Page 66 of Trick or Tease

“Good,” I said, forcing my voice to sound normal. “Just getting the trail set up for tonight’s hayrides.”

“Awesome. Hey, did you finish all that paperwork stuff? The LLC and insurance and all that legal nightmare you were working on?”

I nodded, grateful for the change of subject. “Yeah, we’re covered. Filed the articles of organization yesterday, got temporary insurance coverage in place, and I drafted liability waivers for everyone to sign. You’re officially protected.”

“Dude, you’re a lifesaver,” Billy said, clapping me on the shoulder. “I was lying awake last night thinking about all the ways this could go wrong legally. I didn’t even know about half that shit until you told me.”

“Well, you can sleep better now. The business is properly set up, insured, and⁠—”

My phone started ringing with that distinctive FaceTime tone. I glanced at the screen and saw Mom’s contact photo smiling back at me.

“It’s Mom and Dad,” I announced, accepting the call.

The screen filled with both of my parents’ faces, squished together as they tried to fit into the camera frame. They were clearly sitting in the RV. I could see pine trees through the window behind them.

“Boys!” Mom practically shouted, loud enough that Billy, Lucy, and Sabrina all gathered around my phone to see. “How are things going? We’ve been dying to hear about opening day!”

“It was incredible,” Billy said, leaning into the frame. “We had hundreds of people show up. Way more than we expected.”

“Hundreds?” Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” Lucy chimed in. “We could barely keep up. Garrett had to jump in and help organize everything.”

I caught Sabrina glancing at me when Lucy mentioned my name, but she quickly looked away.

“That’s wonderful!” Mom beamed. “And, Garrett, you’re still there helping out?”

“Yeah, I’m sticking around a bit longer,” I said. “Making sure everything gets off the ground properly.”

“Where are you guys right now?” Sabrina asked, peering at the screen.

“We’re almost to Yellowstone,” Dad said. “We’re going to drive in tomorrow.”

“You made good time,” I said.

“Yeah, we wanted to get over here before it snowed.”

We chatted a bit longer before we said our goodbyes. It was good seeing them and how happy they were. They deserved it.

“You guys need any help?” Billy asked.

I looked at Sabrina. That “talk” was looming. May as well get it over with.

“We’re good,” I said.

“Good. We’re going to head into town and pick up the cocoa and stuff for tonight.”

“We’ll be here,” I said.

She gestured toward the trail that led up to the house, away from where Billy and Lucy would be working. “Walk with me.”

I hesitated, remembering the last time I’d followed her somewhere secluded. My body still remembered exactly how that had ended.

“Only if you swear there isn’t some scare prank waiting for me,” I said. “No fake spiders dropping from trees, no teenagers in clown masks jumping out of bushes.”

The corner of her mouth twitched upward. “I promise. No pranks.”

That small smile gave me hope that maybe this conversation wasn’t going to be as bad as I had been imagining. Maybe she wasn’t about to tell me I was an asshole and to stay the hell away from her. Though, to be fair, I probably deserved both of those things.