Page 117 of Almost Love

“The only thing I want to think about now is the farmer’s market.”

“I forgot about that,” he said with a pout. He liked having Clementine all to himself, but he knew how important this was for her. Mack had invited them to join him and Indigo for brunch, and Oakley knew this was an opportunity to better know the people in her life.

“It’ll be fun.”

She kissed the tip of his nose and walked out, scooping Gracie off the floor where she was lounging in a patch of sun. He followed his girls, thanking the realtor for making the time and grabbed Clementine’s bag and Gracie’s leash from the Jeep before they walked the four blocks to the farmer’s market.

An entire street was blocked off and stalls packed tightly on either side; some with covers and others completely open. Soft music filtered through the space. Bright colors greeted him everywhere he turned. He’d seen markets like this in San Clemente, but had never really walked through one before. The market was already crowded, families moving from stall to stall, kids running wild and the sound of chatter and laughter filling the space.

He clipped Gracie’s leash on and set her down just as Clementine grabbed his hand.

“Don’t want to lose you in this chaos,” she said, fighting a smile as she headed into said chaos. Gracie stayed close, clearly as worried about the crowd as he was. It was a lot more people than he was used to, that was for sure.

Every so often, Clementine would release his hand to touch things and talk to the owners. He would happily take the samples, but was just there for support. It was clear that she had no plan and was just wandering through until her best friend showed up, so he followed like the obedient partner that he was. They were only halfway through and her bag was already full of things—cheese, handmade chocolate, fresh bread, greens he’d never seen in his life.

“Gracie!” a familiar voice called out and Oakley turned as Indigo pushed through people and dropped to their knees to greet his dog. “I missed you!”

Clementine huffed and he chuckled. “Of course your dog has the attention of the kid that’s supposed to love me the most.”

“What can I say, Gracie’s got the magic touch.”

A few minutes later, a scowling Mack joined them, hands on his hips as he breathed heavily. “Dig, we’ve talked about you running off without telling me.”

“Sorry, Daddy,” Indigo muttered, face pressed against Gracie’s fur. His dog was enjoying the attention, tiny tail wagging furiously.

“Did you just get here?” Clementine asked.

Mack shook his head. “Been walking around for a bit. You two ready for brunch?”

Oakley nodded and handed the leash to Indigo. “You’re responsible for Gracie, okay?”

“Will she run away?”

“Not if you hold onto the leash. She doesn’t like strangers, so she’ll stick close to you.”

Indigo giggled and looked up at them. “Gracie sounds like Tiny.”

“Hey! I…don’t…ugh, fine,” Clementine grumbled. “Let’s eat, I want to do some more shopping after.”

The four of them walked to where picnic tables were set up. Clementine insisted that she and Mack get food, so Oakley sat with Indigo.

“Are you Tiny’s boyfriend?” the kid asked, playing with Gracie’s golden fur.

“Do we need labels?”

“Nah. Labels are weird. I don’t like them. Butshelikes you.”

He smiled, scratching his jaw. “I like her too. A lot.”

“Dad says that Tiny makes you special donuts. She doesn’t do that for anybody else.”

“Well, Iaskedfor special donuts.”

“Maybe she loves you,” Indigo said very simply, finally meeting his eyes. “Do you love her?”

“Love who?” Mack asked as he sat down, sliding sandwiches on the table.

“I asked Oakley if he loves Tiny.”

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