Page 68 of Just Friends

“He’s full of shit,” Brandon muttered, then smiled shaking his head. “What’s going on with you two?” And they all looked at Rebecca.

“Who?” she asked.

Brandon rolled his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, only the one here who’s been chasing you for months.”

“The one who kept kissing you on the dance floor New Year’s Eve,” Hannah said. “Yeah, we noticed.”

“You two were quitecozy,” Autumn said smiling.

“You mean, all over each other, like no one else was there,” Brandon added.

She sighed. “Nothing. We’re— “

“Just friends,” they all said in unison.

???

Weasel steered the golf cart down the path to the gate that divided the Huntington Farms business from the property that Dan and Autumn lived on near Ben and Brandon. He didn’t know why Brandon had a problem with him driving the golf cart, with the baby in tow; it’s not like he’d do something reckless. Dan bundled Danny up and held him close, even though a pungent aroma radiated from the child.

After his friend had the baby cleaned and powdered, he asked. “You give any thought to what we talked about?”

“On what to do now?” Daniel sat the baby on the blanket in between the fireplace, and the coffee table. The child grabbed the table and struggled to pull himself up and stood clutching the table with all his might. The baby’s face was tight with the determined look of a boy on a mission.

“Look at you,” Weasel said. “Way to go bud.”

“Oh shit… Autumn’s gonna freak.” Dan fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket and aimed at the baby.

“He’s not done that before?” Then all the strength went out of his little legs and he plopped to the ground, rolled over, grabbed a toy, and shoved it in his mouth.

“No,” Dan answered. “He’s been contemplating that for a couple of weeks. I could see it in his eyes.”

Weasel laughed. “Now what about you?”

“Yeah; I need to decide on my next move. Autumn gets irritated when I try to teach Danny military strategy. She’s accused me of being bored.”

“Well, you are.”

“No, I’ve been enjoying spending time with my son. I missed all of Autumn’s pregnancy and his first three months…”

“Not your fault.”

“I know. She’s worried I’ll get restless though. I try to reassure her.”

“You can’t fault her for worrying. You used to run anti-terrorism missions all over the world. Now you change dirty diapers.”

“Hey, I can change a dirty diaper and still kick ass.”

“No doubt. Have you given any thought to joining the force? We could use a guy with your talents.”

“I can’t use all of them.”

“I won’t tell.” They laughed.

“Honestly, I was thinking about the Sheriff’s department…”

“County-wide.”

Dan nodded. “Search and Rescue. Hope you don’t take offense— “

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