Pumpkin Patch Change in Plans

Rylan -- Early September

His face graced too many places around the school as he limped toward the coach's office. Before the accident, he had been the biggest story ever coming out of the football program. The first five-star recruit from the city and the first one to start at quarterback for an FBS school in a playoff game. He was even the runner-up for the top prize for a college player in the country. Now it felt like everyone who saw him had pity in their eyes. Somedays, it was all he could do to not be angry at his own image in the mirror. It was his fault for trying to play hero ball in the spring game instead of avoiding contact like the plague.

Rylan was trying to prove something coming back from an injury that had plagued him his junior year. A new transfer was starting to make waves, reaching for his job. At least, that was how Rye saw things. In reality, the team was behind him. He was the betting favorite for the first quarterback in the draft the following spring. Had he not gotten hurt in the middle of the previous season, he could have left as a redshirt junior and been taken in the top ten. A broken throwing arm needed him to return for one more season to prove to the scouts that the injury had not degraded his ability.

A couple drives up and down the field in the spring game should have been enough to prove to himself that he was back, but he asked the coach for one more play when Rylan noticed the scouts in the front row. It was just a bootleg that he had run hundreds of times. The defense did an outstanding job covering the wideouts. He should have thrown the ball away when the linebacker had him covered up. Instead, Rye tried ducking between the fullback that had rolled out to block and the guard that had pulled with him.

The goal had been to pick up a couple yards for the first down and slide; Rylan had on the red penny and shouldn't have been tackled by anyone. He didn't count on an errant tuft of loose grass to be ignorant of the rules. He lost his footing and fell face-first into the turf, but even that should have done nothing except create something for the guys to laugh at when watching the tape later in the week. He had been on the receiving end of that type of footage many times during his playing career. His fullback got knocked on his ass by a walk-on linebacker trying to make the team. Even that should have just created a contusion on his knee and some extra time in the ice bath. When his three-hundred-pound lineman stumbled, the fullback's helmet was the anvil, and the lineman's knee was one hell of a hammer.

It was a compound fracture of his tibia and fibula. The break was so bad that the feed from the game went dead instead of showing the impact. The accident practically amputated the limb on the field. After several surgeries and a terrible infection, the surgeon had no choice but to complete the act. Rylan wasn't used to the prosthetic. He still had a crutch under one arm to keep him from tottering over.

Next semester he would return to school and complete his electrical engineering degree, but he needed to be away from the university during football season this year. It was just too painful. The college would honor his scholarship when he returned, and he only needed one more semester of credits. For the next six months, he was back home living with his grandfather as he got what was left of the farm ready to sell. He had endorsement money to keep him from feeling like a leech. A payout from the insurance policy that his parents had insisted on him getting was all invested toward his retirement.

When Rylan was still a toddler, the farm was primarily wheat, soybeans, and corn. When his grandmother retired early from her career as a programmer, she carved out a portion of the farm for a pumpkin patch and Christmas tree farm. An old hay barn was dismantled when the livestock was sold off. In its place, she put up an event space. It was locally known as the party barn. For the last twenty years, the area had been used to culminate the town's harvest festival.

Rylan and Davis, his kid brother, had persuaded his grandparents to add a haunted corn maze to the festivities. Even last year, Rye had been the one with a chainsaw for at least a few nights during the fun of the month-long harvest time. He would have to relinquish the toothless weapon to his younger brother. Maybe next year I'll have this thing down. Rylan looked down at the all-too-thin metallic left leg.

His Grandpa was the only one that didn't automatically look at him with pity. The two were their support systems, leaning on each other to get through the pain. Grandpa was grieving the loss of his beloved wife to the pandemic that had roiled the world a year prior. When Rye returned to school, Grandpa planned to move to Arizona with Rylan's great-uncle and his wife in the new year. First, however, he needed to sell the sliver of the farm that remained.

Even as much as they leaned on each other, Grandpa Joe wasn't about to let Rylan sit around and mope for an entire semester. The man knew better than most what Rylan was going through, getting accustomed to a prosthetic. He had lost his right leg to a land mine in Vietnam when he was just eighteen a half-century ago. His was above the knee, while Rylan's was below.

