“We’re grateful you’re willing to sit here. We don’t expect anyone to try to get past the barrier but who knows with people.”
His shoulders squared and he nodded firmly. “Nobody’s getting through here. I’ll keep an eye on things.”
“Good. Want anything from the food trucks while I’m there?”
“Uh… I’m not hungry, but I have coffee in my mug, so anything that goes with that would be nice?”
I smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I continued toward the action, hoping I’d find Carter there somewhere.
Since it was Halloween and the weather was nice, I’d skipped a jacket in favor of a thicker flannel, but with my jeans, boots, and ballcap, I looked much like I always did. By the time I’d greeted the sixth person, I wished I was less easy to spot.
Dad was chatting with Mr. Reilly by the coffee truck, so I dodged a couple of people and went to them instead.
“There you are, Hawk.” Dad smiled, clapping my shoulder. “I was just telling Joe here that he needs to ask you about which of the yearlings might work best for his purposes.”
I shook Reilly’s hand. “Mr. Reilly. If you want to call me Monday morning, we can figure that out.”
He was in his mid-sixties and one of those older guys who had had trouble accepting my methods. I’d worked with one of their best working horses a couple of years back when she had spooked in a trailer and gotten injured, then refused to go anywhere near one come hell or high water. Retraining had been easy for me, but all of the Reilly clan was still in awe of how quickly I got her into a trailer again.
“Thank you, Hawk. I’ll do that.”
I got my coffee and then walked to a churro line next. I’d get one for myself for dessert and a couple for Tommy to occupy his time.
I was looking around the area, trying to decide what I’d eat for my early dinner, when a child collided with my legs.
“Uncle Hawk!” Payton peered at me, grinning widely.
He had his first tooth missing from the front and he’d laughed at the idea of a tooth fairy, apparently. Then he’d told his dads to wait until he’d lost four more and just hand him five bucks instead.
“Hey, kiddo. Where’s your—where’s Crew?”
“Dad’s talking to Mimi over there.” He waved a hand.
I frowned, trying to figure out where they were. When I saw Crew and Mom talking, I realized he’d called Crew “Dad.”
“Oh, Crew’s Dad now?” I asked him.
Payton shrugged casually. “Yeah. I figured why not. Daddy’s always gonna be Daddy, you know. And if we’re gonna live together, I can’t really call him Crew all the time. That’s just weird.”
I chuckled. Fair point. “Do you want a churro?” I asked him when we could approach the counter.
“Iwish.But I can’t. I had half a dinner and Mimi says no more sweets until trunk or treating.”
That’s when I saw the pumpkin shaped bucket he was holding. “Wait, I didn’t see your costume.”
Payton stepped back and did a slow turn.
“You’re… a cowboy?” I asked, feeling confused as fuck.
“Yeah! Like Dad and Daddy!” He grinned widely. Then he looked thoughtful for a second before adding, “And pretty much everyone else here too.”
“You are on a ranch, bud,” I joked.
“No, really?” Ah, sarcasm. That was a new development.
The vendor waved away my money, so I took my churros and was about to step away, when Crew got to us.
