“A little up on…um… Is your name Kasey?” I asked.
“That’s me!” the woman said with a smile.
“Just a tad more up on your side, Kasey.” She lifted the banner, and I held out my hands. “That’s it. Perfect.”
Suddenly, my body was racked with a shiver, and I wrapped my arms around myself to ward off a tingling sensation racing up and down my spine.
“Texas girl can’t take the cold, huh?”
Spinning around at the familiar voice, I sucked in a breath when I saw Aiden standing behind me. Had I picked up his presence before even seeing him? Impossible.
“Aiden, what are you doing here?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I have Friday afternoons off, remember?”
It didn’t occur to me it was Friday, and likely wouldn’t have remembered it was his day off. Especially sincelastFriday Aiden had worked late trying to track down a group of kids who were driving motorcycles off the trails in the park.
“Right. So you’ll be picking up Hadley today.”
Aiden nodded and looked around. “Looks like you guys are doing a great job getting everything set up.”
I laughed. “Not me, I’m just an extra set of hands, but Tammy and the other moms who run this carnival are amazing. I’m not sure how they do it all.”
Aiden smiled. “They have it down pat, it seems.”
“Yes, they do.” Tammy gave me a look, and I glanced between her and Aiden. “Oh! I’m so sorry to you both. I totally forgot about you picking up Hadley, Aiden. Tammy was going to pick her up and take her and Jennifer out for ice cream.”
“Hey, Aiden. How’s it going?” Tammy asked, skipping over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. A feeling of jealousy raced through my body, but I quickly pushed it away. Tammy was his longtime friend, after all. And married to his best friend.
After Aiden and I worked out a few snags, things had been going well. Every morning I made them breakfast and packed their lunches, and every night, I got their dinner ready. I’d talkedAiden into letting Alice go back to his parents’ place, where she really preferred to be, since I was there during the day and could clean. He’d wanted to give me more money, but I wouldn’t let him. It was silly for him to pay extra, especially when I enjoyed doing it and I needed something to fill my time during the day.
“Going well. Dalton told me you guys are planning a trip to Disney World for Christmas.”
I smiled. “Oh, how fun! Are you excited?” I asked.
Tammy shrugged. “We’ve been three times already, so honestly, it’s more fun for Jen and Dalton Junior than it is for us.”
“You’ve been to Disney World three times?”
With a laugh, Tammy replied, “I know, crazy, huh? Do you like it?”
I shook my head. “I’ve never been.”
Aiden turned to look at me as Tammy gasped and said, “You’veneverbeen to Disney?”
“Nope,” I replied, popping my P.
“Why not?” Aiden asked.
The urge to change the subject hit me. “Just never had the chance to go. Tammy, were you still wanting to take Hadley for ice cream? I forgot it was Friday when I agreed.”
Tammy faced Aiden. “Oh yeah. I was going to see if she could spend the night. Jennifer has been begging for a sleepover.”
“Sure, if she wants to, I don’t mind,” Aiden said, then looked at me. “That gives you the whole weekend off, Emma. You can make plans.”
I chewed on my lip and forced out a lighthearted chuckle. “Great. Maybe I’ll drive into Denver.”
Aiden shoved his hands into his pocket. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll head on over to Mom and Pop’s and see if they need me to work on anything, unless you need help here.”
