Page 11 of His for the Holiday

6

SUTTON

On Saturday, Emery and I had plans to meet up for the first day of the fall festival. I was actually pretty excited about it, and since Winnie had never experienced anything like it, she was brimming with excitement too.

“Is it true that there’s a chili contest?” she babbled as we walked up the street toward the Brunson house. “Are the chilies hot? Maggie in my class said there are carnival rides.”

“There should be carnival rides,” I said, squeezing her little hand in mine as I grinned at her. “It’s not the hot kind of chili, though. Not that spicy, burny stuff you don’t like. It’s like the chili I make for dinner sometimes. You like that, don’t you?”

“I do!” she exclaimed happily, peeling away from me to rush to the swing set when we arrived at the Brunsons’.

I looked up at the double-story house that used to be like a second home to me. It was a single-family, red-brick house with large, rectangular windows and a huge porch where Hawk and I used to do our homework.

I sighed as I strode up the paved path to their front door. Then I jumped when it opened before I’d even knocked. Hawk appeared in front of me, apparently having trouble getting Sawyer’s sweater over his head. Duncan crashed into them from the side, hopping on one of his feet as he shoved the other into a sneaker.

Meanwhile, Logan zoomed around behind them, yelling something about a missing blue scarf. My eyebrows rose as I took in the chaos and wondered why Hawk was wrangling all three boys by himself.

“Do you need some help?” I offered, my gaze dropping to Sawyer’s sweater-covered head where he stood in front of his uncle.

Hawk nodded, his blue eyes pleading. “Please. I think it’s stuck.”

I chuckled and got a firm grip on the thick material before I started tugging at it. “Are you okay in there, kiddo? Does this sweater still fit?”

“It’s my favorite,” he said instead of answering the question. “My arm is stuck.”

I chuckled, adjusting my grip and holding the sleeve firmly. “Okay, I want you to pretend you’re Superman about to zoom through the air and punch your arm out.”

Sawyer did as I said and his hand finally slid through the sleeve. Once it was through, Hawk managed to get the sweater over his head and then exhaled in relief. “Thanks. I had no idea this was so hard. Why do people with kids ever leave the house?”

“Because we have to,” I said. “Where’s Emery?”

“Oh, uh, she had to take our dad to the city,” he replied, glancing at the kids before bringing those eyes back to mine. “He had a rough night so he’s in the hospital today.”

“Is he alright?”

Hawk just shrugged, glancing at the kids again, and it occurred to me that it was probably best not to talk about this in front of them. Taking a step back, I slid my hands into the pockets of my hoodie and nodded.

“Right. Well, I suppose we’ll just do something together another day.”

His eyes suddenly widened. “No, I’m taking the kids to the festival with you. They’re so excited. Emery begged me to make sure they still got to go. These little savages will probably skin me alive if I don’t follow through.”

“Oh.” My heart started thudding against my ribs. I stared into those eyes I could so easily still lose myself in. “Okay. That makes sense. I suppose we should go, then. Why didn’t you just take your dad, though?”

Hawk called the boys. Once we had them all, we started our walk to the festival. The kids were slightly ahead of us, talking and laughing excitedly as we strode down the street.

“I offered to take him,” Hawk said, reminding me of the question I’d asked. “He, uh, he wasn’t so keen on the idea. Besides, Emery knows what medications he’s on and all that, so we thought it’d just be better for her to take him.”

I nodded slowly, wondering why it felt like Hawk and his dad weren’t close anymore. At the same time though, I couldn’t really think very clearly at all right now. He and I were walking side by side and I could feel his presence beside me. More than just physical, he seemed to radiate just being there, and I remembered feeling the same thing once we’d become teenagers.

There was something about Hawk that drew me to him, making me want to reach for his hand or slide my arm around his waist all the time. We’d never gone public with our relationship, but back in the day, I’d felt the same way and he’d felt it too, and somehow, even though we’d never held hands while walking down the street, we always used to find at least small ways in which to touch.

A brush of the backs of our hands. Our pinkies linking for a few seconds. My shoulder touching his bicep. Just something. Some small way to maintain contact with one another.

It was hard to deny it, even now, and I shuffled a few inches to the side to give myself some space so I wouldn’t end up brushing my hand against his. Still, it was like my skin was tingling just for being so close to him, begging me for just a short burst of contact with his.

Neither of us said anything as we strode to the festival. When we arrived, I watched Winnie and the twins run off to the house of mirrors with Sawyer desperately trying to keep up. I chuckled, inhaling the delicious scents coming from the food stalls.

“They’ll be back for something to eat,” I said to Hawk, who I was now officially stuck with. “I’m going to get a cider.”