Page 28 of A Second Chance

“No. That wasn’t the purpose.”

Gwen considered asking what the purpose had been, but decided against getting personal. “Thanks for teaching me how to use the bow,” she said, handing it to him. He looked as if he’d expected the question, and startled that she didn’t go there. Gwen walked across the grass back to the chairs.

“What’d you think?” Autumn asked, taking Danny from Rebecca who’d ran across the yard to retrieve the run-away toddler.

“That was fun. My arms will be sore tomorrow.”

“It’s a great arm workout.” Autumn paused like she wanted to ask something else, then thought better of it.

“What?”

“Oh… well, we’re going to The Harvest Festival on Saturday. Do you wanna come?”

Jason said he was hunting on Saturday, so it seemed like a safe bet. “That sounds fun. Count me in.”

Autumn smiled, “Good. I need to get Danny inside for a diaper change and check on the chili in the crock pot. Stay for dinner?”

“Sure,” Gwen nodded, and made an extra effort not to glance in Jason’s direction.

Eleven

The smell of funnel cakes filled the chilly air that afternoon at the festival. Gwen wandered through the craft booths with Autumn, Hannah, and Rebecca. She investigated several stalls of handmade jewelry to see if there was anything that could inspire her. The funky pieces caught her eye that would serve as a jumping off point.

Outside of a craft tent, she spotted the guys, including Jason, heading their way. “You said they were hunting today?”

“They hunt at some god-awful hour of the morning. They came home a while ago,” Autumn replied, before bounding over to Dan, greeting him by throwing herself on him. The other girls greeted their guys, and she stared at a cloud shaped like a noose. Well, that might be her imagination. Gwen wandered into the next booth of a woodworker and busied herself inspecting the carvings on a table.

“Hi,” Jason said at her side.

“Hey,” she replied.

“How are you?”

“Fine. Kill any innocent animals today?” she asked with the sole purpose of irritating him and not focusing on the stubble of a beard forming.

“Eat any innocent animals lately?”

“No. I only eat animals convicted of crimes.”

This brought out a laugh. “No, I bagged nothing today. Didn’t really want to, anyway.”

She looked at him with a healthy dose of skepticism.

“I’m serious,” he replied. “I have nothing to do with one if I shot it and no one to share the meat with.”

“There’s an entire group of people to help with that.” She nodded toward them all in a circle, heads together whispering. “You hunters want to get a buck and brag about it.”

“No doubt about it,” he replied, picking up a carved bear and holding it up to her. “Roar.”

Gwen laughed and shook her head.

“But I don’t need to brag.”

“Right, unlike every man other on the planet.” Gwen moved on to the next table of burned wood signs.

“If you think every man needs to brag, maybe you need to meet different types of men.”

She traced her fingers along the burned indentation of the word ‘welcome’ on a sign. “Probably so. I’ve been on a self-imposed man moratorium.”

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