Tricking the Souls

by Annabella Michaels

  “You’re late,” Carter said with a smirk as he zeroed in on my hand. Apparently, I hadn’t been as discreet as I’d hoped.

  I flipped him my middle finger. “Are we gonna get going or did you want to stand around and talk about my cock? Because trust me, it would be a long talk.” Carter busted out laughing while Lachlan turned to me with an incredulous look as if he thought maybe I’d lost my mind. I flashed him my most innocent smile and he shook his head, not buying it at all.

  When everyone was ready, we drove back to the little town where we’d gotten our groceries. When we’d been there before, we’d noticed signs about their annual Pumpkin Festival and had decided to check it out. What we saw when we got there, was shocking.

  The normally sleepy little town appeared to have come alive overnight. Colorful booths lined both sides of the main street, stretching out down the road as far as I could see. Hundreds of people had shown up for the event and were milling around, checking out what the owners of the booths had to offer. It took several minutes to find parking spots for each one of us, but finally, we climbed out of our cars.

  “I didn’t even know this town had this many people. Is it always this busy?” I asked Caleb as he walked up beside our car.

  “We never came to Tennessee this time of year when we were kids because we were always in school then, but I was talking with the cashier at the grocery store and she told me this is the biggest event put on by the town each year. Apparently, it’s become their claim to fame and people from not only this county, but all the neighboring counties, come to the festival to have fun,” Caleb explained.

  I noticed the concern on Micah’s face as he looked toward the crowd of people. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. We don’t have any extra security with us right now and it would take my guys several hours to get here.”

  I frowned. I’d been having such a good time that week, that I hadn’t even thought about what we’d do if Carter and I were spotted by a crowd of fans. It was easy to forget we were famous when we were with our friends because they never treated us as if we were different. Of course, they knew the real us, the goofy, silly, crazy-about-our-husbands-and-kids kind of men that we really were, while everyone else only knew what they saw in concert or TV interviews.

  “I don’t want to ruin everyone else’s good time. I can go back to the cabin and hang out while you guys stay here,” I offered.

  “I’m staying with you,” Lachlan said as he took my hand. I gave him an appreciative smile.

  “I really don’t think it’ll be a problem,” Carter told us. “I’ve been coming to this town my whole life, and no one has ever treated me like I was different from anyone else. I’m not sure if they are just really respectful because of the whole Southern hospitality thing or if they truly don’t recognize me, but it’s never been an issue.”

  “I think it’s because most of them listen to country music. Rock stars aren’t even on their radar,” Caleb added.

  “Yes, but even if someone grew up in the sticks, only listening to bluegrass, that doesn’t mean they’ve never heard of Beyoncé,” Micah pointed out.

  Landon placed a hand on Micah’s shoulder. “I honestly think it’ll be okay but if it makes you feel better, we’ll all stay close together. If things start to get crazy, we’ll head back to our cars and get out of here. Are you guys comfortable with that?” he asked, directing his question to me and Carter. We each looked to our husbands to make sure they were all right with it too before nodding.

  “Fine,” Micah agreed. “But the first sign of trouble, and we’re out of here. Hopefully, we can just fly under the radar.” We all agreed and then started walking toward the main section of town.

  Thankfully, all our worries had been for nothing. No one even looked our way except to smile or say a quick hello as they passed by and we soon found ourselves relaxing and having a good time. Even Micah seemed less tense as the morning wore on and no one reacted to our presence.

  Even more surprising however, was the fact that no one reacted when any of us held hands. “Whoever said small towns can’t be progressive, was wrong,” I mused.

  “I’ve always believed that negativity lies in the individual themselves, not where they grew up. We all get to choose how we will treat others,” Lachlan said.

  I lifted our hands and kissed his knuckles. “You are a very wise man, Lachlan Edwards.”

  He chuckled. “And you’re biased because you love me.”

  “True, but I still think you’re wise,” I said with a grin.

  We walked around for most of the day. There was so much to see and do, including games, handmade crafts and even face painting for the kids. There was also food. So much food. I’d never known that pumpkin could be used in so many recipes but somehow they’d figured out a way to put it in nearly every dish; ice cream, muffins, cheesecake, and someone had even made pumpkin chili which sounded gross but was surprisingly tasty.

  “Here you go,” I said, handing Lachlan the stuffed black bear I’d won by tossing a ring and having it land on the top of a soda bottle, that is, after nearly twenty tries.

  “Aww, Max will love this.”

  “It’s not for Max, it’s for you.” I shrugged. “That’s how it always is in movies anyway. A couple goes to some fair, or in this case a festival, and one of them wins a prize for the person they love.” Lachlan stared at me and I began to feel silly. “You know what, never mind. That was dumb. We can just give it to Max.”

  I started to turn away, but Lachlan grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him. “No one has ever loved me the way you do. It’s not dumb, it’s sweet and I will cherish this bear forever.”

  Still feeling vulnerable, I searched his eyes to see if he was teasing me but all I saw there was his love for me. I felt my shoulders relax and I smiled at him. “I would win all of the prizes for you, if I could.”

