“Good.I’ve got a few errands to run.Why don’t I meet you back here in half an hour and you can follow me out.Does that work?”
After she agreed, Jolie waved and left through the kitchen, leaving Olivia discombobulated.“Well, Ella Mae, it looks like we have our first play date in Phail.”
For the first time in a long while, Olivia felt safe enough to be excited about the day.
No nerves.No fear.Just a play date.
And if she wished it could be a real date, she’d keep that deep inside her heart.
Chapter6
Friends And Family
Nash was glad he could keep his own anticipation more under wraps than his kid.Olivia had returned his text and said she’d be out to the apple farm soon.
He and Charlie had been dressed in their winter gear and outside waiting for ten minutes already.Talk about eager.
And it wasn’t a date.
A play date for his kid.That’s all.
He kept his eye roll internal.His attraction to Olivia had been on his mind since they’d met.Even throughout the farm tour the previous day, she’d popped into his head multiple times.
He’d been examining his guilt.A decade was a long time to be alone.Well, obviously, he had Charlie, who was the cornerstone of his life, but he’d been a single adult for all that time.
Was it time to move forward?Time to open his heart a bit?
This was ridiculous, as he’d only met the woman once and he didn’t even know if she was staying in town.
But he wanted to know.
What do you think, Charlotte?How do you feel about this?
He’d talked to his wife often since she passed.Over every decision he’d had to make for Charlie.Over what to do with a fever, which apartment to choose, what foods to feed him first, which sport to encourage.
Everything.
Even while he’d been alone, he’d been able to figure out what she might have said, what she might have preferred.
But that was about his son, not himself.
Is it weird that I want your approval, Charlotte?That I need you to tell me it’s okay to feel this way?
He knew that if she’d lived, he’d have loved Charlotte for the rest of his life.He’d never have thought twice about Olivia in a romantic sense if Charlotte was still at his side.
But the attraction still felt awkward.
“They’re here, Dad.They’re here.”
The excitement in his son’s voice had him pushing away the thoughts.He had lots of time to figure things out.There was no rush.If she was leaving, there was nothing to think about.
Still, he couldn’t contain his own ripple of excitement at the sign of the rusty Ford Focus that was older than his kid.
Jolie’s truck led the way and the two vehicles parked beside the barn as he and Charlie moved that way.
Jolie grinned at him.“I found your new friends and led them here.”
“Thank you.”