On a Saturday morning, Rye was walking through his high school on the way to a coaches' only meeting for the school year. They were stuck in the gym as the remodeling in the commons was going way over the projected time. It was more of a hobble, but he wasn't about to surrender what was left of his fragile pride and go back to a wheelchair where he had spent almost a half year waiting for his artificial leg. Most of the coaches were familiar faces from five years ago. That was except for a gorgeous young woman wearing the blue and gold of the school. Her yoga pants looked simply exceptional on a very tight booty.

Her long, slightly curled brunette hair had natural highlights of red and blonde as it dangled from a tight ponytail. She was tall and slender with curves in the right places. Rylan wasn't ready to say hello to the beautiful young woman, but getting a few peeks at the beauty wasn't hurting anyone. No one would want anything to do with the broken man he had become since the accident. He waved at his old coach across the room and limped over to the older gentleman.

When he finally got a good look at the face of the new coach, his heart nearly stopped, and his stomach dropped. It was Andrea, whose name was very much pronounced as on-dray-ah. Her best friends called her Andi, even if it wasn't how she wanted her first name to be said. They had only shared math classes back in high school. It was the other place where Rylan had excelled. Andrea had competed with him in a friendly rivalry in their math classes; he had been counted as one of the select few that could call her Andi. Back then, she had looked a little plain with hair that was a touch mousy, but her years in college had been very kind to her.

Rye smiled, remembering their senior year in high school when they battled each other all year in a competition in their calculus class. Once a week, Mrs. Ayton would have a match in the class. Rylan had worked his ass off and ended up tied with Andrea. The course had gotten a cheesy fast-food crown to give to the winner of the final math relay. She looked so happy when they crowned her the queen of calc.

Her scintillating stormy green eyes met his, and Rylan thought he detected a smile briefly before she turned sullen. He and Andrea may not have traveled in the same circles in high school, but that was not why her countenance turned dour. It's better than pity. Rye shook his head to himself as she turned away. Andrea's younger brother and Davis's relationship had not ended well. Davis ghosted the man when their feelings got too intense. Rylan didn't think his brother had fully figured out he was gay back in high school.

Coach Taylor wanted Rylan to become an assistant coach after one of his long-serving assistants told him he was moving across the country to support his wife. Grandpa Joe would have given him a swift kick to the posterior if Rye had said no to the man. The team was already one game into the season, but his QB coach had to leave in a week. It would give Rye something to do while he was wrangling the final harvest festival on the farm into place. The paycheck would be minuscule, and the work long, but football was inseparably entwined with his life, even if he could never play again.

He sat through an hour and a half athletics department meeting without falling asleep, even if none of the rules really applied to him as he wasn't a teacher. He took a chance to say hello to Andrea when there was some time between the slide decks to get refreshments.

"Andrea, I thought you were going premed. What are you doing back home?" Rylan tried a friendly smile.

"Teaching calculus and coaching cross-country." Andrea's responses were quick, like she wanted Rylan to move on. Her stormy green eyes looked unsettled, and he got the hint that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

Andrea -- The last week of September

When Andrea went to school at a private institution across the state, coming back to town was the last thing she thought would happen. Even her parents had fled from the city after she graduated; her folks were aviation engineers and relocated to Texas when the local plant closed. Andi's college required community service, and she took to tutoring and teaching high-level math concepts to high schoolers with aplomb. That wouldn't have precluded her from her premed path, but a few run-ins with med students hadn't accorded themselves well. There was far too high a ratio of self-entitled assholes. Then she had to go and date one of them for a while. The way it ended didn't help with the internal questions she was battling.

Her roommate, both in the dorms and in a shared apartment after her freshman year, was an elementary education major that graduated a year before her. She encouraged Andrea to try a single education course, and Andi took to it like her math classes. When her now best friend got a job in the same district Andrea graduated from, it planted a seed in her brain. It was a decision that was not exactly supported by her parents, who thought she was squandering her potential and a full-ride scholarship to a prestigious institution.

