Page 59 of Together Is Where We Belong

We got to the booth and waited in line. When it was our turn, Carolina pulled the backpack off her shoulder and unzipped the front pocket. I eyed her questioningly, and she pulled out her wallet to pay.

“I’ve got this,” I said as I reached into my back pocket and retrieved my wallet.

Surprisingly, all Carolina did was purse her lips before she put her wallet back inside the pocket and rezipped it. She said nothing as she put the backpack on her shoulder and stood off to the side as I paid.

I purchased way too many tickets, but it went to a good cause. All the proceeds of the event went back into the community of Haven Valley. We wouldn’t profit a dime, and I loved the generosity of my family who always found ways to give back to our small town.

“Mom, Dad, can we go to the bounce houses next?” Luke’s excited voice asked as we waited in line for the tractor to return.

“We can do whatever you want,” Carolina said beside me, the tone in her voice sounding like she’d finally relaxed a bit.

“Hey there, Leo,” I heard behind me and groaned. I didn’t want to deal with Gina today. She’d messaged me nonstop since our night together, one I’d rather forget, as harsh as it sounded. I deleted her messages without even reading them.

Turning around, I said hello as I saw Carolina tense out of the corner of my eye. Talk about awkwardness.

“The ranch looks great today,” she said in an attempt to make small talk.

“Thanks,” I muttered, hoping she’d take the hint and end the conversation. Only I wasn’t that lucky.

“Carolina, I didn’t know you were back in town. How’ve you been?” Gina asked.

“Good,” was all Carolina replied as she turned away from Gail and looked ahead to the tractor that was returning.

“Who do we have here?” Gina asked. Part of me wanted to run in the opposite direction. Gail was nice and all, but I wanted to shield Luke of my past and any parts of it that could potentially hurt him, including the woman before me who was likely only making small talk to pry, not because she was genuinely interested.

“Dad, look. It’s about to be our turn,” Luke said as he leaned down, his stomach resting on the back of my head as he looked at me upside down.

“Dad?” Gina gasped, and just like that the small cocoon Carolina and I’d been in the past two weeks was about to rip wide open. Gina didn’t have a tight lip when it came to gossip, and I was sure news would spread fast around town. I wasn’t ashamed of my son, but I didn’t want him to be the talk of the town either.

“Yes, this is my son,” I said proudly, and I saw Carolina’s back tense as I said the words aloud. We hadn’t talked about how we’d handle this situation today when the town would see us together with Luke. I just wanted him to have fun. I hadn’t really thought about anything beyond that.

“With her?” Gina bit out, a distasteful look now marred her face as she looked over at Carolina and back to me.

“Gina, not that it’s any of your business, but yes with her. Now can you please excuse us? We’re trying to have fun with our son,” I said as politely as I could and turned my back to her ending our conversation.

I heard her huff as her and the friend she was with stalked off somewhere, hopefully on the other side of the ranch far away from me.

“Sorry about that,” I said to Carolina. I didn’t explain anything, I didn’t see the need, especially since that was an adult conversation not suitable for Luke’s ears.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” she replied, not looking at me, her tone neutral, and I couldn’t gauge if she meant it or not.

“But,” I started, and she turned to face me.

“It’s fine, Leo. If you want, we can talk about it later. If not, that’s fine too. It’s not my business. Let’s just show Luke a good time today,” she said without looking me fully in the eye, before she turned back around.

The tractor pulled up where the line of people waited. I took Luke off my shoulders and put him down beside me, taking his hand in my own.

“Make sure you hold my hand, okay,” I told him as he jumped up and down. Carolina let out a sigh of relief, and her shoulders relaxed a bit.

“Okay, Dad,” Luke replied.

Once everyone was off the ride, we waited our turn before we climbed up and sat down on the hay bail. Luke sat in my lap, and I wrapped my arms around his stomach to get a good grip on him. I knew that Michael, the ranch hand who drove the tractor, would drive us around safely, but it made me feel better to have a tight grip on Luke just in case.

Carolina sat beside me, her bare thigh resting against the side of my leg. The touch of her skin set mine ablaze, and I tensed at the spark that ignited deep within my belly at the feeling of her skin against mine.

“You ready?” I said to Luke as I peered around his shoulder and tickled his stomach.

“Oh yeah. This is gonna be so much fun,” Luke said as he looked to the front just as the tractor started to move.