“Oh, honey.” Karen was around the counter and holding him like he’d skinned his knee in a blink. “Of course he’d want it to be you.”
Birdie threw her arms around both of them, crying outright. “You stupid jerk. It has to be you. No other guy would be good enough in Thatcher’s eyes.”
He laughed through the emotion he was doing his best to keep a lid on. “You two are way too emotional.”
They laughed and both smacked his arm.
He swiped under his eyes. “I gotta get her back.”
Karen wiped her apron across her cheeks. “If you don’t, we’ll kick you out of the family and keep her and the kids.”
Birdie offered Karen knuckles. “Truth. But go slow. For the love. Do not, under any circumstances, use the M word.”
Karen nodded. “Take it slow. Find out what she’s feeling. Ask her to go for a hot cocoa. Take the kids, if it makes her feel better.”
He laughed. “It’s always about the grandkids.”
She grinned. “You’ll understand one day. Now get out of here.” She shoved him toward the door. “And don’t come back without your family.”
He paused long enough to peck a kiss on her cheek. “I won’t.” Pointing at Birdie, he warned, “Stay away from boys.”
She stuck her tongue out at him.
He laughed, feeling lighter than he had when he’d arrived. He was going to get his family back. And he was going to love Wynn until she was ready to love him back.
Chapter 17
Wynn
The Halloween costume parade was organized chaos at best. Everyone in town knew their roles—from the youngest ghoul to the oldest goblin. Parents dropped their kids off at the top of Main Street. They found their group of friends or stuck together as siblings, depending on the instructions they were given. When the spooky music started, they began their slow march toward the Big Barn.
Parents lined the street, waving at familiar faces and acting scared as boys bared their werewolf or vampire teeth. They took pictures of their princesses and baseball players to post on social media. After the parade, everyone gathered in the Big Barn for games, dinner, and dancing.
The spectators could dress up as well. Some people went all out in themed costumes. Wynn waved as the Incredibles family passed. She laughed with everyone around her as a child yelled, “Here comes Andy!” and a man she didn’t recognize, dressed as Buzz, fell to the ground and held still.
Being busy made her look normal, even if she was a shriveled brown leaf inside. Life without Judd was a life without color—even fall colors. All she saw was dead grass, bare trees, and a gray sky.
Halfway through the parade, she wondered where the kids were. She should have seen them by now. They should be in the middle of the pack, where she told them to stay when she left. Deputies patrolled the parade route—some on foot and a couple on motorcycles who circled up and back.
Three-quarters of the way through, she started to panic. Walking up the route, she kept her eyes glued on the smaller participants. Where were they? Miles knew to stay with Laney. She’d drilled that into him last year—threatening to ground him from trick-or-treating if he so much as dropped her hand to scratch his nose.
Her one consolation was that they were both missing. Maybe Laney had to go the bathroom and they were stuck at the pee-pee teepees just off Main Street.
There was a break in the crowd, and she moved back to the front of the line to see the kids pass. Ice princess. Captain America. Frankenstein. Football zombie with matching cheerleader. But no pumpkin.
Her heart thumped a heavy beat. She grabbed the man standing nearest. “Did you see my kids?”
The man shook his head. “I don’t think so?”
She mumbled thanks and ducked back to the sidewalk to continue her quest. The end of the parade was suddenly upon her, and the watchers joined the back of the line, clogging Main Street.
She was about to scream Miles’s name when a flash of orange caught her eye. She bolted in that direction, dodging people and mumbling apologies. She came up short at the sight of Laney crying in Judd’s arms. Her whole being cried out to rush to him. Wynn started crying and couldn’t stop, so she gave up on self-control and ran to the man offering comfort to her daughter.
Miles stood to the side, holding on to the bottom of Judd’s jacket. He hung his head. “We missed the parade,” he told Wynn.
She scooped him up and hugged him tight, all the while drinking in the sight of Judd. He hadn’t shaved. Was that the same shirt he’d had on two days ago? He watched her while offering soft, soothing words to Laney.
“What happened?” Wynn asked Miles. She glanced down and saw his costume was torn.
