Page 35 of What About Us
“Thanks,” he says, unzipping the cooler bag and passing me a water. “You could have started without me.”
“What’s the fun in dinner and a movie, if I eat without my other half?” I ask, uncapping my water and taking a drink.
His gaze finds mine and he huffs a laugh out his nose. Talking around a big bite of BLT, he asks, “Other half?”
“Well, yeah. Do you see any other dudes around here?” I shrug, glancing around as I take a big bite.
He stops chewing. With a hunk of sandwich stuck in his cheek, he looks around, eyes comically wide. “Actually, yeah, there are lots of dudes around here.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, yeah,” I drag out the word. “Larry from the hardware store is looking superhot tonight, and Trevor… Well, he’s married. So, unless Tanya’s into sister wives, I’ll pass.” I continue my perusal of the crowd of locals, and take another bite before naming other married men, teenagers, and elderly men sitting with their wives and their grandkids. “Oh, and there’s Pop, but he’s also married and the closest thing I’ve ever had to a dad. So,ew.”
His shoulders shake with laughter. “There’s gotta be some guy in town with another animal name that you can hitch yourself to.”
I nearly choke on my saliva, sputtering out a half laugh, half cough. “Screw you.” I shove his shoulder lightly. My ex, Jeff, went by his middle name, but his legal name is Badger Jeffrey Boleslaus. There has never been a time when Hudson hasn’t made fun of it.
Hudson looks around again. “Guess Timber Forge isn’t the best place to pick up dudes, after all.”
“What does ‘pick up dudes’ mean, Daddy?” Paige asks, licking a drop of ketchup from the corner of her mouth and brushing the hair out of her eyes. She has ketchupeverywhere. So much for that bath.
Hudson and I share an amused look before he says, “Nothing, Pip. Just finish your hot dog.”
“So, Trevor needs help at the bar?” I ask.
He nods, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “He needs a bartender, maybe more.”
“Really?” Surprised, I glance over at him, then lick a glob of mayo off my index finger. Hudson’s eyes track the movement, then he quickly glances away before nodding.
“Yeah. He promised Tanya as soon as the baby comes, he’d take a couple of months off. Help her settle in with three kids.”
“Probably a smart idea. I can’t even imagine three kids,” I say, finding and watching Trevor and his family eating their dinner. His son is jumping up and down, somehow missing all the food on the blanket, and his daughter is flicking her mom with water from her water bottle. It looks like complete chaos over there, but both Trevor and Tanya look happy and perfectly relaxed, laughing at something their son is saying.
Hudson huffs out a laugh and says around a bite of food, “Can you imagine the fu—” He swallows his food with a glance at Paige, who didn’t realize he was about to cuss. “The questions? This one already talks my ear off as it is.”
I laugh. She certainly does.
“So, you gonna take it?”
He shrugs. “Maybe. I told him I’d come by the bar next week. I’ve gotta work out logistics for Paige. See if Mom and Pop, or one of my sisters can watch her a few nights a week. I’m sure it’ll require some weekends.”
I nod. “I can help.”
He glances at me and swallows a bite of food. “Yeah?”
I nod again. “Of course.”
“It won’t be too much after being at the B&B all day?” He looks concerned.
I turn my gaze on Paige. She’s so easy. Sure, she talks a lot, but I can make us dinner and bathe her; I’ve already done that before. We could paint our nails, play babies, and watch movies.
I look back to Hudson with another nod. “Yeah, I’d love to help.”
“Ok, cool,” he says with a smile that lights up my insides.
We fall into a comfortable silence while we finish our food, and Paige asks if she can go play with Maisy and T.J.
“Sure. Just stay where I can see you, ok?”
“Ok, Daddy.” She saunters away, Dutch braids swinging.
