Page 70 of Almost Always

“Yes!”

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, Dad.”

Rafferty snorted and bowed his head. “My apologies. Lead the way.”

Cal grabbed the leash and started for the door, then stopped and looked around with a frown. Before she could ask what was wrong, he was running through the store until he was crashing into Ripley. Her employee was shocked for a second, but hugged the kid back. They shared a quick conversation which left Callahan grinning so big as he returned to pick up the leash and step outside.

“You raised an incredible kid, Raff.”

“I don’t think that had anything to do with me.”

She patted his arm and smiled. “All that empathy and decency? That’s entirely you.” She told her staff to call if there were any issues and walked out to the car.

With a bag full of food—she’d bought sandwiches for lunch and pretty much all of Clementine’s offerings—she pointed him in the direction of Wildes Fields. At the park, Callahan took Boots’s leash as they grabbed blankets and food from the back. Once they had everything, they set out for a shady spot to sit down and enjoy their lunch.

While the park was often crowded with families and dogs on weekends, it was pretty quiet at that point. She knew it was because of the time they’d shown up—it was the middle of the day and everybody was cozy in their own homes. As much as she liked the idea of them going to a restaurant, she didn’t want to deal with folks who wouldn’t let dogs in. This way Callahan and Boots could run around while also enjoying lunch. And it gave all of them the freedom to relax.

Trailing behind them, she scrolled through her phone. There were a bunch of texts in the Snap, Crackle & Pop group chat, a few from Roe about drinks that week and a reminder for an upcoming therapy session. Her father and Pia had also sent tons of photographs from the next destination of their European holiday and they looked so happy in every single one.

She was in the middle of replying to her father when Rafferty stretched his hand back. She frowned in confusion and continued typing out her message when he wiggled his fingers. A snort escaped her and she hit send before putting her phone away. Then slipped her hand into his, their fingers linking and he tugged her forward.

Leaning against his arm, her other hand wrapped around his bicep, she watched as Cal ran ahead looking for the perfect spot.This could be my life, if I just let it. The act of holding hands was so liberating and comforting, almost like she could feel his heartbeat through his palm. Or maybe that was the way she felt because it wasRafferty.

“Is this a good spot?” Cal asked, pointing to a patch of grass beneath a large tree.

“That’s perfect, son.”

Rafferty released her hand to spread out the blankets. She sat down and unloaded the food, including bowls for the dog. Filling one with water, she set it at the edge of the blanket and scrubbed Boots’s head as he dropped his entire face into the bowl.

“We’ve got ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch and cupcakes for dessert,” she announced, waving the food at the Ames men who wore matching expressions she couldn’t decipher. Looking between them, she arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“You’re perfect, that’s all,” Rafferty said softly.

“We’ve never had a picnic before,” Cal added with a dopey smile before taking one of the sandwiches from her. He scootedto the edge to sit with Boots as he unwrapped his food and took small bites.

“You never took your son on a picnic?”

Rafferty blushed and stretched out his legs as he leaned against the tree. “I was working a lot and on weekends, we’d do other fun stuff.”

“Like what?”

“He went through a Coney Island phase. I think the staff knew him by preference by the time he outgrew the place.”

She laughed and settled with her legs crossed as she took a bite of her food. “I mean, I get that. But all the parks! I remember our weekend park excursions with your family.”

“Me too. By the time he was old enough, Nonna and Poppy were getting on in age, it didn’t make sense to drag them out for a few hours to sit around in public.”

She knew how vital they had been to her childhood and if it weren’t for them, she would have had such a different life. Her fondest memories included them and their visits to the park.

“I guess it’s on me now, to make this a regular thing for us.”

He smiled and nodded. “I love that there’s anus.”

“Stuck with me now, hotshot.”

“That sounds even better.”

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