by Linnea West
After my triumphant retelling at the Donut Hut, I had over twenty people help me transport things out to the field and get them set up for the Halloween Hayride. We finished set up even earlier than I had previously planned because of all of the extra help.
Now Max and I were sitting in two of the chairs set out by the food stand and watching everyone go by. We had gotten a pretty good ribbing when we had ordered our hot dogs in our ketchup and mustard costumes, but we laughed along at the absurdity of it all. Now we were comfortable in our chairs next to a fire barrel enjoying the last of our hot dogs as we watched everyone walk by. Every few minutes, someone would stop to congratulate me and Max on catching Earl's killer. After the fifth time, Max rolled his eyes at me after the well wishers left.
"You'd think we were some ace police duo," he said. "But this is the first and last murder investigation you'll solve."
For now, I happily munched down the last bites of my hot dog and watched the kids in costumes that were running by. By this point in my life, I thought I'd probably have a few kids of my own. And weirdly enough at one point, I figured I'd have them with the guy sitting next to me. Life was funny that way.
I looked at Max in his ridiculous head to toe red outfit and wondered if he was thinking the same thing. More than likely, he was thinking about whether he should eat another hot dog. He had always had a bottomless pit of a stomach.
"Well, I see you stuck with that ridiculous condiment theme you initially suggested to me," Clark said as he strolled up. He was dressed as a cowboy. He had certainly picked a more handsome costume than I had made Max dress up in. "Good thing you found someone to agree to it."
Clark started laughing until Max elbowed him in the side. He doubled over a bit and I laughed along with them until I noticed Chelsea walking up behind Clark. She was dressed in a cowgirls outfit with cowboy boots and a big cowboy hat over two red braids. She was holding a steaming cup of hot cider in each hand.
"Oh hi there," she said coyly. "I was just looking for my cowboy."
She winked at Clark, who chuckled nervously as he grabbed his cup of cider from her. So this is what Chelsea had meant when she was being so mysterious about Clark. I couldn't be mad at Clark, but I had to wonder if he picked her simply because we don't get along.
"Ah, I see you found someone to be your cowgirl after I turned you down," I said before I could stop myself. No matter how nice I had been to Chelsea earlier, I wasn't going to let her think she got the last word.
Chelsea scowled at me as Clark kicked at a few rocks. Max couldn't help but grin at everyone. He was the winner in their unofficial competition this time.
"We need to go get in line for the Hayride," Chelsea said as she grabbed Clark's arm. "Come on, let's go."
Chelsea marched away, dragging Clark by the sleeve. Clark looked back apologetically and waved goodbye. No matter what, neither he nor Max had won. There was no winning because it wasn't a competition. It was all just fun and games.
Max reached over and grabbed my hand. For a while, we just sat holding hands. The warmth from the fire barrel was just enough to stop me from shivering. I was just thinking of how good that hot cup of cider had looked when I noticed Susy and Ralph holding hands next to a large stack of pumpkins.
"Hold on Max. I'll be right back."
I stood up and walked over to where they were whispering back and forth to each other. As I walked, I had to wave off several more well-wishers, but I was determined to talk to Susy and Ralph before I lost them in the crowd. When they saw me, both of them beamed at me.
"Hi Tessa, we were just saying we hoped we saw you here," Susy said. Ralph nodded along. He was looking happier than ever. "We both wanted to thank you for helping to clear Ralph's name. This situation was just what we needed to figure out our relationship once and for all."
"I'm so glad to hear that," I said. I couldn't help but be a little nosy. "What did you have to figure out?"
"Well, we've decided we are going to get married," Ralph said. "Nothing fancy or anything. And we want to try to stick around down here. Susy has the car lot now and we can run that together while we take care of the kids."
I couldn't help but smile as Ralph put his hand on Susy's stomach. Nothing physically gave away the pregnancy yet, but Susy was positively glowing. They looked so perfect together that I just knew I should capture the moment.
"Congratulations!" I said. "Hand me one of your phones, you both need a picture of this happy moment."
