Autumn After (Waiting Hearts World)

9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Willow

It was a few days away from the first day of the Autumn’s Howl festival, and it was like an electric charge filled the air. We were starting to get ready for the opening event, which apparently was a huge deal here.

Cedric had told me about it, but seeing it firsthand was an out-of-body experience.

The festival had started small, years ago, but had grown into this big event that generated a lot of income for the pack. Nearby packs of other shifters came to celebrate with them and purchase the goodies that were available. In addition to a lot of homemade crafts, the Silverpine pack was also well-known for their woodworking, and packs from all over came to buy the custom picnic tables, swings, chicken coops, and other things.

Everybody embraced fall, and that worked for me. I loved fall. And the Silverpine pack territory was gorgeous this time of year. The trees that surrounded the home were tall and lush during the summer, so now they were half-filled with the reds, yellows, and oranges of the changing leaves. The ones that had fallen coated the forest floor in a dazzling display.

The pack also grew pumpkins, varying from little ones that could sit on your table or be used for making pies, all the way up to ones so big I wasn’t sure I could lift them without help. And the apples… 12 varieties and each one yummier than the next.

My skin buzzed with excitement. There was no way the other festival I had planned on going to could compare to this. There were so many smiling faces and friendly waves. It was nothing like the food festival I had originally planned to go to. I had a feeling it would be a thousand times better.

It’s funny how, at one time, that festival had seemed so important to me, like my life was going to pivot based on my performance at that one event. But really, it wasn’t the event that was important at all—it was breaking down and meeting Cedric. This right here was the only reason it mattered now.

Fern was on cider duty, and their brother Sid had sent me over to let her know and to tell her I was her helper. I wasn’t sure what cider duty entailed, but I figured it was probably easy. Basically, it was juicing the apples—probably. I’d find out soon enough.

Everyone in the pack was running around with their lists. There was a lot to be done in a very short amount of time and most of it had to be done close to the last minute. The amazing thing was that there wasn’t a grumble in the place. Each person seemed more excited about the festival than the next.

“Oh, I love cider duty!” Fern beamed. “Let’s go.”

She grabbed my wrist and started dragging me in the direction of the apples. You wouldn’t know she was younger than me by the way she was acting—more like an older sibling or possibly a babysitter. She led me down to where there were huge barrels of apples.

Everywhere we went was a unique display of fall decor. There were pumpkins stacked several feet high, gourds of all shapes and colors, and dried cornstalks.

“We get to turn all of this into fresh cider.” She gestured to the wagonload of apples just waiting to be pressed.

“And how do we do that?”

“Oh, we have a machine, but our first task is to wash them. And this is the fun part.”

I didn’t see how washing them was fun, but I was happy to experience it. At least I thought she was serious. Maybe she was being sarcastic. I’d find out soon enough. “I’m going to have to take your word for it.”

“My brother helped me make this.” She pointed near the building. There seemed to be an assembly line set up so we could wash apples, then move them down the belt to the press.

For some reason that was when it clicked, when I realized why I was part of cider duty. Cedric knew how comfortable I felt with Fern, and she with me. If this was her project, it made sense that I would help her.

We grabbed one of the barrels and carried it toward the side of the building, where there was a long setup that looked like a flower box—the tall ones on legs—but when we got there, I realized it was more like those little mining tables you see at tourist traps. You know, where you could pay $10 for a bucket of sand to see if you could find treasure, which always ended up being polished stones of zero value, but still felt rewarding.

“We’re going to wash them all, and then we’ll crunch them. There’s a lot of satisfaction in the crunching part.”

“I’m sure there is.”

“All the extra bits we don’t use go to the pigs. They go crazy for it.”

Cedric had shown me where they kept the few livestock that they raised. There were pigs and dairy goats. Plus, there were a few of the fainting goats, though they were mostly just pets because the Alpha’s wife loved them.

We laid the apples in the box, and she turned on the water so it was flowing through. It was quite a clever little contraption. I was sure there was probably something automated and fancy she could buy that would do the same thing, but why? This worked perfectly well, and probably for a fraction of the cost.

At first, I attempted to keep variety of apples separated and organized, but Fern said that wasn’t necessary—they mixed them on purpose to give a better flavor. That made my job exponentially easier. We got into a good rhythm: washing the apples, crushing them into cider, capping the jugs, and repeating the process.

“Most of the cider gets bottled and sold. The rest we keep and make cider donuts with. But some of these we will turn into slushies,” Fern said. “Apple cider slushies… yum.”

“I’ve never had one of those, but it sounds delicious.” I loved cider, but icy-cold cider, that had to bring the flavor to a whole new level. Then again, warm cider on a chilly fall night with a few fresh cider donuts would really hit the spot.

“It’s way better than it sounds, and it sounds delicious, so be sure to save some for the day of the festival.”

I’d be lying if I said I was a little disappointed I had to wait.

The work was simple but time-consuming. We worked well together and fell into a rhythm.

Once we finished with the first few crates, she suggested we take a break and join everyone for lunch. There was a table of sandwiches and salads that different pack members had made. It was like a big old-fashioned potluck.

I filled my plate, and the two of us sat down at one of the picnic tables. Soon, others joined, and I realized for the first time that I knew all of their names. I might not have been here long, but I was already starting to feel like I belonged. People smiled and waved at me as I walked around, and more than one person pulled me into a hug.

I really liked it.

“So, the cider takes a few days to ferment, right? So what we just made won’t be ready for the festival?”

“Correct,” James, one of the other pack members said. “We did a huge batch two weeks ago that’s ready now and will be served up during the festival. Whatever we don’t serve will probably be sold. Except for the stuff we keep on hand for ourselves. The batches you’re working on are just for extra so anyone who visits can watch the process.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!”

He grinned. “It is. It was one of the better ideas we’ve had since some of the younger generation joined the committee. That and letting the kids make their own donuts.”

“Oh. I’ll have to visit where that is happening,” I said.

James smiled. “That was your mate’s idea.

A sense of pride filled me at the mention of Cedric. “That’s pretty cool.”

“What’s pretty cool will be having your food truck here. We can never keep up with the demand. In past years people have left the festival hungry, and that’s never good for business.”

Heat filled my cheeks. “I’d be happy to help.” Cedric hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but I would be more than willing to use my truck for whatever they needed.

James winked at me. “Careful, you say that too loud and you’ll be on the committee for next year.”

That didn’t sound so bad. Seemed to me that it would be a perfect opportunity for me to use my skills. Me and my truck showed up at the perfect time.