Page 23 of Gifts

I push against his chest, trying not to let it sink in how good he feels under my touch. “Asa, I said—”

He shakes his head and interrupts me. “As much as I enjoyed being with our kids, I want time with you. Can you find someone to watch them tomorrow night?”

I shake my head. “No. I don’t have babysitters on standby. Plus, I told you—”

“Monday.” He gives me a squeeze and smirks. “Best day of the week, remember? You work on a sitter, I’ll figure out everything else.”

“But Monday’s a school night.” It’s lame, I know, but it’s the first excuse that popped into my mind.

His smirk spreads into a grin. “What, are you eighty?”

Oh shit. That reminds me of my dreaded early bird special date and really makes me want to go out on a Monday.

Without letting me respond, he brings his hand up to where he touched me earlier and cups my face with his big hand. When he brushes my jaw with his thumb, he murmurs, “I’ll call you.”

“I doubt I’ll be able to get anyone to watch them.” This is a lie. I have plenty of people I can call, namely my sister who demanded I shave my legs for pizza.

“Try,” he insists. “I’ll call you and we’ll work out the details.”

“But I don’t thin—”

He doesn’t let me finish and yells out into the darkness. “Emma, let’s get out of their hair.”

I don’t have a chance to refute him again when flashes of light come our way. This time when I push away, Asa lets me. Taking a step back, I watch Knox appear out of the darkness, right before Saylor and Emma follow.

“What do you all say to Mr. Hollingsworth for dinner and Emma for putting up with you?” I instruct my kids. Falling into mom-mode is way easier than dealing with Asa.

“Yeah, thanks,” Knox offers.

Of course, Saylor points out, “He told us to call him Asa, Mommy, and Emma likes us.”

I shake my head. Saylor thinks everyone loves her. I’m tired after a full day of painting and working around the house. I’ve been at it since before the kids got up this morning, so I can’t lie—a dinner out was nice. But now it’s late, and when I’m tired, I begin not to care about my kids’ manners.

“Thanks for the s’mores, Ms. Lockhart. They were great,” Emma says quietly.

I smile. “It’s the least I could do. You’ve been sweet to entertain my kids tonight.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” She offers me a small smirk before escaping to her dad’s truck.

I look down at my kids. “It’s time to get cleaned up. Get through the showers so you don’t smell like a goat.”

Saylor finally yawns as she heads to the house. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t go straight to Knox’s floor and pass out.

When the patio door closes behind them, I turn back to Asa. But before I have a chance to say anything, his voice goes soft. “Saturday is over, Keelie. You can relax.”

I’m taken aback by his sweet statement and all excuses of putting him off escape my brain. He’s not being sarcastic or teasing. He was thoughtful and sounded like he truly wanted to make sure I was fine now that my Saturday is over.

Though I don’t want to, I nod and sigh. “Yeah. And Sunday is a whirlwind getting ready for the week, so it’s all good.”

“I’ll call you.”

“You really don’t need to call me.”

He raises a brow. “Then how will I know if your Sunday was a whirlwind and let you know what time to be ready Monday?”

I shake my head. “Asa—”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Go get your kids to bed, Keelie. But watch this fire until it’s out.”

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