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Eduardo tsked. “You boys leave Roe alone. Clearly, he has only just realized his little crush on the sheriff. Maybe you could make a move at the summer festival. It’s this weekend. Wouldn’t that be lovely? Very small-town romance.”
“Nope. That’s way too silly.” Fawn leaned her chin on her fist and sipped at her tea. “What would he do? Go on the Ferris wheel with him and profuse his love? Blah! Besides, the longer he thinks about it, the more doubts he’ll have. Sometimes you just have to act, not think.”
“Your body should act all over Sheriff McKenzie’s body,” Abel said, nodding sagely. “It’s the logical thing to do.”
“You are all bad influences.” Roe glared at them. “You’d have me strip him naked at the front door, wouldn’t you?”
Fawn shrugged. “Well, that’s one idea, I suppose. Perhaps make sure the kids aren’t home first. Oh, and Wally may need to check the cameras. You certainly don’t want a sex tape leaked to the media.”
Later that evening,Roe snuggled on the sofa with Benji as they watchedFrozenfor the thirtieth time. Birdie and Daphne were having a sleepover. They had shut themselves away in her attic room with snacks. Tris was video chatting with some of his friends. Again. He would be headed to school in less than a week.
Roe hugged Benji closer, already missing Tris.
“Is Benji your emotional support baby?” Mack asked, sitting down. “You look like your heart is breaking.”
“Tris is eighteen.” Roe made a face. “His brain isn’t even fully developed yet. Why can’t he just stay with me forever? Is that too much to ask?”
Mack chuckled. “You know the answer to that. I hate to be the one to tell you, but it doesn’t get any easier. Children become adults, but they’ll always be your children. I’m still wrapping my head around Lacey getting married.”
“She’s going to be at the festival tomorrow, right?”
Mack nodded. “She wants to meet you all. Renee will be there, too.”
Roe snuffled the top of Benji’s head. The more attracted he grew to Mack, the more he worried about meeting Lacey. She was the center of Mack’s world. What if she didn’t like Roe or the kids?
“Cain called today,” Mack said, leaning back.
Roe groaned. “I don’t want to think about that right now. It’s a mess.”
“That it is.” Mack nudged Roe’s shoulder with his own. “I thought we caught the vending machine thief last night. Did I tell you about that?”
“No, what happened?” Roe asked. Mack had worked late last night, and they hadn’t really had a chance to talk. He was becoming addicted to their talks.
“We had everything arranged perfectly. It was after midnight, and a car pulled into the gas station. It’s closed, so there’s no reason for it to be there, right? Anyway, the car pulls in and parks, but no one gets out. Three squad cars pull in and block each of the exits, and I rush up, ready to read the thief his rights and cuff him. Tanner and Parker are right behind me like good little deputies.”
“Oh my goodness.” Roe leaned closer.
“The window rolls down, and it’s Yeo, the bookstore owner. He’s stuffing his face with tacos from the fast-food place down the street. He’s a little over four months pregnant and wanted a snack. Didn’t want to make a mess in the car, but also didn’t want to wait until he got home.”
Roe laughed hard, falling into Mack’s side. “That’s Caden’s husband, right? Why didn’t he just make Caden go get them?”
Mack sighed. “Who knows? Sometimes, I think the Wilsons and the Wilson adjacents live to make my job harder.”
“At least he wasn’t the vending machine thief. Imagine having to deal with the Bensons over that.” Roe giggled again and grabbed his phone to text Cain. “I have to tell Cain his brother-in-law almost got arrested for eating tacos.” He gasped as a thought came to him. “Wait, am I Wilson adjacent since Cain is my best friend?”
“No, don’t say that,” Mack groaned and covered his face. “You can’t be Wilson adjacent. You just can’t.”
Roe snorted and nudged his side. “Do you want to hold Benji? He’ll make you feel better.”
Mack pulled the little boy into his lap. “Hi’ya, Benji.”
Benji snuggled into him, eyes transfixed on the screen. He loved the damn snowman in the movie more than anything.
Roe pulled his sketchbook from the table and started a new drawing. The relaxed lines of Mack’s handsome face and a transfixed Benji made for the perfect inspiration. Moments like this were too precious. He’d just have to figure out how to hide his attraction from the man who was becoming so important to him. He didn’t want to lose his Ian.
Hobson Hills’sSummer festival was held in the center of town. Booths of games lined the walkway, and food trucks gathered in one corner. A few small kiddie rides, a petting zoo, and a small stage took up the rest of the space. At the moment, a live band played music on the stage, but there were several events scheduled for the weekend.
“Why did I have to go meet the hot messes?” Roe asked, growling under his breath. “Now all I can think about is riding on the stupid Ferris wheel with Ian.”