  Lachlan laughed. “Then we’d have to rent a bus to get them all back home. Besides, I’m happy with this little guy. What do you think I should call him?”

  I rubbed my chin as if giving it a lot of thought then snapped my fingers. “How about Barry? Get it? A bear named Barry. That’s hilarious.”

  “Oh, you are truly a dad now. You’ve even got dad jokes down pat. No, I think I’ll call him Trickster to remind me of this week and all the fun we’ve had with our friends,” he told me, lovingly petting the top of the bear’s head.

  I snorted. “Trickster sounds perfect,” I agreed.

  We walked around some more but then someone mentioned there were other activities at the high school, so we headed there to have a look. What we found, had the kid in me jumping for joy.

  “Oh, my God. Pumpkin chucking? Where has this been all my life?” Carter called out dramatically. He looked at me because he knew I’d be just as stoked as he was. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

  I flashed him a wide, toothy grin as I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I sure do. Mayhem and destruction,” I announced with glee.

  “Hell yeah. Let’s smash some shit.” I turned to look at Micah, happy to see him just as excited as we were.

  The others laughed but didn’t hesitate to join us as we raced over to where several large wooden catapults were spaced out in a neat row. A sign posted, read that the engineering students at a nearby community college had designed the catapults as one of their classroom projects.

  I eyed the enormous pile of pumpkins on the ground as a woman spoke over a loudspeaker, explaining that anyone was allowed to participate as long as they made a small donation to the high school. She also pointed out the tables where all sorts of paints, markers, and cutting utensils were available, in case you wanted to personalize your pumpkin before chucking it.

  “So, come on and give it a try. It’s cheap therapy and a whole lot of fun,” she announced, making the whole crowd laugh.

  The lady collecting money smiled at us as we walked up. “Thanks for coming out. Would you like to make a donation? We’re trying to
raise enough money to get some new computers for the computer lab.”

  Lachlan pulled out his checkbook and began writing in it. “Yes, I would. My friends here are very excited about chucking these pumpkins. Is there a limit to how many they are allowed to smash?”

  “Well, we’d like to get at least a dollar for each pumpkin. They were all donated by farmers in our area and we’ve got over a thousand. If we get a dollar for each one, then that would be a lot of money towards our goal,” she explained pleasantly.

  “Sounds fair,” Lachlan told her. He handed her the check and then walked away, tucking his checkbook into his back pocket.

  I looked back over my shoulder at the lady as we headed toward the pile of pumpkins. She was staring at the check in her hands, her jaw dropped open and a strange expression on her face then she looked up at my husband then back at the check. Another woman happened to be walking by, and she grabbed her arm, saying something and pointing to the check then they both turned to look at us.

  I leaned over to whisper in Lachlan’s ear. “How much did you give her?”

  “Enough for every student to have their own laptop, if that’s what they want to do,” he answered as if it was no big deal. And for Lachlan, I knew it really wasn’t. Money didn’t matter to him, but helping others did.

  “Have I ever told you that you’re pretty amazing?”

  His cheeks turned pink and he smiled shyly. “Quite a few times actually, but I’ll never get tired of hearing that from you.”

  I laughed as I kissed his cheek. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too. More than anything.”

  After picking out the biggest, roundest pumpkins we could find, we went to stand in line for our turn at the catapults. “Are you sure you don’t want to personalize that?” Hudson pointed down at the pumpkin in my hands.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “I suppose, I could decorate it to look like our current president. It wouldn’t be that hard since it’s already orange,” I joked.

  He let out a booming laugh. “That would be awesome, but I was thinking more along the lines of someone you might know personally. This would be a good way to let your frustrations out if anyone or anything has been bothering you.”

  I glanced over at my husband who was busy talking with Micah and I shook my head. “Nah, I’m good. I spend every day surrounded by people I love and care about and who love and care about me. I never knew life could be like this, Hudson.”

  He wore a small smile as he listened. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, just...happy. I’m unbelievably happy and it’s all because of him,” I answered, my eyes still on Lachlan.

  “No, it’s because of you.” I moved my attention to Hudson, surprised by his response. “It was because of the hard work you put into yourself, in healing yourself that allowed you to get to this point. Lachlan is one of the finest men I know, but you wouldn’t have been able to love him properly if you didn’t learn to love yourself first.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” I answered sincerely but then decided to lighten the mood. “Of course, the sexy British accent didn’t hurt.”

  Hudson chuckled. “Well, now, an accent never hurt anyone. Neither does a uniform,” he added with a salacious grin.

  “What are you two talking about over here?” Matt asked as he and Isaac walked over.

  “Just accents and uniforms and how sexy they can be,” he replied.

  “Mmmm. Are we going to role-play later?” Isaac teased. Matt looked shocked that his husband had said that out loud while Hudson just looked intrigued.

  I watched as the three of them continued their banter. I could never imagine sharing Lachlan with anyone else. In fact, I’d break anyone who even tried to come between us. But seeing my three friends together, I had to admit that it worked for them. There was no doubt that they loved each other in equal measure, and I couldn’t be happier for them.

