Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
JOEY
“Mommy, do I get a snack tonight?”
“Of course. Anything you want.”
“Yesss,” he says, pumping his arm.
It seems like everyone in town is out at the fairgrounds tonight. The sun is already starting to dip behind the mountains, taking the afternoon heat with it. With it being the last weekend before school starts, we all had the same idea.
School.
I still can’t believe that Max will be starting Pre-K. I keep wavering back and forth between being excited for him and being anxious as hell. When did my baby boy get so big he’s ready to start full-time school?
“Can we ride the ponies?” Max points to the carousel.
“Let’s do it.” I squeeze his hand and walk over to get in line.
“Can we play a game too?”
“I think I can manage that.”
It’ll mean less money to go toward fixing up my car. Every little bit helps, but I want to give Max the best night I can. I saved every penny this week to make sure of it.
“Can I ride the blue one?” Max asks.
As the ride slows to a stop and everyone gets off, I follow him toward the one he points at.
“Whatever color you want.”
I help him up onto his chosen horse and buckle him in. The ride starts and the horse moves up and down in time to the music as we go in circles. I stand with Max, snapping a photo of his happy face.
By the time we’re done, he’s dragging me off toward one of the game booths.
“Can you win me something cool?”
“I’ll try.”
“Good luck, Mommy.”
“Thanks, Baby.”
I hand over a few dollars to the lady, hoping an easy bottle toss will win Max something. I do my best, but my aim is terrible. The young woman manning the game isn’t paying much attention as I keep trying, but only knocking down one off the top.
“Ahh, nuts.”
“Sorry, Max. Why don’t we go get a treat and then go on some more rides?”
“Yes.”
Max swings my hand in his as we wait in line at the food stall. “Uncle Chase could have knocked them all down.”
“Uncle Chase has a better arm than Mommy.”
“Maybe you can practice with him.”
“Okay.” I laugh, burying a kiss in his hair.
As I tell Max everything they have to offer, his eyes grow wide. “It’s not a real elephant ear, is it?”
“No. They just call it that because it’s so big.”
“How big?” Max asks as we step closer to the counter.
“The size of your face.”
“My face?” He giggles. “Can I get that?”
“As long as I get a few bites.”
“Okay.”
I pass over a few dollars and get the sweet treat for the two of us to split.
“And maybe the teacups too.”
“One thing at a time, Max,” I say.
Finding an empty bench, I sit next to my son and start to pull off a bite for him. He ignores it and takes a huge chunk out of the fried dough.
“Hey.” I pull it away from him. “Smaller bites. I don’t want you to choke.”
“O-tay.”
Powdered sugar puffs out from his mouth. His cheeks make him look like a squirrel.
“Do you like it?” I ask, popping my own piece in my mouth.
He nods up and down. “It’s my favorite. My tummy loves it.”
“Good.”
A family walks by, the little girl holding a plastic bag with a goldfish.
“Mommy. Can I get one of those?”
“Why don’t we try for a stuffed animal or something? We don’t want them to get lonely when you’re at school all day.”
He shrugs a shoulder and takes another bite.
“Does that mean we get to play more games?”
“Only a few. Then how about some more rides?”
“Maybe we can win something.”
“We’ll see.” I laugh.
“Look who’s here,” a familiar voice says.
My eyes snap up to the man standing next to me. Holding a hand up to block the fading light, I see Sam towering over us.
“Sam. Hi.”
“Hey, Joey.” He looks at me before looking at Max. “Who’s this little guy?”
“This is Max.”
Cinnamon and sugar ring his lips as he finishes his bite. “Who are you?” Max eyes him with an air of curiosity.
“I’m Sam. I work with your mom and know your grandpa.”
“Can you win me a toy?” Max asks. “Mommy isn’t very good.”
“Hey! Way to call me out.”
“You need some help, Joey?” Sam asks, a playful tilt to his mouth.
“Now I feel the need to try and impress you and show you I can win my son a stuffed animal.”
Max giggles next to me. “I really want the big tomato.”
“A tomato? Why do you want a tomato?” I ask.
“Dunno.”
It’s directly in his line of sight, so my guess is that’s why.
Sam looks from Max to the stuffed vegetable in question. “That’s pretty big. Do you have room for it at home?”
He nods. “He can sit with my other stuffies.”
“How many do you have?” Sam asks.
“Five.” Max holds up four fingers.
My sweet boy. Still learning how to do some things.
“Okay. As long as you have room, I will win you that tomato,” Sam says.
“Yes!”
Max runs back up to the counter of the basketball game, leaving me and the elephant ear behind. Sam follows him as I clean up.
I hang back a bit, watching as Sam passes over a twenty and is given a basketball to try and make as many shots as he can. Max is staring up at him like he’s the best thing he’s ever seen.
Kid isn’t wrong.
Not only does he make the first one, but he keeps sinking them. Max is cheering him on as I shake my head.
“Congratulations,” the woman says. “You can pick anything you’d like.”
She waves her hand above her head to the hanging toys.