Ralph took out his smart phone, brought up the camera app and handed it to me. He stepped back next to Susy. They turned to face each other and Ralph put his oversized hand gently on her stomach. Susy put her hand on his waist. They weren't actually ready, but I snapped a few pictures because you could practically see the love floating back and forth between them. I also snapped one once they were in position and smiling at me.
"We will have to celebrate sometime," I said as I handed Ralph his phone back. "For now, I should be getting in line to ride the hayride. I suppose the head of the Hayride committee should actually ride the hayride."
I turned to look for Max, but the chair he had been sitting in was empty. Before I could even wonder where he was, I spotted my red clad man coming towards me with two steaming cups of our own hot cider. Max was so good at predicting what small things would make me happy. He handed me the hot cup and I blew on it a few times before taking a satisfying drink of the hot, cinnamon tasting beverage.
"That hits the spot," I said, trying not to gulp it all down and burn my mouth. "How did you get these so fast? The line at the food stand is so long."
"They looked so good when Chelsea brought her cups over that I knew we needed some too," Max said. "All I had to do was flash the badge a few times to get to the front."
I narrowed my eyes at Max before he backtracked. He burst into giggles.
"Kidding, kidding. But I may have mentioned that one of the cups was for the head of the Halloween Hayride committee."
I had to laugh as we headed towards the line for the hayride, but when we got there I was quickly ushered to the front of the line. I used my best Minnesotan excuses, but I knew nothing would stand up against the fact that I had caught a murderer today and still managed to spearhead the Hayride. So I accepted my fast track up to the front.
When the hayride came back around to pick up the next group, I was ushered to the prized spot at the front of the wagon. Max and I settled in and tucked one of the provided plaid blankets over out legs to keep out the cold as we rode through the spooky scenes.
As the wagon drove through the course, it drove through several scenes. I snuggled up next to Max as we drove through a medieval torture chamber complete with a stretching rack and then the dungeon of a mad scientist who was bringing to life some sort of creepy monster. Everyone on the hayride was laughing and chatting back and forth, alternatively jumping from people popping out from behind sets and trees and giggling about the silly parts of the hayride.
As I looked around at everything, I had to admit that Ralph had been right. I was lucky to grow up in Shady Lake and I was lucky to be living here now. Small town Minnesota might not be everyone's cup of tea, but right now it was my hot cup of cider.
Coming Soon
Christmas Shop Murder
Tessa Schmidt, lover of all things seasonal, is happy to hear that Shady Lake is going to have their very own Christmas shop. Sue Peterson is going to turn the Used-A-Bit, her second hand store, into a Christmas shop set to open on Black Friday. Tessa's family owns a bed and breakfast and she has decided to undertake the large task of decorating for the holidays, so the new shop is just what she needs. Unfortunately, the landlord of the building has died and the new landlord, Claire Freeman, is not willing to cut Sue any slack on her past due rent. Once December is over, Sue's store is out and Claire's self-service dog washing and grooming salon is moving in.
As if Tessa isn't busy enough decorating and working at the bed and breakfast along with volu
nteering to help Sue set up the Christmas shop, her mother slips on a patch of ice and breaks her leg leaving, all of the family holiday preparations to Tessa. Tessa has so much on her plate that it is almost overflowing.
But then Black Friday comes and Claire is found dead in the Christmas Shop just before the grand opening. Multiple people close to Tessa come under suspicion, so once again she finds herself investigating a murder to make sure that everyone can be home in time for Christmas. Will Tessa be able to solve the murder while maintaining her holiday cheer?
Christmas Shop Murder is available now on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.
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About the Author
Linnea West lives in Minnesota with her husband and two children. She taught herself to read at the age of four and published her first poem in a local newspaper at the age of seven. After a turn as a writer for her high school newspaper, she went to school for English Education and Elementary Education. She didn't start writing fiction until she was a full time working mother. Besides reading and writing, she spends her time chasing after her children, watching movies with her husband, and doing puzzle books. Learn more about her and her upcoming books by subscribing to her weekly newsletter.
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Copyright
Halloween Hayride Murder by Linnea West
© 2018 Mikki Tuohy
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:
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