Page 103 of In Spades

We strolled through the fair and checked out the exhibits. Zoey wanted her picture taken in front of all the farm animals, some overgrown pumpkins that weighed as much as a compact car, and all the blue-ribbon winning desserts.

In the past, Maddie had entered a wedding cake for the dessert competition. Of course, she kicked everyone’s asses. She didn’t enter anymore, though. Apparently the competition wasn’t stiff enough for her.

Will and Zoey battled it out in carnival games, and we ate our way through the food stands.

I didn’t even know that deep-frying a stick of butter was possible. Leave it to North Carolinians to batter that shit up and put it on a skewer. And sweet baby angels, it was damn good.

A sign caught our eye that advertised deep-fried sticky buns. Will’s eyebrows shot up.

He rubbed his belly and turned to me. “One more life-altering decision?”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

He grabbed my hand, and we found our way to the back of the line.

Zoey wiggled on top of his shoulders, positively giddy in anticipation of more sugar. As we waited, Will’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Logan sent me a picture,” he said with a rasp.

I wasn’t sure, but I thought I heard a hint of something mixed in. Some emotion choking him. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Will turned his phone and showed me the selfie that Logan had sent of the three of them—arms slung around each other’s shoulders—posing in front of the Nothing Could Be Finer sign.

They looked so happy.

“Can you send that to me?” I asked as we shuffled forward in the line.

He cleared the strangled knot in his throat and nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

We reached the counter and Will ordered our deep-fried sticky bun. One for all three of us to share would be plenty. Eating a whole bun would put a grown man in the ground.

As he paid the gray-haired woman behind the register, Zoey swung her upper body down and planted a kiss on his cheek. Will laughed and reached up and poked her side. Zoey erupted in a fit of giggles.

“How ya doin’ up there, monkey?” he asked her. “Ready to get down yet?”

Zoey, quite content in her perch on top of his shoulders, shook her head. “Nope!”

“Y’all are just the cutest little family,” the cashier said with a wrinkly smile. “Absolutely precious.”

Will and I exchanged a quick glance. His smile was soft, but the corners of his eyes crinkled with blatant happiness.

“That’s very kind of you,” I said, brushing off the compliment. I grabbed the grease-soaked paper plate off the counter, and moved along.

I didn’t bother correcting the cashier. The truth would have taken all night to explain.

“You okay?” Will asked as we found an empty ledge to sit on near the Village of Yesteryear exhibit. The quiet was a nice reprieve from the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of the midway.

“Of course,” I said, pulling a bottle of water from my purse. I took a sip, swishing it around to wash the sugary sweater feeling on my teeth.

He took a big bite out of the sticky bun before handing it to me. Zoey scrambled off his shoulders and sat down beside me, hoping to steal a bite. I tore a piece of battered and fried, gooey, cinnamony goodness and held it out to her.

“You’ve just been real quiet today,” Will said.

I shrugged. “It’s weird doing all this without Logan, Ky, and Hunter. I know I need to let them grow up. I need to trust them to be safe and make good choices, but it’s freaking terrifying.”

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. It was barely visible underneath his scruff. Flecks of silver-streaked through the shadow on his jawline.

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