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“I don’t know what his problem is.” As long as Henry dealt with his pissy emotions and didn’t let them spill over onto the kids, I’d ignore it. But I couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding. Henry had been hired in Fargo and it would’ve been a job with more pay, but we’d moved to Bismarck because he’d been passed over for a residency slot at the same hospital in Fargo. Henry held grudges. “What about Stetson? Is that going to get bad?”
“I have no idea. Krystal’s gotten more unpredictable over the years, and it accelerated when they were dating.”
“Glad Holly isn’t like her. If someone wanted to spy on me, I’d rather just put them to work. They could clean out my flower beds or unpack the boxes in the garage.”
His body shook as he chuckled. “If they’re going to stalk you, they could help carry groceries in?”
“They could get the groceries and find out all my dirty shopping habits.” I laughed, grateful he didn’t mind humor for serious subjects. It was how several of us survived working in health care. “No, I know it’s not funny. I’ll take the issues with Henry over what Holly’s friend is dealing with.”
He let out a breath. Holden saw more than I wanted him to, and the heavy silence after what I just said told me that he thought Henry might be vindictive.
But he’d cheated, made me and the kids move out of our house to sell it, and finagled a lower child support payment than should be feasible for a man who earned what he did. There wasn’t much more he could do.
I rolled into Holden. “So, Halloween. You got plans?”
“I usually go to the bar and get an eyeful of all the skin the costumes don’t cover, but I’m hoping to have my very own naughty nurse.”
I laughed, trying to picture myself dressed in a revealing nurse costume. “I’ll keep that in mind when I put my scrubs on Monday morning. The best I can do is to wear flats instead of orthopedic shoes.”
“Keep talking, baby, and you won’t be able to walk in the morning.”
I swatted his chest, but still I beamed. He had a way of making me feel sexy, no matter what. “Want to go trick-or-treating? Mom’s going to stay over, and she said she’d hand out candy while I walked through the neighborhood with the kids.”
“That sounds fun.”
I lifted my head. I couldn’t see much of him in the dark, but I had to know he was serious. Instead of going to the skin fest of a bar’s Halloween party, he’d carry Riley and maybe even Afton because they were tired but refused to give up. “Really?”
“Serious. I’ve been avoiding it for almost ten years, but I used to love taking Nora around town. Seeing all the costumes. Kids are clever as hell. Nora trick-or-treated with her friends until they graduated.”
“It’s a date, then?”
“It’s a date.”
He didn’t say anything, and I closed my eyes, thinking it was time to drift off, but his chest went tight under my cheek like he was going to say something. I waited, but he didn’t speak. My eyelids drifted shut and the same thing happened.
“So… We’re getting into the holiday season, and you don’t seem sick of me.”
I didn’t think it was possible. “And you’re not sick of me.”
“Okay, so, um, about Thanksgiving. We have this big family get-together. Stetson and I have taken over deep-frying turkeys, and Nora and Isla cook. Aunt Willow brings over her asparagus hot dish, and I shit you not, it’s got crack or something in it. It’s like the one day of the year that my family isn’t uncomfortable around each other. We eat and watch football.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Does it sound nice enough for you all to come over? Your mom is invited too.”
We’d been together for long enough that it shouldn’t be weird to meet his family. But my first thoughts were to come up with excuses why not. It wouldn’t be just me meeting everyone but also the kids. He sounded so hopeful, I hated to ask for time. “Can I think about it?”
“Yeah, no problem. I’m sure you and your mom already have plans.”
I let out a scornful laugh. “Either Henry or I, or both of us, have worked Thanksgiving for the last ten years. We don’t plan much other than time and a half. Your plans sound intimidating, to be honest.”
“If it was any other holiday, I’d say yes, we’re intimidating. Last summer, when Archer met everyone for the first time, my uncle Cameron ran him out of the barbecue. Mom wasn’t much better. But Thanksgiving is the most relaxed the Barrons get as a group.”
He didn’t have a small house, but it’d be cold toward the end of November and we’d all be crushed inside. Would I spend my time refereeing the kids? Wouldn’t his mom have an issue? I hadn’t given her much thought. In my list of people I had to deal with, she was barely on it.
“Nora and Isla will be there,” he said quietly.
If he wanted to reassure me, he succeeded. His mom intimidated me, and if her brothers were only slightly better or worse, they would still be a lot. I hadn’t had meet-the-parents anxiety for more than a decade. I was too old for that shit. But all of that was an excuse.
He’d been so generous, and my only reason for hesitating was that I was scared. I’d been wearing big-girl underwear for years. I’d dealt with blood and death and fear of the medical unknown. I could deal with a Barron Thanksgiving. “Okay.”
His grin grew. “Okay?”
“We’ll be there.”
“It’ll be fun. I promise.”
I trusted Holden, and I fell asleep with a dreamy smile.
