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“What would you like better, a little sister or a little brother?” Suzanna asked him.

Sammy frowned thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. A little brother would be fun ’cause when he got old enough, we could play football and baseball and stuff like that together. But a little sister would be all sweet and cuddly. I guess I’d take either one,” he finally concluded.

“You know a sister could play football and baseball with you,” Suzanna said.

Sammy shrugged his shoulders. “I guess it really don’t matter, I’m not going to get one anyway.”

Thankfully, the meal continued with no more talk about babies. Instead, Sammy regaled them with stories of his invisible pet dragon. “His name is George, and he and Lady get along great,” Sammy said. “Me and Lady can see him, but nobody else can.”

“Where is George now?” Suzanna asked.

“He’s asleep in a shoebox in my closet.”

“Do you have any pictures of him?” Suzanna continued to ask questions about the pet dragon that nobody could see except Sammy and Lady.

This was part of what she loved about children this age. Their imaginations knew no bounds, and she tried to encourage all her students to use their imaginations as often as possible.

“George is pretty shy, and so I haven’t drawn any pictures of him yet, but maybe later I could talk him into letting me draw pictures of him for you,” Sammy replied.

“I would love to see some pictures of him,” Suzanna said. “It’s rare to have a pet dragon.”

“I’ll see if I can get him to come out of the shoebox and let me draw some pictures of him after we finish eating.”

“That would be great,” Suzanna said.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing some pictures of this little invisible fellow who is living in my house.” Seth grinned at his son.

Sammy nodded. “As soon as we finish eating, I’ll go talk to George.”

She couldn’t help but wonder if Sammy had dreamed up his pet dragon to take the place of a brother or sister. He wouldn’t be the first child to have an imaginary friend.

“I am miserably full,” she said once the meal was finished.

“Yeah, me, too,” Seth replied and patted his very fit belly.

Sammy and Lady had already left the kitchen, and so it was just the two of them lingering at the table. “I don’t think I’ll want to eat again for a week,” she said.

“Oh, you have to at least have a piece of the pumpkin pie,” he replied. There was a teasing twinkle in his eyes. “Only you know how much blood, sweat and tears I put into making that pie.”

She laughed. “Okay, maybe in an hour or so I’ll be ready to try your masterpiece.”

Seth got up. “It would be nice if Sammy’s invisible pet dragon would swoop in here to help take care of the mess, but since I don’t see that happening, I’d better get busy.”

“We’d better get busy,” she replied and also got up from the table. With the two of them working together it didn’t take too long to get the leftovers in the refrigerator and the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

With the kitchen cleaned once again, they moved out to the living room. “You know another tradition on Thanksgiving is watching a football game and napping in your chair,” he said as he sank down in his recliner.

She laughed. “Knock yourself out. I enjoy watching football, and if you want to nap, that’s okay with me.”

“Thanks.” He picked up the remote and within seconds had a game on. Minutes after that he was asleep. She knew he had gotten up ridiculously early to prepare and get the turkey in the oven, so it was no surprise that he was napping.

She took the opportunity to drink her fill of him. Even in sleep he looked incredibly handsome. She knew his slightly shaggy black hair was soft and silky to the touch. His nose was straight and his jawline was strong. Love for him buoyed up inside her.

How had it happened that she’d fallen so deeply in love with a man who didn’t want a wife? Yet, how could she not love the man who was protecting her from evil? Aside from that, he was a kind and caring man with a wonderful sense of humor. The sexual tension between them was undeniable, and all those things combined had made her fall deeply in love with him.

Could she be friends with benefits with him? No, she didn’t think so. She was far too emotionally involved now to be satisfied with that kind of an arrangement. Besides, she valued herself more than that.

She sighed and turned her attention to the television, where the Kansas City Chiefs were trouncing the Las Vegas Raiders. She was definitely a Chiefs fan, and she knew from past conversations that Seth was a fan, too.