Page 46 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
Carter rolled his eyes before getting serious. “So…would you be upset if Erin spent the night tonight?”
JD’s eyes went wide. “Are we already at the spending-the-night stage?”
“And if we are?”
JD blew out a breath. “Well, you’re adults, so okay.” He rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Want me to set up another room? The one next to yours is free.”
Carter couldn’t hold back a grin. “Definitely.”
“So what does this mean?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? “Right now it means we want to get to know each other better. After that…” He shrugged.
JD shook his head. “All right, man, but don’t be surprised if it ends up meaning a lot more than that. Lincoln and I both thought we were safe, and now look at us.”
The idea would have disturbed Carter a few days ago, but now? What was that Erin had said to him earlier?
He thought he might just be looking forward to it.
ChapterNineteen
Downtown Black Wolf’s Bluff was notoriously packed every year for the harvest festival, but parking had been arranged at some local stores—Walmart, a grocery store, the Presbyterian church—to allow bussing to the area. Erin met Thad and Carter at the Piggly Wiggly and boarded a yellow school bus with twenty other eager couples and their kids. The bus let them out at the courthouse just as dusk was settling. The temperature had dropped about ten degrees from its already cool state, but bundled in their coats and gloves, knit caps on their heads, the three of them set out for the ticket booth before beginning the night at a two-story bouncy slide Thad was practically drooling over. The kid was so darling in his excitement that Erin had to forcibly stop herself from scooping him up and smothering him with cuddles like that little girl inDespicable Mewho just wanted to squeeze her unicorn plushy to death, he was so cute.
They were walking toward the line when Erin felt a gloved hand surround her own. She startled and stared down at Carter’s fingers clasped around hers, trying to comprehend the fact that she was holding hands—in public—with Carter Devereaux. The infamously grumpy Carter Deveraux. And yet a thrill ran through her at just his touch through both of their gloves. And when she glanced up, it was into warm blue eyes smiling down at her, not a grump in sight.
As they waited for their turn on the slide—and yes, Erin was willingly going down a two-story slide, all for the pleasure of a cute little boy—Big Rich lumbered up and thrust his huge hand out at Carter. “Willard! I’m Big Rich. Own the Casa Blanca off Highway 20. Great to meet you!”
Carter’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“Dad?” Thad’s little brow was wrinkled with confusion. Erin barely resisted the urge to crack up.
And then Carter came to the rescue. He grasped Big Rich’s meaty paw and gave it a hearty shake. “Nice to meet you too, Big Rich. This is my son, Thad.”
Thad gave Carter a side-eye but shook Big Rich’s hand with the dignity of an adult.
“I’ve known our Erin since she was a tiny thing. It’s good to know she’s caught her a good’un.” Big Rich leaned close. “You are a good’un, aren’t you?”
Thad immediately came to Carter’s defense. “My dad’s the best.”
Erin’s heart melted. She put an arm around Carter’s waist. “Of course he is,” she assured Thad, “but I appreciate your concern, Rich.”
The line moved forward, forcing them away, and Big Rich gave them a satisfied nod as he walked on. A few seconds passed before Thad tapped Erin’s hand where it still rested on Carter’s waist.
She peered around Carter. “Yeah?”
“I thought Willard was the peacock. Why did Big Rich think that’s my dad?”
That was all it took to get past her control; Erin immediately burst out laughing. This time it was Carter giving the side-eye, but the one-sided grin on his face said he could see the humor in the situation.
When Erin finally got herself under control, she attempted an explanation. “So…Lily and I might have led Big Rich to believe I had a fake boyfriend as an excuse not to get roped into a date.”
“With Big Rich?”
Carter snorted.
Erin took back her arm and elbowed Carter in the ribs. “No, with his nephew.”
Thad thought about that as they eased forward. “That’s kinda how you make excuses not to go on the dates Aunt Emma tries to send you on, Dad. But you don’t need a fake boyfriend for that.”