“The tomato!” Max jumps up and down. “Tomato! Tomato! Tomato!”
“Are you trying to show me up?” I laugh as Max is handed his prize.
“You’re better than Mommy,” Max says, squeezing his toy to his chest. A silly smile is on his face.
“Hey. Don’t squeeze that tomato too hard.” I tickle his side. “You don’t want tomato juice everywhere.”
He giggles some more before turning his attention to Sam. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Very good manners,” Sam says to me.
I stand, grabbing Max’s hand.
“I try.”
“You’re doing good,” Sam reiterates with a wink.
I wish I could say it didn’t twist up my insides with that small gesture, but it does. It never hurts to hear how you’re doing as a parent. Especially since I’m doing it all on my own.
“Do you want to ride rides with us?” Max asks.
“I think Sam has other places to be,” I say.
“I don’t mind walking around with you guys for a bit,” he says.
“Really?”
He smiles at me. There goes that fluttery feeling in my stomach again. I need to lock that down. We shouldn’t be seen together. I can’t imagine my face is doing a good job of hiding how I feel about this man.
This thing between us would end suddenly if anything ever got back to my dad. Not that I even know what this thing is. Sam and I have only been together a few times. Spent the night together once. But I want it to keep going.
“I’d say hanging out with you two would be a good night.”
“We don’t get any more snacks,” Max tells him.
“You had your treat.” I ruffle his hair.
“What’d you have?” Sam asks.
“An elephant ear. But not a real one.”
“Good to know. How about we ride the bumper cars then?”
“Can we?” Max looks up at me with pleading eyes.
“Of course we can.”
“Yes.”
Holding his too-large tomato, Max grabs Sam’s hand and starts dragging him off in the direction of the rides.
Oh, Lord, there goes my ovaries, watching the two of them as they walk ahead of me. I pull out my phone and snap a quick picture because I want to remember this moment. Max is jabbering his ear off as I follow behind them, hoisting my backpack with all of Max's things higher up my back.
“Mommy won’t let me ride the spinny things,” I hear Max tell him.
“Those might upset your tummy. Bumper cars are fun.”
“Can I ride with you?” Max asks.
“What about me?” I huff. “What happened to Mom over here?”
Sam leans down and whispers something to him.
“I want to bump into Mommy.” He giggles.
“You’re turning my kid against me now?” I laugh.
“You can ride with my tomato.” Max passes it off to me as we join the line of waiting people.
The ride lets everyone out as we step forward and find an empty car. Sam helps Max buckle in and I find my own car next to them.
“You’re going down,” I tell them.
“No, we’re not,” Max fires back.
The ride starts and Sam lets Max take the wheel, helping every now and then as both our cars get bumped and moved along around the rink.
Max and Sam come right at me and I bounce off. Max’s laugh is infectious. They come at me again, but I dodge out of the way.
“Better try harder next time!”
This time they get me right in the back as I spin around to try and reciprocate. Both of them are beaming as we get one last hit in before the ride ends.
“That was so much fun!” Max runs up to me and throws his arms around my legs.
“I’m glad you had fun.”
“Can Sam ride more rides?”
“You bet,” Sam answers before I can.
The rest of the night is a blur of laughter, rides, and games. Sam never blinks twice at anything Max asks of him. With each passing second, it’s easy to see how much Max likes him.
That makes two of us.
Seeing them together makes my heart swell. This is something I’ve always wanted. Someone to not only love my son, but to love me.
I’m getting ahead of myself. There’s no way Sam loves me. But it’s hard not to think about building a future with this man. He’s damn near close to perfect.
When the sun sets, Max’s eyes are drooping.
“I think it’s about time we head home.”
“No.” Max yawns.
“It’s bedtime for you. We’ll read a story and you can sleep with your tomato.”
“I’ll help you get him in the car.”
Sam picks him up with ease and leads the way toward the parking lot. Droves of people are still coming in, ready for their night to begin.
I remember those days. Coming out here with the girls before school started. It was always one of my favorite times of the year. Presley was always with Kade, Georgia was by herself, and Rylee and I were always scoping out the cutest guy in class.
Now, I’m buckling Max into his car seat and headed home. Wishing the man next to me would be able to join us.
“Thanks for hanging out with us tonight.”
I shut the door behind me and lean against it. I wish I could stay out here with him for hours, but I can’t.
“My pleasure, darlin’.”
I take a step closer, still far too much distance between the two of us. “When will I get to see you again?”
“I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
I shake my head. “You know what I mean.”
“Think you can get away this weekend?”
“I can try.”
He winks at me again. “Then I guess I’ll see you this weekend.”
He backs away before I can do anything stupid—like press up onto my toes and kiss him. Sam fades into the crowd as I get into my borrowed work truck.
Max is already fast asleep. I wouldn’t trade my life with him for anything. But sometimes I wish I could bring the man I’m seeing home with me.
If only I didn’t have to worry about my parents seeing us. It’s like being back in high school.
Only this time, things with Sam feel different. It’s not some crush. It feels real. More real than anything I’ve had in…well, forever.