Page 10 of Fall at Once

She burst out laughing, and I couldn’t look away. Her hair shone in the early morning light, but her smile was even brighter. She was stunning. “Thank you, Madi.” I grinned at her. “As you can see, we have some brownie fans in the family.”

Nat beamed at Madi. “I get to drive to school today. I’m going to go pull the truck out. See you guys later. Let’s go, Dad!”

She hugged Gigi before running across the street and into the now-open garage, with Evan following close behind her. They’d grown up being close to Gigi, just as my brothers and I had—we all loved her.

“So, I have the day off. Feel free to text me if you need help getting set up in the apartment.”

“We may take you up on that, sweetheart,” Gigi answered. “Can I give Madi your number?”

“Of course. What’s your number, Madi? I’ll add it right now.” She gave it to me, and I sent a quick text, grinning when her notification went off. “Gotcha. Don’t hesitate to use that number.” I flicked two fingers out in a wave and joined the kids across the street at the truck.

“I like her,” Natalie announced from the driver’s seat after I got inside. “She’s super nice and totally funny.”

“And she’s really pretty, too,” Evan added. He waited to see my reaction before hopping into the back seat, so I kept my face as blank as possible.

“So pretty,” Nat agreed, oblivious to everything since she was currently busy adjusting the mirrors and the driver’s seat. “Her clothes are amazing, and her makeup looks like a professional did it. Maybe I can get her to teach me to wing my eyeliner better. Mom sucks at it too. After we went back to school shopping, we were cracking up practicing. Remember when she bought me all that new makeup?”

“Yeah, I remember.” I did not want to talk about my ex or speak badly of her in front of the kids, so I quickly steered the subject away. “Madi is a beautiful woman,” I admitted as Natalie fired up the truck and slowly backed out of the garage.

“So youdolike her,” Evan declared. “I knew it when you got her phone number. That was pretty smooth.”

“Wait. What? You got her number?” Nat threw the truck back into park and spun to face me. “Of course, you should like her. I mean, who wouldn’t? She’s gorgeous. Oooh, you could ask her on a date.”

“I got her number if she needed help moving into the apartment above Gigi’s. Nothing more. I’m being neighborly.”

“Take her to the movies or one of the fall things coming up in town. That’s a neighborly thing to do,” Natalie suggested.

“You should take her to the Fall Ball,” Evan added. “Or thefire department fundraiser. Or to the haunted pumpkin patch. Maybe she’ll get scared and hold your hand.”

Cozy Creek was not only a tourist destination; we were collectively obsessed with anything you could celebrate—holidays, changing seasons, high school sports. Any event that would warrant a parade, decorations, or a festival of some sort was wildly popular around these parts.

Fall was a favorite, probably because it was so naturally gorgeous here that even the most curmudgeonly of our residents couldn’t help but enjoy it.

Even the fire station got into the seasonal spirit: The Cozy Creek Fire Brigade Fall Fundraiser was one of our most popular events, and we raised a lot of money every year. I had a meeting scheduled with the event organizer next week to start the planning process for this year’s festivities.

I didn’t answer them. I was not in the mood to argue with them or discuss my love life. Plus, what was that saying about protesting too much? If I kept talking about her, my interest would become apparent, and I’d never hear the end of it.

“Earth to Dad,” Nat’s voice cut into my thoughts. “Ask her out. We don’t mind, we both agreed. We think it’s time. Move on,” she added derisively. “I mean, Mom sure as heck did.”

“What? Nah, I’m not quite ready to start dating yet. And I don’t think the two of you are really ready for that either. Am I right?”

Her eyes went soft. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

I didn’t know what was worse. Having her see me knock thecrap out of her now stepfather or the pity I saw shining in her eyes as she looked at me from across the truck.

“Hey, don’t worry about me. It is what it is, and I’m okay. I promise you.”

“He’s fine, Nat. He’s got us. We’re all going to be okay.”

“Damn straight, Ev.” I turned back to shoot him a grin. “You two are all I need, all right?”

He smirked. “Yup, and when you finally decide to ask Gigi’s hot granddaughter out, we’ll be there to make sure you don’t mess it up.”

Natalie burst out laughing and shoved my shoulder. “Heck yeah, we will.”

“Let’s nip this in the bud. My dating life, or lack thereof, is not up for discussion. I love you guys more than anything in the world, but we won’t be discussing this around the dinner table. Do you get me?”

“Sure, we get you, Dad,” Natalie mumbled as she turned onto the road that led into town. The high and middle schools were close to home—just right around the corner. Nat was a sophomore, and Evan was in eighth grade. After Natalie got out, I’d drive Evan to the middle school and head to the firehouse.

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