Autumn is in the air hereabout, so I couldn’t resist a short trip to the rolling hills, deep woods, and blue lakes of East Texas. When I arrived at my destination, I stepped out of my car and immediately saw a small painted rock with “LOVE” written in bold letters on its flat surface. I glanced around the parking lot to see if the person who’d dropped the stone was still in the area, but the special rock and I were all alone on a sea of black asphalt.
Of course, I couldn’t leave this “LOVE” stone—already abandoned once—so I leaned down and picked it up, knowing it’d inspire me later at home while I wrote romance novels.
When I stood back up, I saw a young man in a black three-piece suit with a colorful tapestry vest coming toward me from the activities center. He pulled a black case on wheels behind him.
“Are you by any chance—” I started to ask.
“Yes, indeed,” he said, stopping for a moment. “I’m a magician.”
“I knew it!” After all, I was holding the surprise “LOVE” stone in my hand, and he’d appeared as if by magic. “I really regret I missed your show.”
“Next time,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips, then he went on his way.
And I happily went on with my Piney Woods adventure with photographs to reveal just how magical autumn can be in Texas.
