Chapter 13 Misted Pines Art Center Opening
THIRTEEN
Misted Pines Art Center Opening
Mabel
Brett turned his gaze to the heavens.
I turned to look down to his kids.
“Okay, this is the deal.”
Two pairs of wide brown eyes gazed up at me.
“First, this time, both your mom and dad have to say okay. And if they don’t, you can’t be mad, because they’ve said yes to everything so far, and that makes them the way coolest parents ever.”
Liam didn’t buy my line.
He screwed up his cute little face, probably already knowing this was a no go.
Then again, I’d been floating through the amazing Misted Pines Art Center opening, rows of tents with all the good stuff you could ever need, wafting Rich Auntie vibes in my wake and spoiling the shit out of my shop manager’s kids.
To wit, Liam had a Captain America mask painted on his face, courtesy of moi (and the librarians at the Misted Pines Public Library).
Emma was a kitty (again, me). They’d both sucked back Italian sodas from the Aromacobana tent (also me), which was the start of the sugar rush.
We’d stood with me shelling out dollar after dollar (after dollar) while they threw hoops to win prizes at the MPHS cheerleaders’ fundraising drive to go to some camp.
Just to say, both kids walked away with prizes.
And the cheerleaders were probably going to that camp first class.
The cotton candy machine made Emma’s eyes get so wide, I thought they’d pop out of her cute little face.
“It’s pink!” she’d screeched.
So she got cotton candy, as did Liam (his was blue), and the high school band got six dollars.
Of course, I made certain I had nonverbal permission from Mom and/or Dad (mostly Mom) for all of these things. I wasn’t a heathen.
But I was seeing, now that Liam had picked three caramel apples (mini-M&M’s, turtle and chocolate chip and mini marshmallows) and Emma had picked two (rocky road, and another vote for mini-M&M’s), I might have created a monster or two, and Brett was coming to the end of his tether.
I had to rein it in.
Fortunately, Abigail was giggling herself sick.
She turned to her husband. “Just think, honey. They’re never going to want to come home with us. They’ll want to go to Mabel’s so she can spoil them for all their days. We’ll be childless again.” She clutched his arm and leaned in. “All that freedom.”
Overhearing this, Emma threw her skinny, little girl arms around Tonks’s neck and shouted, “Yay! If I live with Mabel, I get a doggie!”
Tonks rewarded this love with a full side-of-the-face lick, ruining her kitty paint.
Emma dissolved into giggles.
Needless to say, my dog was in her element with people, kids, and all sorts of stuff to smell, including other dogs’ booties.
She was in heaven.
And she’d been my perfect little puppers angel.
I was in heaven too, and having an extremist Christian cult as neighbors notwithstanding, the Misted Pines Art Center opening was winning me way over to the side of staying.
I had not lived in a small town in my life. Even when I was with my uncle, he lived in a suburb of Memphis.
This was real small-town living.
And I was here for it.
It felt, after thirty-one years, like I’d finally come home.
“Right, Buckner family huddle, plus me,” I stated. “New proposed deal. I buy the caramel apples if the kids not only agree they have to wait to eat them, but when they do, they get one each, and they have to share them with the entire family.”
“M&M’s!” Liam yelled.
“Ruggy road!” Emma shrieked.
That had me giggling.
“Mabel.”
My name in Hutch’s voice switched the giggling to shivering.
I turned.
And there he was in all his glory, the sun shining on his burnished hair, his wardrobe selection for the day being a short-sleeved burgundy T-shirt over a long-sleeved gray one, jeans, his scuffed-up boots, with the addition of some smoked-lensed, gold-rimmed sunglasses that made me need a bathroom, STAT, so I could ascertain if my panties just did, indeed, melt.
I hadn’t seen that T-shirt look on a guy in years, and I was all in for a revival.
Since I’d met him, I’d thought he’d been growing a beard.
He was cleanshaven now.
Except a thick mustache.
No, I didn’t need to check.
I knew my panties were toast.
“Ahnahtha doggie!” Emma squealed and threw herself at the animal sitting at Hutch’s feet.
Brett jumped forward. Abigail did too.
But I was closer, and at just a glance at his dog, I caught her shoulder and pulled her back.
This had to be Hannibal.
All black, with fur so glossy, it was extraordinary. All muscle, lots of it. He had floppy ears and long jowls.
He was adorable.
He was also huge.
“Hannibal loves kids,” Hutch said to Abigail and Brett.
“Hannibal?” Brett asked, clearly skeptical of that name and Hutch’s assertion.
“The Carthaginian general, not Anthony Hopkins,” I said to save Hutch from having to.
Brett looked to me.
Abigail’s eyes zoomed in on me so hard, I was sure she was reading my X-ray.
She then oh-so-slowly raised her brows.
I ignored her and started the introductions.
