Page 94 of Every Little Kiss
“We got this, Pax,” she whispered.
He nodded his head but didn’t let go. Liv scooped him up and held him close, breathing in his little-boy scent and slowly exhaling while holding him tighter.
It didn’t matter if it was just the two of them—her little family had enough love to go the distance. All that Liv needed to be happy was right there in that hug, and as long as she remembered that, she and Paxton could handle anything life threw at them.
“Will you walk next to the float so I can see you?” he asked so heartbreakingly soft Liv had a hard time speaking.
Liv was supposed to be selling tickets to the Wild West Roundup booth during the parade, which meant she was expected to work the booth at the end of the parade trail. It would have to wait. Right now, it was all about getting Paxton through his debut performance.
“Every step of the way,” she promised, tugging on Paxton’s cape.
He looked up at her with panicked eyes. “What if the other kids see you?”
“That’s why I brought my invisibility cape.” She pulled the lapel of her cape over her face, covering everything but her eyes, and Paxton laughed. “I’ll walk in the crowd so only you can see me. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said, and for the first time that morning, he sounded as if he’d be okay.
“Now let’s get you on that float before it leaves without you.” She double-tugged the bottom of his shirt and stood.
Paxton froze. He stared at the packed float, the ever-growing crowd, and then the ground. Liv’s stomach knotted, and her palms began to sweat. Her baby had come so far, but he was getting ready to crawl back inside himself. Getting on that float was important, but having an anxiety attack in front of the whole town wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“Pax? You okay? You need a sip of water?” she asked, because sometimes ice-cold water was enough to snap him out of it. But he didn’t answer, just continued to stare at the ground, his breathing nonexistent, his eyes dilated and clouded over.
And just when Liv thought he was going into complete shutdown mode, he took a deep breath and slid his tiny hand into hers. “I got this.”
“Yes, you do,” she said, surprised that her voice came out so strong. Inside she was a nervous wreck, but for her son she would be Supermom.
Capes flapping in the breeze, Superboy and Supermom walked side by side down the alley and onto the float. It was the first float, at the corner of Lake Street, visible by the thousands of people already looking their way.
Liv stationed him at the front of the float and attached the safety harness to his belt. “I’m going to be right there, walking through the crowd.” She pointed to the back part of the sidewalk, behind the crowd, and Paxton shook his head. Hard. He was also shaking in his combat boots. “You want me to walk right next to the float, Pax?”
Paxton was considering this, considering what his friends would say if his mommy walked next to the float, when what sounded like a windstorm echoed in the near distance.
The wind picked up, scattering fallen pine needles and sending a rainbow of capes soaring. People shielded their eyes and looked to the sky in delight as thewhomp whomp whompdrew closer, became louder. And Paxton’s smile grew bigger and brighter.
“It’s him!” he said, loud enough for everyone on the float and surrounding area to hear. But her son didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy focusing on the showstopping red-and-yellow helicopter cutting down Lake Street and right toward their float. With Superdog, complete with a bright red cape, blue booties, a hoodie with ear holes, and goggles—flying through the air.
But what had Liv’s heart doing some stopping of its own was the real-life superhero hanging off the side of the chopper. Dressed in his uniform of black pants with a million and one pockets, a bright orange shirt, and a ball cap that saidLOOKING TOBERESCUEDwas her own personal hero coming to save the day.
He isn’t yours,she reminded herself. But even though he wore mirrored aviators, Liv could feel his intense gaze, locked on target and zeroing in on her.
And her alone.
The crowd sucked in an excited breath as the chopper came to a halt, hovering right above the first float. Paxton’s float. And just when the crowd thought that the show was over, Ford gave a hand signal to someone on the chopper that was as confident as it was sexy, and without warning, Ford and Bullseye slowly made their descent down onto Lake Street.
His boots hit the asphalt, and the crowd erupted in cheers. And a warm ball of hope erupted in Liv’s chest.
“Mommy,” Paxton called out over the thundering sound of the blades, “you don’t need to walk beside the float. And the name’s not Paxton,” he said, hitting his super-secret superhero pose, “I’m Superboy!”
“Yes, you are,” she yelled back. And even though Ford was going to disappear back to Reno on Monday, he’d come to give Paxton the send-off her son desperately needed.
“Bullseye,” Paxton said loudly, holding his hand out and then pointing to the ground. “Come.”
Bullseye’s legs were moving even before Ford set him on the ground, and then those toothpicks tore across the street and leaped up onto the float, not stopping until he was sitting in front of Paxton. Head back, ears straight up, tongue lolling, Bullseye waited for the next signal. And when Paxton gave it, Bullseye stuck one paw out in front, his hind leg back, and held it.
Andbe still my heart, with the wind from the chopper, the dog looked like he was actually flying through the air. And her son, her beautiful, strong son, held his pose—proud, bold, and something to behold.
The crowd erupted into cheers as the helicopter lifted off and disappeared over the quaint skyline and behind the mountain range. The air stilled, and the town grew silent, until Liv could only hear the tattoo of boots on the pavement.
