Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“But, Mom, it’s Halloween. I can’t miss Halloween. I’m gonna be Pikachu!” His voice cracked on the last word before dissolving into heavy sobs. Shit. I rubbed the heel of my palm against my chest. It must have been killing Savannah to tell him no. Even my withered heart ached at the sound of Nicky’s tears.
August and Thatcher, Scarlett’s boys, had spent the last week fighting a cold, both recovering in time to be back at school a few days ago. Nicky was the last to get sick. Yesterday, it hadn’t been much more than a sniffle. It looked like things had gotten ugly overnight.
I remembered Halloween at his age. Sawyers Bend went all out for tourists and residents alike, with every business on Main Street hosting trick-or-treating. The Inn threw a bash that included a bonfire, apple bobbing, and a haunted maze. Halloween was one of the few bright memories I had from growing up in Sawyers Bend. Now Nicky was going to miss it, just when he was old enough to really enjoy it.
“You can’t go to school, sweetheart. You’re too sick.” Savannah said. It sounded like she’d stopped halfway down the hall.
“There’s a Halloween party in my class!” Nicky protested. “Pizza and candy bags and there’s gonna be games. I can’t stay home. I want to show everyone my costume.”
I caught the faint rush of Savannah’s sigh. “I’m so sorry, baby. Even if I was willing to send you to school, which I’m not, one look at you and they’d send you to the school nurse. Even if you could hide your sneezing and coughing, she’d take your temperature and call me to come get you. It’s against school policy to send you in with a fever. I’m so sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Nicky hiccuped out a sob, muffled as I imagined Savannah hugging him. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get you a hot shower. After, I’ll make you some tea and toast, and we’ll figure something out about tonight. Okay?”
“Want a bath,” Nicky grumbled, his voice fading out as their door closed at the end of the hall.
My eyes flicked to the clock. Savannah was running late, undoubtedly due to Nicky’s illness. I gave my breakfast prep a quick look, checked the clock, and shot her a text.
I heard Nicky. Poor kid. Stay with him. I’ll handle breakfast.
A minute later, my phone timed with a simple
TY
I tried to ignore the squeeze in my chest at her slight sign of gratitude. Why did I care? Fuck, this woman was going to kill me. I hadn’t laid a hand on her since that one ill-advised kiss weeks ago, but I’d thought about it. Fucking hell, I’d thought about it.
That moment in the dark, the flush of guilt on her face from stealing the dessert. She’d been irresistible. It had seemed so simple. What was a kiss? It was nothing. Just a moment in the dark between two consenting adults. I’d had no clue how quickly it would spin out of control. It had gone too far, and all I’d wanted was to push it further.
Even I was smart enough to know that taking it further was a very bad idea. We were acquaintances. Coworkers. Sometimes mortal enemies. None of those descriptions included kissing in the dark. Not to mention everything else I wanted to do to her in the dark.
I reminded myself of my vow to keep my hands to myself. Savannah wasn’t some throwaway one-night stand. The fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss was all the evidence I needed that anything more was a bad idea.
But this wasn’t about me. This was about Nicky. And Nicky, I’d learned, wasn’t just a small appendage of Savannah’s. He was his own little person, and a pretty cool one at that. Not a lot of whining or shrieking. Polite yet rambunctious. A smart-ass, but only enough to make his mother laugh. All in all, a decent little guy. Not one who deserved to have his Halloween ruined with an ill-timed cold. I couldn’t do anything about his virus, but I could bring Halloween to him.
With ideas for a substitute Halloween brewing in the back of my mind, I got breakfast set up in the dining room, making the briefest of appearances. Just long enough to settle the chafing dishes in place and light the fuel pots beneath. I texted Griffen to let him know Nicky was sick and I was handling the breakfast service. I already knew he’d take it from there. If I was trying to slack off, he’d be on my ass, but covering for Savannah when Nicky was sick? No problem.
When Savannah emerged from their small apartment, her cheeks pink, loose red curls already spinning free from her bun, I had a plan.