Andi was destined to be a high school calculus teacher, but what happened to Cynthia was the reason that she was back home. A month after her boyfriend proposed, Cyn found out she was pregnant. They wanted kids, and even though they were a few years ahead of their schedule, it was all part of the plan. The asshole got cold feet and left Cynthia to raise her son alone. Andrea moved close to lend a hand when she could.

Today, Cynthia was dragging her along to scout a possible field trip location. Joe and Martha Borgmann's pumpkin patch was a town staple. The fact that Joe was Davis's grandfather gave her some pause after how the boy had broken up with Andi's younger brother, Shawn. It was an idyllic little farm that Andrea remembered well as a kid. She hoped it would still be around when Cynthia's son, Kyler, got old enough to remember it. The rumor was that Joe wanted to sell off the last of his farmland now that Martha had passed.

"Aunt Andrea, you want to take Kyler while I ask Farmer Joe about the expense of the field trip?" Cynthia handed Andrea the smiley toddler.

"Sure, Cyn." Kyler had his mom's blonde hair and baby-blue eyes. You're going to be a real heartbreaker someday. Andi returned the smile and got a giggle.

"Why don't you ask that cute guy over there if they do hayrack rides?" Cynthia pointed at Rylan while he was running the register for some early pumpkin buyers.

"They do, and they have a haunted cornfield."

"Haunted cornfield?" Cynthia looked confused. Cynthia had come from a big city on the East coast and still hadn't gotten fully accustomed to the more rural life.

"It's more of a corn maze. It's a little hokey but a lot of fun. I had my first kiss out there in eighth grade." Andrea let Cynthia wander off, happy to see that Kyler wasn't in the mood where only his mom could hold the little man. Her eyes shifted toward the register across the open building.

Rylan was ruggedly handsome. The man was the prototypical quarterback build, 6'4", 225lbs, and in fantastic shape. Andrea had such a crush on him back in high school, but she felt that almost every girl in their class did. Outside the math classroom, he wouldn't have looked at her twice. That was partially on herself as she always dressed so plain in high school and barely touched makeup. Cynthia had helped her develop her look and confidence around men.

Andrea and Rye had a friendly rivalry in linear algebra and calculus. Andi had the leg up most of the time, but the boy was nipping at her heels in every contest. His tenacity had undoubtedly inspired her to work harder.

Throughout school, Rylan had exclusively dated cheerleaders. And those women had a type, that of short, thin blondes with giant chests. At State, his girlfriend had been in the stands for all the games and shared those traits. Chesty was simply something that would never be said of her. She wasn't flat but had nothing compared to his type. Back when a crush for Rye had simmered, Andi hadn't really cared much about her hair or appearance. Her life revolved around cross country, math Olympics, and running, not boys. She did alright in the love department but stuck exclusively to fellow nerds.

"Who's this guy?" Rylan smiled and waved at Kyler as they approached. He got a big grin in return and a musical trio of laughs.

"This is Kyler, my quasi-nephew." Andrea felt her mood lift as she smiled at the pair.

"Quasi-nephew? Well, he's a lucky little boy to have such a brilliant and beautiful quasi-aunt." Rylan smiled, and his brown eyes sparkled. It wasn't fair for the man to foist her feelings on him about how Davis left things with Shawn.

"How have you been, Rye?" Andrea asked and then regretted it as soon as it came out of her mouth. Everyone knew Rylan's story. He had been on the front page of the local news website so many times in the last year. He probably didn't need to have the accident rehashed again. It was likely more of a trigger for him than it was when people questioned her decision to teach.

"Not bad until last year." Rylan winced at the question. "We lost Grandma Martha, and everything went downhill from there."

"I'm sorry, Rylan. She was such a sweet lady." The woman had been the tour guide for every field trip and excursion that Andi had taken to the pumpkin patch or tree farm.

"She was behind everything we have left of the farm." Rylan glanced around and then gave her a conspiratorial look. "It might be the last year for all this. Grandpa Joe is moving to Arizona after Christmas."

"Aww... I loved this place as a little girl. I was hoping Kyler would get to experience things."

"I'm hoping to make sure it's sold to someone that'll keep the tradition going. I just have to help Grandpa Joe find the right buyer. I figure if we kickass..." Rylan looked flustered for a moment. "Kick tail this season. We can show this place's importance to the community while making a profit. Sorry, I haven't been around little kids for a while. I should be better about my tongue."

