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“I know, isn’t that exciting?”
“Ford’s coming and Nash and Luna. Luke too.”
“Yes, it should be fun.”
“I like Ford. If you want to date him, that’s okay, Mom.”
She nearly drove off the road. “Why did you say that?”
“You like him and he likes you. Plus I heard Aunt Jess say to Joe you would be a lovely couple.”
He sounded about twenty. When had he grown up and begun to understand words likedatingandcouple?
“Uh, sure. I like him.”
“Cool. Did you bring candy for the flight?”
“I brought you a sandwich and fruit, not candy,” Autumn said, still not believing she’d just had that conversation with her son, who was now discussing candy.
“Maybe someone else will have candy,” Ritchie said.
“Only if you eat your sandwich and fruit.”
“Benji is already there, Mom. They drove to Lyntacky yesterday.”
“That’s nice that your friend will be there when you arrive.”
Some of the people who were participating in the volleyball tournament had driven there by bus. Others who were short on time were being flown in.
Turning in to the Harris driveway minutes later, Autumn thought it would be a lovely day for a trip in an airplane if she didn’t loathe flying. Perhaps loathe was a strong word as she’d not flown much, but she didn’t like it the two times she’d tried it.
They were flying in tonight and would fly home tomorrow after the tournament.
Pulling up next to two cars, she climbed out. One of the pickups was Ford’s. Was he flying out with them today?
She hadn’t seen him for a week, but he had called her two nights ago. She’d been lying in bed reading. They’d talked for a while, and he’d made her laugh about how Monica and Kismet had a love-hate relationship. She’d told him some of the funny things her kids had done, and then he’d said good night. Autumn had wondered when she hung up if he would sleep that night.
Something had woken her at two a.m. She wasn’t sure what made her do it, but she sent Ford a text asking if he was awake too.
Her phone rang seconds later, and he told her he’d been building a model. So she told him to get into bed and put his phone on speaker beside him. Then she took him through one of the deep-breathing exercises she learned from a nurse in the hospital after Ritchie was born. She kept repeating the exercise until he started snoring. She’d fallen asleep again with a smile on her face.
“Hi there, Autumn, Ritchie.” Luke Trainer greeted them with an arm around Quinn’s shoulders. They looked good together.
“Hi. You’re flying us to Lyntacky, Quinn!”
“I know.” Quinn bent to talk to Ritchie. “I’m real excited about that. You want to come with me and do the last of the preflight checks?”
Ritchie turned to look at Autumn, and she nodded, then followed with Luke. Ford was in the hangar with Nash and Luna. She said hello and handed her bag to Luke to stow in the plane.
“Hey, you.”
“Hey, you,” she said when Ford moved to stand in front of her.
“Thank you for helping me sleep the other night. Kismet went out like a light too.”
“I’m glad it helped you both. How’s she doing?”
“Real good.” His smile just amped up his level of sexy. He wore a long-sleeved Henley and jeans, and the look suited him. Any clothes suited him actually, Autumn thought, just as no clothes did.
