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“I think you’re right.” Reg sipped his beer, his gaze lingering on my mouth.

We shared a look so fraught with yearning, it took me off guard. I felt the way I had the night I’d sat next to him in the bleachers at the football game—like a teenager with a ridiculous crush. My cheeks were warm, my pulse was racing, and I didn’t think I was capable of constructing meaningful sentences. But I tried.

“I heard your dad has been spreading rumors about us.”

Reg wrinkled his nose. “Only within the family. I explained that Grandpa meant friend, not boyfriend. But if Gretchen gives you funny looks and asks if you like her dad, let her down easy.”

“But I do like her dad.”

“Careful,” he warned, his eyes twinkling. “You know what I mean.”

A hoot of laughter from outside yanked us back to reality, and as if on cue, Gretchen waved me over.

“Check out my pumpkin, Waylon.”

“Whoa! That’s creepy.” The open mouth with pumpkin seeds spewing out was a nice touch.

I slapped high fives with Chase and Rhys, mussed Emmett’s hair, and said hi to Maeve and Anders’s kids and Cooper’s daughter, Ivy, a high school senior, who’d brought her boyfriend. I made sure Emmett wasn’t handling any knives, then inspected the collection of jack-o-lanterns they’d already carved. Some were basic, but a few had spooky designs of bats, cats, and witches that had been cut with a surgeon’s steady hand.

The kids gave me the scoop as they worked. Apparently, this was a pre-Halloween tradition that usually happened the weekend before the main event. They used to get together at Coop’s or Reg’s houses to carve pumpkins and bob for apples, but Troy and Dex wanted in on the action, too. Sometimes Hank and Denny joined in, but it was hockey season, so they were a hit or miss. And this year, Dex and Viggo were expecting their son to be born any second now.

Whoever hosted had to barbecue hot dogs, Ivy was in charge of the chili and dessert, which was usually a red velvet cake with spooky decorations. Gretchen helped.

“I made the dye to put in the frosting for the Frankenstein head,” she reported. “It’s awesome!”

Honestly, it was all pretty awesome. And wholesome—an eclectic mix of old friends and new, and conversation threads that ranged from local sports to high school faculty gossip and classic scary movies.

I’d thought they were joking about bobbing for apples, but apparently, that was a thing, and participation was mandatory. Needless to say, my shirt was soaked after a dozen attempts to wrangle a freaking apple, and so was the front of Emmett’s Spider-Man costume. I thought he’d be upset about it, but no…he pulled off his shirt, asked me to put it in my pocket, and raced away again.

At the end of the night, everyone took home a pumpkin. Or two. I carried Emmett’s haul, thanked Troy, and said good night to everyone. Emmett waved, skipping ahead to keep up with the older kids. He tripped over his feet and tumbled forward. I stopped and was about to drop the pumpkins, but Reg got there first. He picked Emmett up, checked his hands and knees, and offered him a piggyback ride to my truck.

Reg buckled Emmett’s seat belt and stepped aside, resting his hand on my lower back.

We were standing too close, and my heart was beating too fast. Again.

The crisp breeze, clear moonlit evening, red and yellow leaves littering the streets and sidewalks, and trees hanging on to the last of their foliage added yet another layer of sweetness. A posse of teens chatted and laughed in the distance, music drifted on the breeze, and an owl hooted from an overhead perch.

Everything about the moment was seductive, punctuated by Reg’s nearness. I couldn’t remember ever being content to just breathe the same air as someone.

Yet I could feel myself slipping into the rhythm of this place and these people and this man…and wishing I belonged. For real.

CHAPTER 26

REG

“Ihave so much homework, Dad.”

Rhys didn’t glance up from his video game. “Yeah, me too. You should go without us.”

I furrowed my brow. “I’m not going on a family hike by myself.”

Gretchen hopped off the sofa. “Why not? It’s a nice day. It’ll be good for you. Right, Rhys?”

“Yeah, you should go.”

I set my hands on my hips and let silence do the talking. I’d learned a long time ago that it was an effective measure for dealing with squirrely suspects or kids who skirted the truth for reasons unknown.

Apparently, my kids were on to me. Neither budged.