CHAPTER TWO
HAZEL
“Hazel.”
My fingers fumbled on the sticky apple that I'd been assessing. Was the sugary treat really worth the broken tooth I’d likely boast afterward? Maybe. The pretty rose shape pressed into the red candy vied against the pumpkin molding into the one next to it.
So many pumpkins.
A kid bit into her toffee apple and ended with a face full of gooey, red food coloring.
Okay, so I wasn’t quite that committed to the experience despite my pledge as I walked out of the small, rented cottage when I headed for the main street earlier.
At least the pumpkin spice latte scent coming from the stall next door at the small country fair was enough to tempt me.
I turned the sound of my name, so I didn't recognize the voice.
Big surprise. I didn't recognize anyone here. My regular world existed an ocean and a day and a half away on a fourteen plus hour plane trip across the international dateline. My friends were asleep while I was awake, and my dog lived in somebody else's house.
"Hazel Templeton."
I tried to replace my blank expression with something a little more publicly amenable from the slightly horrified look on the big guy’s face
"Yes?" I smiled far too brightly, like a lightbulb ready to blow a fuse on cue.
“Uh—”I
Oh, brilliant. Now I could add small-town-psycho-in-training to my resume. My new job would love that. I’d already had ‘the talk’ with the school about public facing personalities and keeping everything—dress, attitude, activities, life—above board.
The big fella took a step backwards, concern still etched across his face.
"You're the new teacher, right?" Lines gathered across his brow, as though confirming information to himself rather than asking me.
I nodded along with him until we must have looked like a pair of bobble headed dogs on a dashboard.
The world swam slightly, and I stopped, waiting for the wave of nausea to recede.
“Yes,” I managed, reaching for the edge of the apple cart to stop the world from moving, or maybe that was me.
I should not have skipped lunch while marking papers.
“You’re at the university?” The tall man had sandy brown hair and a gentle smile.
Somehow that made his stature, what looked like all six and a half feet of him, appear less imposing despite his girth and stature.
Not that he was fat. Just…muscular. His gaze coursed over me, and his smile grew easy.
“Pick the red one. The kids always love those best.”
I stared at him, my mouth open. "The red one? No, I work at school." I answered his questions in the wrong order. His eyes narrowed and I waved a hand, not taking the apple he picked from the stand. "My sister is the one who works at the university."
His nose wrinkled but at least he put the apple back for now. "Your sister."
"She's my twin,” I added helpfully.
“Oh." He looked stumped.
I raised both my arrows. “It’s okay. Nobody knows my name. I only just arrived."
The confusion cleared from his face, as though an overcast day cleared, and his bulk—the height, his straightness, the way he moved, hit me. “You're a sports jock, aren’t you?"
And… Cue grinning intensified. Something curious lit those dark eyes when he smiled though, something that broke through that stereotypical facade. Before I could study it too deeply, he took a step closer, reducing breathable air and space. Apparently this guy only had two settings: on or off.
"You got me. Basketball. I'm playing with the varsity team this week. At the college,” he added helpfully, when I stared.
Blankness was pretty much my set expression at this place. I didn’t get to study, I didn’t get a chance to rectify mistakes. "That's why you're asking about the university." I tipped my head to one side. "You look a bit—” I closed my mouth quickly before anything important fell out.
"If you're going to say that I’m too old to play for that squad, then you're probably right. He didn’t seem to take offense, reaching around me to grab two of the red sticky apples and paid for them before I could respond.
I ended up lost in my head as I stared back at him. "I wasn't sure–"
"Coffee?"
At this rate I wasn’t going to finish a sentence.
But the tempting scent that had lured me before called.
The tall man with the easy smile and the candy apple stared down at me, waiting.
An air of patience surrounded him, as though he wouldn't leave without my answer.
Something warm uncurled around my heart.
The one that had been shattered a few times before I left my home country and decided to take a hiatus in a whole new place oceans away from everything I knew.
