“Erica really likes flowers.” Knox’s smile grew.
The man was totally a sweetheart. “Your lady is lucky to have you, Knox.”
He grinned. “Yellow’s her favorite color.”
“P-perfect, then.” Kit forced her lips to turn upward. She didn’t want to ruin the moment for him. Bending down, she took Aric’s hand. “Come along, my young warrior.”
After a minute, Hawk caught up and walked beside her. When they reached the pickup, he stepped in front of her. “What upset you?”
“It’s nothing.”
His voice turned growly. “Kit.”
She pulled in a breath through her nose. “They were sweet, both of them.”
“Okay.” Hawk’s light brown brows drew into a frown.
“It’s just… Obadiah gave me flowers only once. On our first date.” She could still see that bouquet of red tulips. She’d been so thrilled. Now? She knew she’d never grow tulips again. “He never bothered to learn my favorite color and sure never looked like Knox—happy to be giving me something.”
“Ah.” Hawk lifted his hand, giving her time to pull back if she wanted, then ran his fingers down her cheek and over her quivering lower lip. “Obadiah was an asshole.”
“Obadiah’s an asshole,” piped Aric, nodding.
Hawk burst out laughing.
Kit stared.
His laughter—it never failed to fill her with joy. When Aric started giggling, her own laughter erupted like a fountain.
Obadiah had been an asshole.
And she was well shed of him.
But, oh, dear heavens, the word asshole would now be a permanent part of Aric’s vocabulary.
When Hawk exchanged fist bumps with her boy, she narrowed her eyes. “You, sir, are going to be the one to explain to his preschool teacher about his vocabulary.”
A corner of his mouth tilted up. “Now that’s just fucking mean.”
An hour later, Hawk parked the pickup in front of the Bull’s Moose Roadhouse. This was the last stop, he decided, no matter what Kit said.
Every thank you she’d spoken had been from the heart—and she was worn the hell out. The kid needed a nap, and so did Hawk.
After the breakfast with Bull and Frankie, Hawk’d been tense, feeling like he’d fuck everything up for the kid. But Aric hadn’t suddenly changed into a spoiled brat—he was the same loveable kid he’d always been. Nothing there to set Hawk off into acting like an asshole.
It’d be all right.
He turned to Kit. “After this, we head home.” He waited for an argument.
She tipped her head back against the seat. “I should argue, oh, bossy one, but I’m too tired. Agreed.”
Hell. “Sorry.” When she looked confused, he clarified, “About ordering you around.”
“I know I can disagree, and you won’t get upset. That’s what matters to me.” She leaned over the center console, kissed his cheek—like the touch of a butterfly—and slid out of the pickup.
Leaving him trying to re-assemble his heart.
As she and Aric disappeared into the restaurant, he frowned. About half a dozen of the restaurant staff had helped in the rescue. Since most walked to work, they wouldn’t have cars to stash their plants in, and there wasn’t room for the flowers inside the restaurant.
He studied the thick posts that supported the overhanging roof of the one-story building. There was heavy-duty rope in his cargo box.
After attaching his rope between two posts, he hung the pots there. The line of flowering plants looked good. Colorful and shit.
Felix popped out of the restaurant, followed by Kit and Aric.
“Holy handbaskets, girl.” Felix stared at the flowers. “Those are incredible. And I get one?”
“Absolutely.” Kit beamed at Hawk. “What a great idea. Now they can just pick them up on the way home.”
“Yeah.” Movement caught his attention.
Milo and Orion, two of his carpenter hires, were walking down the sidewalk on Sweetgale toward the roadhouse. Must be their lunch break.
“Hawk.” Kit patted his chest to get his attention. “Aric and I are going back inside, but we’ll be done in just a few minutes.”
She had a hand on him, so it was probably all right to touch back. He ran his fingers through her hair, stroking it back from her face. “I’ll be here.”
“I know,” she whispered.
Her wide brown eyes were more beautiful than any he’d ever seen. Was it because they were always so warm?
She looked down at her son. “Let’s go thank Raymond now.”
As they headed inside, Hawk watched, then scowled at Felix’s wide grin.
“Oops, my bad.” The server took a step back. “Would you happen to have carpenter tape in your pickup?”
Hawk gave an affirmative grunt and fetched it.
As he was handing the roll over, Milo and Orion strolled up to the roadhouse.
“Hawk.” Milo gave him a chin-lift.
“Hey, boss,” Orion said, then grinned at Felix. “Yo, cutie. What’s going on?”
“My man, look at these.” Felix gestured to the hanging pots. “Remember I told you how we helped save people from some cray-cray fanatics? The woman we really went for—Frankie’s bestie—was Kit. Being into gardening, she’s giving flowers to all of us who helped bust her out.”
Milo stared at Felix, then sneered. “You helped?”
Scowling, Orion turned, and one big hand clenched into a fist.
Hell. Hawk stepped between them. Bull got irritable about brawling in the parking lot.
“Not every fight requires fists.” Unfazed, Felix smirked at Milo. “I helped with the diversion. We staged a car crash at the front gate to draw off the guards and made enough noise that the others”—he nodded to Hawk—“could get the women and children out.”
“Staged a crash?” Orion looked delighted. “You didn’t mention that.”
“Zappa donated two rust-bucket clunkers.” Felix rolled his eyes. “Our piece-of-shit spewed smoke like a forest fire. Anyway, Erica’s crew raced ours, and we smashed the cars together at the gate and put on a drunken screaming fight.”
“Played right into your thespian talents. Way to go, love.” Orion set his hand on Felix’s shoulder. “That took guts.”
From the looks of Felix’s glowing happiness, someone was smitten.
“We weren’t in that much danger since the guards totally fell for it.” Felix tried to look nonchalant. “The pissers are… Let’s just say they’re about as bright as Alaska in December.”
When the sun barely rose. Hawk grinned.
Orion considered the flowers. “It seems Kit has a green thumb and a good heart.”
“They’re flowers,” Milo snapped. “Big fucking deal.”
Hawk stiffened. If the asshole said that to Kit, Hawk would—
“Dude, a verbal thank you is easy. Trying to give something back is far more rare.” Orion tugged on his three-inch brown beard and gave a firm nod. “I’m impressed.”
“Me too.” Felix pulled a pen from his pocket. After writing, “Property of Felix,” on the carpenter tape, he attached the strip to a pot of blue-and-white pansies.