“Love you, Millie. Always.”
She sniffled. “I love you too. Forever.”
“Good.” He kissed the top of her head.
“What would you say if I said I wanted to produce a play? In Nowhere? About dinosaurs?”
“Whatever you want, baby.”
15
FOX, BRODY, AND AUTUMN
The Fox carried a sleepy Autumn into their house.
“Time for bed.”
“Nooo,” she grumbled. “I’m not ready for the night to be over. It was so much fun. Can’t we do something else?”
“Something else?” he asked. “What would you like to do, Bunny?”
“How about some hot chocolates and stargazing?” Brody suggested.
Not what he was imagining, but all right. Hot chocolates and stargazing it was.
Fifteen minutes later, both Brody and Autumn had a hot chocolate in their hands, with plenty of whipped cream. He’d put them into travel mugs so they didn’t spill.
As they walked through the woods, the Fox kept hold of each of their hands. Brody, thankfully, only tripped twice and, miraculously, managed to keep hold of his hot chocolate.
They didn’t have an outdoor area as such. He didn’t want to leave any trace of where he lived. But they walked through the forest to a raised clearing so they could see the stars above them.
He’d insisted that Brody and Autumn dress warmly, and he’d also brought several blankets in a bag that he was carrying on his back.
The Fox set out one blanket on the ground.
“Sit,” he told them.
Brody tried to sit without using his free hand and nearly fell backward. Autumn let out a startled giggle as the Fox quickly helped him right himself.
“Oops, thanks. Sorry, Papa,” Brody said quietly.
“No problem, Pup. I’ll always catch you.” Leaning down, he kissed the top of his head. He was totally acing this nurturing stuff. He didn’t know how some people got it so wrong.
Idiots.
“Now, I’ve also got some other blankets.” He set them out over their laps. “Warm enough?”
“Yep,” Brody said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
“Daddy, are you sure you don’t want any hot chocolate?” Autumn asked, offering him her mug.
He shook his head. “No, I’m good. Thank you, Bunny. So you both had a good day?”
“It was so much fun,” Autumn said. “Well, maybe not the cupcake fight. I didn’t want my cupcake to end up smushed.”
“I understand that,” Brody said. “Your cupcake was a work of art.”
“Oh, thanks, Brody-bear,” she said. “I really liked doing that. Maybe I should try baking my own cakes and decorating them. I could make a Fox cake.”