"Don't worry about it. His mother curses like a trucker when she's not teaching." Andi said with a laugh.

"Are you giving away all my secrets?" Cynthia stepped into the conversation. Andrea's best friend was the type of woman Rylan went for, petite, blonde, and stacked. "We need to go check out the other farm. I don't think we can afford a trip here for the class," Cyn said in a low voice.

"Yes, you can." Rylan tapped on his computer. "My Grandma Martha would haunt me forever if I turned away a field trip. How's free work into the budget?" He smiled at Cynthia.

"Really!? I thought you needed to make a big profit this year." Andrea argued back as she handed Kyler to his mother.

"We need to make a profit, true, but we also must prove we're a part of the community." Rylan smiled back at her with those dangerous brown eyes. They had the color of dark, sweet honey or maybe a smoky whiskey. "It wouldn't do to forsake either part of my grandparents' vision for this place."

Don't get your hopes up; keep him at arm's length. Andrea tried to warn herself. "Are you sure?"

"I insist. Let me know the day, and I'll schedule some extra staff and ensure the old truck is ready for a hayrack ride. You would probably be more comfortable with pumpkin painting than carving with elementary kids, right?" Rylan was looking at Cynthia for an answer.

"Yeah, are you sure? That's thirty-five pumpkins you would be giving away."

"Thirty-six. I'll bet his mom would want to make a pumpkin for Kyler too." Rylan smiled and got a happy nod from Andi's bestie. "If you have a particular lesson that you want to cover, let me or Grandpa Joe know, and we can tailor something to them."

"Okay, thanks..."

"Rylan. Do you have a date in mind?"

"Cynthia." Her eyes darted over to meet Andrea's quick smile. "I need to check in with my principal, but we're aiming for a week or two before Halloween."

"The sooner you have a date, the better, so I can give my people plenty of prior notice."

"Thank you so much, Rylan. I'll let you know on Monday or Tuesday." Cynthia turned to leave.

"Bye-bye, Kyler." Rye waved at the baby, who smiled widely in reply. "Nice to talk to you again, Andrea."

"He's cute, girl." Cynthia didn't quite wait until they had gotten out of hearing range.

"I'm not his type." Andrea tamped down expectations.

"It wasn't me that he was smiling at."

Rylan -- A few minutes later.

"This thing's not working again." Grandpa Joe thrust a tablet into Rylan's hands. His grandfather wasn't quite a technophobe, but he seemed to break things with a mere touch. "You know we never had this problem when we just took cash and checks." Grandma Martha had been the family's tech expert for many years; without her, Grandpa Joe had gotten more stubborn.

"And how many checks did we have that bounced, Grandpa?" Rylan pushed the card and chip reader back into the tablet, seating it entirely in the port.

"Only a few a year."

"How many young families had to leave something as collateral to get cash from an ATM?" The tablet dinged as the connection was reset and ready to roll.

"Several more." Grandpa Joe conceded.

"The sign that used to be out front probably discouraged more than a few others." Rylan had been able to change a sign to read, 'We gladly accept cards or cash.' They would still accept checks from a select few older folks that Grandpa knew well.

"She was cute, Rye." Grandpa lowered his voice as he smiled.

"Yeah, she was, but I don't think she wants anything to do with me."

"Oh, Horseshit!" Grandpa Joe didn't curse much, at least not around the grandkids. When he worked on farm equipment and thought no one else was around, his vocabulary could peel paint. "It's been six months, Rye. Losing a leg is a lot, but don't be like me. I moped for two fucking years when I got back from 'Nam. If your grandma didn't practically put a boot in my ass, I might have lost everything to drink. That café was the only place I went when I wasn't working the farm."

Family lore and legend spoke of Grandma Martha being a waitress at the café as she paid her way through school. Grandpa Joe would go to the restaurant every other day for a hot meal and a slice of pie. Grandma started to sit with him at the empty table for company. This continued for a couple months before Grandma told him to ask her out or find another café to go to. Fortunately, Grandpa wasn't a fool. In a year's time, they were married. They made it forty-nine happy years before the pandemic took her.