Page 30 of Axe-Rated Lumberjack

“Excellent choice. Although the sleeves could stand to be rolled up.”

He grinned and pushed them to his forearms.

“Better?”

Oh, considerably.

“Much more marketable.”

He laughed, and I took a very long drink of water.

After another productive stretch at the microphone, we reached a reasonable stopping point shortly before five.

I’d originally planned to use the remaining daylight to finish some of my own pickups, but my concentration was beginning to fade, and Hudson had already put in a long day learning an entirely unfamiliar profession.

We’d made substantial progress. Most of his remaining material could be handled on Saturday, with Sunday still available for anything Folio wanted corrected before the handoff.

I saved the latest take and checked the next day’s recording notes.

“We’re in good shape,” I told him. “I think we can stop after one more short duet. That’ll leave us with a manageable amount tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Hudson set his pages aside and stretched his shoulders.

“Are you planning to see any more of town while you’re here, or am I going to have to report you to Esther for spending the whole weekend in this room?”

“I’d actually love to see more of Fall Fest. I noticed everyone getting ready when I was in town yesterday, but I haven’t had a chance to look around properly.”

“You picked a good weekend to visit. This town takes autumn pretty seriously.”

“I gathered that from the number of pumpkins decorating every available surface. What’s your favorite part?”

Hudson thought for a moment.

“I like the food, naturally. And it’s always fun seeing what people come up with for the pumpkin-carving displays. But the Factory of Screams is probably my favorite evening attraction.”

“The haunted house?”

“That’s the one. It opens tonight at nine. They’ve been putting a lot of work into it, and I hear this year’s supposed to be particularly good.”

I smiled.

“I haven’t been through a haunted house in years. The last one involved a man with a chainsaw who chased me halfway across a parking lot.”

“An actual chainsaw?”

“I sincerely hope it didn’t have a chain on it, but I wasn’t inclined to stop and ask.”

Hudson laughed.

“Well, I promise not to abandon you if something jumps out of the dark.”

“How reassuring. Although I should warn you that I have a perfectly respectable screaming voice.”

“I’d expect nothing less from a professional narrator.”

He smiled at me for a moment, then rested his hands against the edge of the desk.