Don’t panic, don't panic, don’t–
But oddly enough, with this strange man, in the middle of a packed fair, the familiar onset of tension eased. I busied myself with unwrapping the sticky treat and took a testing bite. My taste buds shot onto high alert as the double sweet and sour flavor everywhere.
"Oh, wow,” I managed, without sticking my lips and teeth together. “That's good."
"Told you." He waved his apple high in triumph. “Broomcorn has the best of everything.”
I raised my eyebrows and licked my lips. “Everything, huh?”
A dark gaze tracked the movement. “Yeah.” His voice came out a little lower, raspier.
He cleared his throat. “I’m Zack. This might sound stalkerish, but I knew you were new in town.
Everyone knows everything here. I wanted to invite you to the varsity game on the weekend.
I don’t think they do them quite the way we do where you come from?
” The lilt at the end of his sentence made it a question.
I got stuck somewhere around the subject just before that, though. Home. My stomach twisted, and the panic started in a fresh wave.
I hid behind my sticky apple-holding hand. "I don't go much for sports…" I trailed off, unsure how I was going to get around this conversation with the man who just brought me a treat I couldn't escape.
I don’t want to escape.
Huh. That was new.
The new guy—Zack—shrugged. "Basketball isn't for everyone. My sister hates it.”
“You have a little sister?" Somehow I could imagine this oversized giant of a man playing basketball in his backyard with a tiny girl, showing her how to bounce the ball about.
He coughed behind his fist and half-eaten apple.
"I have two big sisters," he corrected me.
"One owns that bakery right there. Audrey is a genius with food.
The other is a lawyer in New York City. I don't think she's been to a game since she was about ten.
" Another shrug, more self-depreciating this time.
“The magic wore off for her about then.”
I followed his gestures and the story he didn’t tell about missing family. I get that part. “It’s hard when you don’t see them.”
“I have a brother, too. He’s local." His gaze never left mine. “We used to fight like coyotes when we were kids. Now he lives a few farms over, and we barely see each other.” He rocked back on his heels. "You're the new elementary school teacher."
.
"Uh," I started, unsure of this reaction after the talking to I’d had from the local school’s principal earlier in the week. Does a flirty basketball player count as uncouth?
"One of the boys on the team said the new teacher was hot." He grinned.
Somebody walking past slapped my apple admirer on the back of the head.
I smothered a giggle that shouldn't have erupted for the objectification that fell out of the guy's mouth. Maybe it is time to go. A girl wearing tights bearing skulls and dressed in a short tutu and corset in theme for the night with a batty head band trotted past me carrying a tray of Slushie cups. I bit my lip. I guessed that kind of dress was definitely out of my lane. Zack’s gaze followed mine, lit with interest. Definitely time to go.
"This has been nice –" I edged towards the coffee van.
"You're from Austria, right?" Zack followed me, not giving up, apparently.
I slid into place at the end of the line which was only two customers deep.
Zack joined me. I sent him a semi-exasperated glance, but there was something kind of giant-puppy-like endearing about the big man.
Part of me was prepared to do a runner, and disappear through the parking lot, but part of me wanted to see how this played out.
Maybe that was how I’d end up as a statistic on the local news station, but I didn’t think so. Well, I hoped not.
“I'm from Australia," I exaggerated both my accent and my pronunciation.
He nodded enthusiastically. Aussie, just like you pronounced it.”
My teeth clutch ground together when it came out more like ass–ie, but I kept on smiling. If he could do it, then I would too. It was going to be one of those days. Nights.
I edged forward when the line moved, keeping my coveted space as more people filled in behind me.
“I'm just going to get myself a coffee.” I held up a hand when he drew his wallet from his pocket.
“And I'm going to pay for it myself, and then I'm going to walk around the fair.
It was really nice to meet you, Zack," I said carefully.
"You too, Hazel," he said promptly. That infectious smile was back on demand.
Damnit, I liked it too much. What was it with this guy?
