We all nod. But then I turn to Hutch.
“See this thing through, will ya? I mean, you’ve come this far. You know someone covers your cameras. It’s only a matter of time. Plus, you gotta go visit that mange-y raccoon of yours,” I tease.
Hutch glares at me. “She does not have mange. She’s adorable, and of course I’ll keep visiting with her.” He looks around at us and sighs, running a hand through his long hair. “Fine. I’ll keep trying to figure it out, but I’m not going out there every day. Jocelyn will kill me if I do that. And frankly, I’d rather spend my free time with her.”
The guys break into kissing noises, and Hutch blushes. “Fuck off,” he mumbles.
Kasen laughs and claps him on the back. “I got some new cameras you can try out.” Then, lowering his voice in a conspiratorial way, he whispers, “They work in the bedroom and outside.”
Hutch glares at him and Kasen laughs harder. “Mate, you should see your expression. I’m just fucking with you.”
Hutch’s shoulders relax and he leans back in his chair, the old wood creaking as he does. He’s quiet for a beat and then turns back to me. “I hear you booked your airfare…and Carly and Ava’s too.”
I let out a long breath. My friends are killing me.
“You all are going!” Roxy claps her hands again. “I’m so excited. That means everyone is officially booked. Cam is going to be thrilled! Did you tell her? I think they are trying to figure out how to smoosh all of us into the guesthouses and the main house. There are sixteen of us, and then like twenty family members. Although I heard Fletcher’s immediate family rented a house on a neighboring property.”
“We’ll figure it out. I mean, we figured it out when we all went on vacation,” I point out.
Gray has been quiet for a few minutes as he reads the back of a book that he has pulled off a nearby shelf.
“Can we read this one for the next book club?” he asks, holding it up.
This one has two real people on the cover.
“Uh, sure. Let me see it,” Roxy says as he hands it to her. She looks at it and smiles. “I love this one. I haven’t read it in years. It’s a friends to lovers.”
Gray glances my way and winks. I silently groan.
“We can do the fae book next month. OK, well, enjoy your night, gentlemen. Feel free to hang out, just lock up when you finish,” she says.
Gray pulls her down for a quick kiss, and I can’t help feeling a little jealous. What I wouldn’t give to have what they have.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Carly
I stare at the dating app as I swirl wine in a glass. Ava is sleeping, and I have no idea how to create a profile.
I’m scrolling through selfies trying to find one that isn’t horrific when movement outside draws my attention. Hutch is walking to the bench.
I haven’t seen him sit there in a few days. I watch as he slowly makes his way down the trail and to the bench where he sits. He leans forward and tosses something toward a large boulder by the stream. I grin as I see Cliff, the neighborhood raccoon, climb up to get what I presume are peanuts.
For reasons I don’t understand, I grab the baby monitor and put it in my pocket. I don’t know why I haven’t gotten rid of it. She’s old enough not to need it, but I like having it. I can step over to chat with Bray or grab sugar from Margie without worrying about her.
When we first moved here and I set up her room, I almost chucked it back in the box, but then decided to set it up. It’s not fancy. No video. It’s just sound. Those first few months here were tough. I would sometimes drop the receiver in my pocket and walk out to that bench. It’s the furthest I could get from it and still have it work. I’m not sure why sitting by that stream helped, but when I became overwhelmed that second week here, I put Ava down for her nap and walked out here. I was hesitant to leave the building at first, but then I realized I was just as far from my house when I’d go grab something from our home garden. So, if I could do that, then going to sit on that bench for a moment was OK. There were flowers on that bench with the sweetest note from someone who called themselves the Guardian of Hearts Lane Park.
I took them and put them in a glass on my counter. It was the first time I felt alive again. I had the ability to give myself a moment alone, and somewhere out there, someone cared enough to leave flowers on that bench every morning. And for the first time in many months, I believed that I could do this single-parenting thing.
I walk toward the bench and find Al has beaten me here.
“Wow! Busy night at the bench,” I tease as I walk up to them.
Hutch turns and grins. “Hey, you haven’t been out here in a while.” He looks around me and then points up to Ava’s room. “Ava asleep?”
I nod. “She’s out. You know her. Once she’s asleep, it’s lights out till the morning.”
“I once dropped a mixing bowl when I was grabbing a plate for my dinner, and I made such a ruckus I swore she’d wake up, but nope. Kid slept right through it,” he laughs.
