Page 28 of Between Brothers

“Okay, go, go, go, go, go!” Mel encouraged and turned both Noah and Eden loose, toddling through the pumpkin patch. Melody took pictures while the fathers looked on, laughing and talking about it.

I hid behind the rim of my mulled cider cup, drinking the sweet and perfectly spiced liquid, laughing at some of the antics of the adults as much as the babies. I roused myself from staring at their angelic chubby cheeks and from indulging in their high pitched squeals of laugher and delight to find both Cell and Blue staring at me.

“I’m sorry, did I miss something?” I asked, but they both shook their heads.

“No, we were just watching you, watch them,” Cell said casually, taking a sip of his own cider.

“Sorry, I know it’s silly, but I always wanted kids someday…”

“Why is that silly?” Blue asked, frowning.

I closed my mouth and shook my head and hoped that they would just let it go. Cell actually came to the rescue then, saying, “You gonna pick your pumpkin?” It was a blatant change of subject, but a welcome one.

“What?” I asked laughing.

“Club tradition, the weekend before Halloween, we pick our pumpkins and carve them back at the house.” I looked over at the person who’d spoken and smiled, nodding.

“I see,” I told Dragon, the club president. He smiled and gave me a wink and went out into the field near Dray and Everett, who was showing. Hitting his son in the shoulder who was bent over moving pumpkins around for Everett to inspect and decide on.

“Get off my ass, Pops! Jesus!” Dray cried to Everett and Dragon’s laughter.

“Come on, babes. Your turn.” Cell took my empty cup from my hands and stacked his in it, passing it off to Blue who raised his in salute. Taking my hand, Cell dragged me gently out into the pumpkin patch mayhem.

“What shape you like?” he asked.

I looked around and told the truth, “I like the round squat pumpkins. The ones you always see in cartoons and mass produced.”

“You should find one with a flat side, though,” Trigger said, overhearing me. “It’s easier to carve the image and they come out better.”

“I didn’t think about that,” I said honestly.

“We’re pumpkin carving pros! We get all fancy and shit, tryin’ to outdo each other each year,” Reaver called over.

Hayden gave him a shove and said, “I make him carve mine.” She made a face, “I just scoop the guts.”

“A master is nothing without his assistant!” Reaver cried and his son, Connor, called out “Dad! Come look at this one!”

Reaver went over to where his teenager was with Maren’s little brother, Sage, while Maren and Nox looked on a little ways away, choosing their own pumpkin. A good portion of the club I knew, but the ones I didn’t I had learned about through Melody and her pictures. She would bring them to work sometimes and show me when it got slow. She’d told me she wanted to come photograph some of my windows, but I hadn’t worked up the courage to invite her to my studio.

“Everybody pick two!” Dragon bellowed and I jumped.

Cell winked at me and said, “You heard the man.” He straightened up and called out over the field, “Hey Blue! C’mere!”

I smiled, amazed at how comfortable I was feeling around Cell, and super pleased that I got to see Blue today, too. We picked our pumpkins and loaded them onto the floor of the hay ride tractor after buying them for the ride around the corn maze and back to where we parked. The guys were really good about tagging the stems with everyone’s names, to make sure there were no pumpkin mix-ups. It was clear that they had done this before, long before any kids and that it was one of those grown-up traditions that had been tempered down for the little one’s enjoyment. Some of these guys were really just big kids themselves.

“You want to ride with Blue?” Cell offered after lifting me down from the back of the hayride and I thought about it for a long moment. As much as I would rather ride with Blue because Blue wasn’t insane on the road, I decided that wouldn’t be fair. This was Cell’s date, and as Cell’s date, I should really stay with him… especially if this was going to work the way they seemed to want it to.

I shook my head and he smiled, saying, “I won’t tell him so, might break his heart.” Blue’s hands landed on my shoulders and he pressed his thumbs, kneading between them. I jumped and whirled and he smiled down at me. I scoffed, incredulous and swung back in Cell’s direction lightly slapping him in the chest for not telling me Blue was behind me.

Cell cringed back at my pathetic assault and laughed. “Hey! Easy, tiger.”

“It’s your date,” I said, then turned back to Blue whose smile lit up his eyes. “You understand, right?” He nodded happily and bent down, placing a kiss against my forehead. He let my shoulders go and Cell smiled at him and winked.

“We parked over here, I didn’t want to give away the surprise,” Cell told him. Blue nodded and gave us a wave, drifting back over to the rest of the club where the pumpkins were almost finished being loaded into the back of a box truck, full of what looked like shelves of parts and tools on either side.

“Come on, darlin’.” Cell held out his hand to me and I took it, and let him draw me along, back in the direction of his bike.

“You having a good time so far?” he asked and I nodded.

“The best, thank you.”

He stopped me and looked me over, studying my face and gauging me. I waited patiently, wondering just what it was he was looking for when he silently answered my question by lowering his lips to mine. He kissed me, gently at first, but all too quickly it was as if a fire had been ignited, and he devoured my mouth. I couldn’t say I didn’t like it, but that intensity was back, there, in his kiss, in the way he drew my body tightly into his own.

I felt my arms go around his neck and shoulders and I pulled myself closer. He smiled against my mouth and drew back slightly, kissing the tip of my nose.

“That’s what I like,” he murmured and I felt myself flush.

The ride to the club was far less exhilarating after that earth-shaking kiss.

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