“Shouldn’t we wait for Hawk and Noelle?”Max asked.
I waved away his concern.“We’ll just start brainstorming.”
“Wizard of Oz,” Max answered immediately.
“Scooby-Do,” Daire offered.
“How about a basketball team and Hunter can be the ball?”I suggested.
By the time Noelle and Hawkley showed up ten minutes later, we had a healthy list of suggestions.
I cooed over baby Hunter, preparing to lift him from his car seat when I sensed the mood shift behind me.
I turned to see a hard-faced Hawkley attempting to stare down Daire.
My eyes darted to Daire who was smiling tightly back at him.
“What’s going on?”
Neither Hawk nor Daire deigned to even look at me.
“Max?”
Max looked between them then back at me.“You know what, Harley?Absolutely nothing of any importance.”
Hawk’s angry gaze swung to Max.
Max shook his head.“We’ve talked about this.You’re blowing it out of proportion, Hawk.”
Noelle put her hand on Hawkley’s arm, tossing a nervous smile in Daire’s direction.“Hawk, baby, it’s all good.”
I frowned.What did they all know that I didn’t?I opened my mouth to push for answers, but baby Hunter chose that moment to unleash an ear-splitting scream.
“Holy fuck!”I exclaimed.“What the hell was that?”
Noelle laughed.“His newest skill.Isn’t it a killer?”
“It’s awful,” I laughed.I gave my head a small shake.My ears were still ringing.“He’s a baby mandrake.You guys need ear plugs.”
It didn’t take me long to soothe him, it turned out he wanted up and didn’t care to wait.I grinned.As impatient as his namesake.
I considered pushing back against Hawk for his attitude, but I was wary of pushing him.I’d only just gotten him back.I didn’t love the idea of getting into it with him.
Now or at any time in the future.
Daire grabbed a fresh beer for himself and Max, and passed another to Hawk who accepted it with a ‘thanks, man’, so whatever the problem was, it seemed to have passed.
Hawk smiled at me, and the rest of my tension drifted away.
He peered at my notebook.“What fresh hell are you conjuring up for us now?”
I laughed and launched into my plans.
Years ago, Sage Ridge adopted a few unique Halloween practices.
The celebration started early at the school where there was lots of parking, continued through downtown, and then filtered down into the neighborhoods for the older kids.
“This year, instead of the kids heading home, I want to open the hall at the resort for a movie night.The school is totally on board.”
