Page 57 of The Secrets We Built Together

"Morning, Sheriff," Xander replied, his voice carrying a hint of territorial edge that surprised me.

"Heard congratulations are in order," Ethan said, his gaze shifting between us. "Engagement and a baby all at once. Moving fast, aren't you, Doc?"

There was a slight bitterness in his voice that made me feel guilty for lying this way to Ethan when he’d only ever been nice to me in the past.

I felt rather than saw Xander's jaw tighten. "When you know, you know," he said, his tone light but with steel underneath.

Ethan nodded slowly. "Well, lucky man." He turned to me. "Blake, if you ever need anything… If there’s anything I can do to help with the DCFS situation…"

"She knows where to find me," Xander interrupted smoothly. "Her fiancé."

A beat of tense silence passed before Ethan chuckled. "Course she does. You folks enjoy the market."

As he walked away, I turned to Xander with raised eyebrows. "What was that about?"

"Just playing my part," he muttered, not meeting my eyes.

"Mmm-hmm. Very convincing, honey bunch."

That earned me a reluctant smile. "I told you not to call me that."

"You told me to be convincing," I countered, feeling strangely triumphant at having broken his momentary tension.

We continued through the market, stopping at various stalls. Xander bought fresh vegetables while I picked out bread from the local bakery. All the while, his hand remained at the small of my back, or our fingers entwined as we walked side by side. It was startling how quickly it began to feel natural—like we'd been doing this for years instead of hours.

At the center of the square, the town had set up a small garden plot program—"Adopt-a-Plot," they called it. Families could claim a section to plant vegetables or flowers for the season.

"The Farrington Family," read a small wooden sign on one of the plots. I looked at Xander questioningly.

"I may have signed us up," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck again. "Thought it might look good for the DCFS evaluation. Stable family, community involvement..."

"Right," I said, staring at the sign. Our name. Together. "Makes sense. When exactly did you have time to do this?"

He didn’t have time to respond before an elderly couple approached, introducing themselves as the Hendersons. They'd been running the garden program for decades.

"First time gardeners?" Mrs. Henderson asked kindly.

"I had a small herb garden in college," I offered. "But nothing serious."

"I killed a cactus once," Xander added, making the couple laugh.

"Well, every family has to start somewhere," Mr. Henderson said, handing us a packet of seeds. "Tomatoes are fairly forgiving. Just need water, sunshine, and a little love."

"Like most things worth growing," Mrs. Henderson added with a meaningful glance at Amelia.

We thanked them and moved on, both of us quiet as we contemplated the seed packet and what it represented—another thread binding us together in this tapestry of pretense we were weaving.

Near Daniel's coffee stand, we ran into Dex and Booker. Dex immediately reached for Amelia, who went to him happily.

"My favorite niece!" he declared, swinging her gently in the air.

"You're an honorary uncle at best," Booker pointed out, then turned to us with knowing eyes. "You two look cozy."

I felt myself blush, acutely aware of Xander's arm still around my waist.

"Just getting into the role," Xander said, too casually.

Booker's eyebrows rose. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

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