  When it was finally our turn to chuck our pumpkins, we lined up at the catapults. The workers who were running the show, ran through a list of instructions. I couldn’t believe they actually had to tell us not to sit on the catapults, but then I thought about some of the more harebrained ideas I’d had over the years and decided maybe it deserved to be said after all.

  I carefully placed my pumpkin into the bucket and then stepped behind the catapult where I got set to release the restraining rope. I looked down the line to my left and then down the right to see that my friends were all in position as well.

  “Ready?” Micah yelled.

  “Ready!” came a series of responses, including my own.

  “Three, two, one, FIRE!” he shouted.

  I released my rope and then raced forward, anxious to see the results. Thirteen pumpkins flew through the air at an incredible speed. They seemed to hover there for several minutes, although I knew it hadn’t actually taken that long, and then they began to plummet back down to the earth. They hit the ground with a sickening thud, smashing apart and sending pieces of pumpkin, seeds and orange pulp flying everywhere.

  I threw my fists in the air letting out a loud victory cry then looked over at Lachlan who was doing the same, exhilaration written all over his face. I watched him, taking in his joy and the simple happiness of the moment and I knew I would never forget this day for as long as I lived.

  As the sky turned dark, we headed out behind the school where they were giving hayrides through the woods and they had lighted jack-o’-lanterns on display. A sign posted at the beginning of the ride, stated that there were over two thousand jack-o’-lanterns which had all been carved by both the high school and community college art students.

  “I love that they’re utilizing so many kid’s talents for their festival,” Matt commented as we climbed onto the wagon and settled down on the bales of straw.

  “I wish more schools would do this,” Ryan replied.

  The hayride lasted about twenty minutes and I enjoyed every second of it with my arms wrapped around Lachlan. The kids in this community were clearly very talented as demonstrated by the artful depictions carved into the pumpkins. Instead of having the typical triangle eyes and noses, these jack-o’-lanterns had been carefully hand-carved to show different time periods throughout America’s history.

  We ooh’d and ahh’d over each display, but then grew silent as the wagon stopped in front of a section of jack-o’-lanterns depicting 9/11 and the war that followed. The scene was extremely moving especially, with Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” playing from a speaker hidden somewhere within the trees.

  Lachlan was quiet after that and I took his hand as we all walk back to our cars. “Are you okay?” I asked him.

  “Yes. It just touched me, in a very good way, to know that the people who serve in the military, the ones who sacrifice...everything, will never be forgotten,” he answered quietly as he stared up at the night sky. I knew he was thinking about his brother.

  “No, they’ll never be forgotten. Heroes should always be remembered.” I squeezed his hand, offering my support and he tilted his face back down toward me with an expression that was full of love and gratitude.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. I put my arm around him, and he leaned his head on my shoulder as we left the festival and walked to our cars.

  Everyone was tired by the time we made it back to the cabin, so we decided just to chill out and watch a scary movie. Carter and Ryan made a bunch of popcorn for everyone while Landon and Caleb gathered extra blankets from the hall closet in case anyone wanted to cover up, and then we all hunkered down to watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

  I’d seen it several times, but Isaac, Akio, and Landon all looked a bit squeamish. Halfway through the movie, I nudged Lachlan. “Want to have some fun?”

  He bit his lip and grinned. “What did you have in mind?” he whispered.

  “Follow me but be very quiet.” Everyone was so engrossed in the movie, it wasn’t very difficult to slip out of the room without being noticed.


  “Where are we going?” Lachlan asked once we were out of earshot.

  “We’re going outside. I saw an old shed out there the other day and Landon told me they used it to store old tools and stuff for working out of the yard. If we’re lucky, they’ll have exactly what we need.” I could tell he wasn’t quite sure what I meant by that, but he followed me anyway.

  We snuck out the back, shutting the door quietly behind us and quickly darted across the yard to where the shed was. It was old and the rusty hinges squeaked as I pulled the door open but luckily, we were too far from the house for it to alert anyone that we were up to something.

  Using the flashlight on my phone I found what I was searching for, hanging along the back wall. “Oh, this is going to be fun!” Lachlan looked at where I was shining the light and he grinned as my statement suddenly began to make sense.

  We worked together quickly, pulling the two chainsaws off the wall and making sure the parts all seemed to be in working order then ran back to the house and crept inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. As we reached the den where our friends were still watching the movie, I flashed a smile at my husband.

  I held my hand up, raising three fingers in the air and then slowly began counting them down until I reached one and then the two of us ran into the room yelling and holding the chainsaws over our heads as they roared to life.

  Chaos was the only way to describe what happened next as nine grown men darted in every direction, trying to get away from us, a few of them squealing like small children. The only ones who didn’t run were Micah and Landon because Micah was too busy pinning Landon to the couch as he used his body to protect his husband.

  The whole scene was so funny that I busted out laughing and had to turn off my chainsaw before I actually hurt anyone. I set it down on the floor, doubling over as tears pooled in my eyes. Next to me, Lachlan was just as hysterical, wiping tears from his own eyes and struggling to catch his breath in between rounds of laughter.

  “You’re assholes!” Gio growled. “I could kick your asses for that.”