Page 55 of The ABCs of You & Me

“You know Bennett would find any way he could to get them here.”

“I do know that.” She smiles dreamily at her husband as he talks with Foster.

Foster picks that moment to look over his shoulder. His eyes find me, crinkling with his smile.

Marley makes a tiny contented sound before she hurries ahead of me to take Bennett’s hand. Foster is instantly forgotten and he slows for me to catch up.

“Good conversation?”

“Yeah, he was telling me about Spencer Lake’s new barn.”

“Riveting,” I joke.

“It is in a way. I appreciate people who are into the minutiae of their jobs. I mean, the dogs are clearly the best part, but he seems equally as enthusiastic about fixing a barn door as he does about taking them out for a walk.”

“That’s how you sounded about your job today.”

“It’s easy with your family.” I love that he calls them “my family” despite the fact I’m only technically related to two others here.

“No,” I say, resting my hand on his arm as we both slow to a stop. “That’s how you sounded with your family. Despite all the nasty things some of them think and even say about your job, you still sounded as passionate about it with them as you did with everyone here.”

I register the look of surprise on his face at my words.

“I guess I’m so used to being on autopilot when I’m around them I didn’t even realize. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For telling me. For going with me. For keeping me sane. For encouraging me to be myself.” His eyes track across my face, the world around us quieting and fading away as they land on my lips.

“You don’t need to thank me, Foster,” I assure him, stepping closer. The urge to kiss him is like none I’ve ever experienced before.

“It’s what friends do, right?” he says.

“Absolutely,” I force out.

“Are you two coming or what?” Cass calls from the front of the group, breaking the spell.

“Still as impatient as ever.” Foster grins toward his sister before turning and continuing on while I stand there trying to remember how to walk.

“I’m sorry, you’re what?” I gasp, sitting up so quickly that the hot chocolate in my mug sloshes over the side.

“We’re retiring. Or I’m retiring, at any rate,” my dad says.

“Is something wrong?” I look up at the mantle where my parents’ wedding photo sits. Mom in a vintage blue polka-dot dress and Dad in a button-up vest and jeans as he holds her in his arms above the snow. They’re practically kids compared to the people sitting in front of me now. It’s like I didn’t register how much they’ve aged until “retiring” came out of my dad’s mouth. Come to think of it, he does look a bit more tired than usual. Maybe it’s just the late hour; he’s usually been asleep for a few hours by this time.

“Why does anything have to be wrong?” Mom asks, setting her mug down on the table beside her. “You’re not taking over the farm. Our herd is half of what it was. We don’t have a bull anymore. It feels like the right time.”

“Besides, the deal your mother got will—” My dad stops talking abruptly when he sees the look on my mom’s face.

“What deal?”

“I should…” Foster says from beside me, rising slowly but not getting far before my arm shoots out and I pull him back down. “Or not,” he says slowly.

“What deal?” I ask again, calmer this time.

Mom takes a deep breath and straightens a little before answering. “I signed a brand deal for my tomato sauce.”

“Holy shit,” I say under my breath. “With who?”

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