Page 48 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
“How old is he?” Carter asked out of the side of his mouth as they approached the gate.
Erin smirked. “No one knows.”
“Erin!” MacDonald gave her a bear hug in greeting that felt like it might squish her bones. “I heard you were here with some company.” He gave Carter a polite nod before turning to Thad. “Who’s this handsome fella?”
Thad introduced himself, of course. The kid had never met a stranger. MacDonald gave him a firm handshake and took the time to introduce him to his pet llamas, Laurel and Hardy, before returning to the gate.
Thad seemed to be in heaven with all the animals. There were baby goats bopping around, bouncing off hay bales and each other like kamikaze daredevils. A sleepy calf that chewed contentedly as children ran their hands over his soft neck. Baby piglets that squealed in their pen, some fat and pink, some creamier with brown and black spots. There were even a couple of ponies that meandered around, their quiet eyes taking in the chaos with barely a blink. At one point Thad sat in some straw to pet a couple of puppies, and a huge chicken clucked right up to him before settling itself in his lap. While Carter snapped pictures on his phone, Erin explained that Rhode Island Red chickens were extremely friendly (though she’d never met one quite this friendly) and showed him how to pet the deep orange-red feathers on the bird’s back.
The haunted house was next. The guided tour allowed them to warm up inside, and just as Erin had hoped, Thad loved the decorations and even seemed to enjoy the stories read in each room. Carter waited until they reached the backyard before easing her into a dark corner, away from the crowd, pulling her close, and whispering in her ear, “I have a newfound appreciation for haunted houses.”
He was kissing her when Thad discovered them a few minutes later. Oddly enough, Carter’s son didn't say anything about what they were doing; his grin seemed to say it all.
Hot chocolate (sugar-free for Carter) warmed them up on the way to the final side of the square. Thad was visible flagging, but he perked up as they approached the post office. Lou Rutledge, their resident postmistress, had gone all-out for the festival, including sporting bright orange as her chosen hair color tonight, along with a deep purple witch’s costume complete with broom. Snookums, her cat, sat beside her on his leash, his orange coat set off by his matching purple bow tie. The cat blinked pretty green eyes up at Erin and meowed before ambling over to greet her. Much to Thad’s delight, the cat not only rubbed all over Erin’s legs but sat nicely for Thad to get in some pets.
“Oh, Snookums loves our Erin,” Lou bragged, watching the cat indulgently.
Carter, snuggled up behind her, chuckled, the vibrations transferring to her through their coats. “Everyone has a thing for you, don’t they?”
She winked at him over her shoulder. “Why wouldn’t they?”
His look was hot, even in the moonlight. “Indeed.”
Thad and Erin played cornhole. Thad won a small fox stuffed animal, but Erin went a bit further and had her choice of the biggest offerings. Eyeing the toys, she finally chose a big, floppy brown bear and handed it over to Carter when she rejoined him. “To remember the Smokies by,” she told him.
The bear was half as big as him. “How am I supposed to take this home on a plane?”
She just laughed. “Let Thad use it as a pillow.”
And that was how they made their way back to the Piggly Wiggly, with Carter on the window side, Erin tucked against him, and Thad laying his head on the big fat bear in her lap. When they reached the parking lot and got off the bus, Carter kept hold of her hand, his other one urging Thad and the bear he was hugging along until they reached his SUV. He got Thad into his seat, told him he’d be right back, and locked his son inside before walking Erin to her truck.
“You’ll meet us at the mansion, right?”
Erin unlocked her truck and opened the door. “If you’re sure that’s what you want.”
Carter took her face in his hands and tilted it up for his kiss. A long, wet, thorough kiss. The scratch of his beard against her skin reminded her of that same sensation in other places.
“It’s definitely what I want,” he said.
“I’ll be there then.” She got into her truck, cranked it, and waited till Carter’s SUV was moving, then followed him out of the parking lot. She didn’t stop smiling all the way out of town.
ChapterTwenty
To give Carter privacy to put Thad to bed—and avoid any awkward questions—Erin said good night when they arrived, then followed Lily into the kitchen for a nightcap. Thad was, as predicted, too tired to do more than pee and brush his teeth before crawling onto his air-mattress pallet with a yawn that threatened to rival a lion’s. He even skipped the usual protest of Carter returning downstairs to be with the other adults. Carter’s good night received a mumbled response, and he was pretty certain Thad was asleep before the door was firmly closed behind him.
Downstairs JD, Lily, and Erin congregated in the living room with cold bottles of beer. JD passed him a frosty glass of ice water. “Sit down, bro. Claire and Linc should be here soon; they’re wrapping up at the bakery.”
As much as he appreciated that the three of them were rarely in the same town at the same time anymore, a confab with his brothers was not how he planned to spend the night. Plus they had tomorrow for all the talking they wanted. Tonight, every second he could squeeze out would be spent with Erin—in bed.
“Thanks, but we’re beat. Wrangling a ten-year-old around a fair is exhausting.” It wasn’t a total lie—all the excitement had been tiring, but not too tiring. Not enough to make him bypass Erin in his arms. He grabbed the water with one hand and Erin’s hand with the other, pulled her up from the couch, and ignored Lily’s amused pout and JD’s flat-out laughter in favor of hurrying Erin toward the stairs.
“Well, that wasn’t awkward at all.”
Thank goodness she laughed when she said it, or he’d have been sadly disappointed. “I’m fine with awkward if it means I get you naked sooner,” he said, keeping his voice down as they passed the door to his and Thad’s room. The next one over shared the bathroom between them, and with the door on Thad’s side left open, Carter knew he would hear his son if he needed him even with the door on their side closed. And locked.
“I’m not going to argue with that.”
Anticipation tingled down his spine to his balls with Erin’s words. Every physical encounter with Erin up to this moment had been satisfying, but he wanted more than quick sex—he wanted to lay her out on the bed and take his time, give her more than the one or two orgasms she’d had so far. He might be tired, but he’d stay up all night if he had to. Opportunities like this didn’t come around often.
