Page 94 of Fall With Me
“You’re sweet to say so,” I say to Emma. “But are you two doing okay? Can I help in any way?”
She beams at me. “We’re doing great.”
“Okay, well, if you need anything, holler. I’m happy to step in if needed. And thank you so much for coming tonight. We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“It’s our pleasure.”
I walk to the next game, checking in with those volunteers as well. I meet Lucy, Dawson’s oldest sister, who reacts similarly to Emma. His entire family is way too excited to meet me. I want to be as enthusiastic as they are about meeting me, but I’m terrified I’ll never see these amazing people again.
I wave to the last family as they walk out of the barn, arms full of books, crafts, caramel apples, a box of desserts, and their thank-you gifts. I find the closest chair, collapsing into it. My feet throb, my back feels like I dead-lifted five hundred pounds, and my head hammers like a construction crew is in there demolishing the place.
One by one, Kate, Carter, and Dawson join me at the table.
I look around at the chaos we now have to clean up. Trash litters the tables. Wrappers are all over the floor. The book nook looks like a tornado swept through it. There’s a crazy amount of caramel, sprinkles, and cookie bits all over the table and floor in the back corner. I don’t even want to go outside to the back patio or to the parking lot where we had the pumpkin bowling and archery set up.
Carter raises a water bottle. “Cheers, Chloe and Dawson. This festival was a huge success. I appreciate your hard work, dedication, and hustle on this.”
Dawson shakes his head. “I didn’t do nearly as much as Chloe. She’s the hero here, not me.”
While it’s true I did do more than Dawson, he helped a lot in the early stages and saved the day with his family volunteering tonight. “Dawson’s contributions made a huge difference. The festival wouldn’t have gone as smooth as it did without him.”
Kate’s gleeful smile bounces between Dawson and me. When I catch her gaze, she wiggles her brows at me.
“Carter, why don’t we tackle outside,” Kate says, standing. “These two can handle in here.”
Carter eyes each one of us. “Is something going on here I need to know about?”
Kate pushes Carter’s back, forcing him to move to the doors leading to the patio. “Later, Carter. For now, give them privacy.”
Carter whips his head over his shoulder, staring daggers at Dawson. “Why do they need alone time?”
“You can be the protective big brother later, okay?” Kate keeps ushering Carter outside.
“Thank you,” I mouth to Kate.
I’m not ready for the conversation Dawson and I need to have. “It was nice of your parents to take Finn so you could stay and help clean up. I wasn’t expecting you to do that.”
“It’s for the best. Finn needs time with other people right now. He’s sick of me.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I’m sure that’s not true.”
“Take his normal tantrums and quadruple the behavior. He’s been ornery and difficult lately. A big part of it is me. I’m working more hours and the time I usually give to him isn’t happening.”
Reading between the lines, I also get the hint my leaving impacted Finn as well. Which I knew, and was a huge reason why hurting him like I did made everything worse. “I’ve missed seeing him.”
“He’s asked about you a lot.”
I take one of the fake tealight candles on the table, flip it over, and switch the battery off. I can’t look at Dawsonwhen I ask, “Is it possible you’d let me come visit him? As a friend?”
“No.”
My head snaps up. No? I rub my nose, trying to get the stinging sensation to go away. I don’t want to cry in front of Dawson. “Oh. I see.”
Standing, I push my chair back, ready to take the decorations down and get as far away from Dawson as possible.
Dawson stands too, coming around to my side of the table. He snatches my hand. “No, I didn’t mean it like that.” He rubs a hand through his hair. “It’s been a crazy long day. Can we meet tomorrow? Or whenever you’re free?”
“Yeah, tomorrow works.”
