Caleb walked with his arm over Mouse’s neck. “Can we bring him home, Mom?”
“No, honey. He belongs to the lady.” She held out the graphic novel and the kid’s eyes lit up. “Cool!”
He took it and walked away with Mouse to find another bean bag chair.
“Guess that was a win.”
“And there’s a bunch in the series. You saved my life. Winter break is coming up.”
I laughed. “Glad I could help.”I wandered over to where the youngest sat with a huge bin of Legos. “Can I play?”
Max looked to his mom, who gave him the nod. He pushed over some black and brown bricks. “I guess so.”
That’s where Dutch found us half an hour later.
Mouse was happily snoozing as Caleb leaned against him, engrossed in his comic, and Max and I were creating a chaotic playground with Marvel, DC, and Star Wars heroes.
He came over and straddled the low bench, his knees were tucked into his chest. “What are we making?”
“Epic battle for the swings.” I set Batman in front of him.
Max took it back. “He has to help Mando and Grogu.”
“Sorry.”
Max handed me Spiderman. “He can have him.”
I snapped Spiderman into the board. “I can’t figure out if that’s an upgrade or downgrade. You’re grumpy like Batman.”
“Quiet, you.” He pitched his voice super low and I couldn’t stop smiling.
Dutch ended up with Spiderman, Doc Oc, and the Hulk by the end of our playtime. The mom thanked us for playing with the boys so she could chill out with her book in one of the bean bag chairs as well.
When the kids cleared out and we were walking out to the truck, I asked about the articles.
“I have a ton of stuff to go through. Edie even found a few follow-up articles that filled in some holes months after the incidents.”
“So, what’s the verdict?”
“I need to cross-reference. There were a lot more articles than I was expecting.”
“It was big news around here for a few years. I imagine lots of gossip and hearsay in there too.”
“Yeah, but that works for me. I wanted a feel for the town at the time. Gave me some insights.”
“You look like you want to get into it.”
“Yeah.” He tucked his hands into his jacket pockets. “I need some time with my chalkboards.”
“It’s fine by me. I have a bunch of orders that I need to work on.”
He was quiet as we got into the truck. “I want to see you tonight.”
That felt like a good sign. “Handily, I’d love to be seen. Might need to make a pit stop.”
He frowned at me, then his brow cleared. “Right.”
I laughed and hugged Mouse to me. I kissed his nose. “Did Caleb tucker you out? All that cuddling is exhausting.”
