Before he could say something that would make me feel bad, Lula and Lyric entered the house with the dogs behind them. Suddenly, the tension broke, and Dan smiled at his wife. I felt strangely out of place. Lyric was very interested in where her uncle and aunt had been. She followed them around all afternoon.
An hour later, Skylar arrived home, told them hello, and then went to take a short nap. Lyric joined her sister. I found myself sitting in their room, trying to imagine a life with Boone and the girls.
Where would we live? Would my girls resent me for giving up their new home? No doubt, they’d be upset. They loved Lula’s house and this neighborhood. I’d be asking them to give up everything to make me happy.
BOONE
Nova acted weird when she answered the door. I figured she might be feeling odd about us dating now that Exile was back home. He eyeballed me from the back door, where he stood with Lula. Rather than react to his dirty looks, I kissed Nova before the girls came rushing toward us.
“We’re getting pumpkins!” Lyric announced as she tugged on her Monsters, Inc knit cap. “I get my own.”
“I get one, too,” Skylar said and slid on her bat-themed sunglasses. “I want to cut its head open and make it smile.”
Lyric stopped in her tracks and asked, “What?”
“You cut it open and pull out its brains,” Skylar explained.
“No, that’s gross.”
Nova smiled at me. “We haven’t done jack-o'-lanterns yet. Dan usually gets them done somewhere else and brings them home.”
“Is that how we should do it?” I asked. “We always cut them up at home.”
Nova bit at her bottom lip, clearly unsure. I squatted in front of the girls.
“We need to choose,” I told them as they stared at me. “We can buy pumpkins and cut them open ourselves. Or we can get jack-o'-lanterns that are already cut open.”
“Will the pumpkin hurt?” Lyric asked with complete sincerity.
“No, baby,” Nova said and knelt next to her daughter. “They are food. They don’t feel anything.”
“My friends at school scooped out the brains,” Skylar explained. “I want to scoop.”
Lyric clearly had no idea what her sister was talking about, but she nodded anyway.
I stood up and nodded at Lula. “Does Dillon want to come along?”
“No,” the preteen answered before Lula could.
“That’s probably good,” I said and smiled at Nova. “I’m not used to these two. Adding another little kid to the mix might overwhelm me.”
Lula snickered at Dillon’s irritated expression. “Vanessa makes really cool designs on her jack-o'-lanterns. Maybe ask her to help.”
Nodding, I texted Vanessa to see if she could help us design jack-o'-lanterns. She replied quickly to say she’d be at the patch soon.
I knew instantly how Goldie was at the auto shop with Vanessa. They would no doubt meddle in my date. Rather than get riled up, I smiled at Nova.
“Do you know where you want to eat after the pumpkin patch?” I asked and began shepherding the three of them out the door. “I know a place that makes mini burritos for kids.”
“Ooh, let’s do that,” Lyric said and bounced next to me.
The girls were fully on board with whatever I wanted. Nova seemed edgy, though.
“Can I drive?” I asked as she prepared to take the driver’s spot. “I know where things are, and I get sleepy in cars when I’m not driving.”
Nova stared up at me, revealing nothing despite her expressive eyes.
“Is that a no?”