“Hutch, this is Abigail and Brett. Abigail is a friend, and she works with me at my store. And these are their kids, Liam and Emma.”
As far as I knew, Hutch didn’t know about my store. We spent time together, but it wasn’t get-to-know you time. It was get-the-dog-to-learn-to-stay time.
Even so, he didn’t blink when I said that.
Nor did he ask about it.
Liam was staring up at Hutch with his mouth hanging open (I got where the kid was coming from).
Emma was skipping in place, and she singsonged, “Hiya, Missa Hutch.”
“Yo,” he said to her.
She giggled for the seven thousandth time that day.
“Abigail, Brett, this is Hutch,” I said to my friends to close out the introductions.
“How’s it goin’, man?” Brett asked, offering his hand.
“Can’t complain,” Hutch said, taking it.
They shook and Hutch turned to Abigail.
She offered her hand. He took it.
And after giving him the once over known around the world as the BFF Preliminary Eye Test, she let him go and said, “Lovely to meet you.”
“Same,” Hutch grunted.
“Can I pet your doggie?” Emma requested belatedly.
“Sure can,” Hutch said.
She went for it even as Abigail cautioned, “Go slow, baby.”
She went slow and patted Hannibal on the head repeatedly, and the big softie just blinked his eyes every time her hand landed what looked like somewhat hard on his skull.
Tonks got jealous and started nosing in.
Hannibal didn’t flinch at another dog that close. Didn’t even move.
But Emma did.
Another neck hug for Tonks and Hutch was informed, “This is my first doggie. Yours can be my second.”
“That’s a deal,” Hutch said.
“We were picking caramel apples, maybe, if Mom and Dad are groovy with it,” I explained.
Emma popped back from Tonks and shouted, “Ruggy road!”
“You’ll wait for after dinner?” Brett asked.
She held her belly and jumped on her toes. “Yes, Daddy! Yes!”
“Don’t even think about it,” Brett said to me. “This time it’s on me. What do you want?”
“Totally M&M,” I said.
Liam shuffled to me, leaned against my side, still staring at Hutch, but I bent to him.
“M&M for you too?” I asked quietly.
Suddenly bashful, he nodded.
“M&M for me too, brother,” Hutch said, pulling his wallet out of his back jeans pocket.
Brett used his fingers to punctuate his order to the kid behind the table. “Three M&M. One rocky road. A turtle and a s’more.”
Abigail leaned into her husband again. “S’more, baby. You know me so well.”
He bent his head to kiss her.
They were cute and all.
But I was staring at Hutch.
After he handed over his ten bucks, he caught my eye.
M&M? I mouthed.
His shades dipped down to Liam.
Oh wow.
He didn’t miss the instant hero worship.
Mr. Clean Eating wasn’t going to eat it. He just wanted Liam to think he was like the cool guy.
God, I wished I could kiss him.
Uh…
Dang.
Where did that come from?
We weren’t in the lover zone, we weren’t even in the friend zone.
Then again, I’d always been a sucker for men who knew how to handle children with care, and it didn’t take ten years of therapy to understand where that came from (or the three years of therapy I’d actually had).
Adding on to that, for one night, we had been in the lover zone. And it had been a very good night.
Thank you, I mouthed.
He jutted up his chin.
Yeesh.
Dudes.
Emma got tired of the furry cuties and latched onto another kind of cutie, that being Hutch’s hand.
I got a heart skip and a secret quiver watching his big, strong hand engulf her tiny one.
Skipping in place again, she stared up at him and asked, “Are you gonna walk with us through the fair?”
“You want me to?” he asked back.
“Yeah. You got a doggie.”
Boy, when she got older, and Hutch would undoubtedly still be Hutch, I hoped she didn’t remember she picked the dog over the guy even while holding the guy’s hand. She’d never forgive herself for it.
“Then I will,” Hutch agreed. “Wanna help me hold his leash?”
She let him go and clutched her hands to her chest like that had been her dearest wish all her life and squealed, “Yes, please!”
He offered his hand that held the leash. “Right. Hold onto the loop really tight.”
Concentrating, she grabbed on even though Hutch hadn’t let go.
Once Brett secured the paper bags filled with caramel apples, we set on our way.
Abigail gave me you are soooooooo gonna spill eyes.
To avoid that, I scurried ahead and fell in step by Hutch and Emma.
“How’s the rescue tent going?” I asked.
“With this crowd, we’re gonna run out of organic treats,” he replied.
“Any adoptions?”
“We brought four cats and six dogs. So far, the board has thirteen applications to go through tonight, which means at least three are gonna be disappointed. But we hope they’ll hit the shelter and try again.”
I smiled at him.
His head shifted the barest hint in a manner I got the impression his eyes behind his shades were resting on my mouth.
“Six doggies?” Emma butted in, thankfully before I did something stupid, like jumped him so I could try out that mustache.