Page 30 of Where You Belong

“You okay?” He checks me over, looking down at my foot. “Dammit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I grit my teeth. “I’ll be fine, just gotta walk it off. Right, Huxie?”

“Dats right. Sometimes ya gotta walk it off.” He grins.

I chuckle, watching his little head nod enthusiastically.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Mom broke the mower,” Huxton blurts out. My eyes snap over to him, silently telling him to zip it.

“Is that right?” Corbin chuckles, glancing from Huxton over to me, obviously noticing my attempt to keep him quiet.

“How’d that happen?”

“I guess it was my lucky day, and I bought it that way.”

His brows furrow, not appreciating my attempt at humor. He’s right, though. My misery wasn’t funny.

“I bought it online and met some guy to pick it up earlier today at the gas station in town. I was more worried about meeting him somewhere safe and in a public setting. I didn’t even bother to check to make sure it worked. Got a few rows mowed on the front yard before it crapped out on me.”

Corbin winces, shaking his head. “Honestly, if it did that when you got it home, it probably would’ve worked at the gas station, anyway. You wouldn’t have known either way. You can’t beat yourself up over it. Do you know what’s wrong with it?”

“My trusty YouTube research has me thinking it could need a tune-up or it’s an issue with the carburetor.”

“I’m not sure you’ll find what you’re looking for if it’s the carburetor, but I can swing by my place quick and grab a few things if you’d like a hand. At the very least, I can get you fixed up for today so you can finish mowing. How’s that sound?”

He tosses the hose in the air, catching it before flashing me a big smile and wiggling his brows at Huxton.

“Yeahhh!” Huxton cheers. “Can I help too?”

“Of course, you can! I’m going to need all the help and muscles I can get.”

Huxton releases my hand, flexing his muscles to show them off to Corbin. He crouches to check them over, giving them a squeeze before he nods in approval.

“I think you’re just the man for the job.”

I giggle, noticing the happiness glowing on Huxton’s face. My heart soars seeing the two of them together.

Corbin stands and glances over at me. “I just gotta pay for this quick. I’ll swing by my place to load up my mower and grab a few tools, and I’ll be right over. Give me fifteen, maybe twenty minutes tops.”

“Are you sure? I hate to take up your Sunday evening. I bet you have other things you’d rather be doing.”

“Are you kidding? There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Corbin insists, finishing with a wink.

I peer over at Huxton, wondering if he caught it. He flashes me a smile, and I know he did.

“All right. We’ll see you there, then.”

The entire way back to our place, all I can think about is Corbin coming over. Huxton fires off questions and then proceeds to tell me how he’s going to show him his Spider-Man mask. When we pull into the driveway, I spot Madelyn outside in her yard too. She shouts over at me and waves, carrying a couple of shopping bags into the house.

“Let’s hurry up. I need to get cleaned up.”

“Yeah, you need to wash your hands and wipe the dirt off your face.”

Thanks, kid, for looking out.

I quickly wash up and freshen up while I’m at it. I do a quick sweep of the house, telling Huxton to pick up the Lego blocks he dragged out earlier and left scattered on the floor before I forced him outside with me.

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