But he didn’t really believe that either.
He pulled into a parking spot up on the hill, giving them a nice long walk down to the farm’s offerings.
Being active usually helped him push his thoughts back down where they belonged. And Leo loved a good walk.
Grayson got out quickly to open Evangeline’s door for her.
“Are you okay?” she asked him quietly, her green eyes searching his face.
“Yes,” he said too quickly, turning away from her.
And maybe with Leo and Evangeline in his life, that didn’t have to be a lie anymore.
14
EVANGELINE
Evangeline bit her lip as she wondered what to do.
She was having a hard day herself, trying her best to focus on the present instead of letting herself be preoccupied over Rory.
But right now, she was worried about what was going on with her boss. The car ride seemed to have put him in a dark mood, and she wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to do when that happened. Her instinct was to help, but she didn’t know enough about him to understand why he sometimes retreated into himself. She thought maybe it had something to do with those scars, since he tended to unconsciously touch them whenever he got quiet like this. But she didn’t know the story behind them, and it wasn’t her place to ask.
She also thought it had something to do with her, and she really wasn’t sure what. Ever since her conversation with Rory, she’d been second-guessing her every move around Grayson.
As he moved to get Leo out of his car seat, Evangeline decided it was probably best to just focus on the practical things for a while. She was probably overthinking everything anyway. She had a habit of doing that.
“Um, should I get his stroller?” she asked. “Or is it okay if I just hold him in the carrier?”
“You can hold him, if you want,” Grayson said, lifting the baby out. “But I’ll bring his stroller too, in case he needs it later.”
“Okay,” she said a little too brightly. “Great idea.”
She hurried to slide the carrier on and when he turned back to her, she was ready to take Leo.
“Hello, sweet boy,” she told him as she strapped him carefully against her chest, facing out. “We’re going to have such a fun day.”
She patted his little belly and he grabbed one of her index fingers in each of his chubby fists and began waving them around.
Instantly, she felt a whole lot better.
“Here we go,” Grayson said, closing the back of the SUV and pushing the stroller around to join them. It held the diaper bag and a reusable shopping bag with something in it that she hadn’t packed. “Are you ready to explore?”
He already seemed a lot more like his usual self. It was funny what a few breaths of cold, sweet air would do.
“Definitely,” she told him.
“We’ll get a tree,” he said. “But we should do that last. First we’ll look around. They have holiday decorations, and fresh baked goods, and animals you can feed.”
“Animals?” she echoed. “And you canfeedthem?”
“Yeah,” he said, chuckling. “Do you want to do that first?”
“Um,yes,” she said, then remembered to add, “If that’s okay with you and Leo?”
“I’ve been here a million times,” he told her with an indulgent half -smile that made her feel warm all over. “And Leo’s too little to notice most of it. He’ll be happy if you’re happy.”
“Amazing,” she said. “Thank you.”
