Page 18 of Baking Spirits Bright!

“Yeah. I like to travel to different rural areas and learn about their heritage and traditions.” I nod toward the window. “Like that mansion. What’s the deal with a house that fancy across from cows?”

She laughs. The driver speaks again before Erica can.

“To your right is the old Vanderburke Mansion, now the home of MLB pitching legend Nate ‘the Great’ Miller.”

“Well, that answers my question.” I smile at Erica.

“Fun fact, Nate the Great is engaged to my first cousin.”

“Really?”

She nods. “Brooke. They were the people with the kid when you picked me up.”

“Oh yeah. The same girl from the restaurant.”

“Yep.”

We turn onto a main road, and Morgan announces the decorated houses as we pass. The next long drive we go down leads to Gamer’s Paradise. It’s worthy of a magazine cover and nothing like I imagined a hunting destination would be.

There is a Christmas tree made of hay bales with a spotlight on it. Morgan explains that they added this for decoration to deflect from the shooting-range tree painted on a pile of dirt. Of course that makes everyone look for the pile of dirt even more.

“We paint hay like pumpkins back home.”

“That sounds fun.” Erica grins.

I glance at my feet, not sure why I randomly offered that information. I decide to steer the conversation away from me, so she won’t ask more about my work.

“So, the bake-off. Your mom and aunt made some good-looking pies.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure which one we’ll enter yet, but I’m leaning toward the cinnamon apple.”

“That sounds good.”

The bus drives through downtown Apple Cart. I watch a huge Santa blow on top of the Piggly Wiggly when we stop in the parking lot. Half the people get off, including the older couple beside us. I turn to Erica, confused.

Morgan announces, “We’d like to say good night to the GAP ministry. It’s always a pleasure to have God’s Active People joining us. We invite the rest of you to stay put for the Wisteria leg of the tour.”

Erica shrugs. A few new people get on the bus, including Woody. They fill the front seats, leaving Erica and me alone. I’m glad Woody hasn’t noticed us, or he’d likely sit beside us.

We laugh at the conversations we overhear, especially from the woman with Woody, who randomly sings parts of “HardCandy Christmas.” Erica fills me in on his wife, Misty, who leads a caroling group every year.

After a few miles, we pass their RV where I’m staying. Woody brags about how many lights he added this year.

“No wonder you can’t sleep.”

I nod at Erica. Next is Double Drive. It’s the main attraction, with tons of lights and blowups across a large mini-golf course. A couple dressed like Santa and Mrs. Clause wave to us from the entrance.

“That’s the owner and his girlfriend,” Erica says. “They met when she filmed a documentary on his mom’s cookies.”

“Carla’s Cookies?”

“Yep.”

“I read about that before I saw them at the cow drop.”

“You read a lot, huh?”

“About stuff I’m interested in.”

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