Chapter 32
Holt
After spending the morning with Carter and the Sheriff, and calling my contractor to come and look at the damaged porch, Piper and I are back in my SUV.
Piper has managed to get her emotions back in check and she even smiled at something that Carter said.
It is my mission to make her smile more.
I have just the thing that will take her mind off of this for the afternoon.
I turn in the opposite direction of Piper’s house. She turns to look at me in curiosity, her eyebrow raised.
“You’ll see,” I say in answer to her unspoken question. For a minute it looks like she is going to argue, but then she settles back in the seat and shrugs.
“That’s it,” I prod, “you don’t have anything else to add,” I glance over to her as I’m maneuvering us through the streets of town.
“I figure that if you were going to kill me, I would be dead already,” she says teasingly. I chuckle, that wasn’t what I expected her to say.
“Also, I’ve decided that I’m in just in it for the plot these days,” she says with a laugh under her breath.
“Whatever happens, happens,” she shrugs and tucks her hair behind her ear. A nervous tick that I have picked up on.
“In it for the plot, huh,” I repeat and chuckle.
She doesn’t know the plot twists that she is in for now that I’ve got her.
She nods her head and then flips the radio on.
She pairs her phone and starts humming along to her Taylor Swift playlist. I place my hand on her thigh, a little above the knee and give it a gentle squeeze.
She freezes for barely a second and then relaxes. I’m glad she is getting used to me in her space, she continues to hum along and nod her head.
We have only been driving for about 20 minutes when I see the sign for the county fair up ahead. I turn down the dirt road. Piper sits up straighter and looks at me.
“We are going to the fall fair!” Her face is lit up and she smiles at me. I can’t help but grin back at her.
“I take it you like the idea,” I trail off as she claps her hands. She squeals and does a little dance in her seat.
“Yes, I love this idea,” she says. She is so excited she is already moving to unclip her seatbelt. I place my hand on hers stopping her.
“Not until we have parked,” I say. She huffs but doesn’t argue. I pull into the field that the fair has designated as the parking area and park where the attendant has guided me. As soon as I put it in park, Piper is unbuckling herself and opening the door. She is like a kid in this moment.
I open my door and follow her out. She is impatiently waiting for me. I walk up to her and smile down at her.
“Ready,” she asks brightly. I nod and reach down to hold her hand. She is shocked for a second but I start walking towards the gate still holding her hand. Her cheeks are slightly pink but she is grinning. She follows me as we head toward the ticket counter.
“We will take 2 unlimited wrist bands,” I say to the kid behind the counter. He can’t be more than 16 years old. I drop Piper’s hand to grab my wallet. I hand over my card and look at Piper who was reaching for her purse.
“I’ve got this,” I say to her. I see that she is going to try to argue with me. So I lean down and kiss her quickly while he runs my card.
I slip my tongue into her mouth and then pull back and bite her lip gently. I pull away quickly and wink at her. I take my card back and slip the wristband on her wrist and then mine. All of this takes about 2 minutes and she is still quiet.
“What do you want to hit first,” I ask her as I pull her by the hand into the fairgrounds.
It is a small fair, and probably won’t take us more than a few hours to get through everything, but it is the perfect distraction.
It is’t crowded yet either. The crowds will be here tonight, and I fully plan on being at home— with Piper— hopefully naked.
Plus, I can tell she is already feeling less stressed. Her shoulders aren’t as tense and her face has a more relaxed look to it.
She points over to the Pharaoh’s Fury ride and starts walking in that direction. There isn’t anyone in line for it, so the attendant waves us through. Piper chooses the middle seat, and I slide in right next to her. I pull Piper right next to me and the ride begins.
Piper starts to giggle and I wrap my arm around her shoulders as the boat swings back and forth. Quickly, the ride is over and we get off.
Piper pulls me towards the bumper cars next. There are a few people in line for that, but we get on in a few minutes. She takes a red car and I take a blue one. We take turns bumping into each other and a few of the kids that are in there as well.
I know she chose this one because we would be in separate seats, but I’ll choose the next ride.