nuzzled into my hair and nibbled on my earlobe. “You didn’t have to do that, Pey.”
Goosebumps pebbled my skin. “You deserved it. None of this would have happened without you.”
“No,”—he pressed his forehead to mine—“none of this would have happened without you.”
“Can you forgive me for not fighting for us back then?” I needed to hear him say it out loud. “I was young and dumb and had no idea what my dad was doing behind my back. If I had it to do all over again?—”
He cut me off with another kiss. When he pulled back, he stared at me, his eyes soft at the edges. “Let’s leave what happened in the past in the past. Just promise me that from now on, we won’t let anyone or anything drive us apart.”
That was a promise I had no hesitation in making and one I was more than willing to keep. “I promise.”
Huck tipped his forehead to mine again, his voice barely a whisper against the swell of music surrounding us. “You’re it for me, Peyton. You always have been.”
My breath hitched. “Then let’s never let go.”
He kissed me again, slow and deep, while the town we’d both once lost ourselves in danced around us. And just like that, I knew…
This time, we’d get it right.