"Mhmm,” I murmured. “And thank you for the apple. That was very nice of you." I bit my lip. “But please don't go buying me anything else?”
“No promises," he said, without budging, though his eyes damn well sparkled. They sparkled. "You got a ride home, Teach?"
I cuddled my apple, unwilling to accept the warmth that filled me. After a fourteen hour flight to LA, then a bunny hop here, I’m okay to walk the few blocks home. And I'm feeling tired so…"
Oops, that left way too many connotations out in the open for this conversation. Fortunately, my apple bearing jock didn't opt to take one.
"We're coming into Halloween,” he started.
"I thought that was October? Isn’t it September?” My world and its relative seasons might have flipped upside down recently but it didn’t take the months along with it. “Unless Kansas celebrates in other ways,” I joked.
Zack’s head tipped to one side. "It is, but we start preparing in September in Broomcorn Hollow. Halloween is a full eight week celebration here. No time is wasted during fall.”
"Autumn,” I murmured, stuck on southern hemisphere lingo.
"If you say so.” He watched me curiously. “Maybe I can show you around town later? We have a haunted house and a corn maze. There will be some kid’s entertainment that the school will put on too you should probably familiarize yourself with as well.”
Huh. So that’s the plan. It all fell into place. "So you want to play tour guide for me?"
His offer wasn’t stalkerish after all, but it was kinda cute. And I’d benefit, because that had been the other part of my talking to earlier in the week: understand the town, familiarize myself with everything in Broomcorn Hollow so when the kids asked, I understood.
Zack bounced on his toes, making him seem taller than ever. “Exactly. Are you up for that, Teach?"
I pressed my lips together as the line shuffled forward. "Let me think about it and get a few nights sleep. On my own," I added quickly when he opened his mouth.
Zack took a respectful step backward. "Hazel.
Once you've had a week settling into your classroom, I'm gonna come and check in with you. Maybe even try to drag into a kid’s training session for basketball.
Just a short one, okay? And then I'd like to show you around the town one weekend.
Nothing more. Maybe some spooky themes. Coffee can be on the list. How's that? "
I stared up at him, afraid I’d kink my neck. Zack had definitely found his calling in basketball. The man was a giant. What the hell am I getting myself into?
"All right?" I tried not to screw up my eyes as I agreed to the tour-date. The last person moved out of the way on the lane to pumpkin spiced coffee.
“One—” I scoured the list, trying to work out what on earth a flavored cappuccino was called and pointed at the tallest coffee I could find and the flavor list. “That, please?”
“Pumkin Spiced latte, please.” Zack leaned over my shoulder and rapped his knuckles lightly on the counter. “With pecan. It’s her first.”
“Ooh, virgin. Nice.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, swinging my hair forward to hide the heat that flushed my cheeks.
“No problem.” A warm hand pressed lightly to my spine. The contact sent a jolt through me that stole my breath. The hair on my neck moved, and Zack spoke into my ear. “See you later in the week, Hazel.”
I clutched the remains of my apple, staring straight forward.
This is not why I came here. Hooking up with a local basketball hero had never been on my dance card.
Or my Halloween card. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, a Black woman with braided silky hair stared at me with a smile on her face.
Pumpkins and witches riding broomsticks decorated the insides of the coffee van. Spices were scattered across her apron and the scent hit me in full force. I suppressed a sneeze as she passed over my coffee and I pulled out my card to pay.
“It gets me all the time too.” She looked at me with sympathy. “The spice, I mean. Especially the ginger and the cinnamon. Zach’s harmless," she said plainly. “And I think you'll be good for him. For each other, ever. But don't you take any shit from him, okay?"
“I mean, I didn’t come out here to hook up with anyone,” I muttered, then slowed my speech and repeated the whole sentence all over again for her to understand.
Her grin was the infectious sort. It must be contagious here. “It’s on the house, Aussie. Welcome to town."
I stuttered out my reply and turned away, hoping I made the right decision to move to Broomcorn Hollow after all.